Corset History

Corsets have been used as a fashion item by both sexes for the last several centuries. The various shapes and construction methods have come from a variety of backgrounds. similar to the changes in materials used. In order to develop the best shape for you, 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 compressed and the subsequent reshaping of the breast mass gives a minimized appearance. To attain this profile you have to constrain and work against the typical shape and inherent curves of woman's body.

Corset Fabrication With Busks and Boning

The design of a corset is dependent on two underlying factors to be successful: a) the properties of the boning material, and b) how much you can tighten 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.

Steel boning is typically coated in nylon that is usually a lighter color and is created in a group of lengths, thicknesses, and widths. When selecting the spring 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 pliable and flexible, but it is nearly impossible to bend them.

There are also busks which open and are used in the front of corsets to allow you to put on your corset and take off your corset by yourself. The busk type fasteners were invented around 1860 and allowed construction with straight busks, the more intricate spoon busk followed. Both of these items can be located in our online corset superstore.