Child's Stays
Artist/maker unknown, American
Geography:
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
c. 1770-1790Medium:
Linen plain weave, baleen (whalebone), silk braided tapeDimensions:
Center Front Length: 5 3/4 inches (14.6 cm) Waist: 18 inches (45.7 cm)Curatorial Department:
Costume and TextilesObject Location:
1988-15-1Credit Line:
Purchased with the Bloomfield Moore Fund, 1988
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
c. 1770-1790Medium:
Linen plain weave, baleen (whalebone), silk braided tapeDimensions:
Center Front Length: 5 3/4 inches (14.6 cm) Waist: 18 inches (45.7 cm)Curatorial Department:
Costume and TextilesObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1988-15-1Credit Line:
Purchased with the Bloomfield Moore Fund, 1988
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This pair of stays is only eighteen inches around, and might have been worn by a small child of eighteen months to two years old. Putting stays on young girls and boys was not seen as harsh, but rather as insurance that their figures would develop the correct form, with chest out and shoulders down. While boys usually wore stays only in early childhood, they were considered essential for females throughout their lives.
