Glamour Vintage Corselette L3021

A corselette is the ultimate all-in-one foundation garment, combining the smoothing power of a girdle with the support of a bra. It’s designed to create a streamlined silhouette from bust to hip, making it ideal for wearing under tailored or close-fitting vintage-inspired clothing.

Unlike separate shapewear pieces, a corselette eliminates bulk at the waist and prevents gaps or rolling—delivering a smooth, continuous line under dresses. It’s especially effective under 1950s wiggle dresses, pencil skirts, or anything that hugs the body.

Our vintage corselette also includes six built-in metal suspender clips, meaning it holds your stockings in place while sculpting your figure—just as it would have in the 1950s. Practical, glamorous, and wonderfully nostalgic, it’s the foundation for a flawless retro look.

While both are vintage-inspired foundation garments, a corselette and a merry widow serve slightly different purposes—and create different silhouettes.

A corselette is designed to smooth the entire torso, extending from the bust down to the lower hip. It typically contains no boning, making it comfortable for daily wear and ideal under close-fitting dresses where a sleek, uninterrupted line is essential.

A merry widow, on the other hand, finishes higher on the hip and features boning for structure, meaning it can often be worn strapless. It usually includes an internal waist tape to further cinch the waist, making it the go-to choice for achieving the dramatic, nipped-in waist of the Dior New Look, especially under full skirts.

In short:

• Corselette = all-over smoothing for fitted dresses

• Merry Widow = structured shaping for dramatic, cinched-waist looks

Corselettes rose to popularity in the early 20th century as women began to favour more practical foundation garments. First introduced around 1914, the corselette replaced the need for both a separate bra and girdle, offering all-over shaping in a single piece.

The 1950s saw the corselette truly come into its own, with styles featuring structured cups, smoothing panels, and attached suspenders. This made them the ideal undergarment for the sleek, tailored silhouettes of the era.

While their popularity waned with the rise of more casual clothing in the 1960s, corselettes remain a favourite among vintage lingerie lovers today—especially for recreating authentic mid-century silhouettes under fitted dresses.