I bought a corset on Etsy!

I bought a corset!  It's my very first corset so I'm excited, nervous, and curious to see how my body adapts to wearing a hug.

I have the family shape which involves a large endowment and a small rib cage.  Middle of the alphabet cup size kind of endowment.  Combine this with other health issues, and bras are not an option (doctors orders).  But I need bust support, so after talking with my doctor, we decided that a corset might help.

I bought my corset from Hidden Nature Creation who custom sews corsets.  

The seller has excellent communication style and made the process of buying the corset friendly and safe.  

I asked for something very boring that focuses on support but will be good for working around the farm.  We settled on the Pretty Housemaid style.   Made some more decisions on materials etc.  Then I took my measurements.  And then I took them again, and again, and again until I was confident I got them right.  And then I waited while the post office lost and found and lost and found and then sent to the wrong sorting station, then finally figured out where I live.  Thank good ness for tracking!  The people at the post office and I had a good laugh about the adventure the parcel took to get here.  

It arrived!  

It is GORGEOUS!  

Here, feast your eyes on this!











and here's the inside

The corset arrived with a print out on how to care and season the corset.  It should take about a week to season the corset and I'm only on day three.  

I had read about seasoning but I wasn't ready for how big a change it makes to the corset.  When I first put it on, I admit I was a bit worried.  Even loosely laced, it didn't seem anything like my shape and the top and bottom edge had a mind of their own.  But after 15 min, things were already starting to feel better.  I tightened the lace a bit, and another quarter of an hour, it was even better.  

Day one, I wore it for about an hour.  Day two, almost two hours.  Day three, it's been on for about half an hour.  There is still a long way to go to be fully seasoned, but it's making obvious progress.  

I'm also finding my body needs to get used to it.  The first moment I put it on, I almost panicked.  I do not like being touched and hugging is one of the biggest forms of torture ever invented.  But after the first few moments, it started to get comfortable.  Instead of being hugged, it feels like being protected.  Wearing it, even loosely laced, takes a lot of the pinch out of my back.  It changes my posture considerably.  After a few minutes, I can feel muscles working in my back that I haven't felt in decades.  I suspect it's going to be a long time before I can wear the corset all day - I need to 'season' my back.  

warmth - it's actually quite cool on my body.  I've got two extra layers on (my shift and my corset) under my clothes, so I expected to be warmer.  But no.  

Breathing - so far it's improving my breathing to wear the corset.  I'm breathing the full length of my body instead of just at the belly.  It feels like I'm getting more air inside me this way.  

The biggest problem so far is balance.  It's been a long time since I have had a supported bust and it does change my centre of gravity - tremendously!  It also means I cannot see my feet when going downstairs which ... well, I'm good at falling so I'm not going down any stairs until I can get this balance thing sorted.

I bought a corset, online, without any mockups or fittings.  That's a dangerous thing.  So how does it fit?

Pretty darn good, actually.  

It still needs breaking in.  So I won't know for certain until we get that done.

But I also have a confession.  I changed medications between the time I took my measurements and the day the corset arrived.  My bust size is over two inches smaller.  yep.  That's a lot.  Once I've worn this for a while, I may need to take a bit in on the bust, but that kind of alteration is common in historical examples of corsets.  But it also might be fine once the corset is broken in.  I want to stress, that any misfit in the bust is not the fault of the maker.  

These pictures are at the start of day three.  The corset is not broken in nor is it laced tightly yet.  These are also not my normal clothes for wearing under the corset, I just wanted something to contrast so you could see better.

What would I do differently?

Spoon busk!
Given my IBS belly, I think I would have been way more comfortable with a spoon busk.

I asked for a boring corset with the idea that I might floss it later.  I'm wondering now if I should have paid for flossing?  It's labour intensive which means it would have upped the price quite a bit.  So I think I'm happier to do it myself.  It's just the only thread I have that is acceptable is pink.  Do I really want pink flossing?

