Wasp waist

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Wasp waist refers to a silhouette, given by a style of corset and girdle, that has experienced various periods of popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Its primary feature is the abrupt transition from a natural-width rib cage to a small waist, with the hips curving out below. It takes its name from its similarity to a wasp's segmented body. The sharply exaggerated waistline also serves to emphasize the hips and bust.

It is possible to get an extremely small waist in the wasp waist style, as it does not compress the ribcage as much as some other corset styles and the soft flesh at the waist can be more easily compressed.