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CORSET BUYING ADVICES- or how to wisely save your money
This article is meant as a guidance for beginners who are still not sure what to choose and what to look for when choosing a corset.
As I am also a textile engineer, not only a corset maker, I will make a neutral comparison of some usual corset's quality you can find on the marketplace and short explanation what to take care of while choosing a corset. But at the end decision what will satisfy your needs and what you will choose leaves only on you.
What do you want
First of all you need to be sure what do you need corset for. Real, quality made corsets will give you a flattering hourglass silhouette, while the cheap boned busters will not give any shape and support to your body. Do you want to waist train and wear your corset daily and your corset to last many years, or you just need something to wear few times in a club. If you have already searched for corsets you have already noticed that the price varies from a few $ to a few hundred or even thousand dollars.
Depending on the ratio price-quality, there are generally 3 categories of items you can find on market:
1) LOW QUALITY -usually shipped from China, can be found on e-bay starting from only few $. They are made of cheap fabrics, not suitable for corset making. Usually contain busk but the rest of the boning is plastic even though they are stated as "steel boned" . Not suitable for tightlacing, and they don't give support to your body or hourglass silhouette. They are regularly cheap knock-offs from famous corset brands and designers. Unfortunately they are so bad constructed that the seams can broke on the first wearing, and the bones get bended after the first wearing. They are often sold with matching thong. The only thing they are suitable for is for single wearing costumes as they are actually corseted tops and not the real corsets.
2) MIDDLE RANGE CORSET QUALITY- they come in standard sizing and usually have a layer of twill and a fashion fabric. The price is a bit higher but they will usually not break at first wearing. They can contain plastic or steel boning. They are not suitable for higher waist reduction but they can cinch for about 2 inches or so. They are made to "fit the most" so the silhouette is usually not very flattering or they can create a muffin tops. Also due to the sizing a bad fitting is often occurred - back gap too big or not parallel. They are good for people who are just introduced in corseting or for occasional wearers - they come in many different designs so they are most suitable for weekend wearers - clubbing, events and etc. They are not recommendable for waist training, as the improper fit can cause discomfort or health issues.
As I am also a textile engineer, not only a corset maker, I will make a neutral comparison of some usual corset's quality you can find on the marketplace and short explanation what to take care of while choosing a corset. But at the end decision what will satisfy your needs and what you will choose leaves only on you.
What do you want
First of all you need to be sure what do you need corset for. Real, quality made corsets will give you a flattering hourglass silhouette, while the cheap boned busters will not give any shape and support to your body. Do you want to waist train and wear your corset daily and your corset to last many years, or you just need something to wear few times in a club. If you have already searched for corsets you have already noticed that the price varies from a few $ to a few hundred or even thousand dollars.
Depending on the ratio price-quality, there are generally 3 categories of items you can find on market:
1) LOW QUALITY -usually shipped from China, can be found on e-bay starting from only few $. They are made of cheap fabrics, not suitable for corset making. Usually contain busk but the rest of the boning is plastic even though they are stated as "steel boned" . Not suitable for tightlacing, and they don't give support to your body or hourglass silhouette. They are regularly cheap knock-offs from famous corset brands and designers. Unfortunately they are so bad constructed that the seams can broke on the first wearing, and the bones get bended after the first wearing. They are often sold with matching thong. The only thing they are suitable for is for single wearing costumes as they are actually corseted tops and not the real corsets.
2) MIDDLE RANGE CORSET QUALITY- they come in standard sizing and usually have a layer of twill and a fashion fabric. The price is a bit higher but they will usually not break at first wearing. They can contain plastic or steel boning. They are not suitable for higher waist reduction but they can cinch for about 2 inches or so. They are made to "fit the most" so the silhouette is usually not very flattering or they can create a muffin tops. Also due to the sizing a bad fitting is often occurred - back gap too big or not parallel. They are good for people who are just introduced in corseting or for occasional wearers - they come in many different designs so they are most suitable for weekend wearers - clubbing, events and etc. They are not recommendable for waist training, as the improper fit can cause discomfort or health issues.
3) CUSTOM MADE AND HIGH QUALITY CORSETS
This corsets are made by individual corset makers or corset companies. They are made in high quality materials - coutil, spiral and flat steel boning and what is most important they do give a hourglass silhouette and a significant waist reduction can be achieved. Due to the construction techniques and materials used, they can last for many years of wearing. They can come in standard sizes, but the best fit is achieved if corset is made to your measures. It can also include a mock up to check the fitting (bespoke). This corsets are suitable for tightlacing and waist training. Depending on the experience and skills of the corset maker, the price and the quality can also vary inside this range.
