Cinderella and Corsets

The new live action movie Cinderella which hit theaters march 13, 2015 and stars Cate Blanchett (stepmother), Lilly James (Cinderella), and Helena Bonham Carter (fairy godmother), is stirring up controversy over Lilly James' incredibly small looking waist. Some people suspected her waist was digitally altered until the public learned that her hour-glass figure was due to her wearing a corset.

When James described wearing the corset for filming she mentioned that she had to stay on a liquid diet to fit in to the corset. Because filming lasted so long, and the corset was so difficult to tie and untie just for James to eat, she stuck to a liquid diet of soup so that her food could be more easily digested under the constricting corset.


A lot of criticism has been placed on James herself who has retaliated by defending her body by saying she is very healthy and always has been. Her naturally small waist was just emphasized by the corset (which is designed to make waists appear smaller!) Contrasting her waist to the extremely wide and full skirt of her iconic gown only made it look more dramatic.


While Disney did heavily market this film towards younger audiences, they are not the only people in Hollywood who are taking part in the new corset-craze. Models all over the country as well as all three of the Kardashians have posted picture on social media of them wearing the new waist-training corsets.

     

Just like almost everything in life, corsets have the potential of becoming dangerous and unhealthy. In regards to the making of Cinderella  Lilly James was closely monitored, and nutritionists made sure she was getting enough essential vitamins and minerals. The corset was used for aesthetic purposes in the film but unfortunately the trend is taking off. How far will it go? We will just have to wait and see.