Male Corset / 1910
Wall Art and Photo Gifts from Mary Evans Picture Library
Male Corset / 1910
An elderly gentleman, desperate to regain the figure of his youth, has his valet lace him into a corset. Date: 1910
Mary Evans Picture Library makes available wonderful images created for people to enjoy over the centuries
Media ID 7116175
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10135914
Corset Corsets Desperate Dressing Elderly Gentleman Lace Manservant Regain Servant Underwear Vain Valet Vanity Youth
EDITORS COMMENTS
In this evocative image from 1910, an elderly gentleman, dressed in formal attire, sits before a mirror as his valet carefully laces him into a corset. The man's expression is one of determination and perhaps a touch of desperation, as he seeks to regain the figure of his youth. The Edwardian era was a time when the ideal body shape for men was slim and slender, and this gentleman, like many others of his class, was willing to go to great lengths to achieve it. The scene is reminiscent of the famous painting "The Vanity Fair" by John Sargent, which depicts a similarly dressed man being shaved by his barber. However, in this photograph, the focus is on the gentleman's attempt to conceal rather than reveal his aging body. The corset, a garment more commonly associated with women, was sometimes worn by men in the early 20th century as a means of achieving a desirable silhouette. The valet, dressed in the uniform of a manservant, looks on with a calm and professional expression, skillfully pulling the laces tight. The mirror reflects not only the gentleman's determined face but also the ornate decor of the room, with its rich fabrics and gilded furnishings. The photograph captures a moment of quiet intimacy between the two men, as the valet helps his employer to present a public face that belies the private realities of aging and the relentless pursuit of vanity. The image is a poignant reminder of the enduring human desire to defy the passage of time and the role that fashion and personal appearance can play in shaping our self-image. It also speaks to the complex power dynamics of the servant-master relationship, where the servant holds the key to the master's public persona and the master's vanity is the servant's stock in trade.
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