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The corset controversy was a moral panic and public health concern around corsets in the 19th century.
Corsets, variously called a pair of bodys or stays, were worn by European women from the late 16th century onward, changing their form as fashions changed. In spite of radical change to fashion geographically and temporally, the corset or some derivative beneath an outer gown shaped the body or provided structure.
There were brief periods in which corsetry was not part of mainstream fashion. In the 1790s, there was an abrupt change to fashion as the Empire silhouette became fashionable. During the following Regency era, the highly supportive corsets of the early Georgian era were dismissed in favor of short garments worn primarily to support the breasts, leaving the waist and hips in their natural shape.[1]
Beginning in the mid-1820s, women's fashion returned to the full skirts of the prior century. In a repudiation of the Empire silhouette, the waist became the central focus of female dress and the corset evolved to encompass the waist and hips. In addition, the advent of steel boning, clasps, and eyelets allowed wearers to lace their corsets tighter than ever before without damaging them.[2] Doctors and much of the press deplored the garment in spite of continued use.[3]