What is a corset?



Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

by
http://www.englishbridalcouture.com/

A corset is an undergarment that is specially designed to support the bust and define the waistline. Women of the Western world wore corsets regularly until around the mid 1920’s when bras became more prevalent. There are many types of corsets and each meets a specific need. Corsets can be made of various materials such as leather or any kind of flexible material and then they are enforced with hard strips which are referred to as “boning”.

As times have changed throughout history so have the styles of corsets and boning materials. Back in time the boning strips were made from whalebones or steel. Today, the boning strips used can be steel or made of more lightweight plastic which are much more comfortable. Corsets normally lace up the back but sometimes do lace up in the front or they may have eye hooks.

Corsets are relatively small in size and generally only cover the area between the breasts and the hips. Back in earlier day’s women wore them for support but today they are mainly used for fashion and sex appeal. The mid and late 19th century fashion was the infamous hourglass figure. Victorian corsets gave a woman just that. Invented by Roland Loomis, the Victorian corset, also referred to as the “hourglass” corset, was popular in the earlier days and is still popular today as they cinch the waist of women and allow her to appear as though she has an hourglass figure.
 
Steel boned corsets are articulately designed; they can give one a very shapely and gorgeous figure. Steel boned corsets also are of a much higher quality than those with plastic boning. Most individually crafted corsets are steel boned which makes them much more durable and that will result in longevity of the corset. Normally, when one wears a corset, there is what is called a breaking in time which is when the wearer gets used to the corset and it conforms more to their shape. Steel boned corsets require a much shorter break in time than plastic boning does.

Waist reduction is really the main purpose of wearing a corset and if the corset is steel boned, a woman will usually average a waist loss of about 2 to 4 inches. In order for a corset to actually be considered a waist reducing corset there are certain specifications that have to be met. First, a waist reducing corset must be steel boned and will usually have between 12-16 bones for a standard size. The boning is in place to keep the material taut. Further, boning actually makes the corset more comfortable so remember that when you are thinking about buying a non boned corset and think that it will be more comfortable.

Most genuine waist reduction corsets are made of coutil which is a traditional corset making material that is designed to withstand the strain of lacing. Another requirement of a waist reduction corset is that it must have a strong tape along the waistline to take the strain of the powerful lacing.
   
Heather Denton is the very talented designer from www.englishbridalcouture.com she designs and creates wonderful made to measure evening and bridal corsets such as, Isabella Hourglass Corset, Tammy Hourglass Corset and many more. englishbridalcouture.com, also carries, their own range of couture wedding dresses and bridal hair accessories. Visit them today they are here to help you.
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