Last, of all, I might add some padding on the left hip.  Something in my body means that the bone is lightly resting on a pressure point.  It might go away when broken in, but it might not.  I'm beginning to understand how unsymmetrical my body is.  I used to think it weird that commercially made clothes were always an inch longer on the left sleeve and pants than the right.  Now I'm starting to suspect I'm just an inch shorter on that side.  But a very light bit of padding should do the trick.

...

All in all, I'm happy with it.  I'm so glad I bought a corset made by a person who knows what they are doing.  I've learned a lot by looking at the construction method and I have some great ideas for my corset making adventures.  

Just sitting and wearing it while writing the above posts, I can already feel the bust settling in better.  I'm going to tighten up the laces a bit and try my other makes-my-back-hurt task - washing the dishes.

Hi R,

It looks gorgeous, and very decently made. Congratulations on the start of your corset adventure!

Just a few suggestions to improve even more your already happy first experience:
Did the corset come with a modesty panel? If not I would advise getting or making one, especially since this corset is meant for active wear. A modesty panel is a small cloth (sometimes lightly boned) back panel that goes between the laces and your undergarment. Without one, if you are moving around a lot the laces can chafe whatever your wearing underneath, and even rub your skin quite uncomfortably.

Also, I’ve always read that it is good when lacing and especially when breaking in a corset to keep the back bones as parallel as possible. From your photos I can see you laced your waist tighter then your hips and bust (which is normal as your waist area is more comfortably compressed than your ribs and hips, that needs some more getting used to).  But lacing unevenly can cause the back bones to warp. A good fitting corset will have parallel running back bones all the way (so an even spaced gap between ribcage, waist and hips) I’m quite sure your corset is a good fitting one because from your photos it appears as if there is still a bit of room in the bottom of your corset to pull it tighter, but as you are breaking in and letting your body adjust to the corset you might not yet feel comfortable to do so. I would suggest with some urge in the meantime to loosen the area around your waist to straighten those backbones, and only go tighter once both you and your corset are ready to do so over the entire length of the corset. Even if this means that initially the area around the waist might feel a bit loose until you can manage to close the bust and hip area more, this will protect your corset from warping (sometimes permanently) the bones, creating uneven stress on the waist seams, and also potentially creating discomfort due to the bent back bones.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

lacing - definitely.  The goal for this corset is to have 2" gap all the way along.  The clothes I put underneath for the photos had a big effect on the shape and I hadn't laced it up tight for the photo because I didn't want them to damage the bones.  It seems that I lace it loosely and wait for the corset to warm up, then it feels better to lace tighter and get the back parallel. Because I'm still breaking it in, I'm not at the 2" gap size yet.  

Once I'm used to it, I'll probably add a modesty panel.  But I wanted to try it without to see what it is like.  Mostly because lacing behind my back is a new skill and I don't want to have anything extra to deal with while I'm teaching my hands how to do it.  

It's been two and a half hours.  I don't really want to take it off, but I'm going to have to.

I did some light housework, putting away dishes, hanging laundry, etc.  My observation is that the corset forces me to use the muscles I should be using.  It also seems to make me breathe correctly for the task (stretch out, breath in, bend down, breath out).

The big problem is, this using the correct muscles.  Asymmetrical and other issues mean I'm unused to using the correct muscles.  I can very much feel the muscles that are overdeveloped and the ones that are underdeveloped that the corset encourages to work.  I feel like I've been doing way more work than I actually did.  Right now, I'm at that comfortable, I did physical activity and my muscles feel tired but happy stage.  But if I keep going, they are going to be angry at me.  

I expected the opposite.  I expected that the corset would do a lot of the muscle work for me, but it's actually shocking how much and how good the back muscles feel for working harder.  That just goes to show what an incredibly bad state my body is in.  

But also it's comfortable.  I love the way my back doesn't pinch while I'm wearing it.

