From corsets to warships?

On Corsetry, I witnessed an argument between to aunts back when I was much younger, which I kind of remembered, because it fascinated my under-15 yr old mind..
They were arguing about going to a dance that was themed "Turn of the century", and had sourced the proper dresses, and were now arguing the hell out of what to wear under it.
My elder aunt was all in the area of wearing period correct corset, my younger aunt, who is only about 8 yrs older than me, was stuck to the idea that modern replacements would do more or less the same but be much more comfortable.
My elder aunt was all on the but its not the proper thing to wear.
My younger aunt was in the area of "Who the hell is going to know, and if they do, how will they ever find out, and if they did, I want to know how, because no one is ever going to see under that dress..."
"But its all the shape"
And then the final seal of the cat that was my favourite aunt "If you have problems with the shape, its more the cake than the corset?.."


And perfectly good friends to their straight friends as well..
I know one from my Biker days who keeps in touch, we should have been closer friends but needs must, and he had to move to the east coast for work reasons.
He was a very good drag act, and had to keep in with his Female friends, as he needed beauty tips...?..
And advice on shopping...
Strange how the Women in his life just accepted him as "One of them" without question.
I learnt much from him on how to keep friends with Women who were just friends without any tension.
He also taught me the finer arts of flirting.... "Just for fun".....
He is a HUGE flirt, its part of him, its quite endearing, and massively amusing when its on key.
He even used to flirt with my Dad, which was quite funny to watch, especially when my Dad got the idea to flirt right back at him, which they both learnt quite quickly messed with my head?...
Yep, my Dad used to wind me up for fun...
I cant complain, we had a laugh about it afterwards... "Look at the cherry on him... he's positively glowing..."
(To cherry up is to glow pink with embarrassment?..)

That is actually kind of making my point as to what I think was one of the main factors at play.

The old traditional guard would have been horrified at the idea of wearing 'mens' clothing; Ignoring that men wore corsets and that high heels were originally MEN's shoes*. However the younger generation would have seen women who were working in the factories or on farms and not been shocked at the idea of a women wearing trousers and a shirt. If/when they tried the more 'male' clothing they would probably have discovered it was considerably more comfortable than the clothing than what they had been wearing before. So while the older generation would have stuck with the corset the younger generation, who probably liked the idea of being able to run across a room without passing out, gravitated towards more masculine fashions. That would not be the first time in history women adopted male fashions after all*
I'm also wondering if the corset was viewed by the more progressive women of the period in a similar way the bra was viewed by some in the 70's. As in something to be burnt and reviled, even if it actually had a practical reason for existing. This was the era of the suffragette movement and the beginning of women's rights and equality, which we might actually get one day**.

(*High heeled boots were originally developed for cavalry, the heel locked into the stirrup allowing for a much more secure fit and a stronger and more stable riding position when standing to use a lance or sword. The high heel quickly became a male fashion, but was then adopted by women who wanted to look more masculine. While men were willing to wear lace, ten inch heels, stockings and clothe their sons in dresses until they were around six or seven years old, they did not want to wear anything women were wearing...that would have been silly. So high heels became a uniquely female fashion item.
So next time you hear a woman complaining about wearing heels you can point out that she only has her own gender to blame. Then run away before she can show you what kind of damage a pair of stiletto's can cause....)

(** <--Is attempting to win points with the ladies by not pretending there is such a thing as gender equality.)

Yes I meant WWI, as for complete gender equality I don't see it happening in my lifetime.