Catherine Allsop Griswold was a corsetmaker whose 31 apparel-related patents played a role in the Dress Reform Movement of 1876.
Griswold had the most patents held by any woman in the United States of America at the time.[1] Among Griswold’s apparel-related patents, was the skirt-supporting corset.[2][3][4]
Griswold created more than 30 corset designs[5] to better serve wearers from as early as 1866.[6] 19 of the patents were related to improving the comfortability of corsets for women by adjusting the mechanical design.
One of her most notable innovations was a corset that had skirt-supporting ribbons, which helped distribute the weight of heavier skirts over the entirety of a woman’s body and allowed for women to be less fatigued and have a greater range of movement.[7]
In 1893, Griswold's skirt-supporting corset won an award[9] when it was featured at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it appeared along with other dress-reform items including a bust supporter by Olivia Flynt and another reform corset by Emmeline Philbrook.[10][11]