It's also a favorite of Anna Sui, the former metro Detroiter now based in New York. But the truth is, I happen to think corsets are foxy. Many women are ready for the more feminine look a corset conveys, says Melissa Ryan, fashion office manager for Marshall Field's stores. But they're no longer the torture devices they seemed to be in the 19th century. Designers know that women have to be able to breathe and that the corsets have to be functional.
Corsets are actually more of an accessory now, providing a means to shape the feminine form.
Not surprisingly, they're particularly prevalent in evening wear, a fact borne out by the large number of fashion and movie stars who wore corset-based gowns last month to the opening gala for the Jackie Kennedy fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There were other hints of Moulin Rouge at the Met gala. Though Kidman's costumes vary dramatically in the film, by turns theatrical, sophisticated and genuinely sweet, they are never less than opulent. And they are never shown without the further embellishment of hair combs and hats, jeweled earrings and necklaces, and eye-catching patterned stockings. Those accessories, too, are expected to set fashion trends.