1.
Fainting couch
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A fainting couch is a couch with a back that is traditionally raised at one end. The back may be situated completely at one side of the couch, however, fainting couches are easily differentiated from more traditional couches, having one end of the back raised. Fainting couches were popular in the 19th century, and were used by women. Some houses would take this to the level of having separate fainting rooms, corsets, One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because their corsets were too tight, restricting blood flow. However, pictures from the 1860s show women horseback riding, playing tennis, female hysteria, The second most common theory for the predominance of fainting couches is home treatment of female hysteria through manual pelvic massage by home visiting doctors and midwives. Chaise longue John Gloag, A Short Dictionary of Furniture, rev. ed.1962, ellis-Christensen, T. & Wallace, O. WiseGeek. Retrieved July 15,2014, from http, //www. wisegeek. com/what-is-a-fainting-couch. htm
2.
Victorian era
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The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victorias reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities, the era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period. The later half of the Victorian age roughly coincided with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe, culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts. The end of the saw the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of political reform, industrial reform. Two especially important figures in period of British history are the prime ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Disraeli, favoured by the queen, was a gregarious Conservative and his rival Gladstone, a Liberal distrusted by the Queen, served more terms and oversaw much of the overall legislative development of the era. The population of England and Wales almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901, Scotlands population also rose rapidly, from 2.8 million in 1851 to 4.4 million in 1901. However, Irelands population decreased sharply, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901, mostly due to the Great Famine. Between 1837 and 1901 about 15 million emigrants departed the UK permanently, in search of a life in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. During the early part of the era, politics in the House of Commons involved battles between the two parties, the Whigs/Liberals and the Conservatives. These parties were led by such prominent statesmen as Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli, Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign until 1901 was mainly a time of peace, Britain reached the zenith of its economic, political, diplomatic and cultural power. The era saw the expansion of the second British Empire, Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era as Britains Golden Years. There was prosperity, as the income per person grew by half. There was peace abroad, and social peace at home, opposition to the new order melted away, says Porter. The Chartist movement peaked as a movement among the working class in 1848, its leaders moved to other pursuits, such as trade unions
3.
Chaise longue
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A chaise longue is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs. In modern French the term chaise longue can refer to any long reclining chair such as a deckchair, a literal translation in English is long chair. In the United States the term lounge chair is used to refer to any long reclining chair. The chaise longue has traditionally been associated with psychoanalysis and many continue to keep chaises longues in their offices for use in psychotherapy. It is thought that the first blend of a chair and daybed originated in Egypt, the earliest known models were made from palm sticks lashed together with pieces of cord or rawhide. Later, Egyptian bed-makers introduced mortise-and-tenon construction and wood bed frames veneered with ivory or ebony, ancient Greek art depicts gods and goddesses lounging in this type of chair. The modern Greek word symposion comes from sympinein, which means to drink together, in ancient Greece this word conveyed the idea of a party with music and conversation. The principal item of furniture for a symposium is the kline, the Greeks changed from the normal practice of sitting at a table to the practice of reclining on couches as early as the 8th century BC. The Romans also used a daybed for reclining in the daytime, developed from the Greek prototype, the Roman daybed was designed with legs carved in wood or cast bronze. The Romans also adapted a chaise longue style chair for the accubatio, at Roman banquets, the usual number of persons occupying each bed was three, with three daybeds forming three sides of a small square, so that the triclinium allowed for a party of nine. The Romans did not practice upholstery, so the couches were made comfortable with pillows, loose covers, for the Victorians, the chaise longue was thought of as being particularly dear to expecting wives. As birth control information improved and became widespread, the chaise longue became less fashionable. The origin of the name is unknown, Récamier, a récamier has two raised ends, and nothing on the long sides. It is sometimes associated with French Empire style, it’s named after French society hostess Madame Récamier, who posed elegantly on a couch of this kind for a portrait, painted in 1800. The shape of the récamier is similar to a traditional lit bateau but made for the drawing room, méridienne, a méridienne has a high head-rest, and a lower foot-rest, joined by a sloping piece. Whether or not they have anything at the end, méridiennes are asymmetrical day-beds. They were popular in the houses of France in the early 19th century. Its name is from its use, rest in the middle of the day
4.
Supine position
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The supine position means lying horizontally with the face and torso facing up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down. When used in procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions, as well as the head, neck. Using anatomical terms of location, the side is down, and the ventral side is up. In scientific literature semi-supine commonly refers to positions where the body is tilted. The decline in death due to sudden infant death syndrome is said to be attributable to having babies sleep in the supine position and it is believed that in the prone position babies are more at risk to re-breathe their own carbon dioxide. Because of the state of their central chemoreceptors, infants do not respond to the subsequent respiratory acidosis that develops. Obstructive sleep apnea is a form of sleep apnea that occurs more frequently, anatomical position Decubitus Lying position Prone position Sleep paralysis
5.
