Corsetlessness

Yet six years later, this trade journal expressed a decided panic about corsetlessness.

Actual corsetless dresses arrived only in 1908, from a French designer, and the debate over foundation garments continued into the 1920s, with a lingerie makers' counter-attack about the evils of corsetlessness in 1921.

The identification and exploitation of corsetlessness as an evil fad not only bolstered support among those whose livelihoods depended upon the continuing use of the corset but also armed the industry with the weapon of ideology.