Last updated on April 1st, 2021 at 03:40 pm
This entry is a summary of the review video “Burleska Athena underbust review” which you can watch on YouTube here:
| Fit, length | Center front is 14.5 inches high (the longest OTR underbust I have ever tried!) and side seam is 12 inches. Not recommended for shorter torsos. Gentle hourglass / modern slim silhouette. Underbust circumference is 30″, waist 24″, low hip is 36″ (gives an impressive 12″ hip spring). |
| Material | 2 main layers. Fashion fabric is black poly satin, lining is black cotton twill. |
| Construction | 6 panel pattern, fashion fabric and lining were flatlining together, panels assembled using a topstitch. External boning channels (double boned on the seams) |
| Binding | Hand-made bias strips of matching black satin, machine stitched on the outside and hand-finished inside for a couture finish. 6 garter tabs. |
| Waist tape | 3/4-inch wide waist tape made from ribbon, stretching from panels 2-5 (first and last panels don’t have a waist tape) |
| Modesty panel | 6 inches wide back modesty panel (4″ usable space). Two layers, unstiffened, attached to one side of the corset. No modesty placket in front by busk. |
| Busk | 12.5 inches long, standard flexible busk with 6 pins (bottom two closer together). Supported by flat steels on either side of the busk. |
| Boning | 26 bones total, 13 on each side. The flats by the busk in the front and in the back by the grommets are steel boned, but the side bones in the external channels are plastic boned. |
| Grommets | 26 two-part grommets, size #0 or #1, fairly small flange. silver finish. Set equidistantly. Back of the grommets have multiple splits but don’t catch on the laces. |
| Embellishment | 1/8 inch thick round, dense nylon cord. Quite grippy and holds bows well. |
| Price | At the time that I’m writing this: £50 in the UK, or around $80 in the US. |
Other Thoughts:
This is the second corset I’ve reviewed from Burleska (the first review you can read here). Two years later, Burleska had contacted me directly and mentioned that their line of corsets have improved and asked if I would be interested in trying some of their new stock. I agreed to trying this Athena underbust as it seemed to have the most unique construction and the most impressive curves! When I tried on the corset, indeed it gave a flattering silhouette, but unfortunately this piece had been plastic boned as well. The Burleska executives didn’t know that they were plastic as they had been told by their own manufacturer that they were steel – so these corsets are currently receiving an overhaul and Burleska says that they will be more careful about this in the future. I taught them the “magnet trick” to check for ferrous substances inside of a corset (like the steel bones) without having to open up the corsets.
I’m not upset about this though; it takes great integrity in a company to admit that they were mistaken, to listen to their customers and to commit to changing their product to keep the trust of their clientele. So all is well that ends well; I wish Burleska success in the future and look forward to seeing what new items they design for their upcoming genuine steel boned line.
You can find the Athena corset on Burleska’s website, here.
That’s great of them to admit a problem and get it fixed! i own one burleska corset a red and black striped underbust. Doesnt give extreme curves, but due to the stripes being vertical it does slim the waist down more than a plain version would. it is steel boned. Luckily i bought it at a shop so i could feel the weight and could even just about feel the texture of a coiled spring steel inside. This new design looks very interesting indeed.