Corset Report

Corsets have been attractive to both men and women for hundreds of years. The construction techniques and the shapes they form have been upgraded with newer technology similar to the modernization in the materials and items used. If you are trying to reproduce the shape you covet, you need to have an education of the types of items available in today's marketplace.

Corsets for Shaping the Body

The corsets from earlier times have usually been those with minimal amounts of reshaping. The breasts appear to be pressed down and their shape changed to represent a minimized silouhette. To create this silhouette you have to contain and fight the usual shape and typical curves of a woman's body.

Boning, Busks and Other Corset Techniques

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, you can rely on the boning material to deliver the remainder of the support.

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. You can tell when you have selected the proper spring steel boning because it is really flexible but it is almost impossible to bend.

You can also use busk fasteners that open and are typically used with the front of corsets to enable you to put on and take off your corset without calling someone in for help. The busks made their debut around 1860 and initiated with a very simple busk, the more complicated spoon busk was developed in the 1870's. These items can be found in either our online superstore or our online auctions.