Last updated on April 3rd, 2021 at 06:47 pm
This entry is a summary of the review video “Gallery Serpentine Victorian 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 | Victorian Hourglass shape, nice moderate curves. Center front is 13”. Stops just at the upper hips, it is not longline. One “pro” is the unique feature of how low the corset stops on the back, it curves nicely over the top of the bum instead of cutting into it. One “con” is how distended my torso looks in profile. |
| Material | 3 main layers – the outer satin, a thick cotton non-woven interfacting as interlining, and black twill lining. |
| Construction | Made from a 4-panel pattern. The satin and the heavy interlining are either flat-felled or fused together (depending on whether the interfacing was fusible or not), then those panels are topstitched at the seams. Bones are placed either in the seam allowances between the panels, or internal channels are made with twill tape. |
| Binding | Binding at top and bottom are made from black satin bias tape. Folded under nicely on the outside; on the inside the raw edge is serged to prevent fraying and just stitched down flat. |
| Waist tape | None. |
| Modesty panel | None. To get a modesty panel costs another $15 from the website. |
| Busk | Standard busk (flexible), half an inch wide and 12” long, and 6 pins. |
| Boning | 12 bones total in this corset, 6 on each side. All of them are plastic. These are heavier-duty polypropeline bones but I would still prefer steel. To get the steel bone upgrade costs another $15 from the website. |
| Grommets | There are 18 2-part size #0 grommets (9 on each side) and have a medium flange. They’re spaced 1.5” apart on the top and bottom and are spaced closer together (1” apart) at the waist for better cinching control. Grommets are very sturdy, no popping out, no fraying. However I would have preferred to have 10 more grommets because lacing down is difficult on the top and bottom. On the underside there are no splits; they’re nicely set. |
| Laces | The laces I received with this corset are reportedly not the original laces. The laces I got are 1/4″ wide single faced satin ribbon, quite slippery and difficult to grip. The laces that I have read now come with the corset are black shoelace-style laces. |
| Price | Currently $190 (AUD) for basic fabric and standard sizes. $210 for made-to-measure, and add $10 more for Asian brocade fabrics. Note that steel bones/modesty panel also cost extra. |
Final Thoughts:
This… was not my favourite style. A lot of people noticed that my review was blasé. Perhaps my review would have been more fair if I had spent some extra funds to get a made-to-measure item with steel bones, but for financial reasons and accessibility, this was the right option at the time. I doubt I would buy from them again, but I guess I should never say never. Many of their happier customers have contacted me to say that their corsets are much more flattering, better constructed and include things like a modesty panel, so perhaps there are several makers for that company and there are inconsistencies between their products. I will give them the benefit of the doubt, however this one simply did not go well with my body type and looked unflattering on me. I ended up altering this corset by adding steel bones and a modesty panel.
And I thought I should add – those aren’t original laces. n.n The laces are usually cotton. I’ve had two of their corsets, and my friends all have these.
And just so you know – the brand name is “serpen-tyne” reather than “serpen-teen”. It tends to trip people up!
Yes, that’s why I wrote in the post that the laces I got were reportedly not the original. But thanks for verifying! How does the name trip people up? Both pronunciations are technically correct if talking about “snake-like”, although I only recently learned that “Serpentine” is an actual town in Australia. Is that the origin of the brand name?
Also, did your GS corsets have waist tapes?
I was not incredibly impressed by the plastic bones. Perhaps in theory they would have been alright, but the boning channels they were in were far too wide for the bones so they tended to twist (especially in the back) and they were also around 1.5″ shorter than the channel itself.
Some fans get a bit annoyed when it’s mispronounced (as does my fiance’s friend, her screen name is Serpentine and she INSISTS it be pronounced serpen-teen which is the more American pronounciation although you are right, both are correct). I couldn’t tell you if the town (which I have never heard of, actually) has anything to do with the brand.
My overbust does have waist tape, I am pretty sure. I am also almost certain my underbust (which has been rehomed) also had waist tape, but it was my first corset and I never looked that closely.
It’s strange that the bones twisted, maybe it was made by one of the interns. My bones fit very well into the channels, and weren’t RIDICULOUSLY short, only about 1cm-2cm at most.
They’re only meant for casual social wear, really. I do want to replace and double the number of bones in my overbust.
Here’s what it looks like on; as you can see it gives a better shape than the underbust version (it’s the victorian longline overbust, and this is also probably the dorkiest photo of anyone, ever) https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297146_2563102680691_1347812603_2865643_1802877598_n.jpg and i’ve had no trouble with the bones except I’ve worn it so much they’ve sort of warped to my body shape to the point they’re a bit ineffective.
I also have the problem you have with cinching it because of the grommets. Didn’t have it with the underbust but the overbust is EXTREMELY long but akdfghadfg so pretty.
Sorry, that was really long. XD
Mmmm. I wondered why they went all plastic bones a few years ago. That’s a lot of money to pay for a plastic boned corset. Thanks for the review. :-)
Because steel bones are stupid expensive in australia. They are heavy duty, perform nearly the same as steel.
Lucy, it’s weird you didn’t get waist tape.
Oh, I get mine from an overseas supplier at an excellent price, as I haven’t found one in Australia that sells an Aussie made product. If you can point me to a manufacturer in Australia that makes corset fixings I’d be interested to have a look.
As for the heavy duty plastic bones…yeh, they’d probably be fine in a rarely worn fashion corset.
http://www.aussiecorsetsupplies.com.au/
While not OVER expensive, when you need to order hundreds at once, pay your staff, pay your rent and pay yourself, it adds up.