Bodices

Originally, tight fitting, sleeveless garments for the torso and bust, quilted and strengthened with whalebone, worn chiefly by women, but also by men. Bodices were typically cross-laced at the side or back, and worn over a blouse or chemise. The term comes from "a pair of bodies," the use of the plural referring to the fact that the garment was made in two pieces laced together. The term also now refers to the generally tight-fitting upper part of a woman's dress or to any tight-fitting outer vest or waistcoat.