, Victorian women were born into a society of which the cultural values were that it was her job to conform to this ideal beauty. This is highlighted in a letter from the 1830's, in which John Stuart Mill writes to Harriet Taylor 'the great occupation of women should be to diffuse beauty, elegance and grace everywhere' (Mill, 1835 [Internet]).
             The extent to which women went to, to achieve the aesthetic standards of Victorian beauty and elegance was to wear a body modifying device, the corset.
             The construction of a typical corset from this era was a metal or whalebone framework, onto which a stiff cloth was mounted. Lace was then threaded through metal eyelets and zigzagged up from the waist. Every other eyelet was carefully missed out so they could be threaded on the way back down. This left two loose ends at the most important point; the waist. A large amount of pressure could then be applied by pulling the lace ends to dramatically constrict the figure, giving the smallest achievable waist, thus accentuating the hips and pushing u
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