Corset History

There has been an attraction to corsets by both sexes for a long time - 100's of years. The construction techniques and the shapes they form have been upgraded with newer technology similar to the changes in materials used. In order to develop the best shape for you, you need to have an understanding of the materials available to you on today’s market.

Shaping the Body with Corsets

The older corsets tend to be ones with a minimal amount of curves. Your breast shape looks to be contained and their appearance changed to look minimized. To create this profile you have to reshape the typical shape and inherent curves of woman's body.

Boning and Busks

Success depends on two things: a) strength of boning used, and b) the ability to tighten the lacing. 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 good boning material is spring steel coated in nylon that provides a light color base and is made in an assortment of widths, lengths, and thicknesses. When you are making a selection for the type of steel boning 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 clearly flexible but is is extremely difficult to bend.

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 first time busks were used was near 1860 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.