{{Short description|Specialist tailor who makes corsets}} 300px|right|thumb|Corsetiers cutting out and fitting in the 18th century
A '''corsetmaker''' is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms '''corsetier''' (male) and '''corsetière''' (female). '''Staymaker''' is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker.
==Design and distribution== {{Unreferenced section|date=February 2023}} Corsetmakers are tailors with knowledge of anatomy that enables them to construct well-fitting, corsets. Corsetmakers who reproduce historical styles must be familiar with historical fashions and costumes that span centuries of history. Individual corsetmakers often favour a certain style, and frequently have differing theories and opinions about the physical impact and benefits of various corsets, thereby influencing their corset design and creation<ref>{{cite web |title=Corset History – Champagne Corsets & Designs|url=https://www.champagnecorsets.com/history/|website=Champagne Corsets & Designs|access-date=31 January 2026}}</ref>.
350px|right|thumb|Corsetiers cutting fabric in 1928. The main consideration of corset design is duration of use. For short-term use, e.g. used for a special event such as a wedding, a corset will be worn briefly and so is not subject to wear, therefore need not be of the highest quality of construction. For long-term use, e.g., by tightlacing or waist training, corsets must be made to exact standards and are best custom-fitted and designed for the individual wearer. Single weakness or flaws tend to be visible. Some custom-made gowns have corsets built into the design; a talented dressmaker may also be a skilled corset-maker<ref>{{cite web |title=Historically Inspired Corset and Construction Techniques|url=https://thestaymaker.co.uk/gallery-corset-historical.php|website=The Staymaker|access-date=31 January 2026}}</ref>.
Several companies employed travelling saleswomen, known as corsetières, who took orders for tailored corsets. Well-known are Spirella (1904–1989), Barcley<!-- (1910?–1928) -->, and Spenser<!-- (1933–) -->.
==Notable corsetmakers== *Roxey Ann Caplin - British writer and inventor<ref>MADAME CAPLIN'S INVENTIONS FOR THE ADAPTATION OF THE DRESS TO THE BODY; THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH; The Cure of Deformity, and the Display of Beauty.</ref> *Catherine Allsop Griswold - a Connecticut corsetmaker who held 30 patents, the most of any woman in America at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1992/1/1992_1_22.shtml |title=AmericanHeritage.com / THE CHAMPION OF WOMEN INVENTORS |access-date=2008-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113140854/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1992/1/1992_1_22.shtml |archive-date=2008-01-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://staff.lib.muohio.edu/shocker/FemInv/most.html Most prolific women inventors - 1790-1895] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704190756/http://staff.lib.muohio.edu/shocker/FemInv/most.html |date=2008-07-04 }}</ref> *Thomas Paine - American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He trained to become a staymaker as a teenager, as it was his family trade, but did not stay in the profession after his teen years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did Thomas Paine make corsets for a living? |url=https://www.thomaspaine.org/resources/did-thomas-paine-make-corsets-for-a-living |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=thomaspaine.org |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{commons category|Corsetiere}} *Corset *History of corsets *Hourglass corset *Tightlacing
==References== {{reflist}}
==Books== * Doyle R. (1997)''Waisted Efforts, An Illustrated Guide To Corset Making''. Nova Scotia, Sartorial Press Publications, {{ISBN|0-9683039-0-0}} * [http://www.haabet.dk/TightLinings_andBoning/index.html ''Tight Linings and Boning'' Mary Brooks Picken, 1920] [https://web.archive.org/web/20200129032747/http://www.haabet.dk/TightLinings_andBoning/index.html Archive link] * [http://www.haabet.dk/The_Practical_Corsetiere/index.html ''The Practical Corsetiere'' Mme Ruth A. Rosenfeld 1933] [https://web.archive.org/web/20210126150121/http://www.haabet.dk/The_Practical_Corsetiere/index.html Archive link] * The Basics Of Corset Building, A Handbook For Beginners by Linda Sparks (Author) {{ISBN|0-9737358-0-5}} * Caplin - Health and Beauty (1864)
{{Corsetry}}
Category:Corsetry Category:Artisans