What not to do when seasoning your first corset

Hi!

Today I am skipping the usual OOTD because I am really inspired!
I must admit that I wish I did not get the inspiration the way I got it, but I'll tell you the whole story so you can see what I mean.

Most of the information is covered in the Basics series but may be I have to stress it more,
Also , I don't mind getting questions,  here or on the Waist training / Corset training  group so more people can see the Questions and answers.

Clau´s first week of waist training.
As many of you know I've been training for almost a year, during my training I have shared my progress with a friend who is very interested in corsets, Clau, she's the one that sold me the CS-426 that I am wearing today, and I sold her my true corset mesh, so I thought she knew a lot and I did not offer her any advise when she finally started training this week.

OMG

This morning I came across her at the office, and she told me she ran late today because she could not close her corset properly, she was wearing it upside down and then had to unlace and lace again, I was telling her how I set my corset with the hooks on the same side everyday, and when she showed me hers, she was still wearing it upside down. :/

To make it worse, she had a big A shaped gap, no liner and to top it off,  She took the corset off unlaced.

This post will be similar to Laura´s post  What not to do when you buy your first corset" based on the experience of Clau I´ll list a few common mistakes that some of us do at the beginning..  I made bigger mistakes so don't get me wrong, remember my ebay corset ? ;) but we are here to share this and help others who are just starting their journey

1.- Don't try to make the corset as fitted as possible to avoid gaps

When you begin seasoning it´s normal for the top or bottom part
of the corset to be a little stiff and flare,but this will go away
if you season your corset properly 

A corset needs time to adapt to your body, and you need time to adapt to the bones of the corset and the pressure on your ribs.Being patient is a must at this point

I have bought many OC's and they always come with a thank you note, and instructions sheet where they explain the seasoning process, for more  information check this OC video.







Clau bought her corset in OC's shop in NY, and she had too much flaring at the top, so she asked the attendant if this was the correct size, they simply said it will go away is she tightens the corset more, but did not take the time to explain the seasoning process . And since they opened the corset for her to try it I guess they forgot to give her the OC's instruction sheet, unless they don't do that at the shop.

2. Don't skip the cami/tank top/liner

Clau has read all my previous post and I have mentioned before the importance of the liner, but she admitted she just did not think it would matter so much.

So when I noticed today that she was not wearing anything under her corset I told her that it will damage the fabrics of the corset and also that corsets can't be cleaned often , and it should be avoided as much as possible, her answer left me breathless.

She said: But I already cleaned my mesh corset on the washing machine , I bet that's why it does not fit me anymore :S

I was shocked! lol so in case any of you are wondering why this is wrong please read this instructions from Staylace.com

Read the complete article here

3.- Don't force the shape of the corset by adapting the GAP to create curves

Clau's husband had help her to lace, and I guess he had no idea of what he what doing because she had two bunny ears :S and I can't imagine how he managed to do that.

Apart from that the shape was a very pronounced "A" because she wanted to avoid the corset flaring at the top

I explained that the gap should have two parallel lines , the A shape is not the worst shape it can have but since she is seasoning her corset it won't help it mold properly to her body, besides, this is not a tube type of corset, and can be worn with a parallel gap easily since her body is very proportionate.

Lucy made a great video about the GAP of the corset explaining with more detail the different shapes

4. Don't take your corset off by the hooks without unlacing

Lastly when I asked Clau to take the corset off  so we could change it to the correct position, she immediately started opening her corset by the hooks , once again I was worried and surprised, she's been doing this the whole week while seasoning and I did not help her,

Please don´t forget to unlace your corset first, so you don´t put too much stress on the busk, it´s really difficult to get your corset off that way and you may permanently damage it.

Waist train safely and good luck !

OOTD Stealthing Casual day

Hello everyone

This is a casual look that I wore a few days ago, When I wear strapless tops I wear a light sweater for work because I do not like showing my arms at the office , I wore it like it is in the pictures for the rest of the day.

That day I went to work, the supermarket and to the park, I think it looks very nice and the top highlights the waist very nicely , the corset was not very obvious and overall the look remained casual thanks to the jeans.
I also did not use any jewelry to keep it simple.

