The 16-Inch Waist Of Émilie Marie Bouchaud

The French singer, stage name "Polaire" (Pole Star), took "tightlacing" to the extreme.

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Via corsetheaven.com

In the late 19th century, "tightlacing" among women was in vogue. Polaire was famous for her tiny, corsetted waist, which was reported to have a circumference no greater than 16 inches (Wikipedia).

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This accentuated her large bust, which was said to measure 38 inches.

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Via retronaut.com

French poet Jean Lorrain said of her:

"The tiny slip of a woman that you know, with the waist slender to the point of pain, of screaming out loud, of breaking in two, in a spasmically tight bodice, the prettiest slimness ...What a devilish mimic, what a coffee-mill and what a belly-dancer! Yellow skirt tucked high, gloved in open-work stockings, Polaire skips, flutters, wriggles, arches from the hips, the back, the belly, mimes every kind of shock, twists, coils, rears, twirls...trembling like a stuck wasp, miaows, faints to what music and what words! The house, frozen with stupor, forgets to applaud."

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She was painted by many artists, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Antonio de La Gandara, Leonetto Cappiello, and Rupert Carabin.

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For her 1910 supposed "debut" in New York, she provocatively allowed herself to be billed in the advance publicity as "the ugliest woman in the world" (Wikipedia).

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Via corsetheaven.com

The Algerian-born performer was 5' 3".

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Her corseted waist was once measured at 14 inches.