Contour Corsets Review (Summer Mesh Underbust)

This entry is a summary of the review video “Contour Corsets Summer Mesh Underbust Review” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Final Thoughts:

When I first recorded the review and did the “first edit”, it was nearly 20 minutes long because I had so much to say about this corset. It is like no other corset I’ve had before, so even for a review such as mine (which is on its own pretty objective, but still comparable if you read across the tables of different reviews on this site), it can’t really be compared to other corsets in my collection. The posture, the materials, the construction, the pattern/ silhouette – everything  about this corset is just… different. Be prepared for a really long discussion (and as model KathTea had once said, “If this is tl;dr then corseting is probably not for you”).

Although this corset is one of my smallest, it is not my absolute smallest. My Contour Corset has a 20.5″ waist. I have two 20″ corsets from both Puimond and Jupiter Moon 3, and a 19.5″ cincher from Beespoke (although that one is nowhere close to being closed) and each of them give a totally different silhouette. I believe that the great polarized reaction received from this corset was due to the unique patterning which lends to the most dramatic silhouette of any of my corsets. This is precisely why the name of the company is called “CONTOUR Corsets”, because the contouring of the hip spring creates an illusion that makes the waist look much smaller than it actually is. (Fran used to have a video explaining this, which I’m not sure where it’s gone to now.)

Because the pattern/ cut of this corset is not typical, the measurements I took when commissioning this corset shouldn’t have been my “typical” way of doing things, either. Over the years as I worked with more corsetieres, I’ve learned to slightly “fudge” my measurements so I can predict the way that the final corset will fit. Some of the ways I tend to fudge measurements:

• I know that I have a long torso/ low waist, so I know that I need a longer-than-usual waist-to-underbust measurement. I will typically request around 5.5 or 6 inches (changes with posture) but no more, because I predict that I will need a bit of space between my bra underwire and the top of the corset to wear the corset comfortably.
• I know that I have a bothersome left hip, but rather than requesting an asymmetric pattern (which almost invariably costs more, no matter which maker), I will often simply state my iliac circumference as one inch larger than usual (I’ll ask for ~34″ instead of my usual 33″) and sometimes state my iliac bone to start about 0.5″ higher than it actually does, so the corset isn’t abrasive against my iliac bone (for some reason, even when I’m heavier I just don’t get padding around that bone).
• I know that I’m capable of reductions up to about 7″ but if the maker simply refuses to make corsets with any more than a 4″ waist reduction, then I will state my natural waist to be 1-2″ smaller than it really is. (i.e. my real waist is about 27″, but if I want a 22″ corset then I’ll say my waist is closer to 26, so to avoid winding up with a 24″ corset). I didn’t have to do this in the case of commissioning my Contour piece, though.

With other makers, this has worked beautifully. But Contour has a different way of measuring the body, and I learned a few things about drafting for bodies at higher reductions:

• My natural figure is more or less straight up and down. When corseted, curves are created (duh). Between two given fixed points, an arc will always be longer than a straight line, and the more curved the arc, the longer the line will be. This means that as my waist is capable of greater and greater reductions, the distance between my waist and my underbust increases – and if the corset cups around the ribcage instead of creating a conical shape, this line has to be made even longer and must be drafted in.
• The same goes for the waist-to-iliac measurement at higher reductions. When uncorseted, my waist-to-iliac is typically around 3″, but when corseted this distance increases to 3.5″ or 4″. This particular corset has pre-bent bones along the side seams that contribute to the dramatic silhouette, so in this corset I notice most of the cinch in my waist along the obliques and pretty much none along the front abdominal region, which means the distance is even greater.
• Fran has also mentioned that due to the high reduction of this style, there may be a greater downward “shift” in the intestines and the area below the waist may become fuller (read: a possible inevitable lower pooch, not from fat but from organs). While the strong underbusk prevents a lot of the roundness of the lower tummy, there is a bit more space drafted below the waist to accommodate this shift.
• I also learned some things about my own body that I hadn’t known before, such as the tendency of my flesh to squish more upwards instead of downwards, and the fact that my xyphoid process is freakishly high compared to some other people’s.

All that said – because a corset maker is essentially taking all this into account and predicting a body shape and that had not yet existed on my body (and also predicting how my body would respond to the pressure), and because I had slightly messed up on the measurements based on incorrect presumptions of what she was going to do with those measurements, it turns out I needed about an inch more length at the top (this is also due to the corset being extremely posture corrective) and likely a bit less space in the hips. Lesson learned: never fudge your measurements. If you’re not sure about certain measurements, ask the maker if it is okay to take photos of the measurements to ensure that they are accurate. Because each corset maker does things a bit differently to everyone else, this is the advantage to keeping some “brand loyalty” and sticking with one maker throughout your waist training journey, because they can make modifications to your corsets as needed, and as your body changes over time.

But given the fact that there was no mockup involved and this gives a better shape than many of my corsets that did have a mockup fitting, I still think it’s pretty amazing – it’s also one of my most comfortable corsets.

My particular corset is very posture-corrective, gives a high reduction, and tapers along the ribs with increasing  pressure down to the waist. However, this is not the only type of silhouette available. Fran takes into consideration your experience level and preferences, so if you only want a light reduction, she can do that. If you want less tapered ribs, she’ll do that. She can also make corsets that are more posture-corrective or more accommodating compared to mine. This is what is meant by a true bespoke piece.

This corset is sort of what turned many my preconceptions about corsetry upside down. Because of this corset, I realized that coutil is not always the most appropriate choice, and in some situations synthetic does have its advantages. This corset taught me that waist tapes are not always necessary (Jeroen Van Der Klis of Bizarre Design, who has a background in engineering like Fran, also doesn’t use a waist tape), that lock-stitching can indeed be very strong when treated properly, that flats over the sides of the corset are actually amazingly comfortable when pre-bent in the right shape, that zippers can be used effectively and can be extraordinarily strong in corsets, and the lacing system (which doesn’t bow or distort whatsoever) is a bit magical.

Because of this corset, whenever a beginner corseter asks me what are the BEST features of a well-made corset, I find myself having to add asterisks and sprinkling grains of salt all over my responses – probably to the confusion of the beginner – in order to avoid “lies-to-children” (to reference the Science of Discworld). But all this really goes to show that you really must learn and become a master of the rules, before you go breaking them.

To see what Contour Corsets has to offer, you can find the website here. Also be sure to check out Fran’s Youtube channel here.