Today, influencers like the Kardashians peddle ‘waist-trainers’ and similar items that claim not only to reduce your waist, but help you lose weight or even achieve a six-pack; all while you sit at your desk. They are far from the first to recommend products like this: similar garments were advertised all over the place during the twentieth century. These descendants of the corset claimed to do much more heavy lifting than their predecessors. The corset may be one of the most famous items of clothing from western fashion history, but it is usually associated with women. What not many people know, is that men wore them too! So what did men’s corsets look like, and why does this piece of fashion history get so little mention?
Author: Public History Student
A never ending obsession for beauty
She was once considered the most beautiful woman of the 19th century: Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known by the wider public as ‘Sisi.’ With hair down to her feet, a waist of 50 centimeters and the tall height of 172 centimeters, she stood out amongst her contemporaries and her physique gained an immense popularity […]
Pennyroyal: from ancient Greek theatre to TikTok
By Hanna Jaspers Besides the famous Nirvana song Pennyroyal tea, pennyroyal did not mean much to me two weeks ago. As you might know, Kurt Cobain sings movingly: “Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea. Distill the life that’s inside of me.” Kurt Cobain refers to the fact that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, […]
TB-huts: the tiny houses of a century ago
If you were looking to book a weekend away in the last two years, you have probably considered a tiny house. But have you heard of it’s predecessor, the TB-hut? These small houses were very popular in the 19th and 20th century. However, they were made for a very different purpose. “Exactly as they were […]
Please think of the children!
Throughout history humanity has had to face numerous threats to its existence. While many of these were man-made, mother nature itself can be a cruel mistress indeed. Perhaps there is not a more common or longstanding danger to humanity as the everlasting threat of disease. While nowadays it is relatively easy to teach people how […]
The looted Cannon of Kandy: Far from home
Gold, silver and gems were all used for the decoration of the Cannon of Kandy. A beautiful cannon that’s being displayed by the Dutch Rijksmuseum. However the story behind the obtaining of the cannon isn’t quite as shiny as its looks are. The cannon was unjustly taken as war booty from Sri Lanka by Dutch […]
Bloodletting: the cure for all diseases
In the past there were limited medical treatments available for doctors. Often the first thing a doctor would do when someone got sick was: cut open their veins. This gruesome practice called bloodletting is thousands of years old. It is also known as phlebotomy, from the Greek words phlebos (vein) and temnein (to cut). Bloodletting […]
Ayahuasca: from the Amazon Rainforest to a worldwide hallucinating power
“I really did get just what I needed, and wanted. Emotions and trauma are stored energetically in the body.” – Sara’s story on her experience with Ayahuasca This sounds pretty interesting and as a solution for many troubled souls, but isn’t experienced without paying a price. The meaning of the medicinal drink Ayahuasca is ‘vine […]
The Female Body Reclaimed: Dolle Mina and the Media
On June 24th 2022, the U.S. Supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the right to a (safe) abortion as a federal law in the United States. Since then, a total of thirteen American States have restricted or prohibited abortions. The new restrictions range from a stricter time limit on when abortions are legal to […]
‘The Yellow Submarine is my trusted, mechanical friend’: Life inside the Iron Lung
It’s hard to believe that there are people who still depend on technology from decades ago to stay alive. Yet, this was exactly the case for Mona Randolph, an American woman who passed away in 2019 due to the long delayed effects of polio. She was able to use a wheelchair during the day but […]