• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
heaving bosoms
November 15, 2012

Twenty-Five Period Dramas That Make Us Want to Wear Corsets

By Sally Holmes

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Mary Evans/Everett Collection

With the opening of the Anna Karenina and Keira Knightley’s grand return to period costume, we are reminded why women used to squeeze themselves into lethally restrictive undergarments. Sure, corsets are basically the antithesis to all things feminist and sensible, not to mention the whole rib-cracking, lung-restricting, fainting thing. But the buoyant butt-boobs! That romantic, brocade-draped silhouette, perfect for palace intrigue! From Gone With the Wind to Amadeus to Titantic, take a look at 25 period dramas with costumes so sumptuous and visuals so dazzling that we’d almost subject ourselves with corsets to live in their worlds. Almost.

View
1 / 25 Photos
Doctor Zhivago  Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Titanic  Photo: 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Amadeus  Photo: Saul Zaentz Company/Everett Collection
The Duchess  Photo: Nick Wall/Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Gone With the Wind  Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Marie Antoinette  Photo: Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Curse of the Golden Flower  Photo: Sony Pictures/Everett Collection
The Young Victoria  Photo: Everett Collection
Much Ado About Nothing  Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Dangerous Liaisons  Photo: Mary Evans/Everett Collection
Quills  Photo: 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Vanity Fair  Photo: Focus Films/Everett Collection
Pirates of the Caribbean  Photo: Walt Disney Co./Everett Collection
Great Expectations  Photo: Everett Collection
Valmont  Photo: Mary Evans/Everett Collection
Elizabeth  Photo: Mary Evans/Everett Collection
Cold Mountain  Photo: Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Libertine  Photo: Mary Evans/Everett Collection
The Mask of Zorro  Photo: Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
Barry Lyndon  Photo: Everett Collection
Wild Wild West  Photo: Warner Bros/Everett Collection
Shakespeare in Love  Photo: Miramax/Everett Collection
The Phantom of the Opera  Photo: Warner Bros/Everett Collection
The Age of Innocence  Photo: Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
The Piano  Photo: Miramax/Everett Collection
1 / 25

Tags:

  • heaving bosoms
  • butts
  • boobs
  • keira knightley
  • anna karenina
  • corsets
  • titanic
  • kate winslet
  • kirsten dunst
  • fame
  • slideshows
  • More

More Galleries

Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 28, 2022
How Were The Oscars After Party Looks Better Than The Actual Award Looks?  Finally, some fun. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 27, 2022
All the Looks From the 2022 Oscars Red Carpet  Zendaya, Regina Hall, Timothée Chalamet, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Ariana DeBose, and more. 
style Mar. 22, 2022
Bridgerton Season 2 Premiere: All the Red-Carpet Looks 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.