the.com/bodice
The fitted upper half of a dress, perpetually on the verge of being ripped.
means The close-fitting part of a woman's dress covering the torso from neck to waist.
from From bodies, the plural of body — once stiffened garments were called a pair of bodies, eventually slurred into bodice while the meaning stayed singular.
Grammar fossilA plural that quietly became singular.
Romance genreLent its name to the bodice-ripper novel.
Built-in scaffoldingOften stiffened with whalebone or steel boning.