Archive | February, 2012

CorsetDeal Waspie Underbust Review

28 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Longline Overbust Review (CorsetDeal/Corsets-UK)”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Has very little curve; gives me a more tubular/cylindrical shape than an hourglass. The center front is 11”. The shortest part at the side is 6.5″. Very short, does not come over the hips at all. Even so, I wouldn’t recommend this for people with wide hips.
Material Two layers; the outside heavy polyester satin fabric, and the inside cotton twill.
Construction 6 panel pattern. Panels are top-stitched at the seams, and then internal boning channels laid down, made of black twill.
Binding The binding at top and bottom are black polyester bias tape. Also has 6 garter tabs, but I advise not wearing garters with this corset as it’s so short.
Waist tape Waist tape running through the corset, seen on the inside, made of 1” wide single-faced satin ribbon.
Modesty panel Unboned modesty panel, 6.5 inches wide made from polyester pinstripe on the outside and black twill on the underside. No placket beneath the busk.
Busk Slightly heavy duty, almost 1″ on each side. Stiffer than a standard flexible busk. 10″ long with 5 pins.
Boning 14 steel bones in this corset not including the busk. Single boned on the seams; all the other bones in this corset are spring steel.
Grommets There are 16, 2-part size grommets (8 on each side), finished in nickel. The grommets are sturdy with moderate size lip around, there is some pulling away of the fabric on the grommets around the bunny ears at the waist.
Laces Black round nylon braided cord style. Very strong, although fairly slippery. It has no spring. They are resistant to fraying and catching.
Price Currently ranges from $40 USD – 70 USD (£25 to £45 in UK).

Final Thoughts:
Many moons ago, I bought an underbust corset (“Candy” style) from Corsets-UK. I think I tried it on perhaps twice before selling it, because I felt that my solar plexus was being crushed and my hips lost all circulation. I decided to give this company the benefit of the doubt by trying their Waspie underbust a bit more than a year later, to see if their pattern had improved – maybe this one would be curvier, or more comfortable since it’s cut higher on the hips. I was disappointed. I know that many customers are very happy with this company’s corsets, and if you have the body to pull off this style, then that’s great. However I have to say that this corset did not suit my body type. It didn’t flatter me, and when I had altered it to make it more flattering to my body type, the grommets gave out soon after. I’m sad to say that I doubt that I’ll order from this company again.

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CorsetDeal Longline Pinstripe Overbust Review

27 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Longline Overbust Review (CorsetDeal/Corsets-UK)”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Gently curved, gives a slim silhouette without a lot of cinch. The center front is 15.5”. The longest part of the corset at the apex of the bust is 18”. Sweetheart neckline. Longline corset, ending low over the hips.
Material Two layers; the outside heavy polyester pinstripe fabric, and the inside cotton twill.
Construction 6 panel pattern. Panels are top-stitched at the seams, and then internal boning channels laid down, made of black twill.
Binding The binding at top and bottom are black polyester bias tape. Also has 6 garter tabs
Waist tape Waist tape running through the corset, seen on the inside, made of 1” wide single-faced satin ribbon.
Modesty panel Unboned modesty panel, 8 inches wide made from polyester pinstripe on the outside and black twill on the underside. No placket beneath the busk.
Busk Slightly heavy duty, almost 1″ on each side. Stiffer than a standard flexible busk. 14″ long with 6 pins.
Boning 14 steel bones in this corset not including the busk. Single boned on the seams. The two bones that curve over the bust are made of spiral steel; all the other bones in this corset are spring steel.
Grommets There are 32, 2-part size #0 grommets (16 on each side), finished in nickel. The grommets are sturdy with moderate size lip around, there is absolutely no fraying around the material, they’re not pulling out.
Laces Black flat nylon braided shoe-lace style. Very strong, grips fairly well. It has a little bit of spring. They are resistant to fraying and catching.
Price Currently ranges from $40 USD – 85 USD (£25 to £54 in UK).

 

Final Thoughts:

After experiencing the unflattering way the shorter Corsetdeal overbusts barely covered my girls, I opted for a longline style instead. This was a slightly better fit. I definitely felt that my bust was more secure, and the position of the waist tape was in a more reasonable place, although still not right at my waistline (it was sitting perhaps an inch above my natural waist).