The top is actually a dress, it's almost knee length but I kept it a little bit folded at the waist and since the fabric is so thin it wasn't bulky at all.

I even got a compliment-question at work, one woman asked me about my gym routine, she said she wanted to do exactly what I do if that would help her get a smaller waist.
I explained her that I do go to the gym a few times per week, but that this waist is the result of many months doing waist training.

She asked a lot of questions and also asked me if she could touch my waist, I didn't mind any of that so I also sent her a few links so she can do her research because she wanted to buy a corset ASAP. lol

BTW I was wearing my 20" CS -426 that day.And I recently re- laced it following Lucy's tutorial,

I love the look but the inverted loops are not so great with long line corsets, I needed a lot more effort to pull the laces tight , so I changed it back to regular loops but kept the lovely chevron shape.

I did the same with my Mesh corset and I love it, on that corset I did keep the inverted loops ears and it is a lot better, the level of tension on the waist increased and now I am planning to use the same technique in my MCC-38 to see if ti helps with the bending issue it has on the back.

This is a link to Lucy's video, give it a thumbs up if you like the tutorial

Please check my other post for more OOTD and tips, and stay tuned for Part 2.5 of the basics of waist training, click here for Part 1 and Part 2 .

PART 1: The basics of Waist Training

Hello!

Laura's post "What not to do when buying your first corset" was super popular, 
so I realized that many of us are just starting or wanting to start Waist Training.


I am making a list of the basics you'll need to decide whether or not you'll be able to adapt Waist training into your lifestyle, the buying and seasoning process, and tips that may help once you are training.


1.- Decide if Waist Training fits in your daily routine

If you have been reading about waist training and seen everyone's amazing results I am sure you are tempted to start your own Waist training journey, but you must consider a few things before jumping to buy a corset.

6 months Results

1.1 You need to dedicate many hours to Waist Training

The first thing you need to think about is your daily activities, imagine yourself doing everything you do in a day but with a corset on.

Corseting takes time 

For example,

If you were a personal trainer at a gym, and you'd work 5 hours at the gym and then 3 hours at the pool every morning, you would only be able to start training after those activities. (Which is not impossible, but that's 8 hours a day that you won't be able to Waist train)



But if you have an office job, and you will be sitting for 8 to 10 hours without doing any physical activity, you would be able to Waist train at work without much effort, and that's a great way to start training.



I've read that you need between 18 and 23 hours a day to see results, but that actually depends on every person.

I began training 2 to 3 hours a day the first couple of weeks, 10 hours a day the next month, and 20 to 23 hours a day the following 2 months, by then my waist was already 2" smaller, and my corset was fully closed.

I was happy with that reduction and began decreasing the training time again to 10 hours , I wore my 22" corset fully closed for about six months, and I just recently decided to size down.

1.2 Be aware that you MUST do some exercise if you are waist training

pinterest

Another important consideration is that you will need to do core exercises at least twice a week.
That's because the corset will be supporting you all day and your core muscles could get weak.

And of course doing exercise is a great way to get faster results and feel your best. (and we all should exercise to be healthy , waist training or not)


1.3 Be ready for a few diet changes

Although this is not completely necessary and some people never change their diet, there are a few things that you can avoid in order to make your training more comfortable, for example:

Sodas, Coffee, excessive fats, bread, gassy foods and everything that would cause bloating or inflammation.

This is a post from the tighlacing society with some real life examples

And just as exercise, this is something that we should be doing anyway.

Also, a  positive side effect almost everyone experiences is that you can't eat large amounts of food when waist training which is very healthy too and helps you to avoid overeating.

In my experience this has been true, I used to eat until my tummy hurt lol, but now the corset won't allow that much food and it will become slightly uncomfortable if I eat a little more than a normal sized portion of food.

So if you want to make this the right and healthy way, it will definitely be a positive lifestyle change.
Just make sure you have enough time because it requires effort, but trust me the results are worth it!

Have a great day and stay tuned for the next post : Buying a corset

What not to do when buying your first corset. by Laura

Hello everyone!

