Corset Revival and the Feminist Reframing of Restrictive Dress in Vintage Fashion Communities

Abstract

This paper explores the contemporary revival of the corset within vintage fashion communities and its complex relationship with feminist thought. Once condemned as a symbol of patriarchal oppression and bodily restriction, the corset has been reinterpreted by modern wearers as a tool of aesthetic agency, self-expression, and identity formation. Through a critical examination of historical narratives, digital fashion subcultures, and intersectional feminist discourse, the study analyzes how the corset functions simultaneously as a site of historical memory and contemporary resistance. Drawing on theories of body politics, feminist historiography, and subcultural style, the paper demonstrates that corset-wearing today is deeply contextual and politically plural—shaped by the overlapping forces of gender, race, class, disability, and queerness. It concludes that vintage fashion communities serve as key catalysts for this reclamation, transforming restrictive dress from a symbol of conformity into one of empowerment and feminist reimagination.