I just want to drop in and say I've been enjoying your corset adventures. I'm a middle of the alphabet sort myself, and I've worn a few over the years, especially when healing from shoulder or lower back injuries. The way they move the weight and pressure from straps, and the way they change how I use my back have both been very helpful. I've had to be careful of the corset edge rubbing a bit on the insides of my upper arms and causing some tenderness.

I would love some thoughts on the busk.  

I've read that after it's seasoned, the busk should leap in to place.  But I'm having trouble getting it on and off. Arthritis.  

What I've done is put some longer laces in so I have more room to work with.  But I'm wondering if there's a trick to it?  

r ranson wrote:I would love some thoughts on the busk.  

I've read that after it's seasoned, the busk should leap in to place.  But I'm having trouble getting it on and off. Arthritis.  

What I've done is put some longer laces in so I have more room to work with.  But I'm wondering if there's a trick to it?  

I've always had trouble with fastening my busks - even before my arthritis and carpal tunnel issues. Now, I've got 1 thumb and 2 fingers triggering, so it's even harder. The only thing that's worked for me is to loosen the laces a bit, hook up the busk, then retighten the laces. A much slower process, but the only one I've come up with, that doesn't require someone else to do me up.

r ranson wrote:

The biggest problem so far is balance.  It's been a long time since I have had a supported bust and it does change my centre of gravity - tremendously!  It also means I cannot see my feet when going downstairs which ... well, I'm good at falling so I'm not going down any stairs until I can get this balance thing sorted.

When most people go down stairs, it's kind of a "controlled fall", with their foot reaching the next step just in time to keep it under their body. Aside from being hard on the joints, this makes it easy to slip into an uncontrolled fall.

What might work better is to focus on the uphill leg. Keep your weight on that side and bend the knee in kind of a one-legged crouch, until you feel the stair under your downhill foot and can tell that the step is secure. Then shift your weight and repeat. This will work your leg muscles in new and interesting ways, but you'll be less likely to miss a step.

(Picture Legos on the stair. Walk in such a way that you can feel whether or not you're about to step on one, and can scootch it out of the way with your toe if you need to.)

Falling down is one of my super-powers.  Going downstairs (or downhill for that matter) takes a lot of attention.  I won't transfer weight until I am certain the next food has a firm place to stand.  Being able to see the stairs is a big part of not falling.  

For some reason, going downslope is terrible on my balance.  It's worse if I'm carrying something.

The big problems is, the way it pushes up my bust means that most of my clothes don't fit.  But I've held back getting new clothes this year for after I get used to wearing a corset and knowing if it's for me.

The 'shelf line' is dissipating with wear.  

Something I would like to try for next time is to have the corset come up higher and cup inwards at the top.  I think this would be more comfortable for my body.  I'm not used to having a shape that emphasizes my endowment.

The shape makes me worry about spillover, but I haven't actually had this as an issue yet.  It's just so common that I worry about it.  

I stumbled on this little gem http://haabet.dk/CorsetCloseFitting/4.html

Corsets for Swayed-Back Figures. The woman with a swayed-back figure is not difficult to fit with a corset and she need take only ordinary precautions in making a selection.   However, if her back is verY much curved and if she is especially flat below the waist line, a small corset pad similar to the one shown in Fig. 1 will prove to be an excellent help. Such a pad consists of a covering of China silk or light-weight muslin, as in (a), and in (b).   BY sheet wadding is meant cotton pressed into flat sheets that are about 1/8 in. thick and are held together with a solution that in no way affects the cotton, but makes it very convenient to handle. The pad should be sewed to the underneath part of the corset, so that it will not interfere with garments that are being fitted or worn.

For very slender women whose hip bones are prominent, smaller pads than those just mentioned are very satisfactory. When secured to the inside of the corset, just in front of the hip bones, they give the wearer much comfort, as they tend to lift the corset so that the stays do not press hard on the hip bones. In addition, they serve to make the hip bones appear less prominent.

