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I once had a client tell me she had ordered a "custom" corset and was certain of her facts, when she had ordered a standard size or factory-made corset for which she only sent in one measurement, and that was her snug natural waist. By any reputable corset business standards, this is nothing short of misrepresentation, but the client was out her money and there was no recourse.
Being bamboozled by a business is much easier to suffer
today than in the past,
since 2011 has seen flooding of the corset market by
imports from Pakistan and China, and the selling of same
by uneducated store owners and sales staff. Even so-called
"high-end" stores or boutiques are sometimes clueless
when it comes to quality corsetry. Early in 2000, I called the San Francisco
Nordstrom's, a reputable department store for the most part,
and when I asked a sales lady a question about the "busk"
on a $1500 corset by Stella McCartney, the lady had
no idea what I meant! I also encounter some people asking me to "pick a corset for me, I don't have time to read what you sent me." At this point I normally reply that it seems that ROMANTASY is not the proper corset business for them, as most surely we are not! If you don't want to take a bit of time to protect your investment and do a wee bit of homework to benefit yourself, then most likely you will be a disappointed client in the end. Can you sometimes luck out with well-fitting factory-made corsets? Sure. But will they last very long before inferior fabrics unsuited to lacing down begin to fray or shred? If you only spent $35, $75 or perhaps even $100 and wore it a few times for fun, then perhaps this expenditure is just fine. If you want more from the dollars you have, then it will take about three times or more as a purchase price to get close to a quality purchase and then multiple measurements will be required. Fully custom corsets mean that a minimum of 8 measurements will be taken. However, what it will not mean, is that a sole corsetmaker or corset business will not necessarily tell you what figure silhouette his or her patterning practices or preferences will create when you wear their custom corset. A person wrote that she was convinced she had purchased an "expensive, proper, full custom hourglass corset," but one that was causing repeated leg numbness and skin pinching, plus days of soreness once she took the corset off to rest for a week. Numbness is nothing to laugh about and everything to be concerned about. When I reviewed the company's photos I saw that most of the silhouettes their corset created were U-shaped, I realized that the bottom half of this person's corset was likely pressing the anterior femoral nerve down on the hip bone as she laced down, and reducing blood supply, thus creating numbness. The solution is a hourglass, wasp, or possibly the straight-rib silhouette with the corset bottom half curving out and comfortably over the hip bone.
if you are thinking what I am, right about now you are
saying that "you get what you pay for," and then if you
don't work with ROMANTASY -- sometimes you don't!
A. We don't recommend that you do this, but at a minimum before purchasing any fabric, please submit a swatch to Sheri for approval.Also, kindly read and consider the wise words below from our former esteemed corsetier, Mr. Michael Garrod of the True Grace Corset Company,and from present team member Sharon McCoy Morgan, regarding fabrics suitable for corsets and tight lacing.
Observe the gold store-bought satin shown right. The white vertical stripes are actually fraying fabric from clothing rubbing over the top. This corset had been worn for only a year or so before it began to show this wear. We highly recommend that you order our stronger cotton-backed satin, which comes in about 14 attractive colors, however, if you decide to shop for your own fabric, we urge you to send us a swatch in advance of purchase, so that we can test it for suitability. In one case, our bride-to-be client went out to purchase white satin, yet came back with black velvet! The corsetiere she chose to make her bridal corset did not work in velvets, and for an upcharge, we had to change to ] another maker on our team who did work in velvet. Note that not all corsetieres on our team offer discounts if you provide your own fabric, and those are generally quite modest, such as from $10 to $25. Please inquire when you place your order. The large majority of cost of construction is not in the fabric and findings, but in the labor and skill level that goes into patterning and production.
"The uninitiated might well think, with the plethora of fabrics available in the large stores these days, that the corset maker's supplies were healthy. The truth is, they are not. At the turn of the 19th century, when the production of cotton fabrics reached its peak, there were 80,000 looms operated by about 20,000 firms in England alone! A substantial proportion of that output was geared to supplying a very large corset industry, and the demand was for high quality, strong cloth. This was made both for the outside surface as well as the lining of corsets. A gradual decline in consumption of corset cloth took place during the 20th century, making a nose dive in the 70s and 80s. This had catastrophic consequences, resulting in most corset manufacturers, as well as suppliers, going out of business by 1985. Few remain in existence. The most important aspect of a corset, especially if it is subjected to tight lacing (Ed. note: tight lacing is generally defined as lacing a garment so that the natural waist is reduced four or more inches for six more more hours at a time, day-in and day-out for a year or so), is that it will withstand usage over many months--if not years. It is not enough to have a lining material which is strong, combined with a lighter weight outside--it will not last. The lighter fabric has to be backed, preferably bonded, so that there is no possibility of it coming under tension and breaking. The corset maker of a century ago would not have had problems like this to overcome! Q.3. What is the difference between rubber, latex, and PVC (polyvinyl chloride pictured below in purple PVC with orange and yellow PVC flames)?
A. PVC is a plastic fabric that comes in many colors, including sometimes, amazing holographic prints. As far as I know, rubber and latex are the same material. Both are made of rubber. Rubber is sometimes thicker for a corset, latex lighter. I've never trusted latex corsetry for serious tight-lacing and longevity, although I know one corsetmaker who swears her gluing technique makes latex stand up to tight-lacing. I cannot attest to that. Mr. Garrod, for ROMANTASY, provided superlative rubber corsets which he both stitched and glued using thicker European rubber, but he never would guarantee a corset�s durability much past five years. Rubber/latex will eventually deteriorate. PVC can crack over time. My True Grace rubber and PVC corsets are doing fine after 12 years although dulling. You shine a rubber or latex corset with Rubberall.
