Tag: floral

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Corsets-UK ‘Instant Shape’ Ivory Overbust Review

This entry is a summary of the review video for the “Instant Shape Ivory Overbust” with floral trim and quilted hip detail by Corsets-UK. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Center front is 14 inches long, princess seam is 15.5 inches, the side seam 13 inches and the center back is 14 inches long. (Fits a bit short on my long torso and low waist.)
Bust spring is 8″, rib spring is 2″, hip spring is 8″. Modern slim silhouette (see Final Thoughts below).
Material The fashion fabric is polyester based ivory satin which was interfaced, and the lining is a dusty pink cotton twill.
Construction 6-panel pattern (14 panels total). The layers were flatlined and panels assembled, and then on the hips, there is “quilting” over the hips (made to look like cording, but they used thin cotton batting). Boning channels cover the seam allowances on the lining side.
Waist tape None. (Not recommended for high reductions or waist training – see Final Thoughts below.)
Binding Binding at top and bottom are made from matching ivory satin. Machine stitched on both sides on a single pass (likely using a specialized binding attachment on the sewing machine). 6 garter tabs (3 on each side) and additionally there are 2 small tabs per side on the top edge if you want to add your own bra straps.
Modesty panel There is a modesty panel on the back, made of two layers (ivory satin on the outside and pinky twill on the inside). 7″ wide and unstiffened. It’s sewn into the corset (covered by a boning channel) so it cannot be easily removed unless you take scissors and cut it.
There’s also a narrow ivory satin modesty placket extending from underneath knob side of the busk.
Busk 13” long, with 6 loops and pins, equidistantly spaced. It’s similar to a spoon busk: 1/2″ wide on each side at the top, and at the widest part of the “spoon” it is 1.25″ wide on each side. But it is not curved inward like a spoon busk (it acts more like a “wide busk” at the bottom.
Boning 14 bones total in this corset. On each side, 5 of them are spirals about ¼ inch wide – single boned on the seams. There are also two flat steel bones, both ¼” wide sandwiching the grommets on each side.
Grommets There are 24, two-part size #0 grommets (12 on each side). They have a medium flange and are spaced equidistantly about 1” apart. Most of the grommets are finished in silver, but (oddly) the grommets at the waistline are gunmetal grey (probably done deliberately). Some of the grommets have shifted laterally, but none pulling out of the fabric completely.
Laces The laces are 3/8” wide flat nylon shoe-lace style (finished in green!). I find them to be long enough, and they hold bows and knots well. A little springy but it “stretches out” and the springiness goes away over time.
Price Corsets-UK decided not to size these corsets with traditional corset sizes (waist size in inches) but rather, recommends you choose your street clothes size (like US 6 or UK 10). This corset is available in UK sizes 6 up to 24.
£59 GBP on Corsets UK, or $89 on Corset Story.

 

Final Thoughts:

It’s been several years since I reviewed any piece from Corsets-UK, because I had purchased about 10 of them in the past (between the years of 2010 and 2012) and I was not the most thrilled with their quality. The company approached me in the summer of 2016, letting me know that they have been working hard on creating new curvier designs, with better quality materials, and asked if I would be willing to try a couple of their pieces in exchange for personal feedback. I agreed, and I was surprised to see how much their products had changed over the years. While it was not in the original agreement to review this corset (and the other two coming up soon) publicly, I did ask them if it was alright to share the review with my viewers / readers, bearing in mind that it will be a balanced review where I mention the good points and the room for improvement. They agreed, so here we are.

Corsets-UK’s ‘Instant Shape’ corsets are designed to be a bit less curvaceous than their ‘Waist Taming’ line that I reviewed last week. Their website states that it is designed for more gentle waist reductions (perhaps 2 inches or so in the waist), and it’s not designed for waist training. Because it has gentle sloping hips and a modern slim silhouette, I would recommend that if you are naturally curvy, opt for a curvier style corset.

I chose this corset for several reasons – the first is that it was a different range from their ‘Waist Taming’ line, at a drastically lower price point, so I wanted to see what was different in terms of the quality. When I compared the two corsets, I could see that the fashion fabric was thinner and had a less dense weave compared to the ‘Waist Taming’ satin fashion fabric, and it had thinner, lighter weight spiral bones (closer to 4mm instead of 6mm wide, but still thankfully galvanized with no rust). If you’d like to see the bones in this corset (where I opened up the binding and took a look inside), see the video above.

The other reasons why I chose this corset is because it had 3 decorative features that caught my eye: the quilted hips (made to look almost like cording), the ‘aesthetic’ spoon busk (which is wider at the bottom just like traditional spoon busks, but doesn’t curve inward like traditional spoon busks), and the ribbon floral trim on the top edge (which Corsets-UK provided a small ziplock baggy of extra flowers).