The pattern for the overbust corsets have the same bust/waist/hip circumference as the pattern for the regular overbusts, so keep this in mind. It’s as if they took the original pattern and simply stretched it out vertically to elongate it (i.e. what they did not do, was theoretically take the original pattern and extrapolate the lines to longer [and wider] top and bottom edges). I hope at explanation made sense – if not I will draw a diagram for you all. How this translated to fit on me, is that it fixed the flaring issues that I had at the hips in my shorter overbust corsets, but it resulted in the appearance of a less curvy corset overall. Therefore I recommend this corset to buyers who are tall/ have a long torso, and are either slim/ruler shaped, or slightly apple shaped. If you are a pear or natural hourglass shape, there is a possibility that this corset may not be curvy enough for you.

I didn’t have any problems on my hipbones here in terms of the pattern itself, although the placement of the internal bones at the side seams was unfortunate, as the rigid spring steel bones sat right over a nerve on my iliac crest, causing some chafing and discomfort. The problem was partially resolved by simply replacing the flat bones on the sides with more flexible spiral steel boning, which was a surprisingly easy operation.

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CorsetDeal Steampunk Overbust Review

23 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “CorsetDeal Steampunk Overbust Corset Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Gently curved, gives a slim silhouette without a lot of cinch. The center front is 14”. The longest part of the corset at the apex of the bust is 14.5” so it’s a VERY gentle sweetheart neckline, barely any difference in height from center front to top of bust. Fits like a demi-bust on me and not a longline corset.
Material Two layers; the outside heavy polyester brocade and the inside cotton twill. The binding and decorative external channels are faux leather.
Construction 6 panel pattern. Panels are top-stitched at the seams, and then internal boning channels laid down, made of black twill. The external faux-leather boning channels are simply decorative and have no bones. The buttons and chains on the side are finished in Antique Brass and they’re set into grommets which means that it shouldn’t fall off like other sewn-on buttons do.
Binding The binding at top and bottom are faux leather. Folded under on the front, but on the inside it’s just stitched down and the raw edge is visible. This is typical of leather or PVC type binding as it reduces bulk. Will not fray.
Waist tape Waist tape running through the corset, seen on the inside, made of 1” wide single-faced satin ribbon.
Modesty panel Unboned modesty panel, 7 inches wide made from brocade on the outside and black twill on the underside. There is also a 2 inch wide unboned placket under the front fastener, made from the same fabrics.
Front Closure (Swing hooks) NO BUSK!  There is a flat bone 3/8” wide on either side of the opening in the center front, where these large swing hooks were fastened. I believe that they could have added 1 more set of hooks in the front and spaced them closer together, as I’m noticing that the bones at the waistline are wanting to bow out slightly. For this reason (and because of the mild curves of the corset) I recommend getting this corset only 2-4 inches smaller than your natural waist even if you are able to cinch down more than that.
Boning 14 steel bones in this corset not including the center front. Single boned on the seams. The two bones that curve over the bust are made of spiral steel; all the other bones in this corset are spring steel.
Grommets There are 24, 2-part size #0 grommets (12 on each side), finished in antique brass. The grommets are sturdy with moderate size lip around, there is absolutely no fraying around the material, they’re not pulling out like a couple of them were in the taffeta corset.
Laces Brown flat nylon braided shoe-lace style. Very strong, grips fairly well. I find it nice that all the colours in this corset blend well together.
Price Currently £105 in the UK ($165 in the USA).

Final Thoughts:

This was the first style I had seen of the 2012 collection from Corsets-UK/ CorsetDeal, and I was floored. After so many years of the same classic (tired) designs, at last this was something cool, fun, affordable and usable for more situations than just “burlesque dress up” like their frillier options. And in many ways, it was fun and cool – I loved the rich chocolatey brocade, the faux leather trim and casings, the various chains and other hardware… but it was also a bit dangerous on the top edge. I’m wondering if the models the company used on the site was short-waisted (or just short stature) because wow, the corset was kind of low cut on me, and the waist tape was several inches higher than my natural waist. I’ve now seen this corset on other customers; they’re of smaller frame than I am and it looks incredible on them.

This was the first corset I owned that had the swing hooks. My goodness, I love those swing hooks! However I wish that there were 5 of them instead of just 4. I was sort of beginning to see the center front edge beginning to bow out (it could just be the fabric and not the bones) and felt that could have been avoided if the hooks were placed closer together and an additional one were added right at the waist where there was most tension.

As for any actual cinch in this corset, I didn’t experience much. Yes the corset does take me in a few inches on the inside of the corset, but this corset is so heavy and bulky that I don’t really look cinched at all on the outside – so keep this in mind when ordering. This corset is primarily for a fun addition to an outfit, and not suitable for tightlacing or waist training. This style of corset also has about an 8 inch difference between bust and waist – for example, on that 24″ corset, the bust measurement was 32″.

