Corset Story

There has been an attraction to corsets by both women and men for quite some time going back several centuries. The shapes formed by the various construction methods have come from a variety of backgrounds. and so have the basic types of items used. If you are trying to reproduce the correct shapes, you need to have an understanding of the materials available to you on today’s market.

Shaping the Body with Corsets

The oldest corsets are typically those with a minimal amount of curves. The breasts tend to be flattened and their shape diminished. To develop this shape you have to constrain and work against the typical shape and inherent curves of woman's body.

Busks and Boning

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. In order for the corset to fit you comfortably you can only lace up and tighten so much, the remainder of the support is done by the boning.

A useful boning material is nylon cased spring steel that provides a light color base and is made in an assortment of widths, lengths, and thicknesses. When you select the spring steel for a corset that will look like it was designed for you the width is of minor concern while your primary focus should be on the thickness. The steel boning characteristic makes a perfect corset because it is pliable and flexible, but it is nearly impossible to bend them.

There are also busk fasteners that open and are used for the front of corsets to allow you to put your corset on and off without help. The busks first appeared in the 1860's and started with a straight simple 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.