Today I shall bring down the tone by introducing a favorite topic to you, my bosom buddies.

Bosoms.

How did they manage? Conducting the normal business of the day with The Girls virtually under your chin–just think, you wouldn’t see your feet for hours until you had your stays off (not that much different from being pregnant or overweight, I guess).

You’d always have something to prop a book on while you read. A convenient shelf for holding small items. A collection point, voluntary or otherwise, for collecting snacks and dinner leftovers (see below).

You could always remove your busk (a pretty Canadian example here, very nicely carved, from 1796) to use as a weapon, an emergency item of cutlery, or if you just wanted to bend over. Interestingly, busks were often hand-made by suitors as a token of their regard.

Now let’s share some real-life bosom stories. One day at work I lost my glasses. I went around the office asking if I’d left them on anyone’s desk. Guess where I found them. I’d looped them into my shirt front, and voila.

Another story, which didn’t happen to me, but to someone else who attended a fancy event wearing her little black dress. When she got home, she discovered a shrimp nestled in her cleavage. Did you eat it? I asked, when she told me the story. She thought for a moment. Yes, I believe I did.

Share your bosom stories or your expertise on Regency undergarments.

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