Update (Sept 2012) I hear that this corset continues t0 sell well, and CorsetDeal has even started offering this in organic materials if anyone is interested. The price has also dropped down to about $120 USD. You can see the corset here.

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Corsets-UK Overbust “Waist Training” Corset Review

22 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Corsets-UK ‘Waist Training’ Overbust Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Gently curved. The center front is 14”. The longest part of the corset at the apex of the bust is a little over 15”. Very straight back, I wouldn’t recommend this for people with swayback.
Material Two MAIN layers, the outer red taffeta and inner black twill, but both have fusible interfacing on the inside.
Construction 6 panel pattern. The seams appear to be lock-stitched, NOT top stitched. The bones are sandwiched between the layers of fabric. The lining is attached to the other layers by stitching in the ditch.
Binding Binding at top and bottom are black taffeta. I would have preferred binding in red to match the rest of the corset. Machine stitched on both sides.
Waist tape One-inch-wide waist tape running through the corset, hidden between the layers.
Modesty panel Unboned modesty panel in the back made from red taffeta on the outside and black twill on the underside. There’s no placket under the busk.
Busk Heavy duty busk, a little less than 1” wide on each side. It’s 12.5” long with 6 pins.
Boning 24 steel bones in this corset. Double-boned on the seams, there are 10 ¼” wide spiral steels on each side, and then sandwiching the grommets are 2 spring steel bones each about 7mm wide.
Grommets There are 24, 2-part size #0 grommets (12 on each side). The grommets are sturdy with moderate size lip around and no obvious splits on the underside. There is some pulling away of the fabric from the grommets at the waist (around the “bunny ears”).
Laces Round braided nylon cords, NOT flat laces as one sees in other brands of corsets. They glide smoothly through the grommets but I find that they don’t grip well, meaning my corset tends to loosen over time. It’s extremely strong, hard to break, but I would rather replace the laces.
Price Currently £72 in the UK ($114 USD).

Final Thoughts

I actually ordered this corset a long time before I finally actually got around to reviewing it. This doesn’t mean that I wore it a lot, though. It was a lovely little piece and I liked how smooth the satin was around my body – prior to this corset, I experienced satin wrinkling up from stress on the corset, particularly at the waist, but it didn’t happen in this situation because it was fused to another layer. That was one thing I did like about it.

Some clients are confused between the difference between the “Waist Training” corsets and the “Authentic” (normal or standard) corset from Corsets-UK, Corset Story etc. In truth, they don’t have that much difference between them. The “Waist Training” corsets are double boned with spiral steel bones, and the bones are sandwiched between two layers – whereas the “Authentic” corsets are single boned with flat steel bones and these are placed in internal boning channels. I do find the “waist training” corsets to be more comfortable than the other style, because the bones are more flexible and don’t poke into me. However I have found no difference in the quality of materials or hardware used between one style or the other. The cut/ shape/ pattern/ silhouette between them are also no different.

The fit of this sweetheart overbust corset is much more comfortable and more flattering than the underbust corsets. In the overbusts, the bust is 8 inches larger than the waist, and the hips are 10 inches larger in the waist. In the underbust corsets, the ribcage is only 4 inches larger than the waist, and the hips 6 inches larger than the waist. Why did they make the hips so much smaller in the underbust compared to the overbust? Anyway, for this reason a lot of people would naturally decide to use an overbust to train in. In my experience, underbust corsets are easier to breathe in (since they don’t extend so high up the ribcage), easier for mobility, and easier to hide under clothing. I just wish that this brand’s underbust corsets were curvier! I did try to cut this overbust down to an underbust, and failed miserably because of the way the bones were sewn into the corset and can’t be removed.

Is it theoretically possible to waist train in a Corsets-UK or CorsetDeal “waist training” corset? I have sorta seen it done in the past (there are die-hard Corsets-UK fans out there who don’t use any other brand), but I can’t guarantee that it’s going to be as safe or effective compared to an actual waist training corset. Even the owner of Corset Wholesale said that there’s no point in comparing a $40 corset with a custom made corset. Therefore, don’t expect a cheaper corset to do the same job as a custom one.

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Corsets and Sleep

21 Feb

This entry is a summary of the video “Corsets and Sleep”. If you would like more information and demonstrations of the sleeping positions, please watch the video on YouTube here:

Whether you wear a corset to bed is a personal decision. I personally don’t think you have to wear a corset while you sleep in order to effectively waist train, but for those of you who would like to try it, here are some tips and tricks to help you get a comfortable night’s sleep.

WHY WEAR A CORSET TO BED?

