Wearing a Corset – What it feels like!

This is a guest post by the couture corset designer Victoria Whiteland, who specializes in corsetry, evening and bridal wear. With over 18 years of experience, Victoria has become an expert on corsets designing for the Baftas, Brits, Comedy Awards, Sir Hardy Amies, BBC, ITV, S4C & SKY. Here’s why what a corset makes you feel like, according to her.

A Corset Should Be Wonderful To Wear

It should be a great experience and one that can change your life…I believe that a well-designed corset can have many benefits. The right corset for you should help your body by having a positive effect. I believe it can be created with this purpose in mind.

So my motto is: “The power of corsetry for positive change”

Yet in many ways, the old stigma still remains. Corsets from the nineteenth century – these are still being recreated today, are known for inducing episodes of fainting and collapse, distortion of the organs and suffocation of the heart.

Women constantly tell me “I don’t want anything restrictive, uncomfortable and hot” they worry that they will suddenly feel unable to cope, a fear that goes back a long way – women lived their lives wearing corsets over centuries.

My own introduction to corsets was the day my brother arrived home wearing one… He had suffered an accident: his spine was broken during a Rugby match at school. The corset he wore was an old-fashioned structure and feat of engineering.  When eventually the miracle of rescue was complete, we marvelled at this recuperative wonder…

Discovering More…

Using friends who I could mould body-patterns onto, I set about creating many different experiments and developed 50 styles (there are many more now), each design carefully sculpted their bodies in a different way.

I discovered that I could do many wonderful things if I design corsets for a person’s specific needs. I wanted a new type of corset that could easily be worn daily, sympathetic to the body and suitable for today.

Winning An Award

I encourage anyone to explain what they want me to do for them. The corset that I create must answer their needs or desires; it should feel perfect for them. I had longed to create a design that would change women’s lives. My design was nominated for an award at the British Female Innovators Awards and won the Bronze award at the British Invention Show. (Most of the awards here are given to priority medical solutions).

Once the design process has been completed, I want her to feel as though her problems have been solved. They may simply wish for a boost to their allure; a corset to make the most of their own shape and diminish the faults they feel they have. Perhaps their confidence needs a boost at a trying time in their life. It is rewarding work to help women who are at a difficult time in their lives, perhaps divorce or betrayal. The corset can give them back their vitality. I love seeing customers so happy and uplifted by the fabulous ‘new’ them they can suddenly see winking back from the mirror!

An Empowering Experience

So it is not surprising that often when removing a corset I am met with “It’s a pity to take it off”! The corset can lift us out of ordinariness…

The right corset can be fabulous for women of bigger sizes. There is still something of a stigma to being a larger woman; it isn’t always confidence inspiring for her, especially as she may often be faced with the lack of well-fitting and flattering clothes.

In earlier times larger women didn’t have the same image and style problems; the corset she would have worn as part of her daily clothing created a wonderful curvy shape and she would have felt no less the beauty for her larger size. These days most fashions for larger women are shapeless and tent-like; un-flattering and un-feminine!

I feel strongly that this is something important that has been lost as times have changed and corsetry fell out of daily use.

Alleviating Discomfort

By far the most rewarding role in my work is alleviating discomfort. Why suffer from shoulder aches, cutting bra straps, and sagging breasts? A corset that supports a larger bust properly and is comfortable enough to wear all day long will solve this problem. Women with smaller breasts but are not satisfied with this aspect of their body would benefit from the lift and enhanced shape that a well designed corset can create, and enjoy a new womanly body-image.

As a bra designer and corsetiere, I believe that achieving a good bust-shape and small waist allows us to wear almost anything and look fantastic! Good support is essential for long-lasting breast firmness, and surely a lovely shape for as long as possible is a must!

A well-defined waist is the ultimate aid to a sexy and youthful looking body…

A corset is the only item of clothing that will achieve a smaller waist.

Many items suggesting a new shape just smooth over the body, only a good corset will make a dramatic difference to the way you look and feel. As the corset is probably the only garment you will ever wear that is actually smaller than your body, to fully enjoy the effects, it should be wearable as much as you need it. Choosing the right corset for you presents a very important question; your body’s needs.

It is essential to enjoy the process of perfecting a good body shape…

I design corsets that can be worn in comfort and safety. As the corset will reduce your measurements, this is a very important consideration. A corset not made by a corsetiere, but produced by fashion wear manufacturers cannot take into account an individual’s size details or needs. I cannot bear to hear of cheap corsets easily torn and broken, supports have protruded, fractured & rusted. These ‘fashion’ garments often have no body-shaping benefits either.

When it comes to preserving your own youthful body, cost cutting is no solution – It is better to save up a little longer to buy the corset you need and want most.

The right corset for you should feel truly sumptuous, gorgeous and wonderful! When you look in the mirror this is how you will see yourself.

This is how others will now see you… that is a wonderful feeling.

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