The fashionable corset produced a tiny waist with accentuated bust and bulging hips. Young girls were still bribed or coaxed into corseting at an early age so that on their 'coming-out' the might appear with an eighteen inch waist. It was because of this tight corseting that there was such a collection of suitable indoor négligé. The Breakfast and Tea gowns were obviously designed to conceal the fact that temporarily at least, the wearer had discarded or loosened the laces of her whalebone supports and could, suitably disguised in flowing lace and silk, relax for an hour or two before bracing up again for the next formal occasion.