This corsets are made by individual corset makers or corset companies. They are made in high quality materials - coutil, spiral and flat steel boning and what is most important they do give a hourglass silhouette and a significant waist reduction can be achieved. Due to the construction techniques and materials used, they can last for many years of wearing. They can come in standard sizes, but the best fit is achieved if corset is made to your measures. It can also include a mock up to check the fitting (bespoke). This corsets are suitable for tightlacing and waist training. Depending on the experience and skills of the corset maker, the price and the quality can also vary inside this range.
So why are those differences in prices between that ranges?
Corset making is a time consuming work, and it takes about 20-30 hours to make a single piece by an average (there are some couture pieces up to 200 hours or more). And here I am talking about corsets made by hands of experienced corset makers. At the other side, there are also mass producing factories, where the average time of making one piece may be the few hours or less. Every part of that product is made by different worker to save time, and their producing capability is about 300 000 pieces per month!
And the math says: if time is money, more pieces you make for less time, more the money you get. And I would add: to make anything good takes time. But here comes the main part of the equation:
And the math says: if time is money, more pieces you make for less time, more the money you get. And I would add: to make anything good takes time. But here comes the main part of the equation:
If the corset is very cheap, and the producing costs needs to cover working hours, materials and get profit, then you must be aware that materials used in that corsets are extremely cheap and probably not suitable for real corsets at all. Here I will not explain difference between the cheap sateen and a coutil – material with special strength properties, designed and made especially for corset making, or cheap woven plastic bones over a flat and spiral steel bones which you will NOT GET for a low price because those materials cost even more than a whole cheap corset itself.
Not rich enough to buy cheap...
Price. That can be the most important indicator about what can you expect from you purchase, although even the higher price can't guarantee what you are buying (especially if you are not buying directly from corset makers, but resellers).
So if the price looks to good to be true for the item that is offered, be very careful about it.
Not rich enough to buy cheap...
Price. That can be the most important indicator about what can you expect from you purchase, although even the higher price can't guarantee what you are buying (especially if you are not buying directly from corset makers, but resellers).
So if the price looks to good to be true for the item that is offered, be very careful about it.
The other trap, even more dangerous is buying cheap products from resellers. They are selling the same cheap products, but at higher price. Before purchasing an item, check if the desired product can be found elsewhere like on e-Bay. This tip can be useful for any other products and not corsets only. Sometimes you can find the exact product at the half price (and it is probably the place where they have bought it first and then selling it to you).
Be very, very careful...
Also some mean people, looking only for profit, started to cheat on this way: Putting a picture of a high quality corset on their website/store, but the picture is actually "borrowed" from another web site, and all what you will get is a cheap copy of a designer's corset from the picture.
Be aware that you get what you pay for, and you can't experience the real feeling of being corseted in a low-price mass produced low-quality product. But if you are good with the fact that you will buy a low quality but cheap product which can't be used for tightlacing and the expecting lifetime of the product is minimal, at least you can save some money by skipping the resellers.
Where to buy....
That decision leaves on you. Is it good enough for you to buy cheapest item you could possibly find or to save up a bit and buy something better? Always be aware what you will really get for the amount you are willing to spend. If you are not fully satisfied with the product you purchased, even if it was cheap, it is a waste of money. So before you buy anything, you need to make that decision.
Whether you are buying from an e-Bay store, reputable shop or a custom corset maker it's always good to ask somebody more experienced for recommendations, and never forget to check feedbacks and galleries of other works.
Always remember this: YOU HAVE THE FULL RIGHT TO ASK THE QUESTIONS AND GET THE ANSWERS BEFORE you made any purchase. Materials used, sizing advices and closer looks of the product. Note: be aware that there might be some sellers who actually don't know much about what they are selling (cheap products and resellers) or they could even deliberately lead you to misapprehension about the quality of the product they sell. Some sellers may also use a digital retouching to make their products look better.
Detailed description how the good quality product should look, or how the product you want to purchase shouldn't look read in the CORSET'S QUALITY article
That decision leaves on you. Is it good enough for you to buy cheapest item you could possibly find or to save up a bit and buy something better? Always be aware what you will really get for the amount you are willing to spend. If you are not fully satisfied with the product you purchased, even if it was cheap, it is a waste of money. So before you buy anything, you need to make that decision.
Whether you are buying from an e-Bay store, reputable shop or a custom corset maker it's always good to ask somebody more experienced for recommendations, and never forget to check feedbacks and galleries of other works.
Always remember this: YOU HAVE THE FULL RIGHT TO ASK THE QUESTIONS AND GET THE ANSWERS BEFORE you made any purchase. Materials used, sizing advices and closer looks of the product. Note: be aware that there might be some sellers who actually don't know much about what they are selling (cheap products and resellers) or they could even deliberately lead you to misapprehension about the quality of the product they sell. Some sellers may also use a digital retouching to make their products look better.
Detailed description how the good quality product should look, or how the product you want to purchase shouldn't look read in the CORSET'S QUALITY article