The grommets of this corset were not pulling out the same way that they were in the ‘Waist Taming’ Corsets-UK review, but this may have to do with the fact that this corset is less curvy and is not designed for high reductions. One subtle feature that I found interesting though, is that this corset (and the underbust I also reviewed from the ‘Instant Shape’ line) is that most of the grommets are silver, while just the four at the waistline (where the bunny ears come through) were deliberately a darker silver, closer to pewter or gunmetal grey. I would have thought this was a mistake, if it hadn’t been consistent in both of my ‘Instant Shape’ corsets. Whether it was done by the factory so the person lacing the corset would lace it properly, or whether it was done for the consumer in case they wanted to change the laces, I’m not sure – but it was interesting to notice, and the difference in color isn’t too conspicuous from far away.

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Sinner Couture Tightlacing Underbust Corset Review

This post is a summary of the “Sinner Couture Custom Underbust Corset Review” video, which you can watch on Youtube if you prefer:

 

Fit, length This corset was custom made to my measurements. The center front is 11 inches, and from underbust to lap (along the “princess seam”) is 9.5 inches long. I consider this a modern hourglass; the ribs and hips are both rounded. It’s a little bit longline on me
Material 3 main layers: fashion fabric is limited edition Italian floral jean/twill; strength interlining layer, and floating lining.
Construction 7 panel pattern. Panels are assembled with a top-stitch, the corset is single boned on the seams. Floating lining.
Binding Commercial black bias binding. Machine stitched on the outside and hand-finished inside.
Waist tape 1-inch wide waist tape stitched invisibly between the layers.
Modesty panel 5.5 inch wide back panel, unstiffened, attached to one side (cannot be removed), and finished in the same floral twill. Also has a tiny unstiffened modesty placket on the knob side of the busk.
Busk 9.5 inches long standard flexible busk with 5 pins (bottom two are a little closer together). The topmost inch or so does not have a busk and instead ties with a black ribbon.
Boning 16 total bones not including busk. On each side there are size 1/4″ spiral steel bones. Two further 1/4″ wide flats sandwich the grommets on each side. The number of bones in a corset depends on the size and waist reduction.
Grommets 24 grommets total, size #00 two-part grommets with small flange; set equidistantly. Finished in an “antique brass” colour, and all are holding in well.
Laces 3/8″ wide black satin ribbon; no stretch, glides well enough through the grommets without slipping.
Price At the time that I’m writing, it is $300 USD in her Etsy store.

Other thoughts:

This corset is one of my favourites of my collection. The corset itself is very soft, in that it molded to my body from the very first wear (it almost felt as though it didn’t need seasoning, although I was good and did season it properly). I also felt as though it accommodated my hip asymmetry very well, despite being a symmetric corset. This corset is designed for tightlacing but not waist training – considering how often I wear this corset though, I believe it has held up very well over time; the grommets continue to hold in well and the waist has not stretched out. Although there are relatively few bones in my corset, I feel that there is minimal wrinkling and the corset holds itself well.

This corset is offered in cotton or satin, but Yana also carries some exclusive Italian printed fabric – the floral jean fabric used on my corset was a limited option; Yana only had about enough to make one corset from at the time. At first I didn’t know if I would like the subtle earth tones, but I’m so glad that I chose this design – it’s even more gorgeous in person, and I get complimented on this corset whenever I wear it. The corset also came in a custom-sized little drawstring bag for easy storing.

Based on the measurements of my corset, and how Sinner Couture’s corsets are laced in her Etsy store, I believe that the corset was designed to be worn with a 1-2 inch gap in the back. If you prefer to wear your corset completely closed in the back, please let Yana know so she can draft it that way.

You can purchase the custom tightlacing corset from Sinner Couture through her Etsy store here.

 

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Corset Connection (Versatile) Scarlett Overbust review (& comparison)

