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star_sword 's review for:
One for All
by Lillie Lainoff
the characters and character development were good, the plot was entertaining and I really liked the plot twist
but one thing that really bothered me was Tania complaining about corsets. first of all, corsets didn't even exist in the 1650s, what they had back then were stays which were the predecessors to corsets. they do look similar but they have shoulder straps and create a different kind of silhouette. it wasn't until the Victorian era (1820 - 1900) that they became the overbust whalebone corsets that we typically think of when we hear the word 'corset'. Also, the actual purpose of both stays and corsets is to essentially do the same thing a bra does. Also please remember that working women wore stays and corsets, and were able to move in them, tightlacing was dangerous but it was also uncommon.
I initially saw Tania not having worn stays before as not making sense, but after doing a bit of research I'm not as sure. I couldn't find any exact information about the 1600s, but apparently in the 1700s, while stays were common among the peasants and the aristocracy, a woman could be excused from wearing one for health reasons (source at the bottom of this review). I don't really see how wearing stays could make Tania's POTS worse, but I do acknowledge that this is a period of fashion history that I don't know a lot about, nor is this a disability that I know a lot about, so if anyone has more accurate sources or just knows more in general, please let me know.
sorry to go off on a tangent there, but other than that i did really enjoy this book. it was a lot of fun and i'd definitely read it again!
sources (the first one has its own sources at the end):
https://thedreamstress.com/2013/08/terminology-whats-the-difference-between-stays-jumps-a-corsets/#:~:text=Despite%20their%20heavy%20boning%2C%20and,as%20the%20robe%20de%20cour.&text=Stays%20were%20more%20commonly%20worn%20in%20England%20than%20in%20France.
https://fabricforcosplayers.com/diff-foundations/
but one thing that really bothered me was Tania complaining about corsets. first of all, corsets didn't even exist in the 1650s, what they had back then were stays which were the predecessors to corsets. they do look similar but they have shoulder straps and create a different kind of silhouette. it wasn't until the Victorian era (1820 - 1900) that they became the overbust whalebone corsets that we typically think of when we hear the word 'corset'. Also, the actual purpose of both stays and corsets is to essentially do the same thing a bra does. Also please remember that working women wore stays and corsets, and were able to move in them, tightlacing was dangerous but it was also uncommon.
I initially saw Tania not having worn stays before as not making sense, but after doing a bit of research I'm not as sure. I couldn't find any exact information about the 1600s, but apparently in the 1700s, while stays were common among the peasants and the aristocracy, a woman could be excused from wearing one for health reasons (source at the bottom of this review). I don't really see how wearing stays could make Tania's POTS worse, but I do acknowledge that this is a period of fashion history that I don't know a lot about, nor is this a disability that I know a lot about, so if anyone has more accurate sources or just knows more in general, please let me know.
sorry to go off on a tangent there, but other than that i did really enjoy this book. it was a lot of fun and i'd definitely read it again!
sources (the first one has its own sources at the end):
https://thedreamstress.com/2013/08/terminology-whats-the-difference-between-stays-jumps-a-corsets/#:~:text=Despite%20their%20heavy%20boning%2C%20and,as%20the%20robe%20de%20cour.&text=Stays%20were%20more%20commonly%20worn%20in%20England%20than%20in%20France.
https://fabricforcosplayers.com/diff-foundations/