Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Basque (clothing)

A basque (also known as a torsolette) is an item of women's historical apparel. The term, of French origin, can mean either a long corset or jacket characterised by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistline over the hips.

In Victorian outerwear, basque refers to a closely fitted jacket extending at the back past the waistline over the hips, to be worn over a bustle.


In 20th century and contemporary attire, the term is used to refer to an article of lingerie, particularly a torso-hugging camisole that resembles a basque or corset (typically featuring decorative front or back lace-up detail), but of more delicate construction and offering little or no figure-molding compression.

Basque may also refer to details reminiscent of lingerie such as frilly lace and cutout, "peekaboo" designs.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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