"(I recognize that corsets in their "native" form are hideously unpleasant garments that serve no useful function, and I would never wish one on anybody. The purely decorative variety, however, I find quite... well, decorative. Not sure what that says about me.)"

I object. As someone who has worked the Renfaire circuit for thirty years, and done steampunk for ten, I know (and have laced up) many women who *swear* by corsetry. It does the dual job of relieving stress on the lower back and shoulders, and transfers weight to the hips, if the corset is properly fitted.

The characterization of corsetry as torture is largely an invention of late Victorian male authors who have not a single clue among them what they're talking about.