西方婦女穿著馬甲已有數百年時間。穿著馬甲可使著裝者上身挺直,並且使著裝者的身體雕塑成爲特定曲線。藉著鯨骨,蕾絲,及拔士克(busk)這些主要的構成原件,馬甲緊縮著裝者的腰部而使其上身挺直,這個研究的目的,主要是以普朗(Prown)的物件分析程序,分析一件1880s年代的羽骨馬甲,這個程序包含敘述,演繹,推斷,和詮釋。結果顯示,這件量產,卻具有高品質的馬甲,其製造公司是華倫羽具。數隻羽骨和雙層亞麻布所造成的堅硬輪廓,雕塑著裝者的身體,使之成爲優雅線條,這件馬甲的穿著者,有可能是中產階級,年輕單身,且受過教育的女性,這位仕女穿著馬甲在禮服的內層,去出席一個正式的場合。
Western women had dressed in corsets for hundreds of years. Corsets function to keep the wearers' upper torsos straight and to mold their bodies into ultimate silhouettes. Whalebone, laces, and busks are components used to construct corsets that keep the wearers' upper torsos erect as a result of compressing their waists. The purpose of this study is to analyze an 1880s corset ribbed with featherbone stiffeners by applying Prown's object-analysis process. Prown's model involves four major steps including description, deduction, speculation, and interpretation. Results show that this mass-produced 1880s corset made by Warren Featherbone appears to be a quality product. Its rigidness is achieved using numerous featherbone stiffeners along with two-layer linen to mold the wearer's body into a graceful shape. The corset was possibly worn by a middle-class woman who was young, single, and educated. She may have worn the corset underneath her dress for a formal occasion.