Eighteenth-century stays are the corset of 2024 – just ask Taylor Swift or Anne Hathaway

Stays were imbued with symbolic meaning in the 18th century. Detail from A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth (1735). The Lewis Walpole Library

While performing the Tortured Poets Department act of her Eras Tour in Paris in May 2024, Taylor Swift appeared in a custom Vivienne Westwood white dress. It had a fitted bodice and flowing, draped skirts scrawled in lyrics from her single, Fortnight.

While the lyrics have gained the attention of Swifties across the internet, as an expert in Georgian fashion, I was captured by the fitted bodice – a design that was known in the 18th century as stays. It’s a testament to the staying power of 18th-century trends that stays continue to be at the centre of fashion.