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Permalink Reply by Dakoma N. Sanchez on February 18, 2013 at 9:28am

I have been obsessed with corsets for a long long time and finally bought my first one as my high school graduation gift at 17. I had worn them before while I helped to sell them at local renaissance festivals, but that was my first. There are several types of corsets out there for waist training and fashion that are steel boned. Typically your first corset should be no more than four inches smaller than your natural waist, you will gradually by smaller and smaller corsets as you train. When it comes to tying them, it takes practice, you won't get it right, right away, and if you know someone locally that does where them you can ask them to show you some tricks. Or take/wear it to your local festival and have a corsetiere show you how to properly tie them, they are usually more than willing to help. Proper tying is very important when it comes to wearing corsets for long periods of time because they will be less and less comfortable if they are not tied properly. Another thing you will want to take notice in is the front of the corset, is it a busk corset, solid front or lace of front? I have owned all of these, honestly I like the busk corsets best for both under the bust and over, but that's a personal preference. If you have one that ties in the front and back, then you will probably find it easier to tie the back and then lace up the front, but it doesn't work as well for the fitting, to get the right look that way. 

A proper tying technique in the back for the best results has three laces one for the top section (rib cage), one for the bottom (hips) and one for the middle (waist) each of these tied individually will give you the absolute perfect fit. 

There is also another lacing technique used for corsets that lace of up the back that I find REALLY easy to lace and tighten on yourself and that is this one, it creates little loops right at the smallest point in the waist line making it easier to tighten and tie. 

Helpful hint- NEVER undo your corset without loosening the laces first, especially the busk fronts, it will put a lot of stress on you and them. Sort of like the lid bursting on a pressure cooker. 

always keep extra laces on hand. 

Corsets will eventually wear, but dry cleaning or hand washing in woolite helps keep them and finding a good costumer or seamstress should be able to repair minor damage like when the boning starts to protrude. 

I am sure there is plenty more I could tell you, but I just can't think of it all right now. :P feel free to message me! 

Oh and a big disclaimer, I would refrain from corset training till you are in your mid 20's you will straighten your spine (saw my xrays) while this hasn't caused any huge issues yet, it can be unpleasant and my chiropractor was shocked. 

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer McKeever on February 20, 2013 at 9:01am

I, too am new to the corset scene, The Corsets Yay or Nay room has alot of good advise on corsets. I found it very helpful!

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Permalink Reply by Ann Lewis on February 20, 2013 at 4:36pm

If you are going to commit to tightlacing, I would suggest investing in a corset by Contour Corsets. They're a dream to wear and put on, and Fran, the lovely lady who owns the company and makes the corsets, is a tighlacing genius. She has many, many very good articles at http://www.contourcorsets.com about what tightlacing is, how to put on and wear a corset, how it affects different parts of your life, and much, much more. I would really suggest starting with those articles. 

As far as my personal opinion as someone who has worn corsets, you should never buy an off the rack corset if you're intending to waist train with it. I don't know if the corset you have now is custom, but if you decide that wearing corsets is for you, your next one should be. As far as putting it on goes, it does take practice. Before you put it on, make sure your skin is well hydrated and exfoliated to prevent discomfort. You should never wear the corset directly next to your skin. Wear a corset liner or a tight, simple tank top with few seams to prevent the oils from your skin from damaging the corset's lining, and to prevent the boning from causing discomfort. Before putting on and taking off your corset, loosen the laces completely. If it is a standard front busk corset, fasten the first and second to last hooks first, then work the others into place. Once your busk is fastened, wiggle around so it's properly in place, and continue to do so while you lace it. Most underbust corsets have two sets of laces which are used to create  loops in the eyes at the middle of the waist. First, hook your fingers through the loops and pull them out and back until the laces start to get snug. Then, start pulling the top part of the loop and the bottom part separately to fit the corset properly to your ribs and hips. You can also work your way down from the top to the middle, and up from the bottom, pulling each "X" to achieve the best fit. Again, wiggle around in it to get properly situated. You will probably not be able to tie your corset shut at the waist to begin with, and indeed if you can, it is too large. Tie the laces neatly in a double bow, and tuck them into pants or a skirt. They can be tucked into the bottom of the corset, but I don't recommend it. If you need to wear something form fitting with your corset, wear a high waisted shaper over it to hide the busk and laces. 

To begin with, wear your corset for stints of a few hours to get used to it. Learn how to sit, walk, stand, eat, etc. in your corset before wearing it for extended periods. Most dedicated tightlacers wear theirs about 18 hours a day, often when they are sleeping. A corset cycle is important, and it is critical to listen to your body. Again, I HIGHLY recommend Fran Blanche's articles here. Tightlacing changes almost all facets of your life, so it's really important to take that all into consideration. You will gradually begin to tighten your corset until at least the waist is closed, and if it is a good custom one then the whole thing should lace closed eventually. At this point, it is time to move on to a new corset. Some people keep at least two and alternate them to stop them from getting worn out. Again, with a really good quality corset, this isn't really necessary if you take good care of it. Your first corset should be 4-6 inches smaller than your natural waist, depending on your "moldability" (largely dependent on how much fat you have about your middle- thinner people reduce more slowly). You should wear this one for at least 6 months or a year, then you can get a new corset about 2" smaller than the last one, and so on and so forth until you reach your desired waist size. If you desire extreme compression, it will be necessary to train your lower floating ribs, which is very difficult and takes a lot of patience. Always keep in mind that this is a very slow, complex process. If your body tells you to stop, LISTEN TO IT. Do not force your body into a corset. Also remember that waist compression isn't permanent. If you lace down to a smaller size for several years then stop wearing your corset, your waist will return to normal. 

Bottom line here is: do your research, decide if you can commit, buy good custom corsets, and listen to your body. 

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