Last updated on March 31st, 2021 at 10:28 pm
This entry is a summary of the video “Isabella Petite Josephine Corset Review” which you can watch on YouTube here:
| Fit, length | This style is standard sized 22″: Center front is about 11.25 inches high, from underbust to lap is 9 inches, and the center back is 12.5 inches. Waist in this corset is 23″ (it was 2nd hand so it stretched slightly), ribcage is 29″ (7 inch rib spring) and lower hip is 33″ (11 inch hip spring). “Longline” for someone with a short length, conical in the ribs and cupped over the hips. |
| Material | 3 Layers: Fashion fabric is black satin. Interlining in between, and lining is black cotton twill. |
| Construction | 6 panel pattern, and constructed with the sandwich method with double boning on each seam. |
| Binding | Commercial black satin bias binding. No garter tabs. |
| Waist tape | 1 inch wide invisible waist tape, sandwiched between the layers. Full waist tape, from center front to center back. |
| Modesty panel | You have the choice of ordering any Isabella corset with a sewn-in panel, a separate panel, or no panel. This particular corset didn’t come with a modesty panel. |
| Busk | 9.25 inches long, heavy duty wide busk, with 5 loops + pins, equidistantly spaced. |
| Boning | 20 bones total, 10 on each side. Double boned with 1/4″ wide spiral steels on the seams, and there are four flat steels in the back sandwiching the grommets. (My original Josephine has 2 extra bones.) |
| Grommets | 28 two-part grommets, size #00, with medium flange. Finished in black and spaced a bit closer together at the waistline. Big washers, all grommets rolled nicely. There is a lot of friction lacing up but probably because of the modesty panel. |
| Laces | Black double faced satin ribbon – no spring, very strong and flat. |
| Price | $175 USD base price for the immediate line corsets (but on an indefinite sale; around $150+ depending on the color/ fabric). |
Isabella Corsetry is run by a woman named Erin in Sacramento California. The Isabella Corsetry brand offers three ranges:
- the “Immediate” line for standard-sized, in-stock corsets in simple fashion fabrics (OTR corsets), which is only the most popular 5-6 underbust styles.
- the “Made to Order” line for standard sized corsets, but they can be made in your choice of fabric (choose among 200+ fabric options, or send them your own custom fabric), in 18 styles.
- the “Custom” line if you prefer the corset made to your measurements and specifications, and you can choose among the 18 styles or request your own style.
For awhile, the Josephine corset was one of the curviest OTR corset styles on the market, and I believe it was probably the “original” pattern that many other companies had copied over time. The Petite Jo was the answer to those who loved the look and the curviness of the corset, but had too short of a torso to comfortably sit down in the original Josephine. Now Isabella has come out with the Katherine, which is marketed towards waist trainers or tightlacers who have gone as far as they can in the Josephine!
The only caveat I found to ordering from Isabella Corsetry is that the wait times are quite long, especially if you’re ordering your corset from outside of the US. While the shipping time was stated to be 2 weeks to Canada, I found it took closer to 6 weeks for me to receive my order, which made me wonder if the in-stock corsets were actually made to order.
The other thing I noticed is that both my original Josephine and my Petite Josephine had stretched an inch in the waist over time with very regular use – however, I’m impressed that they did not have any ripped seams, popped grommets or other structural issues; they’re strong garments certainly capable of withstanding months or years of waist training, as long as you take into account the stretch factor.
See more on the Isabella Corsetry website here.
