Corset
Black embroidered cotton sateen, black lace, pink silk
Circa 1903, USA
Gift of the Strouse, Adler Company, 85.80.20

Petticoat
Light blue silk satin, ivory lace
Circa 1903, USA
Gift of Florence Anderson and Mary A. Seymour, 80.1.6

This fashionable straight-front corset shapes the body into a voluptuous "S curve"–pushing the breasts forward, pressing in the stomach, and arching the back. Formerly associated with actresses and courtesans, seductive lingerie like this blue satin petticoat had become more generally fashionable by 1900.