MEN IN PETTICOATS: A SELECTION OF LETTERS FROM VICTORIAN NEWSPAPERS.

FARRER, Peter (Edits).

ISBN 10: 0951238507 / ISBN 13: 9780951238509

Published by Karn Publications Garston,, Liverpool,, 1987

About this Item

First Edition. Wraps. 8vo. Illustrated wraps. Copiously illustrated in black and white throughout. ' ISBN: 0951238507 Pages: 44 An online review says "I was looking for books about tightlacing. this had to be one of the best I have found. Not only is the book filled with accounts by real people from a bygone era where wearing corsets was a must, it is filled with news paper clippings, posters and real evidence as to what it was like to tightlace. As well as information on finishing schools it also had information for doctors some who approved and disapproved of the wearing of a corset." Fine.

Seller Inventory # C93685

Bibliographic Details

• Title: MEN IN PETTICOATS: A SELECTION OF LETTERS FROM VICTORIAN NEWSPAPERS.
• Publisher: Karn Publications Garston,, Liverpool,
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0951238507
• ISBN 13: 9780951238509
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Fashion

About this title

Synopsis

This volume contains extracts culled from long-defunct publications, most of them from male readers extolling the virtues of tight lacing, boasting of their slim waists and the comfort they derive from the support provided. Many others go further, saying how much they enjoy wearing women's clothes and high-heeled boots and shoes. The terms "cross dressing" and "transvestite" were not known at the time and the general attitude seems to have been one of mild surprise without any sort of condemnation. These ideas of dress were not apparently confined to this country; other letters tell of young male "ballerinas" in France and America who were greatly admired (by women especially) and, in fact, were not only made much of but treated as darlings of society. The 17 photographs of graceful young ladies date from the mid-1860s and amongst them may be found the famous Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park. Their arrest and eventual acquittal were a "cause celebre" for Victorian England. They were involved in amateur theatricals, sometimes arranged for charitable purposes, which were extremely popular with the young men in society, who organized the productions solely, it would appear, for the pleasure of playing the ladies' parts.