Corsets are coming back, ever worn one?

[kenny]

The controversial garment that never goes out of fashion

From Bridgerton to Gen Z, this sexy undergarment is once again popular. But is the corset an instrument of torture – or a weapon of empowerment, asks Beverley D'Silva.

www.bbc.com

 

[Dancing Fire]

In diamond term that is a BRUTAL girdle or is it Bruted Girdle ??

 

[Ionysis]

As a rare female banker, in a Muslim country, if I wandered into work wearing a corset I think my colleagues would have a heart attack!

 

[ForteKitty]

Best part of the pandemic is staying home and not wearing a bra. You'd have to kill me to get me anywhere near a corset.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I just don’t know where all the “extra” would go. Either it would get pushed upwards and I wouldn’t have a neck or I’d have a butt so big I’d topple over when sitting.

Hard pass for me.

 

[Lula]

Yes.
In the 1980s.
Purchased from a lovely store near the Gold Coast in Chicago. On Oak Street.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Nope no nadda no
never no

did once a long time ago buy some fabric i fancied making into a busterier

The colour ran in the preswash

 

[MeowMeow]

I had something like one made a long long time ago by a seamstress. I actually liked wearing it. I would love to have a real one with good boning made eventually if we ever become more comfortable. I'm pretty squishy so corsets work on me lol.

 

[monarch64]

I've never worn one, no. I have a solid hourglass figure with hips and bust at equal measurements and waist significantly smaller. I've never worn period costumes, don't feel the need to crush my ribs or restrict my breathing, etc. That said...

In the fashion world, I didn't realize they ever left. Several years ago women here on PS were purchasing and wearing strapless wedding gowns with corseted bodices. In the BDSM world, corsets have been a thing for...years. Edit: Dita von Teese and the like are known for those. Waist-trainers are popular now to train the waist into a smaller size to give an hourglass shape as the originals did. In the lingerie world, have they ever lost popularity? Maybe.

ETA: so this is a case of (in my opinion) the fashion industry using magazines to hype up what they want to sell, what they want to bring back. Is there public demand now for corsets? Perhaps in some small segments. I feel strongly that this is a marketing effort just like many other attempts to manipulate the trends and narrative to get people to think they need things.

 

[Karl_K]

lol actually yes, I wrecked the muscles in my lower back in a bike wreck to the point it was pulling my lower spine out of place so had to wear one for a few weeks.
Did nothing for my figure lol

 

[kenny]

lol actually yes, I wrecked the muscles in my lower back in a bike wreck to the point it was pulling my lower spine out of place so had to wear one for a few weeks.
Did nothing for my figure lol

Karl, was that for the debutante ball of your first season when you were introduced to high society?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Karl_K]

Karl, was that for the debutante ball of your first season in high society?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

lol not. You are bad.

 

[kenny]

lol not. You are bad.

... No really, I'm not baaaad ...

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I wore a long-line bra to cinch my waist and ribs in when I was married in 1988 in grandmother's wedding dress. I couldn't take a normal breath. Awful. And I wore a clamshell brace shaped like an hourglass for a lumbar fracture in 1999, also miserable. Anyone who needs to wear a brace appliance for the back needs to score some high-quality sheepskin to pad the pressure points.
Kenny, you are just plain naughty.

 

[kenny]

... Kenny, you are just plain naughty.

Aw-Shucks!
I'll bet you say that to all us plain naughty boys.

Maybe I need a spanking.

 

[monarch64]

The wiki about corsets is QUITE informative. My B.S. is in Textiles and anything like this has me riveted (pun intended).

 

[kenny]

The wiki about corsets is QUITE informative. My B.S. is in Textiles and anything like this has me riveted (pun intended).

Oh, there's lots of fascinating stuff on the Internet about how corsets harm health and body.
Corsets impair the function of internal organs
When starting to wear them as young girls they could permanently compress the ribcage, reducing lung capacity, not to mention what they did to a squashed digestive system.
But hey, gotta play the brutal appearance game if a young women wants to "marry well" and upgrade her station in life.

IMO it's really bad when some popular show causes women, once again, to follow a fad and see corsets as stylish, putting their bodies in harms way to be cool and stylish.

But hey, women vary.

 

[lookingforsparkle]

No. Just no.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I’ve worn a corset-style blouse before but it wasn’t nearly as tight or uncomfortable as they make them look in movies. Honestly, I liked how it looked on me, I would wear a corset again!

Youtuber Bernadette Banner has a lot of stuff on her channel on corsets including making one, and she goes on many a (witty) diatribe about how popular media make corsets out to be a lot worse than they actually were back in the Victorian era. The videos are really fun to watch if you’re interested.

