30 Days of Corsets Day 9 and 10

The next two questions in the 30 days of Corsets are related to me so I'm putting them in one post.
Post a picture of your favorite corset that you own; and; Post a picture of your favorite corset of all time.

The two which are my favorites are both ones which I inadvertently damaged so that's why I'm putting them together here. My current favorite is in the photo above. I like the oriental dragon brocade. It's an overbust, longline corset with, of course, steel boning.  I washed this one too often at first so there are two spots on the side seams where the brocade started fraying. I did put Fray Stop on them and on all the seams so the damage isn't getting worse. However, it means this one's destined to remain underneath clothing from now on. I'm not big on dry cleaning when I can wash them myself.

What I learned from this is to wear a corset liner so the liner soaks up sweat and keeps the corset clean longer. You can wash the liner as much as you'd like. I've also discovered the liner helps make the inner waist tape more comfortable by alleviating the potential of it pinching the skin.

I don't buy expensive liners. Lucy's Corsetry taught me to buy Tshirts in a small size from the thrift store and cut them off. This makes a cotton tube which covers my lower torso area (under the bust). Cheap and easy.

Now my favorite corset of all time is not pictured. It's a black jacquard, long lined waist training corset. I wear it mainly at night these days. It isn't all that pretty and I've given it more wear than any of my others. The fabric is standing up to the washing and wearing. I have had to repair the top of the busk, where the stitching gave way but truly, it's amazing with as many hours as I wear this one, how it's lasted. 

My mistake with this one is that I didn't break it in correctly and was learning to lace when I first had it. I wasn't lacing it properly to where the open gap is pretty straight. I was tightening the bust and hips too much. I also didn't know to break a new corset in two hours at a time and went straight to all day with this one. The result is the boning is warped a little. It fits fine now and I can get it laced comfortably. However it isn't straight in the front any more but slanted slightly to the left. That's why I relegated this one to sleeping. It just looks funny. We did try to reseason the corset with a little success but the main damage was done so it'll never be 'right'.

I have another satin corset which warped in the same way so that's why with this next set of corsets I'm breaking in now, I'm taking care to do it correctly this time. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes. I'm just glad I learned this before I bought a truly expensive corset.

Corset update

I've been lax on reporting on my corset waist-training project. Chalk that up to just busy-ness related to publishing. I am still wearing my corset daily. I'm definitely hooked on them. I don't feel good when I take it off for extended periods of time, though did when my cold moved into my chest. The coughing made my ribs hurt so it had little to do with the corset. I do still sleep in one.

So far I've lost 21 pounds on the diet. I definitely feel it all over. Certainly my shape has changed as when I take the corset off, the posture remains and there is definition to my abdominal and lower back muscles. I also find I can sit in previously uncomfortable hard chairs (like stools, folding chairs, or benches in restaurants) without aching. It's funny how we blame the chair when the real culprit is our posture. My plan now is to increase exercise. My back and arm pains have not returned so I attribute that to the corset mainly, with the added plus of weight loss.

I don't notice any problems breathing with the single exception of the chest cold. An interesting tidbit I learned is that notion of corsets causing internal organ damage or breathing problems may be due, in part, to the ad campaigns of German clothing manufacturers at the turn of last century. Some of their ads were aimed at pulling business away from French manufacturers who specialized in corsets at the time. We saw the same thing happen with Absinthe. Rumors were started, in some cases--physicians bribed to make false claims, ads run as actual news articles in attempts to sway public opinion away from a product. Proof that media literacy is a must to any consumer of any generation.

Back to my update. I've gotten used to squatting when picking up things. I'd say my largest problem was dealing with wiping the behind after using the restroom. I found a nice little rubber arm thing at a store with indigent patient medical supplies. I use flushable baby wipes with it and it works great. I actually feel cleaner than I did with just plain toilet paper.

Most people don't notice me wearing the corset beneath my clothes in public. One fellow accidentally elbowed my chest when standing in line at the bus station. His expression was priceless because it made a thunk sound. I'm sure he thought I had wooden breasts but wouldn't ask. Grin.

