There were many campaigning groups that were agitating around fashion reform.
In the 19th Century women's clothing had grown even more restrictive and heavy than in the 18th, and groups like the Rational Dress Society and the Healthy Artistic Dress Union demanded a change.
David Doughan, who for 23 years was the librarian at the Fawcett Library and who is one of the authors of the Dictionary of British Women's Organisations, looks at the fight against the cult of the corset. Dictionary of British Women's Organisations, 1825-1960 Peter Gordon (Editor), David Doughan (Editor), Sheila Rowbotham Woburn Press, Frank Cass Publishers; ISBN: 0713002239
