Wasp waist
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Uspatent10935 1885 wasp waist.gif Image:Hip form girdle, 1901 uspatent687839.gif Wasp waist refers to a silhouette, given by a style of corset and girdle, that has experienced various periods of popularity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Its primary feature is the abrupt transition from a natural-width ribcage to a small waist, with the hips curving out below. It takes its name from its similarity to a wasp's segmented body. The sharply exaggerated waistline also serves to emphasize the hips and bust.
It is possible to get an extremely small waist in the wasp waist style, as it does not compress the ribcage as much as some other corset styles and the soft flesh at the waist can be more easily compressed.Template:Fashion-stub