Corset
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A corset is a garment worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes. Both men and women are known to wear corsets, though this item was for years an integral part of womens wardrobes. Since the late 20th century, the industry has borrowed the term corset to refer to tops which, to varying degrees. While these modern corsets and corset tops often feature lacing or boning and generally imitate a historical style of corsets, they have little, if any. Genuine corsets are made by a corsetmaker and are frequently fitted to the individual wearer. The word corset is derived from the Old French word corps and the diminutive of body, the craft of corset construction is known as corsetry, as is the general wearing of them. Someone who makes corsets is a corsetier or corsetière, or sometimes simply a corsetmaker, in 1828, the word corset came into general use in the English language. The word was used in The Ladies Magazine to describe a quilted waistcoat that the French called un corset and it was used to differentiate the lighter corset from the heavier stays of the period. The most common and well-known use of corsets is to slim the body, for women, this most frequently emphasizes a curvy figure by reducing the waist and thereby exaggerating the bust and hips. However, in some periods, corsets have been worn to achieve a tubular straight-up-and-down shape, for men, corsets are more customarily used to slim the figure. An overbust corset encloses the torso, extending from just under the arms toward the hips, an underbust corset begins just under the breasts and extends down toward the hips. A longline corset – either overbust or underbust – extends past the iliac crest, a longline corset is ideal for those who want increased stability, have longer torsos, or want to smooth out their hips. A standard length corset will stop short of the iliac crest and is ideal for those who want increased flexibility or have a shorter torso, some corsets, in very rare instances, reach the knees. A shorter kind of corset that covers the waist area, is called a waist cincher, a corset may also include garters to hold up stockings, alternatively, a separate garter belt may be worn for that. Traditionally, a corset supports the visible dress and spreads the pressure from large dresses, such as the crinoline, at times, a corset cover is used to protect outer clothes from the corset and to smooth the lines of the corset. The original corset cover was worn under the corset to provide a layer between it and the body. Corsets were not worn next to the skin, possibly due to difficulties with laundering these items during the 19th century, as they had steel boning, the corset cover was generally in the form of a light chemise, made from cotton lawn or silk. Modern corset wearers may wear corset liners for many of the same reasons and those who lace their corsets tightly use the liners to prevent burn on their skin from the laces
6.
Corset controversy
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The corset controversy concerns supporters and detractors arguments for and against wearing a corset. The controversy was contemporary with the time that corsets were popular in society, corsets, variously called a pair of bodys or stays, were worn by European women from the late 16th century onward, changing their form as fashions changed. For most of period, floor-length full skirts were the norm. The French court dress of the 18th century, with its extensive drapery supported by pannier, was an extreme, the English had their robe anglaise”. Irrespective of variation, a form of corset beneath the dress shaped the body, beginning in the 1790s, there was an abrupt break with tradition as the Empire silhouette became fashionable. Coinciding with the French Revolution, a revolution occurred in womens clothing, inspired by the tunics of classical antiquity, dresses were high-waisted and loose fitting, with a long flowing skirt. The corset was reduced to a form, primarily to support the bosom. Beginning in the mid-1820s, womens fashion returned to the skirts of the prior century. In a repudiation of the Empire silhouette, the waist became the focus of female dress. The corset assumed the dominant role it would hold for the rest of the 19th century, designed to emphasize the waist, it was pulled in as required to achieve the desired slenderness. Doctors and much of the press deplored the garment but were unable to override the dictates of fashion, wearing corsets has been subject to criticism since the era of tight lacing during the prior century. Jean-Jacques Rousseau denounced the practice in The Lancet while cartoons of the period satirized the practice, however, by the 19th century, women were writing letters to publications expressing their views directly and articulately. The one-sided denunciation of the past turned into a dialogue, Women made their voices heard, sharing their experiences and their opinions, some in favor of the corset and even tight lacing, and some in disfavor of the restrictive garment. Newspapers and popular journals became the media for the exchange of hundreds of letters, known as the corset controversy or simply the corset question, the controversy spilled over multiple publications, multiple decades, and multiple countries. Of particular concern was the issue of tight lacing, the flow of articles and letters waxed and waned over time, reaching a crescendo in the late 1860s, which may be taken to be the peak of the frenzy. However, the issue surfaced long before and continued long afterward, throughout this period, advertisements in the same publications promoted the sale of corsets with enthusiasm. English publications in which the controversy raged included The Times, Lancet, Queen, The Scotsman, Ladies Treasury, The Englishwomens Domestic Magazine, and All the Year Round. In the United States, the Chicago Tribune, looked across the Atlantic and commented, at moderate intervals the pros and cons of tight lacing are hotly discussed by our British brothers and sisters with very great fervor and very little common sense
7.
Dress code
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Dress codes are written and, more often, unwritten rules with regard to clothing. Clothing like other aspects of physical appearance has a social significance, with different rules and expectations being valid depending on circumstance. Different societies and cultures will have different dress norms although Western styles are commonly accepted as valid, the dress code has built in rules or signals indicating the message being given by a persons clothing and how it is worn. For example, wearing expensive clothes can communicate wealth, the image of wealth, all factors apply inversely to the wearing of inexpensive clothing and similar goods. The observer sees the resultant, expensive clothes, but may incorrectly perceive the extent to which these apply to the person observed. Clothing can convey a message, even if none is intended. If the receivers code of interpretation differs from the code of communication, misinterpretation follows. In every culture, current fashion governs the manner of consciously constructing, assembling, the rate of change of fashion varies, clothes and its accessories within months or days, especially in small social groups or in communications media-influenced modern societies. More extensive changes, requiring time, money, and effort to effect. When fashion changes, the messages communicated by clothing change, in the Middle Ages, the European royalty and nobility used a dress code to differentiate themselves from other classes of people. The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast had a social structure, including slaves, commoners, and nobles. John R. Jewitt resented the imposition of this code, finding the loose untailored garments very cold. He was not allowed to cut his hair, and had to paint his face, in some traditions, certain types of clothing are worn exclusively or predominantly by either men or women. For example, the wearing of a skirt or a dress tends to be associated with female dress, hairdressing in some societies may also conform to a dress code, such as long hair for women and short hair for men. In many societies, particular clothing may be a status symbol, in China before the establishment of the republic, only the emperor could wear yellow. Many school districts in the United States took up the idea, by requiring students to wear a school uniform they are less likely to have something to make fun of other students for. This would cause the students to get to one another by their personality. Military, police, and firefighters usually wear uniforms, as do workers in many industries, school children often wear school uniforms, while college and university students sometimes wear academic dress
