Corset Lowdown

Corsets have been attractive to both women and men for hundreds of years. Shapes and construction techniques have varied. and so have the components that are used. For you to create the shape you covet, you need to have an education of the materials and items you can choose from.

Corsets and Body Shaping

The earlier corsets have usually been those with minimal amounts of reshaping. The breast flesh appears to be pressed down and their shape changed to represent a minimized silouhette. To create this silhouette you are having to "fight" the natural curves of most women’s bodies.

Boning, Busks and Other Corset Techniques

A fabulous corset depends on two primary factors: a) the type of material used in the boning, and b) the amount of tightening allowed by the lacing design. If you want to feel comfortable while in your corset you can only tighten and lace up to a point, the remainder of the functionality is provided by the support delivered by the boning.

A fine choice in boning is the use of spring steel cased in nylon that typically is rendered in a lighter color pallette and is delivered in a variety of thicknesses, widths and lengths. When looking for a particular type of spring steel for your choice in corsets the width is secondary to the thickness. When the correct thickness of spring steel is used it is flexible but it is very hard to bend.

You can use 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 the inclusion of a simple busk, 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.