Shown is an 1880s corset, available on the Meg Andrews web site, of bronze sateen cotton with a spoon busk and steel supports. The buff colored casings of the corset are embroidered with terracotta, yellow and cream twisted silk flowers across the top and the bottom. The top of the corset is trimmed with a machine-made braid in similar colors.
The registration mark, The Y & N Corset in an oval with The Y & N Diagonal Seam trademark Awarded Three Gold Medals, is stamped on the white cotton inside. The front opening of the corset has steel closures imprinted with "YN" -- the center with a taupe-colored tape woven with Y & N Diagonal Seam. The back of the corset has steel eyelet holes for a laced closing. |
The corset laced up the center-back to achieve the correct degree of tightness to fit the wearer’s figure, thus the term “tight lacing.” There were hooks and eyes at the center front for easier removal. 
The corset was worn over a cotton chemise and not directly next to the skin.
