This book fills a significant gap in the literature on eighteenth-century social and cultural history. Starting with their production and trade, Sorge-English looks at the intricacies of the staymaker's craft, the role of gender in the design and manufacture of stays and the changing shape of stays over time.

Stays were the most important article of women's clothing in eighteenth-century life. Worn from infancy, they were designed to reshape the female body into an accepted aesthetic ideal. Starting with their production and trade, Sorge-English uses surviving examples to look at the intricacies of the staymaker's craft, the role of gender in the design and manufacture of stays and their changing shape over time. The study shows how long-term use caused serious health problems throughout women's lives and that as they became more involved in the production process women influenced their design to become closer to the natural female form. This book takes a unique approach to the cultural and social history of clothing by combining material analysis with more traditional research methods that includes the discovery of an eighteenth-century staymaker's diary.