Caribbean corsets parade London
August 30, 2007 
The streets of London saw an array of multicoloured corsets last weekend, as the Notting Hill Carnival came to town.
Over the August bank holiday weekend, the roads were filled with floats of girls in elaborate corsets, brassieres and skirts complete with accessories such as feathers and wings.
Started in 1966 as a local festival set up by West Indians, the annual Notting Hill Carnival is now the largest celebration of its kind in Europe and draws millions of international visitors as well as thousands of people who dress up and take part in the parades.
The main parade took place on Monday, as is traditional, with pumping sound systems, steel drum bands and hundreds of food stalls.
The girls had started to prepare sewing their corsets and tops with sequins and decorating them with patterns and paints months in advance.
Although some of them may have known how to make a corset top or other intricate garments previously as professional costume makers, many are simply enthusiastic Carnival fans hoping to make an impression as the parade winds its way along its three-mile route through Notting Hill.
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