This is not news. This is the opposite of news.

But the National Trust (UK) online Collections are available for the interested to peruse.

As luck would have it, interested I am and peruse I did! So to contribute to the Greater Good and Understanding of Mankind, I present: Pictures Of Pretty Stuff I Got Off Of A Globally Accessible Website Which Anybody Could Go See For Themselves Virtually Anywhere Else.*

*Available for a limited time only. If by "limited time" you mean "indefinitely."

Since I have less than a month to finish hand-sewing a ridiculous number of garments and accessories for the Jehossee 1850 project, naturally I'm spending hours at night trolling the internet for completely unrelated things.

 Stays!

 These are fascinating! Despite the rather vague "1750-1800" date assignation, they have a lot of character. The ties in the front separate a DIVIDED busk and the peaks on either side of the underarm curve (front and back) have holes punched (and presumably finished) for linen straps!

 French in origin. From the Snowshill Collection. The original sleeves are in the archives as well! This would have been a show-stopper. (1735-50)

 French, 1700-60. This was possibly modified from a stomacher. The description suggests that it was "let out" when the "backs were added."

1700-1800 (really?), Smallhythe Place Collection. The ornaments in the center of the bows are cut-steel. And they rather look like modified clasps, don't they? 

 1750-1800. (Why are some confidently "1750-1799" and others MUST be "1750-1800"?) The busk is crafted of layers of canvas and is described as "diamond" shaped. The fluttery bits of pinked material under-arm is chamois leather.

 Totally my favorite of the lot. They remind me of the Effigy Corset of QE1 as well. You? 1750-60, Snowshill Collection.

 1700-1750, Snowshill Collection. These are described as "possibly homemade" which causes me to wonder if each of the other pairs are presumed to have been crafted by a Staymaker? Love that color!

 1770-1799, Snowshill Collection. These are so unerringly precise! The diagonal bones on each side of the center front are steel, which is nifty. I dig the square tabs as well.

 And as a grand finale, a lovely stripey zone-front from among the many beautiful gowns and fragments on the site:

Really, if you are somehow even more backwards than I am and haven't ventured over there yet, go check it out. The search function is great (I'm looking at YOU, Costume Institute...) and while there isn't a great deal of individual information available for every single item, among what IS presented, the collections are interesting and well-photographed. 

(Yeah, I don't know about that last sentence either.) 


Have a beautiful Christmas!