In the days when women of every social station wore corsets, and tight lacing was a fashion necessity, a woman engaged in "personal entrepeneurship" would find the repeated lacing and unlacing of her corset a hindrance. Between "professional engagements" she would lace her corset just enough to be functional. Hence, her morals were considered comparable to her corset lacing. She was a loose woman.

A round-heeled woman is another reference to the "oldest profession," describing one who walks the streets in search of clientele -- the result of which was the wearing down of her shoes, especially at the heels.