Corset Lowdown

There has been corset worship by both women and men for many centuries. The form and construction techniques have been on a continual pattern of change and so have the components that are used. If you are trying to develop the desirable shape for you, you might be better informed if you have an understanding of the types of materials used in today's corsets.

Body Shaping Corsets

The really old corsets are usually ones with the least amount of reshaping. The breasts look to be constrained 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

Success depends on two things: a) strength of boning used, and b) tightness of 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 are making a selection for the type of steel boning 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, the more detailed spoon busk was created ten years later. All of these items can be found in our online corset store.