I don't have any cotton wadding, but I could card up some wool and make a pad.  This would help with where my hip is rubbing on the bone and I think padding out the smaller of my two hips will help the overall feel of the corset.  

I put my corset on today, first time in a week.

Last week was about hard physical work.  Hard physical work in icy conditions.  I didn't want to take the chance doing that kind of thing while adjusting to the corset.  My back is upset at me.  It likes the work, but it likes bust support better.  

The thing about the corset is that I can still feel it training new muscles so I want to treat them gently while they grow.  This is still amazing to me because I expected the corset to be reducing muscles not creating new ones.  

I'm very happy to be wearing the corset again.  my spine has been so angry as I have also been doing far too much computer work.  

Something else I'm really liking: my corset is supporting my clothes instead of my clothes pulling down on my body.  What this means, is I should be able to wear a non-elastic waist on a skirt again soon.  This is going to open up all sorts of possibilities for my capsule wardrobe which I've been putting off because the way the IBD makes my shape change (4" in an hour on the waist is not unusual).  

That also gets me back to the busk.  I'm still thinking a spoon busk will be my future.  I like the idea of how it bends towards the body and is firmer at creating a shape.  So I can have like a hidden pocket where my gut can rest and be relaxed while the corset supports the rest of me.  

Last spring I had an injury and for complicated reasons, I didn't wear my corset since.  But the injury had a bonus side effect that I wasn't doing the behaviour (computer work mostly) that was causing the back pain.  

The bad behaviour is back and I'm on day 4 of zero sleep due to back pain.  Nothing I can do - moving, sitting, laying, standing - reduces the pain, so I put my corset on and instant relief!  

Other than my injury, why did I stop wearing corset most days?

A few big reasons and a few smaller reasons.

Big:
1. It takes too long to put on.  For me, getting dressed should take 4 minuites.  That's 3.5 min looking for matching socks and 30 seconds tossing clothes on my body.  A corset adds a great deal of time to the task of getting dressed plus thinking.
2. Thinking about what I can wear that fits over my corset.  It changes my bust height and increases the size, so basically, none of my tops fit.  I need to take action about this but haven't gotten my brain around what to do.
3. My apex sits above the line of the corset.  This chaffs and unfortunately, the solution for joggers nipples aren't great for me.  This is a big thing holding me back from making my own corset (and that I need to start over again as I can now measure my body while wearing a corset).  I think the big problem here is in my measuring myself for a shapely garment without anything to shape my body.  


small:
- I am too asymmetrical.  One cup is overflowing the other cup is woefully underfilled.  
- I am very happy I have a bidet as I cannot bend to do the paperwork after my morning constitutional.  
- I need better under garb.
- I need clothes that don't look stupid with a corset under them.

But having worn this for the last four hours, I am reminded by how much it helps.  I am breathing so much better, getting more oxygen to my head.  The pain in my back is almost completely vanished.  My waste management system flows smoother.  Overall, I feel healthier in this posture.  I want to feel this way more.  

I really need to look at this problem list and find solutions because the corset is hugely worth it.

And it's time to take a serious look at your computer usage ergonomics. Something about the current setup is causing you to compensate with your back.

K Kaba wrote:And it's time to take a serious look at your computer usage ergonomics. Something about the current setup is causing you to compensate with your back.

The computer problem is scoliosis plus old horse-caused injury, plus body shape.
I've had the occupational therapist look at my setup and there is little that can be done.

Glad you've had a specialist in! That's reassuring. What you're describing is an awful mess of pain and sleep disruption.

If they didn't suggest it, have you experimented with the timer thing? Work for 30 or 50 minutes, alarm, go walk around, repeat. It's harder to get things done, but it's helped me when I've had old back issues flare up.

changing tasks every 20 min helps with both pain and with attention span.  But sometimes I hyperfocus and don't hear the timer.  Those 4+hour long sessions are back killers.