  1. You may be a hardcore waist trainer, wanting to train up to 23 hours/day.
  2. You may not be able to waist train during the day for activity or work reasons, and you may want to take advantage of the 6-8 hours in which you’re unconscious, to train your waist.
  3.  You may have completed your waist training (have achieved a new, smaller natural waist without the corset) and you just want to do a bit of maintenance corseting in order to keep your smaller waist. When my aunt was a teenager, she cinched her waist only at night and she had a defined waist into her 60’s, years after she stopped training. I’m not saying this was a typical situation, but it’s a possible situation.

Now, everyone’s going to experience sleeping in a corset differently, because some people are light sleepers, some are heavy sleepers. Some are dead still, some tend to roll around a lot. Some have firm mattresses or soft mattresses, fluffy pillows, flat pillows or no pillows, and some are tummy-sleepers, side sleepers or back sleepers. Therefore, not all of these tips will work for everyone.

GENERAL NOTES ON SLEEPING IN A CORSET

Many corseters find it uncomfortable to sleep in a corset more than a few hours. I’ve heard descriptions along the line of “my abdomen feels bloated in the night” and this is partially true. When your body is at rest, the parasympathetic system is activated and this is responsible for the “Rest and Ruminate” reaction of the body. Much of the blood flow is directed away from the limbs and into the core and gut of the body to provide the necessary nutrients to allow for digestion of food and for maintenance of the organs in the body. This is why many people advise that if a person is wearing a corset to bed, they loosen the corset by a couple of inches, which will help the corseter comfortably “Ruminate” while they sleep.

It is under debate whether sleeping in a corset can actually ruin the corset or cause it to wear out faster. Some claim that the added friction and the oils of the body accumulated on the sheets can wear the fashion fabric, while others claim that the corset is designed to hold the body in a neutral standing position, and this position changes when reclining, causing the organs to shift, so causes uneven stress on different panels of the corset. If you are worried about ruining your good corset, you can have two corsets; a day one and a night one. Many people save their older, larger corsets for sleeping in.

Some people may find it more comfortable to have a lighter and shorter corset at night, such as a cincher or a ribbon corset. Some don’t even sleep in a corset but instead a wide leather belt – something with minimal boning to prevent skin abrasions.

BACK SLEEPERS

You may find that the corset causes your pelvis to tuck under, especially if you don’t have a supportive mattress and it tends to dip in the middle. To maintain the natural curve in your lumbar area,  slip a small pillow or rolled up towel under the small of your back, and another small pillow or towel under your knees. This will take considerable pressure off of your back.

ACID REFLUX – some people may find that they get acid reflux when reclined and wearing a corset, . If you find that this is the case for you during the night, use several pillows or a wedge to elevate your torso slightly, so gravity can help prevent acid from leaking into your esophagus.

SIDE SLEEPERS

I find that sleeping on your side can be very odd when wearing a corset
1) because in my case, sleeping on my side requires a bit of balance to keep myself from rolling over, and part of that balance requires keeping my core muscles engaged. Of course, when you’re flexing your core muscles inside a corset, you’re providing resistance to the restriction, which can get uncomfortable.

2) Most of my restriction comes at the sides of my torso as opposed to my front, so when I lay on my side I have a huge gap between my corset and the bed. If the corset isn’t heavily boned, then my hips can shift and this causes the upper hip to jut out, creating more tension on that side of the waist than I’m used to and thus creating discomfort. To prevent this, use a small pillow or rolled up towel to fill the hollow between your waist and the bed, which will keep your spine straight and your hips aligned. One trick I learned from a pregnant woman is to have an additional pillow behind your back to prevent you from rolling over during the night, so you have that support to lean against instead of balancing on your side. You may also find it more comfortable on your hips to put a small pillow between your knees to keep your hips aligned.

TUMMY SLEEPERS

In this situation, a flat-fronted corset might be more comfortable than a Victorian corset. Many health professionals would not advise sleeping on your stomach at all (nevermind in a corset) but realistically speaking tummy sleepers exist. You may find there is more stress on your neck if you sleep on your tummy in a corset, because the corset somewhat prevents curvature of your spine. In this situation it may be more comfortable to sleep without a pillow, instead opting for a pillowtop over your mattress if you need the softness.

Lucy’s Little Life Lesson: When scheduling how much sleep to get in a night, try to sleep in increments of 90 minutes, so can complete a full REM cycle and wake up refreshed.

