Corset Lowdown

Corsets have been idolized by both women and men for a long time - 100's of years. The types of shapes and construction techniques have changed over time. and so have the types of materials used. In order to reproduce the correct shapes, you need to have an understanding of the items and materials you can select from.

Using Corsets to Shape the Body

The really old corsets are usually ones the a minimal amount of reshaping. The breast flesh looks to be extremely compressed and create the appearance of a minimized profile. To develop this silhouette you must work against the natural shape and curves of a woman's body.

Boning and Busks

A corset of high quality depends on two main factors: a) the characteristics of the boning material used, and b) the level of lacing tightening. To ensure comfortable wear you are only able to tighten the laces so much, the boning provides the remainder of the support.

A good boning material is spring steel coated in nylon that is white in color and comes in different widths, thickness and length. When choosing a spring steel for your corset the thickness gives way to the width in importance. You are sure when you purchase a corset with the best 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 usually located on the front of corsets to enable you to put on your corset without assistance. The earliest busks were invented around 1860 and began with straight busks, the elaborate and intricate spoon busk was invented a decade later. The entire collection of thse corsets can be found in our online auctions or superstore.