Today we have a Guest Writer, My Friend Laura sent me this post, I just added a few notes and pictures. For more information visit "The Basics"

.

                                   

                                      Picture by Kathy Chin for The Tightlacing society

1.- Not take enough time to research of waist training

While it is exciting to know that there is something you can use to improve your body shape without going under the knife you should take the time to inform yourself about it as with everything there would be people with promises of the dream body as long as you buy from them, waist training requires more than just put the corset on, you should know that there are different types of corsets for different needs, look for help in blogs like this, fb groups or people that have been doing this for a while, not everyone is on it for the sales and you probably  will have better answers from them .    


   

     

 2.- Not setting your goal

What are you looking for? is it getting an hourglass body shape, just correct your posture/back support, or something nice to wear, once you know exactly what you want it should be easier to look for the right one, not all corsets are made to reduce your waist some will just help your back and posture.

·                                                                           Picture from chicvintagebrides.com

  3.-Not look for reviews of the site/person you are planning to buy from

Believe it or not... they are calling this a corset 

As I mentioned before, as long as you buy from them they will tell you the corset is magic, don’t fall for the word SALE, cheap is not always better there are a lot of things to take into account so you should look for someone that is willing to help you find the right one and even work with you if after receiving it is not what you expected.

4.- Not be aware of the materials a corset is made of

Pictures from Madame Sheer ( Quality Corsets, and
many fabrics ands styles are available there)

 It is important to know that cheaper corsets are made of cheap materials, if you are only looking for an addition to your wardrobe,  plastic bones  should be no problem  since you are not wearing it for long periods (unless you are allergic to some materials of course), but if you are looking to get into waist training you might have to invest a bit more on some steel boned corset, and even after this you have to think about the fabric you want it made of and if this is the type of corset it will make you meet your goal.

5.- Not knowing how to measure yourself

        This is a video by Cheri from Orchard Corsets :

                     

6.- Not knowing that ultimately the decision of when to get a corset is yours

There is no rush to get into a corset, it takes time to achieve any type of reduction so there would be no difference if you get it today or in a month, and once you start wearing it is going to take time to seasoning it, and even after this you might want to wear it only at home for a couple of hours or maybe when your are at work,  it is all up to you so everyone gets different results, don’t feel any type of pressure when looking for your corset, there are a bunch of styles some prettier than others so make the search fun, and

 buy something it will make you happy.

I hate to say I learned about these facts after getting my first corset, so while the one I got it can help my posture since it is steel boned my main goal was to reduce my waist which I cannot accomplish with it, I bought from the first site/person  that offered me one and it was on sale (not really) so I have no option to return it and I have found that while I don’t hate the style there are a lot others I like it better, so don’t make any rush decisions, take your time and get something you will love.

OOTD: Stealthing at work

Hello everyone

This is a simple and casual outfit I wore yesterday to work, the corset was not noticeable but the waist looked very pretty.

I was wearing OC's mesh corset

OOTD : stealthing at a wedding

Hey guys I thought it would be nice to share OOTD pictures in between posts, what do you think?

Update: a few more pictures with my friends and my BF

Diet, Weight & Waist Training

Recently I made a lifestyle change... I am trying to become vegan  (I am not there yet)

As I have mentioned before I eat mostly healthy food, but I am not dieting or trying to loose weight. 

During the first 6 months of training I did gain weight. and still lose a couple inches of my waist. I went from 59 kg to 62.5 kg and I believe the corset "shaped" the fat differently because my hips look a bit fuller.

If you haven't seen my results you can got to the next link:
 ( http://mayeccentric.blogspot.mx/2014/08/bikini-before-and-after.html) 

I started corseting almost a year ago, and since then my eating habits have improved a lot, I don't eat as much as I did before, and I stopped drinking carbonated drinks completely and I have been avoiding  fatty and salty food, because it makes me uncomfortable when I have the corset on.

Corseting has prepared me for this lifestyle change, and of course Veganism is not required to waist train successfully, but on the other hand, corseting is a very helpful tool if you start a lifestyle change as big as this one.

Not corset related information from this point.

