Who was the Edwardian actress with the 14-inch corseted wasp-waist? 😲

Comments · 430

• AB

  @AbbyCox · 3 years ago (edited) · pinned

  Should Nell Revelle become a reoccurring character on the channel?  👀 (Links to sources are in the description if you'd like to know more about Nadja Durbach's work and Polaire! ❤)

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• EL

  @elenpena42564 · 3 years ago

  Polaire is the true "exception that confirms the rule", the fact that her tiny waist was shocking to people proves that having a waist that tiny was not normal at all

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• SI

  @sianthesheep · 3 years ago (edited)

  You'd be AMAZING at Drunk Histories! What a fascinating woman - we think of this sort of Hello magazine media hysteria and celebrities' media manipulation as a modern thing but by intentionally drawing headlines through being bizarre and "freakish" she basically invented Edwardian click-bait!

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• KA

  @kanon4146 · 3 years ago

  One of the most striking things to me about the "ugliest woman in the world" photograph is how her styling and makeup look so much more 20s than I would expect! She literally looks like she's from a different aesthetic era than she actually was. Fascinating.

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• RA

  @rayanne6764 · 3 years ago

  I love how many old photos from back then are "photoshopped" to have no acne, freckles, and tiny waists. It's no different than today at all! So I don't feel bad when I see perfect people in photos from then or now because they are most likely fake.

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• BL

  @Blonde_Vampire_1984 · 3 years ago

  So let me get this straight? A young French girl has a naturally small waist and then tight-laces it down even smaller than it’s natural size? Ok… this same French girl grows up to become a famous actress. I’m with you. Later she uses her shockingly small corseted waist measurement to maintain her popularity? &nbsp;Oh, I get it now. That’s how she became the poster child for how tiny corsetry could make someone’s waist. <br><br>It also explains why humanity collectively forgot what normal corseted proportions used to look like. Her notoriety for her tiny waist size definitely happened right before corsetting was abandoned almost entirely. I can totally see how her own publicity created something of a Mandela effect around corsets and corsetry.

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• AL

  @alishahunt · 3 years ago

  Abby: &quot;...&amp; nothing left to lose because she was basically 30 at this point&quot;<br>Me: &quot;Um...ouch. But same.&quot;

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• MA

  @marikotrue3488 · 3 years ago

  I never heard of Polaire, but recognized those waist images. Beyond irony that modern day has made her the poster child of the &quot;dangers&quot; and pain of corsets with her literally using that unusual physical aspect as shock value in her own era. The &quot;slavery&quot; situation reminded me of certain social media influencers whose actions are directly designed to produce more clicks by negative attention towards an outrageous situation. Nothing is new, whether imaging filters or shock value news.

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• SO

  @sonimmon · 3 years ago

  It&apos;s like if people in 2110 looked at Kim K&apos;s Paper magazine cover and thought everyone in the 2010&apos;s had huge round butts. Like yeah, it was a trend and butts were emphasized, but Kim K is still the exception.

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• UN

  @UniquelyPenny · 3 years ago (edited)

  As someone with a facial difference my view of the freak shows is skewed. The fact that this was the ONLY way for those with disabilities or facial differences to be able to support themselves takes away their agency and consent. To say they had a choice would be an illusion. <br><br>It set in motion the barriers we still experience today.<br><br>The gross oversimplification of Merrick did not do to address the complexity of why he did it and how he was mistreated even in death. I know no harm was meant just thought I’d add some of my own lived experiences and insight.

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• NA

  @nancyreid8729 · 3 years ago

  You sounded suspiciously like Miss Piggy while doing the lost pig scene; admittedly, in our cultural head-space, it’s tough to do a falsetto French accent without channeling Miss Piggy. &nbsp;I loved it.

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• MA

  @maureenwilliford8985 · 3 years ago

  So, she was a Drama Queen for the sake of publicity, like that NEVER happens these days (she said sarcastically). &nbsp;As usual, a very informative, interesting, and amusing presentation. &nbsp;I love it.

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