Girdle
The word girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkien's Girdle of Melian). In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's underwear that replaced the corset in popularity.
Constructed of elasticized fabric and sometimes fastened with hook and eye closures, the girdle constricts the tummy line to shape and smooth a woman's figure, thereby producing a more aesthetically pleasing and attractive clothed silhouette. Most girdles extend from the waist to the thighs. Some included a built-in bra. Older girdles were simply sheaths of fabric that did not cover the crotch.
In the 1960s, these models fell from favor and were to a great extent replaced by the panty girdle. The panty girdle resembles a tight pair of athletic shorts. No one would confuse these reshapers with lingerie. Your grandmothers and great-grandmothers wear girdles. Women wear girdles when the sexy little dress from a few years ago is a bit too tight.
Both models of girdles usually include garters to hold up stockings.
Girdles are to corsets what white cottons are to sexy panties - they aren't.