Why did I decided to go Vegan:

At the beginning I started reading about the side effects of milk in adults, and I came across Freely, "the banana girl" on YouTube. And I watched all of her videos.

If you're interested you should see the next video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS9hh-Npc50

That was about 4 months ago, so the first thing I took out of my diet was milk ,I occasionally eat cheese, but not nearly as much as I used to.

After reading enough about milk, I started to read about the dangers of eggs... there's another Freely video about that,as well as lots of documentaries , I used to eat 2 to 3 sunny side up eggs daily! and 3 months ago I stopped, I have eaten eggs once or twice after that (when there's nothing else I could eat at work) and they made me fell sooo dizzy, it was very difficult for me to eat them.

When I started researching all I cared for was the health benefits of avoiding those foods, but inevitable by getting more involved in vegetarian and vegan groups one starts to learn about animal cruelty and how much your "food" has to suffer before it becomes that tasty steak/corps that we eat to get our protein.

If you'd like to see more about Veganism please watch the following documentaries:

Best Speech ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4

Forks over knives
http://vivir-naturalmente.blogspot.mx/search/label/Tenedores%20contra%20Cuchillos%20-%20Forks%20over%20Knives%20(subtitulado)

Earthlings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibuQ-J04eLQ

Dangers of Milk
http://rense.com/general26/milk.htm

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/disadvantages-eating-cheese-5796.html

Disclaimer: I am not recommending anyone to go Vegan, it is not required to do so in order to successfully waist train, but it is a great lifestyle, if you're interested I would advise you to research a lot, It took me 3 months to go vegetarian, and I am trying to become Vegan, but you must take your time to try it and decide whether or not this works for you.

There is not good and bad here. Just do what's best FOR YOU.

Good luck

Bikini Body Before and After - waist training results -

Before waist training:   26.5" waist                                                   After waist training:  24" waist                                                                                          

             

Hello everyone!

The first picture was taken last summer, a few months before I began waist training.

 I did not consider myself fat back then, but I knew my waist to hip ratio was not as notorious as I'd like,  I felt I was lacking curve on the hips and that there was no way to change that.I know most girls just want to be slimmer, but that is not exactly what I wanted. I always wanted to be curvier,  I had good proportions before and had no problems with my top or bottom, it was the middle section that I did not like so much.

Dieting or going to the gym were not going to make a big difference, because when I lose weight I tend to get even less curvy on the hips and my waist would look the same since I do not carrying much fat there anyway.

When I started reading about waist training I knew this was what I was looking for, I saw all of Lucy's videos, I read all I could on the internet (the Lingery addict, OCC blog ,Romantacy web page, Stay lace, etc) I saw all of the youtube videos I could find about corsets, and I followed another girl that started her journey almost at the same time as me  (souljagurlsha).

I got addicted to the information and spent hours reading about corsets, then I joined Facebook pages like the tightlacing society and corsets on sale.

I believe doing research keeps you motivated, so I hope my results will give some inspiration to those who are starting this journey

 feel free to share this post.

Good luck!

Driving while wearing a corset

My mom recently got into a car accident.

The other guy ignored the red light and she was driving quite fast, Luckily, no one got hurt, and my mom is not nearly as injured as she should be considering the angle in which she crashed.

She hit a car at such speed that the front part of her car slid under the other car after trying to stop for 19 meters (unsuccessfully).  Her back and neck hurt, but other than that she's fine.

So she went to the doctor yesterday to check that everything's OK, and she let him know that she's wearing a corset for support, and she was also wearing a corset when the crash happened, to her surprise, not only the doctor recommended her to keep using the corset, he also said the corset is possibly the only reason she did not end up paralyzed from the legs down after that kind of crash!!!

My mom was a secretary for over 5 years and due to the long period sitting in front of a computer she developed carpal tunnel syndrome as well as a neck injury. She also has a lower back injury so the doctor was amazed that she did not get any more damage on those injuries.