 

[paragon1234]

I bought one but couldn't lace it up (rectangle shape, no waist) so gave up.

 

[foxinsox]

I own three and have worn them a lot in my past. I’ve never done any sort of waist training tho but in my goth days they were de rigueur! Made properly and worn correctly they’re quite comfortable. Depending on the circles in which you move, they never went away.
A lot of the negative information about corsets is propaganda. Think rationally - every woman wore stays of some sort or another while needing to be able to move, lift things etc. they weren’t just for the upper class. So not everyone was trying to get their waists down to impossible measurements or fainting all over the place.

 

[737liz]

I have about a dozen corsets. From silk to tooled leather. Most are spiral steel boned. Most have never been worn, but they are pretty to look at. The ones that are the right shape for me are incredibly comfortable- they just don't LOOK comfortable. But for anyone with boobs, a well fitted corset can make your tatas feel like floating clouds! It is no more or less comfortable than a bra. At least for me. Nothing digs into your shoulders or waist, but sitting so straight can feel weird. And if it isn't the right shape all my flub ends up just spilling out wherever it can escape. Which is a great look.

So once a year on halloween I cinch one on and go gallivanting around town, reliving my tween years as a goth. So yeah, i kinda wish it was more socially acceptable to wear one under clothes the way bras are worn, as it would save me a lot of shoulder and neck pain.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I always thought those types of garments also informed "bandages" KWIM? Trusses, jock straps, implements/garments worn post scoliosis surgery..... Form meets function? Art meets life? Dual purpose. No harm. But I defer to @monarch64 on that score.

Decades ago, I did have one corset type (pink) top: my favorite because I am flat chested so it improved a little of my stick bug attributes, as it was designed beautifully. I wore it with a gorgeous Albert Ferretti skirt. I also had a gorgeous Ferretti dress that kind of performed the same string up function but at the sides. Beautiful but tricky dress.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Made in London]

I just don’t know where all the “extra” would go. Either it would get pushed upwards and I wouldn’t have a neck or I’d have a butt so big I’d topple over when sitting.

Hard pass for me.

 

[Ally T]

I had a couple of boned bustiers in my mid 20's which I loved. One was grey silk with embroidered pink flowers that trailed up from one hip, across the center & finished very dainty at the opposite boob. It had the most flattering cut across the top of the boobs & made my shoulders looks really broad & sexy. I always felt great in it & wore it with high waisted, super slinky silk black trousers with the bustier over the top at the waist & a black silk choker that had diamanté in the centre. It was very comfy to sit in.

Wouldn't even get a leg in it these days

 

[BlingBlingLova]

Me! Me! I have 5 and they all range from 4 bones to 24! My favorite is the 24 bone. It takes quite a while to get used to. But man oh man what confidence I have whilst wearing it! I started off in an xl and after 2 years, I am down to a medium. I even wear it around the house, under my house robe. My biggest issue is because they suck so much fat in from below your breasts, the fat above from your upper back oozes out so I can only wear the corset if my top is loose and baggy, not a tight fitting dress or sweater

 

[dk168]

Yup, and have a few, the more expensive ones from reputable brands are better made and more comfortable.

The fancier ones are cheaper and not intended to be worn for hours.

I used to be able to do them up on my own, however I have not worn one for a long time, and am not sure if I still could due to one shoulder being a bit stiff in my old age.

They are great in giving me an instant 4in waist reduction, and push my boobs up.

I had some formal evening wear made with me wearing one back in 2009, and they should still fit if I can do one up myself.

I only wear one if I need to get into these clothes nowadays, and have not done so for the past few years as really formal events are far and between.

As I don't wear one to train my waist all the time, I have learnt not to tight-lace straight away just before getting into the clothes I want to wear, but to allow the body to get used to the corset done up not too tightly at least an hour or so while I apply the makeup etc...

DK

 

[missy]

Hahaha Nope. Never.
Half the time I don't even wear a bra when I go out.

 

[Made in London]

I bought one in the 70's for "glamour" purposes but I couldn't move in the thing! It was boned & laced and reached to the top of my thighs. It dug in everywhere! My DH loved it & he encouraged me to wear it more often but it stayed in the bottom of my undies draw

 

[meely]

Yes I used to have a collection of bustiers/lightly boned corsets. I wore them with jeans and pencil skirts, this would have been early 2000s. There was a shop in Camden, London that specialised in them and eventually I bought a proper one in blue velvet, it was gorgeous but sadly long gone as I am no longer a size 24inch waist. I did not find them uncomfy but I did not have any extra weight to spill over, nor did I lace to within an inch of my life! At the moment I think they look a bit alternative and would probably get me a load of unwanted attention but if they became a bit more mainstream again I might be tempted.