Corset Background

There has been an attraction to corsets by both men and women for 100's of years. The form and construction methods have changed in both type and variety and so have the components and materials used. For you to create the figure you desire, you should have knowledge of the variety of items used in today's corsets.

Body Shaping and Corsets

The earlier corsets tend to be those with the least amount of shape or curves. Your breast shape tends to be compressed and the subsequent reshaping of the breast mass gives a minimized appearance. To create this shape you have to compress and reshape the regular curves and general shape of a woman's body.

Corset Fabrication With Busks and Boning

A successful corset design is related to two components: a) the characteristics of the boning material used, and b) the level of lacing tightening. If you want the corset to feel comfortable when you are wearing it you are only able to tighten the laces to a point, the remainder of the support is done by the boning.

A useful boning material is nylon cased spring steel that delivers a pale color base and comes in different widths, thickness and length. When choosing a spring steel for your corset the "thickness" is more important than the width. The steel boning characteristic makes a perfect corset because it is pliable and flexible, but it is nearly impossible to bend them.

You can also use busk fasteners that open and are typically used with the front of corsets to enable you to get into and out of your corset without help. These did not appear until around 1860 and began with the straight busk, the complications of the spoon busk was developed around 1870. These items can be found in either our online superstore or our online auctions.