“Much Depends on the Proper Display of the Contour”: Corsetry in the Early Nineteenth Century

October 28, 2025 ~ Cassidy Percoco ~ Leave a comment

I was so pleased to be asked to speak at the History Symposium this past month! It was a fantastic experience, and I strongly recommend that readers check out the rest of their offerings -- there are years' worth of presentations on all sorts of topics relating to the early nineteenth century, particularly the War … Continue reading “Much Depends on the Proper Display of the Contour”: Corsetry in the Early Nineteenth Century

Transitional Stays Pattern

March 25, 2019February 28, 2024 ~ Cassidy Percoco ~ 1 Comment

Hello, strangers! I'm back to post again about those underbust stays from the pre-Regency, in preparation for the Short Stays Sew-Along. I saw these, as the label suggests, at Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, NY. (I don't believe there was any definite provenance, but the house was owned by the Van Rensselaers and most if … Continue reading Transitional Stays Pattern

A New Kind of Transitional Stay

November 8, 2018October 13, 2024 ~ Cassidy Percoco ~ 5 Comments

Hello! It's been a while - due to American politics, personal issues, and other factors, I just haven't had the energy to spend on historical sewing or writing about fashion (beyond what I do for AskHistorians; link to my profile if you'd like to read some short articles on a variety of social history topics) … Continue reading A New Kind of Transitional Stay

"Corset Cutting & Making", annotated by Marion McNealy

January 29, 2018February 28, 2024 ~ Cassidy Percoco ~ 7 Comments

Last year, I invested in the Kickstarter for Marion McNealy's annotated reprint of the 1924 Corset Cutting & Making, by William D. F. Vincent. And I'm very glad I did, because it's here and it's wonderful! The book starts with an introduction explaining the context of the original - it was probably started before World … Continue reading "Corset Cutting & Making", annotated by Marion McNealy

Review: Stays and Corsets, by Mandy Barrington

March 15, 2017 ~ Cassidy Percoco ~ 3 Comments

I feel terrible that it took me so long to write a review of this book, seeing as I was sent a copy by Focal Press - but I promise it was only because I intended to use it to make a set of stays and/or corset first! And then, unfortunately, I did next to … Continue reading Review: Stays and Corsets, by Mandy Barrington