Catherine Allsop Griswold

Catherine Allsop Griswold was a corsetmaker whose 31 apparel-related patents played a role in the Dress Reform Movement of 1876. Griswold had the most patents held by any woman in the United States of America at the time.^[1] Among Griswold’s apparel-related patents, was the skirt-supporting corset.^[2][3][4]

Griswold created more than 30 corset designs^[5] to better serve wearers from as early as 1866.^[6] 19 of the patents were related to improving the comfortability of corsets for women by adjusting the mechanical design.

One of her most notable innovations was a corset that had skirt-supporting ribbons, which helped distribute the weight of heavier skirts over the entirety of a woman’s body and allowed for women to be less fatigued and have a greater range of movement.^[7]

When Griswold was resident in New York, the Worcester Corset Company manufactured her designs.^[8]

In 1893, Griswold's skirt-supporting corset won an award^[9] when it was featured at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it appeared along with other dress-reform items including a bust supporter by Olivia Flynt and another reform corset by Emmeline Philbrook.^[10][11]

A Madam Griswold's corset from 1876 is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.^[12]