This entry is a summary of the review video “Isabella Corsetry Josephine Underbust Review”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:
| Fit, length | Dramatic curves, extreme hourglass. This is a longline corset coming over my hips. The center front is 13” high; the shortest part of the corset is 10.5″ hiugh. |
| Material | 3 main layers. The outer fashion fabric is black satin, then there’s a layer of twill as interlining and another layer of black twill as lining. |
| Construction | Made from a 6-panel pattern (so the corset itself is 12 panels total). It looks as though the coutil panels were lock-stitched at the seams, the allowances were pressed open. The layers are joined together by stitching in the ditch between the panels and also by making boning channels. The stitching is perfect on the outside, but the seams are wiggly on the inside. The lining does not float. Bones are sandwiched between the two layers of twill (lining and interlining). |
| Binding | The binding at top and bottom made out of black satin bias tape machine stitched on both sides; it’s small on the outside, then folded under and machine stitched in the ditch, in the seam between the corset and the binding itself, to catch the rest of the binding underneath. |
| Waist tape | 1” wide twill tape between the lining and interlining, invisibly stitched. |
| Modesty panel | There an unboned modesty panel in the back made from two layers of just satin. Slightly over 6” wide. Easily removable if you want to remove it. No modesty placket on the front. |
| Busk | A heavy duty busk, slightly under 1” wide on each side and 11” long, with 5 pins, it’s EXTREMELY stiff. Keeps the front very straight. |
| Boning | 22 steel bones in this corset not including the busk. On each side there are 9 spirals about 3/8” wide, and they’re mostly double boned at the seams except for at the back between panels 5-6. By the grommets they also use about 3/8” wide flat steels; very sturdy. |
| Grommets | There are 30 2-part size #00 grommets (15 on each side). Black finish to match the rest of the corset, they have a medium lip around and are spaced equidistantly. Functionally they’re very sturdy, no popping or pulling away, whatsoever. On the underside there are no splits – much nicer than the grommets used in Isabella’s Bat cincher. |
| Laces | 1/2” wide black double satin ribbon. They’re very nice, strong, pretty, glide through the grommets nicely and also seem to hold the bow well with little slipping out over time. |
| Price | Currently $175 USD for immediate line. For other fabrics (made-to-order) it’s $250, and for custom fit/fabric it’s $360. |
Final Thoughts:
This corset continues to be one of my favourite off-the-rack underbust corsets. It’s comfortable and gives a crazy curvy silhouette – to this day, I think I have gotten more compliments when wearing this corset than with any other off-the-rack corset. It’s relatively affordable compared to other major brands out there. The only con I could say is that Isabella is quickly gaining more and more recognition and thus she’s becoming busier, so wait times have been increasing for her corsets! However, I’m happy that she’s overflowing with commissions; I think her work should be credited. I could definitely see myself commissioning another piece from Isabella in the future.
Since I purchased one of these nearly a year ago, I thought I would review. This is my first waist training corset(the only reason I haven’t moved on to a smaller waist size is I haven’t been able to afford it yet). Even though my natural waist was 31.5”, I went for the 26” size as I am fairly “squishy”. For reference I also have a naturally large hip spring and somewhat protuberant belly. The corset is a tad roomy around the ribcage, and I could have used maybe a little more hip spring but all in all a good match for my body shape.
I broke it in over the course of 2 weeks as Lucy suggests. At first I was very concerned because wearing it for more than 1 hour caused my back to ache. It was uncomfortable to the point where I couldn’t stand to keep it on more than 2 hours. Just when I started to worry I had wasted my $150 on a corset it hurt to wear, it stopped! Quickly it became so comfortable I can easily wear it for 15 hours at a time, sleep in it, etc.
I won’t describe the constuction details on mine except to say it is just as Lucy describes above. If you’re a gal with a round tummy like me, you will really appreciate a wide busk. It keeps the front nice and flat. When I finally get a custom corset, I’m going to request a wide busk for sure.
Also, this corset takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. I can’t imagine how many hundreds of hours I’ve worn this thing over the past year, and yet it still looks beautiful, feels good on, and shows no signs of heavy wear. Grommets, seams, binding, busk, all are in good condition. Haven’t even replaced the ribbon lacing. The only thing worth mentioning is that it has stretched out about 1.5” at the waist. This doesn’t bother me unduly; as I understand it most corsets will stretch out some, and I took this into account when choosing what size to order.
To conclude, this is an excellent choice for a waist training corset if you have the right body shape for it. I feel I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth from it. It has an attractive curvy shape, and impressive durability.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Bridget!
Yeah, I ordered mine last Wednesday and it still says processing. Which is fine, but had I known beforehand that it would take a few weeks to get it shipped out prior to being in the mail system, I might not have spent the extra cash on 3-5 day shipping. I really don’t mind waiting overall for such a beautiful piece, but they should advertise that it takes a little while ship! Lol ;-P
Hi Meredith (and anyone else who’s recently ordered from Isabella),
Just wondering, did you ever receive your corset? I’m considering ordering a Josephine, but some of these comments have scared me. I don’t mind waiting a while, but if I’m going to spend almost $200 on an item I want to know for sure that it’s going to get here and that I can contact the seller if there’s a problem.
Hi. I bought a Josephine a couple months ago. It did take two weeks to process but shipping was probably 2 days, since I live about 3 hours away (in a different state though). I did receive it though.