We will never know for sure what might have happened if she weren't corseted,  but I truly believe the corset made a great difference.
I am so glad my mom is fine, and I feel good because she was wearing my old C-411 that day

Have a great day! and drive safely

Other stories about Corsets helping in dangerous situations :

6 meses haciendo waist training y sus resultados

Hola

Acabo de darme cuenta que ya llevo 6 meses haciendo waist training :) el tiempo se me paso volando y ya veo resultados semi-permanentes, 

El mayor tiempo que he pasado sin usar mi corset son 10 días, conservando las 24" de cintura.

Algo importante que debo mencionar son los cambios de peso que he tenido desde que empece

Noviembre       2013     59    Kg    26 1/5" cintura

Abril          2014     62.5 Kg    24" cintura

Cuantas pulgadas de cintura mas tendria si no estuviera haciendo waist training , tal vez si hubiera conservado el peso inicial sabría con mas exactitud cuantas pulgadas se pueden perder en 6 meses, pero aun así los resultados me tienen muy contenta.

También tengo que aclarar que usar un corset no te ayuda a ganar o perder peso, yo tenia el objetivo de subir un poco para tener mas curvas y eso lo logre comiendo comida saludable pero en mayores cantidades y haciendo ejercicio varios días a la semana .

Lo interesante es que el corset si ayudo a moldear el cuerpo, evitando que el peso ganado se acumulara en la cintura, así que si se puede entrenar aun si estas subiendo de peso.
Pero si el objetivo es bajar de peso los resultados seguramente serán mas impactantes.

Estos son mis resultados de 6 meses de entrenamiento:

Cintura actual 24"

No duden en preguntar y comentar,  ya sea en español o ingles

Waist training guide

Information from : http://bezerk.co.uk/content/waist-training-guide

Waist training guide

Waist training requires dedication and devotion, it is not something that will just happen by occasionally wearing a corset and it will take time, it will also need maintenance.

Just like training for a fun run or learning new skills, you will need to work hard to get to your goal and once you get there you will still need to do some work to stay there. Once you have done your fun run or learnt your new skill, if you stop training or learning, you will start to get unfit or start loosing your new skills. Suddenly 6 months later with no maintenance you go for a fun run and run out of breath half way through, the same thing would happen with your waist training, without occasionally keeping up your waist training your body will slowly revert to it's former state.

I don't want to deter you, I just want to make it clear that you will have to work at waist training. I often get asked if a corset will permanently reduce your waist by however many inches, the corset is an inanimate object, it won't do anything unless you use it to do what you want it to do. The key factor here is YOU!

But if your up for the challenge, then lets go through it:

Waist training is not complicated, it just takes time and patience and you can do it at your own pace. There are no hard and fast rules, there is just a
simple ratio, the more you wear a corset that pulls in your waist the more effect it will have.

Most people who waist train are obsessed with corsets, they love wearing corsets and can't leave the house without one. On the other hand, most people who are are obsessed with corsets end up with a trained waist even though that was never their intention.

Full blown waist trainers will wear their corsets all day every day, some take it further and wear their corsets to bed, only taking it off to bathe. Others just wear their corsets when they are up and about but take them off when at home on the sofa. You can choose how you want to do it and you can tailor your system to different days.

Bear in mind that the length of time you wear your corset makes more difference than how much you pull your waist in, it is better to be comfortable and wear your corset for long periods than pull it in too much and have to take it off a few hours later.

If you are a beginner, I wouldn't recommend going for more than a 4” reduction. It will take a while to get used to it and over time you will work out whether you can go for a greater reduction.

Have patience with your training, don't pull in the corset to the point that it makes you uncomfortable, it will just discourage you. A corset should take you feel good! What a lot of people don't realise is that corsets and your body take a while to settle in when you first put them on. If you give your corset and body about 30 minutes of wearing at a comfortable reduction, you should be able to pull in the extra inch or so without discomfort. The fibres in the fabric relax when they warm up a bit, your body also adjusts to accommodate the corset, the 30 minutes is a generalisation, some people can pull in the extra after 10 minutes others may have to wait an hour, again we are all different and our corsets are all different.

Another thing to bear in mind is that a new corset will be like new shoes, you will have to bed it in. If you bought a new pair of shoes, you would probably put them straight on but hopefully you wouldn't start running a marathon because you are bound to get some blisters. Just like your feet need to toughen up where the shoes rub and the shoes need to soften where they will flex, your torso will have to do some toughening and the
corset will have to do some softening.