 

*Please note that this article is strictly my opinion and provided for information purposes. It is not intended to replace the advice of a medical doctor. Please talk to your doctor if you’d like to start wearing a corset.*

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Corsets and Toilet Issues

20 Feb

This entry is a summary of the information in the video “Corsets and Toilet Issues”. If you would like more detail or demonstrations, please see my video on YouTube here:

Going to the bathroom. Visiting the loo. Going for a tinkle or a whiz. Dropping the kids off at the pool. Whatever you want to call it, and no matter how un-PC it is to talk about it, everybody needs to do it. Here’s a few tricks to make it easier when you’re wearing a corset:

WHAT TO WEAR TO MINIMIZE FRUSTRATION

1) Wear a skirt with a corset. Corset under your clothing with garters, then place your knickers over that, then your skirt over everything else. This way, when you need to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to unclip your garter straps to pull your underwear down.

2) Avoid wearing button/zip up pants with longline corsets. Wear high-waisted pants or yoga pants over your corset, and low-rise underwear will help if you’re wearing a longline.

3) You can usually wear a multitude of outfits with a short corset or waist cincher since it doesn’t cover the hips too much. Low-rise pants is a good choice if you don’t have tummy pooch hanging out underneath your corset. In this situation, a bit of “tucking” of your pants/underpants into the bottom of the corset is not too annoying. I wear cinchers most days.

HOW YOUR BODY’S FUNCTIONS MAY CHANGE WHILE WEARING A CORSET

You may notice that wearing a corset makes you defecate less often. This is because food is moved along by peristalsis, a pushing and squeezing action of the intestines, and that natural movement is slower when tightly cinched. This is another reason that it’s important to train your waist down slowly, so it gives you time for your intestines to get used to the change. If you find the corset causes constipation, loosen the corset, and try to cinch down more gradually over a longer amount of time.

Also adding fiber always helps. After I was corseting for awhile, I noticed that foods that stayed in my stomach for a long time didn’t make me feel good. I felt good whenever I ate fruit, soup and salad which all have a faster stomach-emptying rate (digests faster) and these foods also have higher fiber and water content. Everyone will find their own preferences in terms of how much soluble/ insoluble fiber and water they need to feel best. I personally find that foods with soluble fiber, like fruit, when taken with the proper amount of water, is more effective in making me regular compared to just insoluble fiber (bran, leafy greens etc).

You might also notice (especially if you have a longline corset that presses down on your pelvis) that you will have to pee more often. Don’t worry, your kidneys shouldn’t be affected by your corset, the main reason that you feel you have to pee is because the corset presses down on your bladder. But whatever you do, don’t decrease your water intake – you need water, it’s good for you and especially helps in bowel movements.

WHAT TO DO WHEN ACTUALLY DOING YOUR BUSINESS

Before you sit down, please make sure your laces are tucked safely away! Just stuff them under the X’s or underneath the bottom of the corset.

When sitting down on the toilet and doing your business, especially to poo, you might notice that you can’t push as hard. This is because your abdominal muscles and your diaphragm play a part in help pushing out the waste. If their movement is hindered then it can be a little more difficult to get your bowels feeling empty, especially if you didn’t have enough fiber! If this is a problem for you, just loosen up the corset when you go to the bathroom. You don’t have to take it off completely. If you’re the type who only has a bowel movement once a day, this won’t be too annoying. If you have 3-4 movements a day, the constant loosening and tightening of your corset may be a little laborious for you.

Other things you may notice: since a corset tends to flatten your intestines, you may notice that the circumference of your poop becomes a little skinnier. Maybe this is good news to those who find big poops painful. ;)

Wiping is a little different because you have perfect posture when sitting down. If you’ve got long arms, you will generally not have a problem with wiping. If you have a problem reaching, try a different position: squat down a little more, stand up a little more, or even approach it from a different angle. Just make sure, wherever you approach the mess from, to always wipe front to back. So if your hand’s in back, this is a pulling action, if your hand’s in front, it’s a pushing action. This is VERY important especially for the ladies, so you don’t get e.coli in your reproductive tract, because that can cause a very bad infection.

When worse comes to worst, you can feel free to loosen your corset prior to wiping.

Lucy’s Little Life Lesson: If a bully tries to intimidate you, imagine them pooping. Suddenly it puts you both on the same level.

