A Spencer abdominal corset of the 1960's

Surgical corsets cover a huge spectrum, however, the topic described here is the more complex corset that could still be recommended and fitted by a corsetiere, albeit with some extra training. Often, a doctor's recommendation would be required, however, this was usually to secure a contribution to the costs from the NHS or latterly, insurance company.

Many women wore what were sometimes referred to as 'surgical corsets'. Indeed, corsetieres could gain extra qualifications in this field that opened a large and potentially lucrative market. This was a point of some pride to the fitters that achieved this level "I can fit surgicals, you know!" To what extent gullible women were persuaded to wear unnecessarily complex (and thus expensive) corsets will probably never be known, but it certainly did occur. This is not to diminish the sterling work of most fitters who bought relief to thousands of women over many decades of service.

The subject of surgical corsetry originally appeared under Spirella in the contents page since this is the way the web-site grew, however, Spencer probably was the bastion of surgical corsetry in Britain in the post-war years. The remaining corsets of the type described below are still made these days by Spencer, with whom Spirella merged in Britain in 1985 and, as I have said before, many of these corsets are derived from the basis of the standard Spirella 305 corset.

Spirella's abdominal equivalent (1992) that requires the adjustment of no less than 16 buckles and full back-lacing.

What is the definition of a surgical corset? To some extent it is a matter of degree. A conventional Spirella 305 is not a surgical corset (although by the standards of 2008 it may be considered as such) although it may well control a wayward back or support a sagging abdomen. A surgical corset will have extras, such as spinal steels, buckles, an under-belt, or lacing constructed for ease of tightening the garment so that its form can be impressed upon the wearer.

To this end, Camp was pre-eminent for never was there a lacing system so easy and effective to adjust. The down-side of Camps were the inevitable (and hard to disguise) bulk of the garment.

Many manufacturers made what could be generically referred to as 'surgical corsets'. At many points within this web site, we have referred to surgical corsets and the most popular references are included below.

Below  we see the 325 corset (a modern example from 2001).  Note again the high back, but less well defined waist for this customer. Whatever, there would be little chance of  one's tummy bulging in a garment like this.

The variation on the 305 theme is quite enormous.  Like all good Spirella corsets, the top lacing bow defines the waist and both these corsets rise some three to four inches above this; the longer measurement being at the back. The corset had only been tried on a few times before it was returned for some minor alteration. The front- and back-laced 325 was made in 2001 (!) for a lady in her late 40's. The horizontal creases on the back of the 305 corset indicate that the corset has been worn quite tightly, but not often, since the back-lacing has yet to be personally re-adjusted from the corsetiere's original lacing. This unassuming lady is by far Mrs. I's youngest client and has been ordering the 325 for over a decade. Mrs. I. explained that the lady in question suffers from no back problems, but that she simply feels 'better' wearing the corset. Inevitably, the lady has lead a rather sheltered life and was introduced to Mrs. I by her Mother, however, it is encouraging to know that in this day and age, there remains at least one lady who wears a corset because of the feeling of 'well-being'.

Adjusting the laces of the 325 is a daily task and quite simple once learned. My Mother wore a 325 with the front and back lacing. The front was adjusted daily to make the garment easier to don, whilst the back-lacing was only touched periodically to cope with weight fluctuations or perhaps a tighter fitting evening gown. I did suspect that the pattern of the back-lacing was sometimes visible through evening wear, and I preferred the 305 which I still normally wear.

Spirella always advocated the use of back-lacing for women with back problems but this was normally in addition to the front-lacing as well. These back support corsets often were furnished with aluminum or steel bones running either side of the spine. I have a beautiful Canadian Spencer front and back-lacing corset (the equivalent of the Spirella 325 which, when this corset was made, had merged with Spencer in Canada) is the heaviest corset I have found weighing well over two pounds and reinforced by no less than 26 bones. It is finished in a gorgeous satin material yet is extraordinarily strong. The garment possesses eight rows of double boning, two flat steels at the front, four thin bones to control the lacers and four full-length, heavy surgical steels running either side of the spine. The back length of this corset is 21 inches. It permits the wearer to sit, to stand and to walk with comfort yet no movement of the lower spine can occur; for this was its designed intent.                                Canadian 325 from 1975

The Spirella abdominal corset (1994) is another formidable garment requiring the adjustment of 16 buckles (six on each side plus another four to control the abdomen). If this weren’t enough, it laces at the back as well. The garment carries 17 single bones, 10 in the back panel and 7 in the deeply dished front panel.

