The Stays, plate one from Progress of the Toilet

Art Historical Context

Step into the witty world of Regency satire with *The Stays*, plate one James Gillray's *Progress of the Toilet* series, on February 26,1810. This hand-colored etching on cream wove paper (image 25.7 × 21.5 cm) captures the exaggerated rituals of women's dressing routines, zeroing in on the corset-like "stays" that defined the era's silhouette. Gillray, a British caricaturist, used his sharp eye to lampoon the absurdities of high fashion, turning everyday vanity into visual comedy. As a leading figure in 18th- and early 19th-century printmaking, Gillray belonged to the caricature tradition that thrived in London's satirical press. His works often skewered social norms, politics, and gender expectations, with *Progress of the Toilet* mocking the laborious "toilette"—the French term for elaborate grooming. Here, the stays symbolize constriction and artifice, highlighting how women contorted themselves for beauty's sake amid Napoleonic-era excess. The hand-coloring technique brings Gillray's intricate etching lines to life with vibrant hues, enhancing the humor through exaggerated expressions and forms. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department, this piece endures as a cultural snapshot, reminding us how fashion has long been a battlefield for satire and self-expression.