 

*Please note that this article is strictly my opinion and provided for information purposes. It is not intended to replace the advice of a medical doctor. Please talk to your doctor if you’d like to start wearing a corset.*

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Vollers 1808 Velvet Overbust Review

16 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Vollers 1808 Velvet Overbust Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Center front is 13.5 inches, the apex of bust to the bottom is almost 17 inches. Comes a bit over the upper hipbones, and the bust is deliberately cut high. My bust is secure as the fabric comes up and over much like a bra cup does. Gives very gentle curves, only nips the waist in 2 inches on me.
Material 100% cotton velvet on the outside and a poly-cotton twill on the inside.
Construction 4 main panels. Stitching between panels is topstitched, bones are in internal twill boning channels.
Binding Velvet ribbon, machine stitched on front and back.
Waist tape None. Vollers recommends you order the corset 2-4 inches smaller than your natural waist.*Addendum: This particular style doesn’t come with a waist tape because the velvet has a tendency to stretch, and so the waist tape would eventually cause a ridge that is smaller than the rest of the corset, where the waist tape lays. However this style apparently does come with a waist tape if another fashion fabric is chosen.
Modesty panel Back lacing protector is unstiffened and sewn onto one side of the corset, velvet outside and twill inside. There is a modesty placket underneath the knob side of the busk, made from twill.
Busk Standard flexible busk, 12″ long and ½ inch wide on each side, with 5 pins. There’s another ½ inch wide bone on either side of the busk, sewn invisibly in probably in the seam allowance. This stiffens the front but you can’t see the stitching for it. Additionally, there’s a hook-and-eye hand sewn at the top to prevent the bust area from gaping.
Boning 14 bones total in this corset. There are 8 spiral bones (4 on each side), and 6 flats. Like I said before, there’s a ½ inch wide flat on either side of the busk, and in the back there are ¼ inch wide flats sandwiching the eyelets.
Grommets They don’t use grommets, they use 1-part eyelets. There is no washer on back and the eyelet is perforated to split. Vollers says these eyelets are used in heavy boots so will take quite a bit of stress without pulling out.
Laces about half centimetre wide black flat shoelace style laces which are tightly braided. They’re slippery through the eyelets but the laces grab onto themselves so the bow doesn’t slip out easily. Resistant to catching or fraying.
Price Varies greatly with materials used: £195 ($306 USD) in the velvet finish, £165 ($260) in satin finish, £215 ($338) in sequin fabric.

Final Thoughts:

What to say about this corset? A lot of different parts in this corset I either loved or wished were different, and not much middle ground.

Parts I LOVED

The fit of the bust. It was incredible. This was one of the very few overbust corsets I tried that not only gives a daring plunge in the center but also the cups of the bust comes up and over the breast, holding it firmly in place with almost no chance of popping out. It gave a wicked 1/4 side view. I also loved the neat construction of the busk and supporting “invisible” bones. The hook and eye at the top of the bust was a really nice touch. I also loved the quality of the bones and the laces.

Parts I wished were different

Although I loved the fit of the bust, I wished that there was more contrast in the waist. If I were to order this corset again I would probably have gone for a custom fit so I could achieve a greater waist reduction. On the other hand I’m not entirely certain that the corset would have withstood more tension because there was no waist tape. I wished that there were a waist tape in this so I’d feel safer about achieving greater reductions. And even though the 1-part eyelets stayed put nicely and never frayed for me, I would have just psychologically felt more comfortable with 2-part eyelets or grommets. I have to wonder if the eyelets gripped onto the velvet better than other materials, since it’s more plush. Had I ordered the brocade or satin, would the eyelets have held up as well? I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that their eyelets should grip any and all fabrics as long as they are set as well as they had been in mine.

A note on corset/ hair compatibility

Although it’s not at all the fault of the makers whatsoever, in retrospect choosing the velvet was a bad idea just because of my hair. Velvet loves my hair and my hair loves it. Therefore whenever I wore this corset with my hair down, my hair would wrap all around me and I would soon become entangled. Therefore I only recommend a velvet garment for someone with shorter hair or one who tends to wear their hair up.

You can find the V1808 corset on the Vollers website here.

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Ms Martha’s Red Silk CorsetVest Review

15 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Ms Martha’s Red Silk CorsetVest Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Center front is 15 inches, comes over my hips like a longline corset. I have a size Medium (waist of 22 inches). Very curvy hourglass silhouette.
Material 3 layers; a red silk fashion layer, stiff interlining and cotton twill lining.
Construction 4 main panels. The silk and the interlining fabric are flatlined, then panels are faux-flat-felled together. Floating liner inside. Bones are sandwiched between the layers of fabric. The collar fastens with velcro.
Binding None, the edges are folded under and topstitched.
Waist tape None. Ms Martha says her corsets are not for tightlacing.
Modesty panel Modesty panel has 3 layers of fabric, attached to one side of the corset and has a single vertical spiral bone running down it. Also the front has a little modesty placket on the knob side of the busk.
Busk Heavy duty busk, 13 inches long and 1 inch thick on each side, with 6 pins. Quite sturdy.
Boning 16 bones in this corset. 6 on each side are spirals, double-boned at the seams, and two sturdy flats sandwiching the grommets.
Grommets 24, 2-part size #0 grommets. These grommets and the washers both have a very large lip which I like. The inside of the grommets have a few very tiny splits, but it’s forgivable because it doesn’t catch on the laces.
Laces Flat braided nylon shoelace style in black; they have a little bit of spring to them. Bulky, but it glides through the grommets more smoothly than in the leather cincher. Very strong and difficult to snap.
Price Currently $225 USD in silk, $285 in leather.

