Editor's Note: PBS has partnered with Mercy Street's historical consultants to bring fans the Mercy Street Revealed blog. Anya Jabour, Ph.D., has been teaching and researching the history of women, ...

was all the rage in Europe and America. Way before the era of the Kardashian waist trainer, these ladies were in search of an 18-inch waist. With the help of whalebone stays, tight lacing, and padding ...

Rachel Boddy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...