Wedding corset

The corset for the wedding dress was made of white satin with a floral pattern and white cotton lining before the First World War in Piotrków, in the municipality of Bychawa. It is machine-sewn from three main parts, namely the back and two fronts. It has seventeen oval-shaped trays sewn into the lower part. It is laced at the front with a white ribbon threaded through five hooks on each side of the fastening. The cut-outs at the front and back are heavily cut, the edge at the fastening and the cut-outs for the sleeves are trimmed with a white woollen band called ‘brush’. The bodice is decorated with a ribbon, called gold sewing, and bright sequins sewn in several bands on the edges of the front and back cut-outs, along the fastening and at the waist above the petticoats. There is one band of ribbon sewn at the sleeve cut-outs, two on each of the trays.

The corset was specially designed for a wedding ceremony in the Lublin area. It was worn with a white or cream skirt, similarly decorated in the lower part. These items were made from the best materials the family could afford, namely satin or silk. The bride's outfit was completed with a white shirt with white embroidery and a specially prepared headdress, i.e., a red cap covered with artificial flowers, ribbons and sequins. The corset could still be worn by a young married woman several years after her wedding. She could also pass it on to a younger sister.

In the inter-war period the traditional dress was replaced by a long white wedding dress based on urban fashion, and the bonnet was replaced by a white veil.