This entry is a summary of the review video “Versatile/ Corset Connection Scarlett Overbust Review (and Comparison!)”. If you want visual close-ups and further details, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Center front is 14″, the longest part from peak of the bust to lap is just under 16″.  Gentle sweetheart neckline, not too long on the hips – good for average to long waists. Definitely modern slim silhouette. The bust is 6″ bigger than the waist (suitable for smaller busts, A – small C cup), and the hips are about 10″ bigger than the waist.
Material 3 main layers – the outer fashion fabric is satin, stabilized/ fused for strength, lined in polyester fabric.  Newer versions are lined in herringbone coutil for custom commissions (the blush piece I showed was a display sample so lined in twill)
Construction 6-panel pattern (12 panels total). One version has sandwiched boning channels and a floating fashion layer. Depending on your request, either method of construction can be used (this method or the external boning channel method).Same basic pattern. The other version has topstitched panels, external boning channels, no floating fashion layer.
Binding Binding is made from matching strips of fashion layer material. Binding is machine stitched on both sides. There are also 6 garter tabs; in the old stock, tabs point down while in the new stock, tabs point up.
Waist tape One-inch-wide waist tape running through the corset, either hidden between the layers or exposed on the inside depending on the construction method.
Modesty panel There is a 7.5″ wide modesty panel, attached to one side, covered in matching shell fabric. Also a matching unstiffened front placket.
Busk Busk is 1/2″ wide on each side and 1.5” long, with 6 pins (equidistantly spaced). Reinforced with a flat bone on each side.
Boning 24 bones total in this corset. Double boned on the seams, except for the seam that goes over the bust curve) and then there are two flat steel bones, both ¼” wide sandwiching the grommets and a steel supporting the busk on each side. All flat steel bones (no spiral).
Grommets There are 36 2-part size #00 grommets (17 on each side), with a medium flange, spaced equidistantly. Rolled very nicely, few or no splits, not fraying or popping out.
Laces The laces are 1/8” wide round nylon cord. I find them to be long enough and quite strong, with no stretch – however they can often be slippery.
Price  Currently the Scarlett overbust costs $378 for the standard size. Custom fit is a $90 markup.
Blush Scarlett overbust as it’s shown on the Versatile shop (shared with permission from the owner)

Final Thoughts:

It was an interesting venture to compare the old stock Versatile Corset pieces to the new stock. The old “Antoinette” overbust from Versatile Fashions was renamed the “Scarlett” overbust when the company was sold by Ms. Antoinette over to Corset Connection. And with the changing of hands in the company, there were also a few changes to the way the materials that the corsets were constructed with as well – the current Versatile corsets include fused delicate fashion fabrics for smoothness and strength, a herringbone coutil strength layer (instead of polyester lining), and improved spacing in the grommets.

It’s worth noting that the method of assembly itself hasn’t changed that much. In the video, you can see that the red corset has sandwiched boning channels with an invisible waist tape, while the blush corset has external boning channels and exposed internal waist tape. Both these construction methods are still used today, and depending on the style you order (whether or not you want external boning channels or hidden channels), you may receive your corset constructed either way.

This corset also received 4 stars out of 4 on the Bust Test, as the bust line came up high enough on my chest to hold me in during activity. The bust is designed for smaller cups though, as it pushes everything upward – but it still contains my bust as long as it’s laced loosely enough. However if I were to go back and order this custom-fit, I would certainly request more space in the bust area and perhaps have it “cup” over and above the bust more completely. You can see other styles of the Scarlett corset in Versatile’s photo gallery, on their sale page here.

 

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Black Floral Tapestry Steel-Boned Corset Review (Amazon)

This entry is a summary of the review video “(Amazon.com) Black Floral Tapestry Steel-Boned Corset Review” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Fit, length Front is about 14 inches high; the highest part (from the apex of the bust) is 15 inches high. Gives hardly any curve in the silhouette, almost no waist reduction at all. Don’t trust the “floating” corset pictures online – the shape is shown more accurately on a real model! Appropriate for average torso length. I do like how the cut of this corset both covers and minimizes my bust.
Material 1 layer; fashion layer is the black floral polyester with a sort of non-stretch mesh backing.
Construction 6 panel pattern, panels are topstitched together. Internal boning channels made from cheap commercial fuzzy bone casing.
Binding Commercial black satin binding machine stitched on both inside and outside, not a clean finish. Also has 4 garter tabs.
Waist tape None.
Modesty panel None.
Busk Standard flexible busk (1/2″ wide on each side) about 13″ long (6 pins), EXTREMELY flimsy/ flexible. Also has hook/eye to prevent gaping at bustline.
Boning 12 steel bones not including busk. All spiral steel bones, including in the back by the grommets, so some bowing occurs when lacing up.
Grommets 20 grommets total, size #0 two-part grommets with smaller flange; set equidistantly, no splits, no wear/fraying/pulling out of grommets, surprisingly.
Laces 3/8″ wide black double-face satin, they are barely long enough but are fairly strong.
Price Currently $32 USD on Amazon.com.
This style of bustier is now found ubiquitously on Amazon from several different brands. Here is how it fits another model.

Final Thoughts:

I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much considering how cheap it was, but I was quite disappointed that it didn’t include a waist tape or modesty panel. However I was genuinely pleasantly surprised to see that they used real steel boning here. I suppose if worse came to worst, one could cannibalize this corset simply for its materials, although you would have to use a stronger strength layer and likely reinforce the busk. But I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone who is interested in a corset for tightlacing/waist training. This corset is really just to shave off a couple of inches, to be worn as clubwear or a costume. Although the original brand can no longer be found, an identical style can be found here.