So in conclusion, have patience and don't rush the training by over doing the reduction or not bedding in your corset. You will get there in the end!

A few extra notes:

For your main Daily wear corset I would recommend going for a heavy cotton, it breathes well and will last longer than most other fabrics.

Once you have reached your goal waist size, you will still need to wear a corset on occasion to maintain your new shape. How often you need to wear it will vary from person to person and you will have to work out your own rhythm. The simplest way I can think of doing it would be with your trusty tape measure and a notebook, keep track of how often you wear your corset and check up on your waist measurement, if it starts to revert, wear your corset more! By this point though, you will probably be obsessed with wearing corsets so it won't be an issue.

Having several corsets can also be beneficial, not just to feed your corset addiction! You can have different corsets for different occasions, a nice short comfy one for doing the chores, medium length ones for giving your back some support at the office and some longer or more decorative ones for showing off to the world. It is probably a good idea to have at least two, this will allow you to swap between them and air one out or clean it whilst the other is in service.

MCC-38 by Mystic City Corset

MCC-38

This is the second corset I bought, it is a MCC-38 size 20" , this model fits my measurements as if it was custom and it is incredibly curvy, but the bones in the back bend and make it really uncomfortable, I would not even like to sell it, because I know its not possible to wear it for more than half an hour.

When I first wrote this post it was about seasoning my second corset, the information will still be available in Spanish and I'll make an English version soon.
Stay tuned!



Moldeando (Seasoning) mi Mystic city corset

Este es el segundo corset de buena calidad que compre, esta en etapa de "seasoning"

Seasoning , tambien conocido como breaking in es el proceso de moldear tu corset permitiendo que tu cuerpo se adapte a el y las varillas a ti.

Mucha gente lo compara con usar zapatos de piel nuevos, ya que al principio tienen una forma muy rígida la cual puede provocar raspones o ampollas en los pies si se usan por varias horas, pero después de unas semanas de usarlos van adaptándose a la forma del pie.y despues resultan muy cómodos.

Es importante tomarse el tiempo de moldear tu corset,  para esto necesitas usarlo por un máximo de 2 horas, con una reducción ligera, apenas apretado en la cintura.
Al principio, el corset se vera "suelto o flojo" en la parte de abajo del busto y la cadera, pero conforme pasen los días y puedas ajustarlo un poco mas las varillas se adaptaran al cuerpo formando curvas y destacando la cintura.

Se recomienda continuar este proceso una o dos semanas (dependiendo del material del corset) antes de intentar usarlo por periodos mas largos de tiempo.

Intro

Hola!



Mi nombre es May, decidí empezar este blog inspirada en el trabajo de Lucy (bishonenrancher) y en mi nuevo pasatiempo/estilo de vida.

Corsets/Waist training

Todo empezó por moda, siempre me habían parecido muy lindos los corsets y un día haciendo compras por Ebay encontré corsets a precios sorprendentes.... (muy bueno para ser verdad), así compre mi primer corset, por menos de 15 dolares me vendían un corset con supuestas varillas de acero,  y lo compre!

Honestamente es un corset muy lindo y si no hubiera empezado así no hubiera llegado al punto en el que estoy ahora. De todo se aprende y ese corset fue la primera lección.

Empece a usarlo en el trabajo (9-10) horas diarias y las primeras semanas era muy cómodo, lo que me llevo a investigar:

Que tan cierto es que un corset puede cambiar tu postura y tu cuerpo con el uso constante?
Es muy cierto! cuando tienes el corset correcto y le dedicas el tiempo necesario

Después de dos semanas el corset empezó a doblarse, mi corset tenia varillas de plástico, a pesar de lo que anunciaban en Ebay.

Decidí cambiarle las varillas, y eso le dio unos meses mas de vida a mi corset, y a mi un cambio de perspectiva.
Descubrí que las varillas de acero son mucho mas cómodas  y decidí comprar mi primer corset de calidad....

Y así empezó mi nuevo hobby : waist training