Stays were the predecessor to the corset, typically made of stiffened linen or leather with whalebone inserts, shaping the torso into a conical form. In 18th-century satirical and sentimental verse, stays are often mentioned in relation to a woman's posture and virtue—straight, upright stays suggest moral rectitude, while loosened ones imply abandon. The word itself has a plain, practical ring, contrasting with the more romantic "corset," and poets of the period use it to ground their descriptions in everyday reality. The act of "lacing" stays is a shared female experience, appearing in poems about sisters, mothers, and maids. In erotic poetry, the unlacing of stays is a slow, deliberate prelude to intimacy, each knot and eyelet a small surrender. Their eventual replacement by the corset marks a shift in poetic diction as well.

Stays were the predecessor to the corset, typically made of stiffened linen or leather with whalebone inserts, shaping the torso into a conical form. In 18th-century satirical and sentimental verse, stays are often mentioned in relation to a woman's posture and virtue—straight, upright stays suggest moral rectitude, while loosened ones imply abandon. The word itself has a plain, practical ring, contrasting with the more romantic "corset," and poets of the period use it to ground their descriptions in everyday reality. The act of "lacing" stays is a shared female experience, appearing in poems about sisters, mothers, and maids. In erotic poetry, the unlacing of stays is a slow, deliberate prelude to intimacy. Related terms include corset, bodice, and corselet. Students should note the stays' historical specificity and their role in signaling 18th-century femininity and moral virtue.