In Victorian America, women were expected to be covered up at all times and always act in an appropriate manner. Before the age of flappers began the goal of women was for their bodies to appear in an "s" shape. In order to achieve the ideal body shape, many women used corsets. Corsets were extremely constricting and could make women appear to lose a few dress sizes, but a small waist was not the only thing that was ideal. Many women also wanted large breasts and hips, they desired to be as curvy as possible. At the turn of the century, even for women to just show their ankles was considered quite scandalous.
"A study of fifty women conducted in 1887 revealed that the corset forcibly contracted their waists by anywhere between two and a half and six bodies. the pressure it applied to women's bodies averaged twenty-one pounds but could reach as high as eighty-eight pounds. Tight-lacing was thus akin to crushing oneself slowly from all sides. As a harsh critic of the corset noted, 'it is evident, physiologically, that air is the pabulum of life, and that the effects of a tight cord round the neck and tight-lacing only differ in degree...' for the strangulations are both fatal to wear tight stays is in many cases to wither to waste and to die." - Joshua Zeits, Author