Final Thoughts:

I am in love with this corset. I was initially apprehensive about buying one of these since Ms Martha said that they’re not designed for tightlacing, but wow is this thing ever sturdy. Despite the fact that this doesn’t have a waist tape, this easily took 4 inches off my waist and tapered my ribs down (temporarily). My bust was well-supported (due to the halter design, I couldn’t booble out if I tried) and my hips didn’t hurt. The outer fabric is silk and I initially expected it to be this delicate layer that I could barely touch. Nope. This silk has not stretched even remotely while I was breaking this corset in.

Now, be aware that I don’t know what will happen with your corset if you tightlace in this – mine has seemed to hold up fine – but there might be a possibility of a busk pin popping or a seam coming loose, if Ms Martha doesn’t give guarantees that her corsets stand up to tightlacing. I’m just putting that out there.

One thing I want to touch on is the sizing. These corsets run small. When I was looking at the size chart, a Small was recommended for natural waist sizes 20″ – 28″. Since my waist was around 27″ at the time that I ordered, I thought a Small would be great. Ms Martha strongly recommended that I go with a Medium instead, and I heeded her advice. I’m glad I did, because a size Medium has a closed waist of 22″. Apparently the size Small has a miniscule waist of only 18″ which would have been far too small for me! So if you are petite or around my size, consider ordering a size up. If you’re naturally on the fluffier side, then you will probably be able to reduce more than me, so order true. This store has the largest range of sizes of any off-the-rack store I’ve found to date, offering corsets for people with waist sizes 18″ up to 52″.

You can find the CorsetVest on Ms Martha’s corset shoppe page here, and for your consideration, here is Ms Martha’s size chart that has the “closed waist” corset sizes:

Small Medium Large XL 2XL 3XL 4XL
 18″  22″  26″  30″  34″  38″  42″

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Ms Martha’s Leather Geometric Cincher Review

14 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Ms Martha’s Leather Geometric Cincher Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Center front is 12 inches, side is 8 inches, cut high on the hip and doesn’t pinch.I have a size Medium and it has a waist of 22 inches. Small has a waist of 18″; each size increases in increments of 4″. I advise you to order the size for your natural waist, or up one size if you’re on the upper end of a size.
Material Leather fashion layer, cut in a ribbon-corset style with horizontal panels. The inner layer is twill. I had to air out the leather for a week before the factory smell dissipated enough for wear.
Construction 5 main panels – 2 of them create most of the shape with horizontal stitching, while the vertical panels hold the hardware and boning. Floating liner inside, and 6 garter tabs.
Binding Black leather; folded under on the front and then clipped short on the underside – common in leather or vinyl binding to minimize bulk.
Waist tape None –  typical of a ribbon-style corset. Ms Martha says her corsets are not for tightlacing.
Modesty panel MASSIVE 10-inch wide back panel that has a single bone running vertically down the center. Leather on the outside and twill on the inside. Also has a 2″ wide leather placket in front.
Busk 11-inch long, heavy duty busk – one inch wide on each side. Quite a bit stiffer than the standard flexible busk.
Boning Total of 8 bones in this corset. 2 spirals on each side seam and 2 spring steels sandwiching each line of grommets in the back.
Grommets 24, 2-part size #0 grommets. These grommets and the washers both have a very large lip which I like. The inside of the grommets have a few very tiny splits, but it’s forgivable because it doesn’t catch on the laces.
Laces Flat braided nylon shoelace style in black; they have a little bit of spring to them. Bulky, so they don’t glide through the grommets quite as well as a thinner one would, but it’s still very strong and very difficult to break.
Price Currently $175 USD in leather, and $170 in silk.

Final Thoughts

This cincher has a beautiful shape – I think it’s one of my favorite shapes of my underbust collection. It is totally comfortable over my hips and feels very secure but not overbearingly tight around my ribs. Because this is made out of leather and twill, I feel that it has stretched out a bit, but not dramatically. Note that the leather did have a strong scent to it when I first opened the package, but I left the corset to air out for a few days in a ventilated room and the smell soon dissipated. Later on I did change out the laces – while the original ones were very strong, it was also quite thick so I experienced a lot of friction when trying to tighten the corset, making it difficult to put on and take off so I simply changed them with thinner shoelaces. But I still own and wear this corset quite often, a year later – you can see it in some of my later videos, like this dressing with your corset post.