What I'm wearing overtop makes a difference in whether people notice also. A soft or light sweater, definitely reveals it. You can see the lower edge definition if I have sweat pants on but not with jeans. Darker colors are a plus and darned few notice if I have a blazer or jacket on over my shirt. I've picked up a few nice suit jackets and a tuxedo jacket from the thrift store to wear overtop. I hope to sew a few over the holidays as well.

In summer, I won't need the extra shirt and it will still look cute.  I also found corsets which are halter tops at www.corsetstory.com.   The interesting thing is the corsets I use all have steel boning in them. I find the satin fabric less comfortable than brocade or velvet.

That's it for this update. I'll jump on and post a couple more pictures over the weekend.

Week 1 Competed

Update on corset body modification project.

 

I’ve now slept in a corset for seven nights. Yep, that means I’m wearing them 24/7. I expected to have difficulty sleeping as mentioned in some of my research books on corset masochism. That hasn’t been the case for me. It takes me a few minutes to get comfortable but that’s normal and I’ve slept well.

 My back and shoulder have stopped hurting. I definitely prefer the corset to a bra. I get good support without the strain on my shoulder muscles. That’s released a lot of stress I normally get by the end of the day from the bra straps and breast weight. I used to ask my husband for back and shoulder rubs daily. I’ve only asked for one in the past week.

 I definitely look curvier. Weigh in and measure day was today. With the Atkins diet and the corset training, I’ve lost just over five pounds and two inches off of my waist. Now I’m measuring my natural waistline, without the corset. When I have the corset on and laced up, my waist is about an inch and a half smaller than that.

 I’ve decided to include two pics here. The first is from a couple of weeks ago from when I started the body modification project. I’m wearing a fashion corset that I barely got into. The second is from this morning. I’m wearing the silver/black steel boned waist training corset.

Before picture August 2012

Progess week 1 September 9, 2012

 

 

Problems I’ve encountered: 

I must squat to pick things up from the floor or pet the cats. My thighs are a bit sore. Once I squat down, I can tilt my torso forward. That will just take getting used to.

 Restroom breaks are sometimes challenging. Peeing is easy enough to wipe after but anything else requires removal of the corset. I’m learning to rehook the steel busk at the front by lying on the bed they way you might do to put on tight jeans.  Still it takes me a few minutes.

 I also apply baby powder before putting on a clean corset. It helps keeps the skin dry.

 Next post:

I’ll blog about a couple of humorous experiences I’ve had so far.

Day One Corset Wearing

Today's my first day of full on wearing the steel boned waist-training corset. I may have bought one a little too large as it is laced tightly enough to force me to sit straight but the laced edges touch. That may be a good thing while I get used to it.  I definitely look curvier in it. It's amazing how rearranging the flab makes a difference. LOL!

Slouching and bending over are straight out. I can bend at the knees. Already my thighs are complaining about doing squats and my sense of balance needs practice. I feel like my shoulders are straighter as well. Part of slouching is bending your shoulders forward. I'm curious to see if this has any effect on my shoulder that's been hurting since April. The doctor told me back then it was like a sports injury and kept asking me if I were throwing baseballs. I think it's the way I hug my pillow at night. I get a death grip on it sometimes. After dental surgery back in the 1990's, I found out I clench my teeth when I sleep. My guess is they're related.

I've read how one of the reasons given for some to wear these types of corsets daily is a heightened sense of sexuality. I definitely feel more feminine in this thing. I already learned while wearing costuming how many motions considered lady-like by our modern society are things which came about because of clothing in the past. You don't bend over to pick up something while wearing a tri-hoop skirt unless you want the whole world behind you to see your behind!

One other interesting thing...just while typing this blog post, my spine has popped several times. It must be aligning itself. It definitely feels good.

My husband and I started on the Atkins diet today as well. I have a goal to lose five inches in my waist and a hundred pounds. That certainly qualifies as body modification in my book.