Corset Background

There has been corset worship by both women and men for many centuries. The form and construction methods have changed in both type and variety and so have the basic types of items used. If you are trying to reproduce the shape you covet, you need to have an understanding of the materials available to you on today’s market.

Shaping the Body with Corsets

The older corsets are typically those with a minimal amount of curves. Your breast shape looks to be flattened and their shape diminished. To attain this straight silhouette you have to constrain and work against the typical shape and inherent curves of woman's body.

Busks and Boning

A great corset design depends on two main factors: a) the properties and type of boning material used. and b) the tightening level allowed by 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 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 quite flexible and it is extremely hard to bend.

There are also busk fasteners that open and are used for the front of corsets to allow you to slide into and out of your corset without another person's help. The first time busks were used was near 1860 and started with a straight simple busk, today's spoon busk was created more than a decade later. All of these corsets can be found in either our corset superstore or our corset auctions.