Under-belts

On this web page at the top there is a picture of the 305 with an under-belt adjusted by four buckles on each side. These were reasonably common from the 1920’s right through the era of modern corsetry. Indeed, their main purpose was to hold the sagging post-pregnancy or obese abdomen into its correct location before the final layer of the corset was applied. The following sentiment is not untypical:-

I did wear one briefly after pregnancy but the struggle each morning of adjusting the buckles, then the effort of putting on my surgical stockings (standard wear for the young mother) followed by the front-lacing was too much and I reverted to the conventional 305. Perhaps if I’d been wearing a corset longer at the time I would have handled it all, however, coming from a girdle it was quite daunting.

As regards the under-belt, Spirella made (at least) two sorts.  The first has lacing on both sides and the second fastens with several buckles on each side which can be adjusted from outside the corset unlike the lacers. My mother used to wear such a garment and with ten individual buckles and a full front lacing, it was quite time consuming to put on, particularly with six suspenders as well. She was very adept at this however, and only in her 80's did she go without the under-belt and the back suspenders which were too tricky for an old lady to fasten by herself.

Spencer US in 1947 displays a style that remaining unchanged for five decades

My corsetiere talks highly of under-belts although she’s sold no corset with one for the last decade. In fact she suspects that there’s nobody left in the Spirella (now Spencer) factory who would know how to cut and sew one correctly any more. The under-belt, apart from its supportive role, was an additional item that the corsetiere could persuade a client to order. Every extra item meant extra commission and if you could sell a client a four-buckle under-belt, why not a five-buckle one ? Cunningly, Spirella was adamant that the depth of the under-belt, which was determined from the client's measurements, would determine the number of straps and buckles. Mrs. I. told me of so many little marketing ploys that some of her acquaintances used. The extra suspenders, plush lining, rigid steels at the back could be increased from the normal two to four and if a corset comes above the waist, where does it stop ? Every extra inch in length is more commission. I imagine that very few corsetieres were so mercenary as to force their clients into unnecessarily complicated garments but there were certainly some that did. 

Note (right) how the webbing from the four starboard under-belt straps on this classic Spirella 305 were tucked away. This was a standard method taught to all corsetieres.

Below is a typical under-belted Spencer corset.

Of course, the under-belt was an addition to the basic corset and only came at a price. Unscrupulous corsetieres, with an eye on their commission, could and did recommend unnecessary additions and complexities. A good saleswomen could sell a corset based on price X, and then persuade the client to add extra suspenders, an under-belt, felt trim, lace, extra straps and high-quality materials. The garment would now cost 2X and the fitter would have twice the commission.

The corsetieres that I know say that the under-belt was rare, even four decades ago. They maintain that a well-cut corset does not need one.

One older corsetiere explained to me that the corset itself provided the fundamental shape on which a client's clothes would hang. The under-belt provided whatever support was required within that fundamental shape.

So, in brief, the complexities of modern corsetry were precipitated by the increasing sophistication of machines and materials, that is, they COULD be more complex. The rogue corsetiere benefited from this, but I doubt if it was ever really that common.

A stunning example from Gilo49 of an under-belted American Spencer corset. It is made from a light-weight material for those steamy Florida summers, however, one suspects that this was never a cool garment.

Heavier Corsets for Heavier Women

Spencer, in particular, attended to the need of the seriously pendulous abdomen and brought tremendous relief to these women. These pictures are slightly more graphic than others on this web-site and despite the pictures being somewhat pixelated, we leave it to the reader to click on the thumbnail. Some of the photographs in the Spencer fitter's manual were not for the faint-hearted.

Spencer shows how the sway-back and bulging abdomen should be controlled in 1936.

The Pul-front corset which has its origins in the beginning of the 20^th century, disposed of lacings and used buckles instead. This certainly provided for a strong controlling garment, however, buckles will always be slightly bulkier than lacers. In the early 1990's, Spencer either bought the Pul-front name or agreed to manufacture their designs under licence. It was not a success ! The garment illustrated was ordered from Spencer in the early 1990’s. It is fully lined and has the traditional overlapping double under-belts. Each under-belt is secured by three buckles and the overlapping front by another six buckles and a hip strap. Four lined layers of material therefore cover the abdomen and quite frankly any reduction in size of the wearer is completely negated by the bulk of the garment which needed 13 buckles to be adjusted each time the garment was put on. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see a name that was mildly famous in the corsetry world in the 1930's struggle on into its seventh decade with a virtually unchanged design.

Pul-front advertisements from 1935 (top), 1975 (above) and an actual corset from 1978 (right). The corset is effective once the seven straps have been mastered.