Which Size?

Sizing corsets is quite complicated in order to choose the correct size for you.  When ordering, it is important that you give your actual, uncorsetted measurements (in inches).   To get these, measure around the fullest part of your bust/chest, the narrowest part of your waist and the fullest part of your hips.  You may also give your bra and cup size (e.g. 34C).  The right size for you will usually be one which, when laced fully closed, will reduce your waist by about 4 inches.  However, you may not wish or be able to lace that tightly at first, but you should be able to lace up your corset so that it fits snugly all over.  The size of a corset is the measurement at the waist when fully closed.  Sizes are as shown on the site and go up in 2 inch graduations: i.e. 20", 22", etc.  The largest size is 40" - gentlemen's corsets C510 and C515 - which can fit up to a waist of 46".

Which Style?

The first decision is whether to have an under bust style or a longer style which supports the bust.  If you have a fuller bust, cup size DD or larger, you are better suited to an under bust style, please see our under bust corsets section.  Your height can also be a factor - as a rough guide, customers 5'8" and over wanting an over bust corset should look at C130, C135 and C140.  Smaller customers 5'3" (and under should avoid these.  Height should not affect the fit of the under bust styles.  For men wanting a plain corset, we have two specialized styles, C510 and C515.  For transvestites we would recommend an under bust style with a separate bra for best results, because of the difference in proportions of men's anatomy, however if you really want an over bust style, look at C130, C135 and C140 as these are longer.  Please see the individual descriptions under each corset for more detail.  Consider how and where you want to wear your corset - the decorated ones are fine for bedroom wear and dressing up but if you want to put a corset under everyday clothes, choose a plain style which will not show through as much.  If you are still unsure, a good style to start with is C110, which suits a wide range of figures, is plain enough to go under clothes and is our most popular corset.

The History of Corsets

Corseted women were often depicted in the pottery and carvings of early civilisations such as Crete, Assyria and Egypt.  There may have been a link between corset wearing and the worship of the sun and of snakes, which were credited with magical powers; a coiled serpent symbolised the sun.  One Cretan urn, over 5,000 years old, shows a priestess of the snake cult wearing a bronze corset with the classic hour glass shape, fastened at the waist by two serpents, whose heads and tails meet.  The Romans used tight lacing as a form of domination over slaves to show their subjugation and low status, in contrast to the loose robes of their masters and mistresses.  Early Christian fanatics would, as a penance, bind their waists with rope until it cut into their flesh, and in contrast the dissolute women of Alexandria and Constantinople mocked this zeal by wearing elaborate tight belts, made of precious metals and decorated with jewels.  From the 15th century, the hour glass figure was fashionable again with both men and women, who wore bodices stiffened with wood, whalebone and even wrought iron corsets.  Henry III of France had a tiny waist which was the envy of the court.  His mother, Catherine de' Medici, imposed a 13 inch limit on her ladies and their maids.  Even allowing for bodies 400 years ago being smaller than modern ones, these "cages" must have been intensely painful.   The trend continued into the 18th century and comfort was not the only thing sacrificed to fashion; a letter of Horace Walpole's in 1777 describes the other restrictions of ladies' corsets with steel bones: "If a hero attempts to storm such strong lines, and comes to a close engagement, he must lie as ill at ease as St. Lawrence on his gridiron".  Men too suffered; 19th century beaux frequently laced their corsets tightly - in 1834 that great dandy "Prinny", the Prince Regent, was warned "to give up his stays as the wearing of them any longer ... would kill him".

The Victorian age saw the last great heyday of the corset, when the tinier the female waist, the more attractive a figure was considered.  A girl's ambition was to be married before 21, with a waist measurement less than the years of her age.  In pursuit of this ideal, corsets were laced so tightly that numbness in the lower body and legs and even fainting were frequent occurrences, reinforcing the popular image of the female as a fragile, helpless creature.  In reality, women had to be true stoics, enduring severe discomfort while remaining outwardly serene; it was considered disgraceful to show any distress, especially in front of the maid pulling on the laces, or in company.  Even when sleeping, they did not escape, as a night-time model would often be worn, in order to maintain the waist reduction achieved during the day.  For the Victorians, with their repressed sensuality bubbling under the surface, there was more to all this masochism than the mere pursuit of fashion; in 1870, a reader of "The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine" naively wrote that "tight lacing produces delicious sensations, half pleasure, half pain".  In an age of heightened prudery, the corset was in fact a socially acceptable method of self titillation!

It was also an acceptable method of torture; many of the trappings of this obsession with waist reduction would not be out of place in a modern dungeon; the unfortunate young girl being "figure trained" hung onto an overhead bar while mother and maid hauled on the laces; an extra long and tight corset was a favourite method of disciplining recalcitrant girls, sometimes with metal screws to tighten more than was possible with laces; a stocking needle might be placed in a schoolgirl's busk to improve posture - any drooping of the head would result in a sharp prick to the chin!

The fad for tiny waists gradually disappeared from fashion around the First World War, and was replaced by a more natural figure and less restrictive underwear, mirroring women's growing emancipation in society.

In the Bedroom

Having dropped out of everyday wear, it did not take long for the erotic potential of the corset to be rediscovered in the bedroom.

Corsets have gained respectability in the last few years, finding their way onto the glossy magazine fashion pages but it shouldn't be forgotten that a corset has all sorts of erotic uses too!

Partners can help with the putting on - they'll enjoy transforming your figure and being laced into a corset can be an exquisitely sensual experience; the laces slide across your back as they are pulled gradually in from the top and bottom towards the middle, and the sensation is of being embraced tighter and tighter.

Wearing a corset can help get you both into the right mood - corsets enhance any woman's body, giving not just a smaller waist, but fuller breast and hips which swell out provocatively.  The sexual parts are very much on display, which gives a feeling of intense femininity.   Once you've pulled the laces in, you don't have to settle for tying them in a bow - make the most of the length if you are into tying each other up. There is also a lot of scope for domination games; apart from the bondage angle, there is nothing like lacing someone tightly to emphasise your control over them and the long loops can be used to lead the wearer around.

The other advantage of wearing a corset for sex is that you don't have to take it off at the critical moment - all the important bits are still uncovered.

If you feel like indulging in a spot of fantasy, a corset is a great inspiration, fitting into all sorts of scenarios; wear it with long cotton bloomers and transform yourself into a Victorian maid, tavern wench or southern belle; wear it with a long skirt and a feather boa for a glamorous film star look; or team it with a G-string, stockings and suspenders and become a hooker for the night - restricting your waist needn't restrict your imagination!