Corset History

Corsets have been worn by both men and women for the last several hundred years. The shaping forms and construction techniques have been changing and so have the basic types of items used. If you are trying to reproduce the shape you covet, you should have an education of the types of items available in today's marketplace.

Body Shaping and Corsets - The Perfect Match

The corsets from earlier times have usually been those with a minimal amount of curves or shapes. The breasts appear to be pressed down and their appearance changed to look minimized. To attain this profile you have to contain the regular curves and general shape of a woman's body.

Busks, Boning and Corset Construction

A corset of high quality depends on two main factors: a) the characteristics of the boning material used, and b) how much you can tighten the lacing. To feel comfortable in your corset you should only tighten and lace up so much, the boning provides the remainder of the support.

Spring steel boning is nylon-coated steel that is white in color and comes in different widths, thickness and length. When selecting the spring steel boning for the best corset for you the thickness, and not the width, should be of primary importance. You can tell when you have selected the proper spring steel boning because it is flexible and pliable, but it is very hard to bend it.

You are able to also find busks that open and are mainly used on the front of corsets to enable you to put on and take off your corset without calling someone in for help. These did not appear until around 1860 and began with the straight busk, the spoon busk appeared shortly afterward in about 1870. Both items can be found in our online shop.