Sometimes PVC will crack at the waistline
(where pressure is most) and show the stitch marks a
little bit. Some PVCs are lower quality and after a year or
two may even begin to peel and ruin your entire corset!
Neither rubber nor PVC is perfect for a tight-lacing
long-lasting corset.
A. Yes.Sheri never uses rigilene or plastic boning that is more suitable for theatrical style and comfortable lingerie-style corsets. She uses spring steel bones that have been coated in white plastic and tipped on rounded edges. Typical is the 3/8" wide bone in two weights, however she can and does use 1/2" wide bones on occasion and for certain purposes or to fulfill a client request for a more sturdy corset. Some wholesalers from Asian companies promoting readymade corsets of dubious fit and quality, claim they use all stainless boning and busks. We cannot verify that claim and urge caution if you purchase from those companies. However, we do not recommend all stainless boning, because spring steel takes on your torso shape with some wearing of the corset, and becomes more comfortable over time. Stainless boning will assuredly remain quite stiff and unyielding over time, and would therefore be more suitable for short periods of wear, or a fetish appearance and certainly, more uncomfortable long wear.
A. The answer is unclear. We will assist you make this choice considering other factors than the one you mention. Corset busks come in three styles and several lengths (see image to right)/ The most common busk and the one we will employ without a specific request to the contrary, is made of spring steel that is dipped in white plastic. It is of even width top to bottom and 7/16" wide when stud side is joined with clip side. You may request a slightly wider spring steel approximately $25 to your corset cost. These busks are flexible and eventually bend gently inward at the waistline and take on more of the actual torso shape.
The wedge busk is also of stainless steel and quite stiff, 3/4" wide at the bottom and 3/8" wide at the top, while the spoon busk is in slightly curved stainless steel and quite stiff, 1 and 1/8" at the top and 2 and 5/8" wide at the bottom and 3/8" wide at the top. The spoon busk creates a more rounded tummy seen in the brown corset by Sue Nice. Since more labor and materials costs are involved, the wedge busk adds approximately $50 while the spoon busk adds approximately $125 to your basic corset cost.
The underbusk is a single piece of steel, normally
stainless steel from 3/4" to 1" wide,
and when inserted inside a fabric flap under the front busk adds a goodly
amount of lower tummy control and a straight front. Some
who tight-lace order this feature to add strength to the
corset quality. It normally adds $45 to the basic corset cost.
Whether or not you wish this to shore up a front busk will be up to
you.
Owner Ann has had to remove this underbusk bone in one of
her
corsets, as it was too stiff for her purposes and put
uncomfortable pressure on her breastbone in the center of
her upper torso. It is
far more common to see employed in European-made corsets
than in American-made corsets.
A. Sheri's corsets come with a stitching technique that ensures the front edges meet evenly at the busk so that your dress fabric (or skin) does not show through in front.
.
A. Sheri will choose the color of stitching which is normally the approximate color of your outer fabric, but may be contrasting. Color of thread is considered an artistic, not quality, matter. You may request contrasting color thread. Stitches are of approximately even width and suitable tightness. Stitching for bone casings which hold the bones, will be very straight. Of course stitching or any element of construction of a corset by a human being vs. a robot, will always include small variations, but we strive to keep stitch lines (which delivers quality) in your corset, within a 1/8" variance, and bone casings and binding widths within a 1/8" to a maximum 1/4" variance.
A. You will normally be asked to choose the fabric type and color of the binding which is a strip of fabric typically, but not always, cut on the bias, that covers the raw upper and lower edges of your corset. The binding we offer is always of substantial quality.
On the outside, binding should be relatively smooth and of even width around the corset, terminating in front and back at the busk and grommets in a neat fashion with no raw edges showing. On the inside, binding may show more variation in width but raw fabric edges will be tucked and stitched under. If you order a reversible corset
for a modest
upcharge (note that any underbust style may be reversed,
but this is normally not recommended for full figure clients
because it puts too much pressure on the boning),
then binding will be approximately equivalent in
artistry and finish on both sides of the corset.
There may be a minor variance in the width
and finish of the binding at the front busk and back
grommets, and the precision with which each side of your
corset meets,
depending upon the skill level of your chosen
corsetiere and your artistic preferences. Such preferences
must be
clearly expressed when you place your order, so we
correctly
advise you about this matter.
A. There is no precise or ultimate answer that fits for everyone. Sheri and Ann will gladly assist our clients make the best decision as to how much of a waist reduction to order for their corset, based on several factors. Factors include plasticity of the torso, experience in tight-lacing and wearing corsets, individual goals and reasons for wearing a corset, and other. However, there can be NO GUARANTEE that any well-experienced piece of advice will be absolutely accurate for any given individual, especially if we cannot see and touch your waistline to determine muscle tone and/or midriff "squishiness". View the image to the right. This client measured the derriere too tightly and ordered her corset to close with too much waist reduction, resulting in an uneven and overly-wide back gap. As a general rule, it is desirable that the gap be more or less even top to bottom, after a period of seasoning a new corset. It is also desirable that after initial lacing down of 1 to 3", the remaining gap initially be no more than 4" wide, to avoid the risk of torquing on the body and the corset creating "hot spots" where the corset may pinch the skin.
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