I am super late to the corset discorse but I wanted to say: sport corsets existed. It was a corset modeled to not affect mobility at the expense of some support. Mobility was possible in pretty much all corsets, but especially in sport corsets which, if a part of a character's daily Get Ready routine, wouldn't impact their time by much. Yes, they'd have to forgo it in an emergency however and I would assume inspectors wouldn't appreciate them because of the boning and time restraints of an examination (but it would be an easy way to sabotage them if the inspector is on a time limit per visit). This isn't to shove you into a position of making characters wear corsets, I'd like to preface: this is just a clarification that it wouldn't be as cumbersome as previously assumed. Many people used servants because it's a hassle because of layering to change, since most rich people changed multiple times a day for different times of day (ex: tea time outside, riding horses, archery, dancing, book reading) since outfits would change depending on activity and if it was for daywear/evening-wear/nightwear and if they were inside/outside. Regular people only wore outfit a day and a nightgown. So though it was most helpful if family and lovers and roommates helped someone get ready in the same way that a servant would, it'd be like the same as saying it's helpful to ask someone else to zip your dress up. Because you can do the zipping up yourself-- it's just a tad bit more cumbersome. Afterall, most historical intrepretors/reinactors and people who dress in historic fashion for fun don't use servants and usually are the only ones in their households who know how to lace themselves up and, therefore, have to do it themselves. One such example is Lady Rebecca Fashions on youtube, who has a great "How 8 Different Historical Corsets Affect The Same Plus Size Body" video where she laces herself up in every one since not every corset has the same type of lacing. If these ROs are given a specific 15 minutes to get ready timer or something similar and are kept on a strict wake-up/sleep schedule, then that'd be a problem. But in the same way that many people wake up earlier to have time to put on their make-up, certain characters could have the wiggle room to wear a corset daily. If they cared to. And if regulations allowed. And if you wanted to write that out, haha. It's your story again though, you don't have to listen to me. I just wanted to add another 2 cents in since it didn't appear to have been brought up before. Again, you can do whatever you want. Your story is magnificent and I am having a great time with it, so in any way that my limited experience can help, I want to be able to offer it... anonymously, hahaha (Also, I reccomend NotYourMomma'sHistory, also on youtube, as a black plus-size history intrepretator/reinactor, who sometimes discusses ways in which people of color dressed differently than what was mainstream! She's been helping me a lot in my education and I really enjoy her research. I can easily name more fashion historians, including those that are people of color, if you want more points of research. The community is small and pretty close-knitted though, so it's easy so find more to follow based on collabs and reccomendations, so I also have faith in you to do well in your own personal research journey. Good luck!)
Between all the other things people have sent me about corsets I think it’s possible for some characters to entertain the idea--namely Isla I could see being a corset wearer.
The others may indulge for specific instances--like company parties or something like that lol, but probably refrain during fieldwork. Isla though is definitely someone who would wake up early to put on a corset (and be a dozy grumpy mess the whole time)
I do think Danny would also indulge but being that harpy corsets would have to be glamoured they probably either don’t have any bc of the cost or saved up for one they wear on special occasions or just when they feel fancy ;P
I’ll definitely check out your recs though too 👀
