Carrying around an extra 25 pounds of figure-distorting undergarments such as corsets and bustles, women of the 19th century were trapped in a time of restrictive fashion. “Reforming Fashion, 1850-1914: Politics, Health, and Art,” an exhibition on display at Ohio State’s College of Human Ecology, examines the various steps throughout the dress reform movement that influenced the casual dress of today.Through the efforts of artists, feminists and health advocates, the women’s dress reform movement created alternative fashion options that were less confining to the female body. With time, it became acceptable for women to wear more comfortable clothing like trousers, bloomers and split skirts.The idea for the exhibition stemmed from an upcoming book of the same name by Patricia Cunningham, associate professor of consumer and textile sciences and curator for the exhibition. Cunningham received assistance with the display from many graduate students and staff members including Historic Costume and Textiles Collection curator, Gayle Strege.”We have been working on the exhibition since last summer,” Cunningham said. “My research started some time ago with artistic dress in America and moved into simplified, women’s clothing.”Visitors to the exhibition may walk through the gallery to view dresses from the various phases of the reform movement. With the display is a section for trying on reproductions of corsets and bustles and various antique photographs including one of an all-female OSU physical education class from 1909.”I can’t imagine what it would have been like to wear some of those dresses,” said Tara Clark, a visitor to OSU and to the exhibit. “I have seen them as costumes in various productions, but to wear one would be a challenge.”The Historic Costume and Textiles Collection received most of the dresses on loan from both Kent State University and the Western Reserve Historical Society. “We do a lot of sharing among the three of us,” Cunningham said.The exhibition is open every Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Dec. 15 at the College of Human Ecology, located on Neil Avenue across from Mirror Lake. Admission to the exhibit is free.