This entry is a summary of the review video “Rainbow Holow Corset! Two C&S Constructions Corsets (Review / Study)” which you can watch on YouTube here:
Rainbow Holo Corset
| Fit, length | Center front is 10.5 inches long, princess seam is 9,5 inches, side seam is 9.5 inches and center back is 11.5 inches. Underbust 29″, waist 21″, high hip 34″. Rounded ribcage and rounded hips. The busk is flexible and allows inward bowing. |
| Material | 2 main layers: fashion layer is holographic silver foil (almost like interwoven tinsel). Lined in herringbone coutil. |
| Construction | 4 panel pattern! (Surprising as it’s so curvy.) Layers were flatlined, panels were assembled and reinforced with sturdy topstitch (seam allowances facing outside). External boning channels laid down over the seams. |
| Waist tape | 1-inch-wide waist tape “invisibly” installed between the layers, full width. |
| Binding | Bias strips of matching holographic foil material, machine stitched on both inside and outside (zigzag stitch; the foil material likes to shred/fray). |
| Modesty panel | None (this is a sample). However on the C&S website, they say that all corset commissions come with a back modesty panel. This corset sample does have a wide boned underbusk, covered in black herringbone coutil. |
| Busk | 9″ long, with 5 loops and pins, equidistantly spaced. Standard flexible busk (1/2″ wide on each side). The boned underbusk gives a bit more stiffness, but the corset still “dishes” on my body (this may be deliberate – common of C&S corsets, and this also seems to help me achieve a higher comfortable waist reduction in this corset). |
| Boning | 11 steel bones, not including busk. 5 on each side, plus boned underbusk in front. On each side, 3 spirals single boned on the seams, and 2 flats (1/4″ wide) sandwiching the grommets. |
| Grommets | 30 grommets total, size #00 two-part grommets with small flange; spaced a little closer together at the waistline for easier lacing up. Underneath the grommets there are wider washers that act as a wider flange – they may help protect them from pulling out, they give more thickness for the grommet to “bite down” on (preventing wiggling or looseness, and they also hide any fraying or splitting of the outer holographic material. There are no splits in these. No wear/fraying/pulling out of grommets. |
| Laces | 3mm wide satin rattail cord. They have zero stretch, they glide well through the grommets (slippery), and they are long enough. |
Purple with Lace Longline Corset
| Fit, length | Center front is 12.4 inches long, princess seam is 11 inches, side seam is 11.5 inches and center back is 13 inches. Circumferential measurements: Underbust 28″, waist 20″, high hip 35″. Conical ribcage. Slight hip shelf, and longline corset. Also bows at the front (likely a deliberate effect to get more of a waist reduction). |
| Material | 3 main layers: fashion fabric is Cadbury purple satin (may be a satin coutil, or fused to a strength fabric), overlaid with black lace. Lined in black cotton drill. |
| Construction | 4 panel pattern! (Surprising as it’s so curvy.) Layers were flatlined, panels were assembled and reinforced with sturdy topstitch (seam allowances facing outside). Black external boning channels laid down over the seams, plus extra bones in the middle of the panels (sandwiched between the layers). |
| Waist tape | 1-inch-wide waist tape “invisibly” installed between the layers, full width. |
| Binding | Black satin ribbon (the same ribbon used for external boning channels), matchine stitched on both sides using a zigzag stitch. |
| Modesty panel | None (this is a sample). However on the C&S website, they say that all corset commissions come with a back modesty panel. This corset sample does have a wide boned underbusk, covered in black satin coutil. |
| Busk | 11″ long, with 5 loops and pins, equidistantly spaced. Standard flexible busk (1/2″ wide on each side). The boned underbusk gives a bit more stiffness, but the corset still “dishes” on my body (this may be deliberate – common of C&S corsets, and this also seems to help me achieve a higher comfortable waist reduction in this corset). |
| Boning | 17 steel bones, not including busk. 8 on each side, plus boned underbusk in front. On each side, 3 spirals single boned on the seams, and an additional 3 bones in the middle of the panels. Also on each side there are 2 flats (1/4″ wide) sandwiching the grommets. |
| Grommets | 34 grommets total, size #x00 two-part eyelets with tiny flange; set closer at the waistline to make lacing up easier. On the underside, the eyelets were perforated (petals splayed out) but they don’t catch on the laces. There are still very large washers on the underside to prevent the eyelets from pulling out. |
| Laces | 1/8″ wide flat black cotton shoelace. They have zero stretch or springiness, they glide well through the grommets, they hold knots and bows securely, and they are long enough. |
Final Thoughts:
Both of these corsets were made for one of C&S Constructions’ previous models, who had a slightly smaller ribcage and slightly fuller hips than me – so these weren’t made to measure for my body, but we’re “close enough” to be able to fit the same corsets similarly.
I adore the holo corset especially, and it’s a very thin and lightweight corset. Even though both corsets are a smaller waist than I’m accustomed to wearing these days (I prefer to stay at 22 inches, but the holo corset is 21″ and the purple corset is 20″), I’m able to achieve slightly more of a waist reduction in both of these because of the comfortable patterning, and also likely because of the slight “dishing” or bowing in the center front busk.
In both corsets, the construction is a bit more “rugged” than I’m accustomed to seeing these days. The overlocking / zigzag stitching is visible (especially on the inside of the corset). I thought this might have just been because these were sample corsets for photoshoots, but from other C&S customers I’ve spoken with, it seems that this was just the way many corsets were constructed in the 90s and early 2000s. While they’re just not as “tidy” in their finish compared to most corsets on the market today, these corsets have held up well over the years and give a beautiful silhouette, and are a reflection of C&S’s good reputation. Visit C&S Constructions website here.
Do you own this corset or another piece from C&S Constructions? Let us know what you think of it in a comment below!
Hello Miss……as a sub guy who is force feminised on occasion, i have of course wondered about the effect and feel of a corset……but i also have stenosis in my lower back. This gives me some pain, but not continuous……i wear an broad elastic belt sometimes but it does little but warm my back…..
i wondered if the construction of a corset might give more relief, as well as being interesting to wear?…
regards
sis…