Corset History

Corsets have been worn by both men and women for the last several hundred years. The shaping forms and construction techniques have been changing and so have the basic types of items used. If you are trying to reproduce the figure you covet, you should have an education of the types of items available in today's marketplace.

Using Corsets to Shape the Body

The oldest created corsets have usually produces figures with a minimal amount of curves or shapes. The breasts appear to be in compression and their appearance changed to look minimized. To create this profile you must work against the natural shape and curves of a woman's body.

Corsets: Lacing, Boning and Busks

A corset of high quality depends on two main factors: a) the characteristics of the boning material used, and b) the level of lacing tightening. In order for you to have a comfortable feeling while wearing your corset you are capable of lacing up only so much, you should rely on the boning material to provide the rest of the structural support.

One of the most popular types of boning is steel boning covered in nylon that is white in color and comes in different widths, thickness and length. When choosing a spring steel for your corset the thickness is of primary importance. When the right spring steel is used it is pliable but it is really hard to bend.

Busk fasteners are also used, they open and are mainly used on 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 allowed construction with straight busks, the modern spoon busk was developed approximately ten years later. These corsets call all be found in our online corset superstore.