Laced through time

A Corset’s Chronicle Of Cinched Waists And Tightened Tales

Hansika, XI B &
Ashmi Srivastava, XI S
AIS Gurugram 43

I’m tight, but supportive
Epitome of a perfect silhouette
I help you stand upright
So, tell me fellows, who am I?

I’m Corset. I’m one of those people that you either love or hate, but what can I say, an icon is a culmination of her bittersweet life. Anyways, welcome to my very own clothing store folks. Here, I sell real glam. As you know, Catherine de Medici herself confided in me for fashion advice in the 1500s, so it is my fundamental duty to impart my fashionista wisdom to this world because God knows you all really need it. Corset dresses, corset overalls and … corset sarees (that one really hurts). What has the world of fashion come to?
While it’s fun to be inspiring, I’m not fond of experimentations. So, when I opened this store, ‘CorseTales’, I wanted to present couture that was authentic. Like this light and festive red dress here. It is inspired from my look in the 1000 BC, during the Minoan Civilisation in Ancient Greece. The Minoan snake goddess was so mesmerised with my slender design, made of linen and wool with gold embellishments, that she made me her dazzling companion for life. During every ceremony, I made her halo shine.
After that, I decided to work with only aristocrats who were worthy of being adorned by me. Catherine the Medici was my next famous companion. She introduced me to all the socialites in France. So, this blue piece with a v-shaped bodice and a farthingtale is an ode to my stylish look of the Renaissance. I was so fetch that I became one of the first mass-produced clothing item ever. Proud, I always stood upright, as people loved me for my whalebone casting that could tighten and elongate the bodice. I became an essential to a woman’s attractiveness. In fact, I was so popular that I became an essential to the men’s closet as well. I was even called a ‘stomacher’.
But the Victorian era was my favourite; all the pretty ruffles and reeds made me look so gorgeous, I could give Queen Victoria a run for her money. But then during the late Victorian era, an uproar of rumours swamped me. The dress reform movement of the 1850s accused me of damaging women’s ovaries. So, while everyone was throwing stones at me, for doing exactly what they wanted me to in the first place, Ines Gaches-Sarraute, a female doctor, provided me refuge. She helped me reform myself into a ‘hygienic corset’. So, this violet dress, with a straight fronted busk and flexible bodice is an ode to her. After the Edwardian era, I thought I would become indispensable, especially after the addition of buttons and flaps, but then came the grim World Wars which exiled me from the society.
The govt asked women to stop wearing me so that the metal used in my creation could be used to make warships. Approx 28,000 tonnes of metal was saved to build two large battleships. Even though I lost my social status, it is because of me that most of you are even born. Finally after decades of overcoming that trauma I’m back to making this world a better place. Now dear customers, which dress should I pack for you?

Trailing tropes

An Ode To Everyone’s Beloved Bygone Book Formats

S Mysha Urooj
AIS Noida, Alumna

Disclaimer: Only for the most intense bookworms and the mentally insane.
Books have evolved from sole hardcovers to paperbacks to mere words on a screen. Although each has its speciality, the generic formats have lost some beloved elements.

Unimaginative titles
Whatever happened to ‘I accidentally vaporised my pre-algebra teacher’ from Percy Jackson and ‘The Boy Who Lived’ from Harry Potter? Now it’s all ‘Chapter 1’ or ‘I’ written in an aesthetic font. If the chapter ended on a cliffhanger, we would like to know if the next one immediately fixes it or if we must sit through a long, tedious and anxiety-inducing existential crisis of a not-so-important character.

Futile reviews
“This is the next Stephen King”, “A rollercoaster ride.” Please, The NY Times, we would like to know why it is the next Stephen King or what kind of rollercoaster we’ll be sitting on. Since almost all books are New York’s Bestsellers, verification from journalistic sources is no help, in case anyone thought so.
 
Clever crossovers
When one breaks the piggy bank and does chores to have enough money and buys all four books of a series, it is a sight so sweet that you just sit in front of the bookshelf. It gets so much sweeter when characters crossover. It feels like an old friend meeting your new friends. Books like ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Percy Jackson’ have many ongoing series in parallel, making it easy to get lost in the timeline.

Whether it is a beautiful hardcover, a fragrant paperback, or a convenient Kindle, finding old formats is always a pleasure. As the world has progressed, stories have always been a sanctuary and realities you can go to when this world gets messy. Maybe it is time for them to advance too!
(S Mysha Urooj is currently pursuing BA Economics from DCAC, DU.)