I've costumed singers and dancers before and if you take their chest measurements with them at rest and them at a full breath there can be a rather large difference. Their corsets are likely made for a resting breath measurement so it is restricting them from taking as deep a breath as they are used to when they play. Actual performers in the Victorian era were corseted their entire lives and were trained to get the needed deep breaths while corseted.
What you will need to do is either find a dress style that can work without the corset or you will want to create a corset that incorporates elastic panels and/or elastic instead of a woven lacing string. The elastic will stretch as they breath and move allowing them their full range. Maggie Koenig Sent from my iPhone > On Oct 21, 2013, at 1:58 AM, Aylwen Gardiner-Garden <aylwe...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > I get told by musicians that they can't breathe - wind players and singers > can't get enough breath. > Cheers, > Aylwen > > >> On 21 October 2013 16:42, Kim Baird <kba...@cableone.net> wrote: >> >> It's perfectly possible to sit in a Victorian corset. Victorians did it all >> the time. It does have to fit correctly, however. >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On >> Behalf Of Aylwen Gardiner-Garden >> Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2013 11:55 PM >> To: Historical Costume >> Subject: Re: [h-cost] Boning and corsets for musicians >> >> I'm thinking about Victorian fashion here. Are there any pictures of women >> sitting down playing music? I've seen women corsetted when standing up >> playing the violin, but how did they manage playing the piano? Or are my >> musicians complaining too much? >> I'm right at the beginning in my research so far. >> Many thanks, >> Aylwen >> >> >> On 21 October 2013 15:48, Elizabeth Jones >> <elizabethrjones2...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> Hi Aylwen, >>> What have you tried so far? If we know what's already been tried there >>> won't need to be any re-inventing of the wheel. For anything pre-1600 >>> you are fairly safe to skip boning for anyone who isn't extremely high >>> fashion (and musicians paid to perform for a ball definitely weren't >>> high fashion) Elizabeth >>> >>> On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 2:33 PM, Aylwen Gardiner-Garden >>> <aylwe...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> Dear Friends >>>> Our dance group prides itself on wearing historically correct gowns >>>> and undergarments for our dance performances, but it is not >>>> comfortable for >>> our >>>> pianist and other musicians. I am exploring ways I can bone the >>>> bodices >>> of >>>> the gowns and still give sitting-down musicians breathing space - >>>> but >>> still >>>> have the garments look close-to-accurate. Can anyone offer me any >> advice? >>>> We costume from 1450 through to 1900 - all styles along the way. >>>> Many thanks, >>>> Aylwen >>> _______________________________________________ >>> h-costume mailing list >>> h-costume@mail.indra.com >>> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume >> >> >> >> -- >> *Aylwen Gardiner-Garden* >> * >> * >> * >> * >> >> *Jane Austen Festival Australia <http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au> * >> *Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy< >> http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/> >> * >> *John Gardiner-Garden's Historic Dance book >> series<http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/earthlydelights> >> * >> _______________________________________________ >> h-costume mailing list >> h-costume@mail.indra.com >> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume >> >> _______________________________________________ >> h-costume mailing list >> h-costume@mail.indra.com >> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > > > -- > *Aylwen Gardiner-Garden* > * > * > * > * > > *Jane Austen Festival Australia <http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au> * > *Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy<http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/> > * > *John Gardiner-Garden's Historic Dance book > series<http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/earthlydelights> > * > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