Now, be aware that I don’t know what will happen with your corset if you tightlace in this – mine has seemed to hold up fine – but there might be a possibility of a busk pin popping or a seam coming loose, if Ms Martha doesn’t give guarantees that her corsets stand up to tightlacing. I’m just putting that out there.

One thing I want to touch on is the sizing. These corsets run small. When I was looking at the size chart, a Small was recommended for natural waist sizes 20″ – 28″. Since my waist was around 27″ at the time that I ordered, I thought a Small would be great. Ms Martha strongly recommended that I go with a Medium instead. Apparently the size Small has a miniscule waist of only 18″ which was been far too small for me! I later heeded her advice and she was very kind and patient with me about exchanging this cincher. A size Medium has a closed waist of 22″.  So if you are petite or if you are around my size, consider ordering a size up. If you’re naturally on the fluffier side, then you will probably be able to reduce more than me, so order true. This store has the largest range of sizes of any off-the-rack store I’ve found to date, offering corsets for people with waist sizes 18″ up to 52″.

So for your consideration, here is Ms Martha’s size chart that has the “closed waist” corset sizes:

Small Medium Large XL 2XL 3XL 4XL
 18″  22″  26″  30″  34″  38″  42″

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Axfords C242 Lace Underbust Corset Review

13 Feb

This entry is a summary of the review video “Axfords C242 Corset Review” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Fit, length Circumferential measurements are very comfortable; no pinching in the hips or ribcage. Much curvier than I was expecting. This is a longline corset, starting lower on the ribcage and ending low on the hips – center front is 11″.
Material 3 layers: the strength layer is the inside lining – a tightly-weaved white cotton coutil (made especially for Axfords). Coral satin fashion fabric is flatlined to the coutil, and then the white real lace is laid ontop of the satin.
Construction The seams are top-stitched; bones are in internal boning channels at the seams made from twill or Prussian tape.
Binding Satin on one side and grosgrain ribbon on the other side. Quite unique from commercial bias binding used in other corsets. Neatly machine stitched on both sides.
Waist tape None.
Modesty panel Attached 6″ wide protector, not boned but it is stiffened, so it’s flexible but stands on its own. When I’m lacing down it doesn’t need to be adjusted, and it curves nicely with the contours of my spine. Very comfortable. Has a placket overtop of the busk to hide the hardwear.
Busk Heavy busk, 10″ long and one inch wide on each side. Quite a bit stiffer than the standard flexible busk.
Boning 14 bones total. There are 10 hefty spiral bones – they’re 7mm wide instead of 5mm wide. Also four ¼ inch wide spring steel bones which are also very sturdy and quite thick.
Grommets 30 grommets total, size #00 two-part grommets with moderate flange; set equidistantly. Axfords says that they use smaller grommets set closer together for more controlled tightening of the corset. Some splits along the back of the grommets but they do not catch on the laces and are not pulling out.
Laces Strong tightly woven braided shoe-lace style laces; they’re thin, they grip well and they are very long. No stretch or spring to the lace.
Price Currently £125 ($195 USD) for the lace overlay style, but £115 ($180 USD) without the lace.

Final Thoughts:

This corset is adorable, feminine, pretty, shapely… I think this is the girliest underbust I own – pink with floral lace. I’m impressed at how smoothly the delicate lace lays (say that five times fast!) over the pink satin – do I detect some roll-pinning? ;) Even when worn at large reductions, the lace does not pull away from the seams or wrinkle up with stress.

I was initially concerned about the strength fabric as it was said to be coutil but didn’t have a herringbone weave – this was my first experience with a plain-weave coutil – yet it has stood up the test of time, even without a waist tape. The grommets are also still holding up well several months later – I find my preferences now leaning towards more and smaller grommets on my lacing panel as it’s easier to make fine adjustments when lacing up.

The fit of this corset is flattering as well (in my opinion); I like the conical ribcage, and the hip gores make this longline corset very  comfortable over my hips. The shape is quite similar to the Mae Extreme corset by What Katie Did – I am able to cinch down further in this corset than I was able to in the regular Mae.

All of Axfords’ corsets come with a complimentary storage bag as well – of course, don’t buy a corset just for the bag, but only if you think the corset is as lovely as I think it is. You can see this corset in other colors, and other corset styles on their website here.

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