Corset Story

Corsets have been worn by both men and women for many hundreds of years. The form and construction methods have changed in both type and variety and so have the components that are used. For you to create the correct shape for you, you might be better informed if you have knowledge of the variety of items used in today's corsets.

Corsets and Body Shaping

The ancient corsets are usually those with a moderate amount of curves or reshaping. The breast flesh tends to be greatly flattened and provide the appearance of a minimized breast profile. To develop this profile you must work to reshape the usual shape and typical curves of a woman's body.

Corset Facts about Boning, Lacing, and Busks

A corset really depends on two rudimentary factors to be successful: a) the type of boning material used, and b) how snug the lacing can be tightened. In order to ensure a comfortable fit you can only tighten the lacing so much, the rest of the support is delivered by the function of the boning.

One of the best boning materials is nylon covered steel that is pale white in color and is constructed in a wide variety of thicknesses, lengths, and widths. When specifying the steel boning for the best corset for your body type the "thickness" is more important than the width. Spring steel, when it is of the proper thickness it is somewhat flexible but is quite difficult to bend.

You can also use busk fasteners that open and are typically used with the front of corsets to allow you to dress yourself in the corset without assistance. These did not appear until around 1860 and began with the straight busk, the spoon busk appeared shortly afterward in about 1870. These items can be found in either our online superstore or our online auctions.