A Legacy of Strength, A Business of Beauty

In September 2025, my mother, Elizabeth “Peggy” Barcoe, is 102 years old. Her story is extraordinary, not just because of the sheer number of years she has lived, but because of the life she carved out for herself against all odds. When I think of her journey, I see the same threads of resilience, creativity, and empowerment that have guided me in building my own business, Hourglass Corsetry.

This is not only the story of how I came to design and sew bespoke corsets; it is also the story of how a mother’s courage can echo down through generations, shaping a daughter’s values and inspiring a business that is about so much more than fabric and lacing.

My Mother’s Story

My mother was born in 1923, in Kilkenny, Southern Ireland. She was one of thirteen children, and her childhood was shaped by the realities of rural Irish life in the early twentieth century. At fourteen, she left the local school and began working in the local “Big House,” as so many young Irish girls did. A few years later, she moved to Dublin, where she became a housekeeper and nanny for a couple who owned a shop and bar in the city.

In her twenties, she made the bold decision to leave Ireland altogether. She had fallen in love with a married man, something society would not tolerate at that time. She moved to England, both to escape scandal and to find her own way. The man followed her, but because of his family connections, he could only remain in the UK for 48 hours at a time. Their relationship was complicated, and eventually she found herself pregnant.

At that time, there were few choices for an unmarried mother. Society was harsh, judgmental, and unforgiving. In desperation, she turned to one of the few institutions that would take her in: a Catholic Magdalene Laundry in London. These laundries were notorious for taking young women and their babies, separating them, and giving the children up for adoption.

But my mother was not willing to let that happen. She waited until she went into labour before arriving at the laundry. The nuns rushed her into a birthing room, and she delivered her daughter in the middle of the night. Once the baby was born and the nuns had left her alone, she made the most courageous decision of her life: she took her baby and escaped before the child could be taken away.

Few women of that era had the strength, or the daring, to do what she did. It was virtually unheard of. But that was my mother: determined, resourceful, unwilling to be broken by the rules others tried to impose on her.

She went on to find work in the English countryside, in another “Big House” that had been turned into an orphanage for children who had lost their families during the Second World War. She brought her daughter with her and eventually married the gardener’s son. Together they raised their family, and she went on to have two more children.

Throughout her life, she embodied resilience, kindness, and practicality. She valued home and family above all else. In our household, if we couldn’t make it, fix it, or upcycle it, then we went without. That included food, clothes, and furniture. She worked for many years in an educational institution sewing, and as a child I often went with her. I watched her work at the sewing machine, fascinated by the hum of the needle and the neatness of the stitches. Sometimes, when she wasn’t looking, I’d try the machine myself, discovering a quiet joy that would stay with me for life.

Growing Up Resourceful

Being raised in that environment wasn’t always easy. At school, when other children arrived in new uniforms, mine were hand-me-downs, upcycled from last year’s. At the time, I sometimes longed for the new things my friends had. But looking back, I see how those experiences shaped me. I learned the value of resourcefulness, of making something beautiful out of limited materials.

The first real taste of sewing joy came when I bought my first piece of “new” fabric. Unlike the repurposed scraps and recycled garments I had grown up with, this was untouched cloth of my very own choosing. I used it to make myself a pretty dress. It was the first time I felt the magic of turning an idea into something tangible, wearable, and uniquely mine.

That feeling stayed with me. Sewing became woven into my life, from making everyday clothes to creating my own wedding dress and bridesmaid dress. Still, I never imagined it would become my profession. For most of my adult life, I worked in finance, a career that was secure, logical, and worlds away from the creative work I loved.

A New Chapter: Corsetry

As I approached retirement, I began to think about how I wanted to spend the final chapter of my working life. Numbers had served me well, but they had never lit up my soul. I wanted to end my career doing something I truly loved.

I have always adored corsets, the femininity, the beauty of the fabrics, the sculptural shapes, the elegance of the styles. They are garments that whisper of history yet still carry immense modern power. So I set myself a challenge: to learn corsetry.

It was not quick, nor was it easy. It took me over a year to learn how to make corsets to a standard I was proud of. I studied, practiced, unpicked, and sew until every seam, every curve, every lace-up panel felt worthy of the craft’s long tradition.

And so, Hourglass Corsetry was born.

Why Hourglass Corsetry

I chose the name because it says exactly what we are about. A well-made corset will always create that timeless, beautiful hourglass silhouette. It is a shape that has fascinated women for centuries; celebrated, desired, sometimes even controversial. But to me, it is not about restriction. It is about empowerment.

My philosophy is simple: I want my clients to feel curvy, sexy, and powerful. I don’t make corsets for extreme waist reduction; I make them to balance comfort with shaping, to give women a garment that makes them feel more like themselves, bold, beautiful, and confident.

Each corset is made by hand, taking hours from start to finish. I work with a wide variety of fabrics, because colour and texture are everything. Silk, brocade, velvet and suede. Each one brings a different personality to a corset, just as every woman brings her own personality to wearing one. No two are ever really the same, just as no two women are the same.

A Mother’s Influence

Sometimes I wonder what my mother thinks of all this. I believe she would be seriously impressed to know her daughter makes corsets of this standard. She, who stitched to make ends meet, who taught me resourcefulness and strength, would recognise that same determination in the hours I spend at my sewing machine.

In many ways, my corsets are as individual as she is. They stand as a celebration of uniqueness, of women making choices for themselves, of beauty that comes from courage. My mother fought to keep her child when the world told her she couldn’t. I create garments that help women reclaim their bodies, their curves, and their sense of self.

The thread between us is clear: a refusal to be confined by expectations, and a determination to find beauty and strength even in difficult circumstances.

Legacy and Empowerment

As I write this, my mother is still alive at 102. She is a living reminder that strength, determination, and resilience can carry us further than we ever imagine. I think about her often when I work. The precision of stitching, the structure of boning, the way fabric can be shaped into something transformative; it all feels like a tribute to her life and her lessons.

Through Hourglass Corsetry, I want to pass on that same sense of empowerment. A corset is not just a garment. It is a statement. It says: This is who I am. This is my shape, my choice, my beauty.

For some, a corset is for a special occasion. For others, it is a way of stepping into their true selves, of celebrating femininity, sensuality, or strength. Whatever the reason, my hope is that every client feels the same sense of empowerment I feel when I think of my mother’s story.

Because in the end, this business is not just about corsets. It is about legacy. It is about taking the courage of one woman “my mother” and carrying it forward into something beautiful, empowering, and entirely our own.

Closing

When I look at my mother’s photograph as a young woman, I see determination in her eyes. That same determination runs in me, and it runs through every stitch of Hourglass Corsetry.

So when you put on one of my corsets, know this: it is more than fabric and boning. It is a garment born of resilience, of history, and of love. It is a piece of a legacy, one that began in Kilkenny in 1923, carried on through a century of challenges, and now lives on in every woman who chooses to feel beautiful, confident, and empowered.