Corsets and Codpieces Quotes

“Beauty patches were first used to cover pox marks then were gradually adopted purely for adornment. (Author’s collection)”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era

“There were no gender assigned medieval colours, no pink for feminine or blue for masculine. It was in fact the reverse. Blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and conveyed gentleness. It was considered a weak colour in comparison to pink as pink came from red and red was the embodiment of power, passion, wealth and blood. White stood for purity, but was not worn by brides – whatever their station, people were simply married in the very best clothing they owned.”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era

“Be it resolved that all women, of whatever age, rank, profession, or degree; whether virgin maids or widows; that shall after the passing of this Act, impose upon and betray into matrimony any of His Majesty’s male subjects, by scents, paints, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops, high-heeled shoes, or bolstered hips, shall incur the penalty of the laws now in force against witchcraft, sorcery, and such like misdemeanours, and that the marriage, upon conviction, shall stand null and void.’ Bill from the British Parliament, 1690”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era

“As if not to be outdone by the fair sex, as ladies headwear ranged ever higher, so too men’s footwear became ever longer. By 1367 a fashion for long-toed shoes called Krakows, after the capital city of Poland at that time, emerged and by 1450 the shoes were known as pikes or pigaches after a kind of pail with a long handle. A decade later they were universally recognised as Poulaines as in ‘souliers a la Poulaine’, otherwise shoes in the Polish fashion. The monstrosities lasted over 300 years, with the term Poulaine always referring to the long, pointed beak of the shoe only and not the shoe itself. The shoes were eventually legislated against as the ridiculous extensions became longer and longer until walking was almost impossible.”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era

“If a beard makes a saint, nothing is more saintly than a goat’.”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era

“As the author of this book I have discovered a wealth of information on costume and attitudes towards clothing during my research, but my favourite is a ‘snippet’ that answered a question I have not up until now been able to answer. I have often wondered why almost every bra I have ever owned, no matter what design or brand, has a small bow stitched to the front between the cups. The question was finally answered by the discovery that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when stomachers or ‘stay busks’ were used to slip down the front of a corset a small piece of ribbon was attached to the top to help remove it easily. Our little ribbon-bows are a direct link to those times, though now purely for decoration. It is a reminder that no matter how uncomfortable our undergarments seem to us today, they were far more uncomfortable and restricting in the past!”
― Karen Bowman, Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era