Corset

The corset was worn until 1939 as a festive costume by young married women in Gołąb, Puławy county. It was sewn by Ludwika Bąkała in 1918. It is made of black satin, lined with linen with elements of cotton fabric (length 46 cm, width 72 cm). It is cut from six parts, stiffened at the seams with whalebones. It has a large cut-out at the front and back. It is fitted, laced at the front with yellow ribbon through four black loops sewn on either side of the fastening. One of the edges at the front and the neckline and sleeves are decoratively trimmed with gold and red, grey and pink ribbons, which are additionally pleated. A decorative gold band is sewn along the seams at the back. The lower part of the corset has twelve oval trays (called petticoats) sewn onto it, the edges of which are edged with red tape and gold lace on the inside.

The corset is a sleeveless, fitted upper garment of women very common in Europe, reaching from the shoulders to the hips. In Poland it was worn by all social classes, and several varieties developed in peasant clothing. They differed in cut, length, method of fastening, fabrics used and decoration. It was ascribed to young women and still at the end of the 19th century, like the wreath, symbolised virginity. The folk costumes of the Lublin region often featured shamrock, or an ornament made of sewn-on strings, ribbons, shiny silver and gold haberdashery, sequin and bead ribbons, and metal threads. Embellishments of this type were always composed according to the cut and its function, hiding and emphasising the seams while enhancing the figure. The different varieties of corset embellishments and the transformations they underwent prove that peasant costume was not mindlessly imitated and inspired by urban fashion, but adapted to the rest of the clothing and the difficult living conditions of the villagers.