A Comprehensive Guide on Corset Care

Seasoning your Corset - or Seasoning your Body?

Seasoning corsetry is a ‘marmite’ topic. Some say it’s essential, some say that it shouldn’t be a thing. My thought is that you’re not seasoning the corset, you’re seasoning your body. The corset should be of good enough quality not to burst apart if you lace it up tightly from the off. However, If you are not used to wearing corsets, you may need to undergo a 'breaking in period' -  just like breaking in a pair of high heel shoes.  When you first wear a brand new corset it will feel quite rigid and the gap at the back, when laced, will be at maximum width which could be up to 2.5 inches. 

Should the Corset feel Tight?

Yes! The corset should feel tight - corsets are tight. But the corset shouldn’t feel uncomfortable, whether it’s brand new, or an old favourite.

Over wear, the corset fabric will soften and it will mould to your body until eventually the corset will feel more like a second skin or outer skeleton - just as our favourite shoes soon feel like 'slippers' to wear.  At this point you may even feel like the corset is ‘too big’ for you - it isn’t, and you’ll still get the shape, but again, this is personal preference, some people like that tight feeling of a new corset.

New corset wearers should lace moderately at first and wear only for short time periods.  If you are not used to corsetting or tightlacing, do not lace it tightly straight away as this may cause undue stress on your body (the corset will be fine!).  

During the process of getting to know your corset, the gap at the centre back will narrow and depending upon how 'squishy' your body is, you may be able to close the corset eventually.  however it will still give the shape it was intended to give.  By the time you’ve got to know eachother well, lacing up will be almost automatic - you will simply pull the laces, and everything will do it’self up in a matter of seconds.

Training your Waist - should you?

At the stage, when your body has got so used to the corset that it almost feels too ‘big’,  it may be possible to size down the waist if you wish to start waist training.  Sizing down does not mean you buy a smaller size corset overall, because your ribcage and hips will not have changed in size - see the information below on waist training and check our blog series on Tightlacing and Waist Training here. 

Lacing and Un-Lacing your Corset

When you are ready to put your new corset on for the first time, remember to loosen the lacing at the back to the point where you can easily wrap the corset around your body and easily close it with the fastning busk or zipper.  The corset should be very loose around your torso, but not so loose that it falls off!  You should not have to breathe in, or hold your breath to complete this step.

Now tighten the corset a little by pulling the bunny ears until it is not tight, but not loose.  Then make sure the waist is in the right position, and your clothes/camisole/liner is nice and smooth before commencing.  Check that the centre front is straight and centred properly and that the busk is straight - if it appears squint at this stage, tightening will make it more squint, so don’t miss this important step.

Now it’s time to tighten the laces properly and this involves working the laces a bit like a cats cradle, alternatley pulling the loops, and taking up the slack above and below with your fingers, until the back edges of the corset are laced to their full extent, and parallell.  You do not want a V shape or an /\ shape or a () or )( as this will cause bulges where you don’t want them, and mild to severe discomfort.  Have a look at the video below to see this process in action.

You will see on the internet that some people like to tie the surplus lace around their waist and tie it in the front - I don’t advise this because eventually, the fabric in that area will wear and spoil the look of your corset.  Instead, if you don’t want to feel the laces dangling anywhere, tuck them up inside the corset from the back.  It looks neat, is very comfortable, and depending on the type of corset you have and how long the laces are, it can give you an extra bit of hip padding which will enhance the illusion of the tiny waist.!

When you remove the corset, don’t forget to loosen the laces before unfastening the front.  If you don’t loosen the laces before you take the corset off, you may damage the fastener.