Hi! This is sort of a silly question but I was wondering if people ever stuck stuff in their corsets like how people today stick stuff in their bras (for storage, like your phone/pen/wallet)? Or did they not have to because they had actual functional pockets?
The simple answer to this is probably a "yes" since there's such a wide variety of people & situations that someone, somewhen could have done that, even if it weren't commonplace.
The more complicated answer would be that it would likely depend on the era in question, the social status of the individual wearing the corset, and a whole host of other factors.
If we were talking about the stays of the 18th century, then those were commonly worn as part of the outer garb - often with sleeves attached by ribbons to the straps. So one could quite easily put something in the top to hold it. However, pockets were worn by pretty much everyone who wore a dress, so for the most part you'd just use those.
Those are extant examples of some pockets. They would be tied around the waist, or pinned to an underskirt, and were accessed through a slit in the outerskirt. If you've ever heard the term "cutpurse" for a thief, this is where it came from - they would literally be cutting the purse (pocket) strings to get at them.
When panniers were worn under the dresses, it was also common to just carry stuff in the panniers!
A working individual would also wear an apron on top of their clothes and it very easy to just tuck the ends of the apron up into the waistband to create an impromptu large bag.
As for the stays, we know that the busks were removable and would sometimes be given as tokens of affection:
Sometimes they had messages carved into them too. They were inserted in a little pocket in the front of the stays to keep the straight flat line. We do know that people would sometimes include written notes on paper in there too. Perfect place to hide a love letter from a secret admirer.
If we're talking about Victorian era corsetry, then things get more complicated. The necklines of day dresses were higher, and the corsets fully hidden so it wouldn't be as practical to just tuck something in as you'd go about your day. Pockets were becoming something which were sewn directly into the skirts themselves, handbags were becoming more common. And for small items, there was the chatelaine. I absolutely adore chatelaines!
They were also worn in earlier eras (and there were similar items worn by Vikings), but they became very fashionable during the Victorian era as a sort of status symbol. The fancier they were, the better kind of thing.
Though they were also worn by housekeepers:
The following was a chatelaine purchased by Queen Victoria in 1849:
So that's where you'd keep your pen, or if you were Queen Victoria, your *checks notes* miniature dagger (probably a letter opener) and pokey pointy stick. Mustn't forget your acorn!
There's bound to have been poorer people, perhaps prostitutes who might shove things in the top of their corset if visible. And someone is bound to have put something there momentarily whilst dressing.
But certainly not undoing your dress to shove something in whilst in the streets/out shopping or something.
Fun fact: I've never actually put anything in my bra (phone, pen, wallet) because one it would be uncomfortable, and two, my bras have always been very full of breasts! There's never been the spare space. I just use a handbag. My phone is a Nokia 3220, my wallet is actually quite chunky, and so when you add on things like an umbrella in case it rains (needed here) its just easier to have a bag.
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