13 Inches?! SERIOUSLY.

Vogue Italia recently paid tribute to Ethel Granger, in it's Sepetember 2011 issue. "Who is Ethel Granger?" you might ask. Ethel is a woman known for having the smallest waist on record - 13 inches to be precise! This had me gasping for air, as one cannot imagine how this is even humanly possible.
Ethel lived, breathed and slept CORSETS.

Designed to synch in the waist, and fake a streamlined silhouette, Ethel became obsessed with donning this no-I-am-not-sure-if-I-can-breathe garment, at the insistence of her husband William Granger.


The "real" Ethel Granger

He was once caught saying that “if she can outshine other members of her sex in some way, this is a victory worth any amount of suffering”. At this point, I hope that most of you reach for an axe/ baseball bat/ large object with the hopes of doing bad, bad things to any man who forces you to change the way you look in the name of love or beauty.

The editorial was shot by Steven Meisel, and featured covergirl Stella Tennant in corsets and garments put together by Karl Templer. The spread is governed by the notion of "the discipline of fashion" and really highlights the lengths that women go to achieve physical perfection.

Fashion is pain. Yes, I know. But, gasping for air while trying to sip some vino does not sound very tempting. a smaller waist - sure. Hell, yes please! But striving to shrink part of your physicality sounds rather crippling to me. Either way, kudos to Ethel for inspiring fashionistas with her hyper-feminine form.