Really Quick and Random Link

[fiberaddict]

For those of you who like to play dress-up (or do re-enactment stuffs, like I do)....I found a corset maker that is actually AFFORDABLE: Corset Story.

They are currently running a 3-for-2 deal, but I skipped that and went right to the Clearance page. Yes, I bought - a black brocade STEEL-boned corset for $47. :blink: That's - that's SERIOUSLY cheap. The last "dressy" corset I bought (similar to this, only it was a green-with-gold-Chinese-dragons brocade) was - sit down - $225. And I was a single mom at the time, and couldn't put the thing on by myself, so I passed it on to someone who could. :sigh: (I think I got $100 for it - not the best resale, for me, but.....I couldn't wear it, and something was better than nothing. :sigh:)

I could get into SO much trouble here, if I was of the mind (and budget!) to spend - the steampunk corsets are...well, I want. But don't need. (The black one I bought? I do need, because...:sigh: I have grown out of my current bodices. Well, Yes, I can squeeze into them, if I don't mind NOT eating/breathing/moving while laced up. Irish Fest is coming up, and...well, I need something so I'm not "frumpy". I refuse to go "undressed"...and this fit my budget. I won't mind shrinking out of it, either - not at $47. :grin: This isn't my usual style, but it's nice and classy-looking.)

You're welcome. :wink:

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Clearly you hate my husband's budget. Clearly.

Off to shop!

Muah!!!

- Hearth

[(Anonymous)]

I got this one btw. :) http://www.corset-story.com/black-underbust-waspie-with-cherry-pattern-p-013-azl.html My first *real* corset. I'm so psyched.

[fiberaddict]

Oooh! Pretty!

When you get it, plan on wearing it a little bit each day at first, to "break it in" - I think the "formula" is start out loosely-laced for 30 minutes, then each day tighten it a little more, until you're wearing it for 30 minutes, where you want it. Then go for the full day.

I've never done an underbust before, so I don't know about the support, but it IS pretty!

[(Anonymous)]

I want to get an overbust, and I have an SL friend who makes them (but she lives nearish Anna) and has promised to make me one (once I lose another 1/2-1/4" off my waistline - it's a weightloss goal/reward). It will have to be custom though, I am upside down the proportions of ready made corsets, and I really don't see how straps are optional.

DH on the other hand swears up and down that I'll do better in an underbust + a bra. I keep thinking, "isn't that a lot of stiff stuff ending at the same point on my body? Is that going to *work*?" So - a sale on cute underbust corsets was just my thing. I can try.

In the meantime, since I'm asking penetrating questions on corsets and you seem to know... okay, obviously until the invention of the bra in the last century, we used corsets to hold up the girls and waist cinch. How did the more abundantly proportioned work with that? I keep seeing flat-fronted corsets in the victorian stuff, and then don't look like they go over the whole bust. I know they were, as a whole, much more modest than we are - so "girls wandering free" did NOT happen, but those few thin layers of batiste are *not* enough to hold anything down. So, how'd that work, anyway?

-H

[fiberaddict]

Not sure I'm an "expert"...but I've worn corsets and/or bodices for YEARS. In my experience, a well-fitted corset/bodice is more than adequate support - let me try to explain. (For the record, I'm a 36 D.....while I wouldn't call myself "ample", I do have a bit more than my fair share of, ummm, girls. :grin:)

When you're laced in correctly, everything is...bound into place. Not bound like with an ace bandage (which simply flattens you out, and hurts after a while), but held snugly up against the body. It's more comfortable (in an overbust; I've never worn an underbust, so I"m not sure exactly how they work) to slightly "lift" the girls while your "maid" (or husband :wink:) is lacing you up) so that you have a bit of cleavage...there's no other way to put this....mounding up over the top. Not so much that just the...dark area is inside the bodice (you wouldn't believe how many women do this - it's UNCOMFORTABLE to have that little bit of your girls inside the bodice); you want just the tops showing. You'll be comfy all day; your back is gently supported, and your girls don't move at ALL, and your shoulders don't hurt from straps digging in.

I *assume* that underbusts work the same way - after all, the support from a bra comes from the band underneath the cups, NOT from the cups themselves. If *I* were to wear an underbust, I'd wear a heavier weight chemise/shirt with it (to prevent any "show-thrus"....:shudder:) , that was maybe a little...tighter? across the shoulders to help keep things where they belong. Victorian ladies didn't wear bras...

Darn it! I used to have a book on ladies' undergarments, but I can't find it now. I probably got rid of it when SG came along (he's a bit...funny about stuff like that. I had it for costuming purposes, but I can see why he'd be a bit bothered by it.) :sigh: I wanted to look up the pros/cons of over-vs-underbust. I did find a website (Laceembrace.com - I ONLY visited the FAQ, so visit there at your own risk!), which says that if you're just starting out, go with an underbust, especially if you want to get into waist-training. I just want to train my ab muscles to go BACK where they started, before kids! :lol:

[fiberaddict]

And now I'm wondering if an underbust WOULD help my abs get back into shape....gee, thanks! :lol:

[(Anonymous)]

My prob is 1) All my weight is in my belly and 2) for buying RTW corsets - my proportions are upside down. I wrote them about it, I'll see what they say.

If a overbust makes things better ... and I can't see how anything could be worse than a bra ... I am all over that. Or, uh, why I've been working toward one of my very own for MONTHS now. I'd wear it every day!!!!!

H

[fiberaddict]

I'm with you on #1 - I am an hourglass, usually, but right now, my hourglass has a bulge. :lol:

Overbust gets rid of the tummy, and lifts the bustline. It depends on how much you lift the girls as you're being laced in as to how much cleavage you have - I've done everything from "Heavage" to "nice bust". :lol: And it's COMFORTABLE, once you get used to the overall "hug".

DH said he had no problem with me ditching the bra and going with a corset everyday, to try and train my tummy to go back where it belongs. So....I've got to figure the checkbook and see if I can do it now, or if I need to wait. Doesn't help that they sent me notice of new additions....on sale. :giggle:

[fiberaddict]

Oh, and Hearth? Here's the one I ordered.

[(Anonymous)]

OOO! Very classic. :)