When I think of the word "Nemo" I tend to think of the Disney character, and of Esther Summerson's father, Captain Hawdon, in Dickens' Bleak House, who goes by the pseudonym Nemo. The word is Latin for "no one." And I cannot imagine what connection it has with a line of corsets. I am sure that the manufacturers did not want one to think that No One would wear them.So that is one mystery. Another is the little sporrans at the bottom of the corsets depicted in this 1909 advertisement. They are actually not sporrans, of course, but "festoons." The word festoon is from the 17th century French "feston," meaning a fancy decoration; and "feston," in turn, comes from the Latin word festa (feast or celebration, as in the Spanish "fiesta").
But why would you want any festoons on your corset, anyway?
From Wikimedia.
3 comments:
Nice blog........
Funny Stuff | Funny Scraps
A blog for all about humor and funny scraps….
It was hard to read, but the impression I get is that these may be for attaching your stockings. It says something like "lingerie models" so I'm wondering if it's the equivalent of a built in garter belt?
http://pastperiodspress.com
When I hear "Nemo" I immediately think of Captain Nemo on Jules Verne's "10,000 Leagues Under the Sea" ... at least I think he was the captain of the Nautilus, a submarine in the days before there were submarines. The mind boggles as to what that might have to do with corsets.
Post a Comment