Corset Bulletin

Corsets have been attractive to both women and men for many centuries. Shapes and construction techniques have varied. and so have the materials used. In order to create the shape you covet, you need to have an education of the materials and items you can choose from.

Body Shaping Corsets

The really old 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 attain this straight silhouette you are having to "fight" the general shape and curves of a female's body.

Corsets: Lacing, Boning and Busks

Any top quality corset design relys on two fundatmental factors: a) the properties and type of boning material used. and b) the tightening level allowed by the lacing. To ensure you are comfortable while wearing your corset you should only tighten and lace up so much, you can rely on the boning material to deliver the remainder of the support.

A useful boning material is nylon cased spring steel that is typically a light color and is found in different length, thickness, and widths. When you select a spring steel for the best corset for you the thickness, and not the width, should be of primary importance. You can tell when you have selected the proper spring steel boning because it is quite flexible and it is extremely hard to bend.

You can sometimes find busk fasteners that open and are often used on the front of corsets to enable you to get into and out of your corset without help. These did not appear until around 1860 and began with the straight busk, the spoon busk appeared shortly afterward in about 1870. All of these corsets can be found in either our corset superstore or our corset auctions.