I went ahead and ordered the Petite Josephine when it went on sale for $148. It took about 12 business days to get here. I didn’t even know it had shipped because I was never sent a tracking number, so it was just a really nice surprise when it came. It’s a lovely corset and I think it’s going to be an excellent fit for me. Just would have appreciated shipping confirmation and tracking because I’m a bit of a control freak.lol
No tracking number. … order usps priority a week ago and nothing came. Will never order from this company again. .sorry but I’m soo Pissed. !
I’ve heard that they can take a week or two to ship out the corset. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about it; you should contact Isabella for any issues.
Hi Lucy!
With the new measurements for Josephine, does that mean this corset is more conical than the Morticia?
Thanks so much.
Hi Artemis, I haven’t personally tried the new stock of the Josephine corset, but I am willing to say that the Morticia corset had a more conical ribcage when I tried it. :)
Your reviews are so helpful for those of us who are new to the corset world, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
I have a question for you… I have heard rumors that Isabella recently changed the Josephine pattern somehow to make it less curvy, have you heard anything about that? I have an 11+ inch difference between my waist and hip measurements so it can be hard to find a RTW corset that fits. Orchard Corset’s CS-426 barely fits my hips if I order the correct size for my waist.
Thanks again for being generally awesome :)
Stephenie
Hi Stephenie, thanks for your comment. From speaking with several other people who own a more recent Josephine than I have, I understand that the ribcage has gotten smaller especially, but the hips continue to be 1-2 inches larger on the Josephine than it is compared to Orchard Corset’s CS-426.
I suppose it’s worth mentioning that Orchard Corset will be coming out with a level 4 corset that has an additional 3 inches in the hips compared to the 426, but I’m not sure at all as to when it will be released – it may be a year.
Hi Lucy,
Thank you so much for all the reviews! I was wondering if you had to pay duty when it was delivered to you. I am currently living in Montreal just like you when when you got it :)
Hi Hanny, this was over 3 years ago so unfortunately I can’t remember! But I do think I did have to pay some kind of tax on it. I find that I pay taxes on most corsets I buy from other countries.
Huh. For some reason part of my response didn’t make it to the reply post. As far as OTR corsets go, Isabella seems to have some of the better prices for such extreme curves. Sorry about the glitch with my reply.
Hi, I had a question about the Josephine corset. I am considering buying one from Isabella Corset ready to wear line. I was also considering buy the Victorian underbust. My biggest worry is my measurements. I want to buy the size 30. My underbust is 37. My waist varies from 35 to 37. My upper hip is between 39 and 40. The owner of Isabella told emailed me saying that the size 30 would work for me, but I know sometimes sales have a big part of recommendations from the seller. My main concern is the hips. Will my hips be big enough for the Josephine? I really want that one, but I would consider buying the Victorian instead if that will work better. I want this for waist training and I have watched your videos on both corsets. Since you actually own both, I would rather seek advice from you on this than the actual seller.
Hi Rebecca, speaking from personal experience, I find that the Victorian underbust is more comfortable for training in as it’s shorter and allows for more mobility, and it’s also easier to sit in for long durations. If your torso is not longer than about 10-11 inches, I wouldn’t even consider the Josephine for you. However, if you are really in love with the silhouette, then a corset with slightly-too-big hips is not the end of the world, and it’s certainly more comfortable/ safer than a corset with too-small hips! There’s a chance that your body would fill out the hips as displaced flesh has to go somewhere. Or, you would be able to wear your jeans and other thicker trousers underneath the corset without it pinching or making your hips go numb (which is the risk of a corset too small in the hips). I hope this helps!
That definitely helps. I have a pretty long torso, that is why I have had so much trouble deciding which corset to go with. As far as OTR corsets go, Isabella seems to have And yes, that helps quite a bit. Thank you.
Oh, I almost forgot one last question. In your sizing guide i noticed that the underbust is like 10 inches larger than the waist. I am pretty squishy so would a 28 work for me in this one. My underbust would definitely fit if that would equal to a 38 in that area, and my hips would still fit with that size as well. Is 28 too big a difference for waist size of around 36?
It’s sort of been determined that my Josephine corset was an anomaly. I have no idea how or why my corset is so extreme in its proportions, but Isabella has said that her Josephine corset usually has a rib-waist difference of about 7 inches and waist-hip difference of around 11 inches, so this is what I tell people.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I have a disabled child so big purchases have to be carefully though through. :-)
Hi, can you please tell me what the measurements are for your size 20 Josephine corset closed? Around the top(underbust) of the corset and also around the hiplline. Thank you so much!
Hi Angelique, all of the measurements for the Josephine corset are already in the Corset Dimensions Directory (Lace Base). Cheers!
Hi Lucy, just dropping by to thank you for your review of the Josephine as I have been actively looking for a more curvy underbust with a bit of space for my ribs – and finally took the plunge and bought the Josephine in 18″ on sale. I see there is some discussion on possible changes to the pattern – I am not sure about this, but fully closed the outside measurements of my corset (measured on myself) are underbust – 28.5″, waist – 19″, iliac crest/hip – 33″, which to me looks and seems still pretty curvy. For reference, my natural measurements are underbust – 27.5-28″, waist – 25″, hip – 32-33″ and I have obvious space at the top even fully closed, so the underbust measurement may be a bit inaccurate.
Sorry, that should be 20″ external measurement fully closed.
Thanks for your follow-up Soph! I’m sure many people will find your information very useful. :)