What size should your corset be, and how tightly should you lace it? - The Dreamstress

I get a lot of questions about corsets. Costumers ask what size they should make their corset.  Consumers ask what size they should buy their corset.  Those with corsets ask how tightly they should lace their corset. Finally, people ask “Isn’t that horribly painful?” The answer to that question is  an emphatic “No“: not if your corset is well made, properly fitted, and properly laced. To help with the last two, this is my rough guide to corset fit and lacing.  It’s not based on anything more scientific than things I’ve been told, things I’ve noticed in sewing and making corsets, and things I’ve noticed in fitting lots of models in corsets.  It’s going to vary depending on the corset style, and on your body.  There is no one-size-fits-all in corsets, and no one-answer-fits-all, because there is an infinite variety of bodies. These guidelines are intended to give a comfortable silhouette with a defined waist and supported bust: something that would be reasonably historically accurate for the period from 1860 to 1900.  None of the …

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