I think it's called a busk

[Dinobabe]

I know this is going to sound silly (since I don't really sew and in truth I am still quite new to the ren world) but what is the difference between a corset and a bodice? Does one wear the corset under the bodice?

Short answer, yes.  But I will let the more informed and experienced answer in more depth!

[Anna Iram]

I'm not as informed as many of our dressmakers, but I'll have a go.

The corset is the undergarmet that gives you the fashionable shape of the times and defines your sillouette, just as todays modern bra does. This is where the busk is placed: down a front channel of the corset. The bodice was the outer garmet with some boning as to maintaine it's shape, but not nearly as m uch as a corset.

Todays faire garb often combines the two into one heavily boned bodice, though many ladies do wear corset and bodice. I have several "bodices" that are designed to be worn as outer wear but are direct copies of the Queen Elizabeth Effigy Corset. I also have a corset designed to be worn under a gown. This would be considered more historically acurate, but it's all good.

[Kate XXXXXX]

Yes: corset, like the modern equivalent, is underwear, used for supporting and controlling the shape.  A bodice CAN be made to do the same job, but is usually far less boned or stiffened.

[Lady_Claira]

But wouldn't all those definitions of bodice depend on the setting in which you are talking about a bodice? Okay, I worded that badly. I took a costume construction class and according to our text, the bodice is the upper chest/back part of the garment, without the sleeves.

Or... (and this is a thought coming to me just now) does our modern faire idea of the term bodice come from what Anna Iram was referring to with the corset being the undergarment and the bodice being the overgarment. Bodice then being the proper term for that part of the outfit/dress/piece even in the sewing terms my book gave me... The term then later evolving when faire lovers started building the corset functioning into the outer layers of the garb.

Or am I too tired to make any sense anymore? Lol

[Anna Iram]

Well, actually, I think the term used in Elizabethan times were "pair of bodies" for a corset. I  don't know if "bodice" was a term used at all to describe part of the gown.

Like I said, I know there are others with way more knowledge here.

[Margaret]

But wouldn't all those definitions of bodice depend on the setting in which you are talking about a bodice? Okay, I worded that badly. I took a costume construction class and according to our text, the bodice is the upper chest/back part of the garment, without the sleeves.

That is correct, in any time period and setting.  In modern times, we usually don't use 'bodice' to refer to the top part of a gown or a dress, but that is still what it is.

Or... (and this is a thought coming to me just now) does our modern faire idea of the term bodice come from what Anna Iram was referring to with the corset being the undergarment and the bodice being the overgarment. Bodice then being the proper term for that part of the outfit/dress/piece even in the sewing terms my book gave me... The term then later evolving when faire lovers started building the corset functioning into the outer layers of the garb.

Or am I too tired to make any sense anymore? Lol

A corset will always be underwear and a bodice will always be be outerwear.  What has happend in 'faire ware' is that some people have designed bodices with heavy boning in them so they can eliminate the corset.  They are *still* bodices however.  You may also see corsets worn as outerwear.  My friend Nikki makes the most beautiful corsets that get worn on the outside - but at the end of the day, they are still corsets.  http://mayfairemoon.com/

[LadySeasan]

Busks were often carved by sweethearts and husbands as intimate gifts (Slightly more intimate than a pair of scented gloves, being a more intimate part of the body!), and in some museums ( The Victoria & Albert, where I saw a small selection) they were painted, chip-carved and inscribed with love poems...  *Sigh*

This gives me some ideas... 

same here! i didnt place enough boning in my bodice, so now i need to add a busk. and i think i am going to get all mushy and have my husband write his handfasting vows onto the busk and place it in my bodice

[Syrilla]

awwwwahhaaaaa