Generating bodies : investigating foundation garments and maternity through making

Book chapter

Bendall, Sarah A. and Fisk, Catriona. (2024). Generating bodies : investigating foundation garments and maternity through making. In In Bendall, Sarah A. and Dyer, Serena (Ed.). Embodied experiences of making in early modern Europe: bodies, gender, and material culture pp. 185 - 209 Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048557370-011
AuthorsBendall, Sarah A. and Fisk, Catriona
EditorsBendall, Sarah A. and Dyer, Serena
Abstract

This chapter discusses the creative process of recreating three extant European foundation garments (bodies and stays) associated with maternity from the mid-seventeenth to the late eighteenth century to explore the range of possibilities presented for the pre-and postpartum body. This involved working primarily with mannequins and models and speculating on the possibilities of experience. This research tackles some central challenges of embodied dress research – the skills required, the lack of the historical body that wore it, and the impossibility of fully recreating its experiences and thus providing definite answers. Investigations prove that contemporary sources were prone to exaggeration and foundation garments were part of a longer history of maternally coded garments shaped by the material and embodied knowledge of maker and wearer.

Keywordsstays; corsets; reconstruction; pregnancy; maternity clothing; embodiment
Page range185 - 209
Year01 Jan 2024
Book titleEmbodied experiences of making in early modern Europe: bodies, gender, and material culture
PublisherAmsterdam University Press
Place of publicationNetherlands
SeriesVisual and Material Culture, 1300-1700 Series
ISBN9789463722698
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048557370-011
Web address (URL)https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acu/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=31821348
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Publisher's version
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All rights reserved
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Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online13 Dec 2024
Publication process dates
Deposited12 Feb 2025
Additional information

© The authors / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2025

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