To me, there are two key ingredients to wearing vintage: The first, hands down, is confidence. Wear it like you deserve it, cause you do. The second, is having a proper foundation. I’ve tried just about all the products out there (at least it feels that way). And today I’m sharing my thoughts on a company I recently discovered: Glamorous Corset.
When it comes to wearing any kind of clothing, you never want your body to have to do the work. Your luscious bod is busy. She’s tired. She has enough to do in a 24 hour period. So, why not let your foundation garment do the work? I was contacted by a new-to-me company, Glamorous Corset, to see if I was interested in taking one of their steel boned corsets for a whirl. They are a New York-based corset company, who offer a range of high quality, affordable steel boned corsets.
In my experience, most people find corsets to be pretty intimidating – we often see photos of women who waist train and can cinch their corsets to the extreme, giving a very dramatic shape. Fears can range from how to tie yourself into the thing to whether your internal organs can survive the squish. But, I’m hoping this post will help make corsetry a bit more accessible – with the Jolie black cotton corset.
Lacing & Seasoning & Cinching – Oh My!
First and foremost, I found their customer service to be top notch. I do not consider myself to be an expert by any means – but I’d probably classify myself as an intermediate. I’m definitely more of a casual corset-wearer, but it’s not my first waist cinching rodeo. But, I still like a bit off guidance on a corset that will work for me, particularly with my long torso.
After receiving feedback that the Jolie black cotton corset would be ideal for my shape (the Jolie Short is recommended for my shorter-waisted sisters), next up was measurements. I was asked:
- Underbust – Measure right under your breasts
- Natural Waist – Measure at the smallest part of your waist usually right above your belly button.
- Hips – Measure around the widest part of your hips.
- Torso – Start with the measuring tape at the underbust, sit in a chair, and measure to the hip crease (where your leg bends at the hip when seated).
- Is your stomach area soft and squishy? Or more on the lean side?
For me, I have a 32.5″ underbust with the tape pulled taut, 28″ natural waist, 41-42″ hips, 10.5″ torso, and somewhere in between squishy and lean. I have some squish for sure and in previous corsets could get my waist down a few inches. Based on my measurements, they recommended the Jolie black cotton corset in a 22″.
My corset arrived in two business days from order – which in my opinion, is lighting fast. It also came with the cutest velvet drawstring bag (serious points for packaging). It comes prelaced and includes a really helpful guide on Getting to Know Your Corset, with tips for putting on, breaking in, and cleaning your corset.
For those who are new to corset-wearing, one of the most important things you can do is season your corset. Essentially, this means you have to get the corset accustomed to your body. The best way to do this is to wear your corset for an hour or so each day. At first, be sure not to tighten dramatically – you can cinch yourself in as much as you’re comfortable, and then go about your business.
For the first week after my Jolie black cotton corset arrived, I laced myself in and then did my normal day to day stuff – sitting at the table working on my laptop, straightening up, finishing a few sewing projects. Doing this over time lets the corset mold to your body. You’ll notice out of the package your corset will be quite stuff – there will also often be a gap between your body and the corset edges until seasoning is complete – this is all very normal. I usually season my corset over 2 weeks (cinching a bit tighter each time) until it feels like we are old friends.
The Effect
Once your corset has been seasoned, it can be comfortable for long term wear. Personally, to get a really cinched waist, Mr. Dressed usually has to step in and help. But, on less dramatic days I can achieve a decent cinch myself. With the Jolie style, I could go for very dramatic (and get my waist to 24/25″) or aim for a little less extreme at 26″ (which I cinched myself to below). You can definitely see a difference – most noticeably in a sugar-spun waist and a raised bustline.
I found the quality of the corset itself to be fantastic. I really don’t buy any corset that isn’t steel boned, and this was extremely well constructed. I loved the curvature over the hips and under the bust – which made it really comfortable to wear.
The high back helped to eliminate the back bulge (something we all fight) and the cotton fabric made it really breathable for summer (as my other corsets are primarily satin). The only downside to the cotton was that it would collect lint, but considering it’s under my clothing, that’s less of a concern than it would be otherwise.
The Jolie black cotton corset retails for $84 and can be purchased from the Glamorous Corset website. This is an incredibly reasonable price for a corset of this quality (which generally range from $200+). They offer a really wide range of styles (including overbust and underbust) in a bunch of fabrics. They also offer same day worldwide shipping – if my experience is anything to go by, it will be on your doorstep in only a few days if you’re in the US.
If you’ve been teetering on the edge and want to give one of their corsets a try, Glamorous Corset is providing a coupon code exclusive for my readers! Use the code KARA15 for a 15% discount on any order from their site. You an also keep up with Glamorous Corset on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Ever wanted to give a corset a try but felt nervous? Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Corset: Jolie black cotton corset c/o Glamorous Corset
Dress: Anthropologie, sold out (same dress here or similar here & here)
Necklace: gift (similar)
Belt: Alannah Hill (similar)
Handbag: Looks Like Summer, sold out
Shoes: DSW (similar here & here)
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Any items in a post marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog.
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