Story: Body shape and dieting

Until the mid-20th century, foundation garments such as corsets were the most reliable way for women to achieve the ideal figure, as they compressed flab and enhanced desirable curves. This woman models a Berlei girdle for an advertisement of the 1930s. Tellingly, in the background is a statue of the Venus de Milo, then widely believed to have the ideal measurements of 33–26–38 inches (84–66–97 centimetres).