That’s the age old question (or one of many, actually). How do women change their shapes?
Turns out – we all change all the time. Eating, exercising, sleeping enough – wearing shapewear. Growing a small human. Going through menopause. Losing weight – or just simply time marching on. The human body is amazing in it’s ability to adapt and change in response to a myriad of stimuli.
But we often hear this: “I need something to shrink my waistline!” or “I just wish I had a smaller waist – I need it for this dress!” (exclamation points added for effect).
Here’s the thing: Spanx-type shapers don’t really change your shape – they smooth things out a little bit, give a gentle nudge here and there, and eliminate a line from common places your panties might end and leave a little divot. They’re not going to make you a dress size or more smaller. They cannot give you a dramatically more defined waist than you have – and if they do – beware the potential for rolling, bunching, sliding, digging, or any number of other unpleasant experiences.
For a dramatic change: You need a corset.
Ladies (and gents) of yore were onto something with their whalebone and steel contraptions with lacing and busking and serious waist-reductions.
In the interest of science, I tried a modern-day, purchased-off-the-internet corset: before you think this is a discount situation: it retailed for $250ish new. It’s a steel-boned, under-bust design capable of reducing down to a 24″ waistline. Before you think I’m nuts – I did not lace down that far.
I have a roughly 30″ natural waist on a good day. I weigh 150lbs, stand 5′ 5″ – and don’t really care who knows it. Lauren laced me in, and we determined that a 2″ reduction in my waistline – down to 28″ – felt (and looked) significant enough. Had I been braver, maybe we’d have gone a little farther, but I can say with absolute certainty, that I have a new appreciation for all woman-kind who walked this earth when corsets were the undergarment de rigueur.
See for yourselves the difference in appearance. It’s no joke. But make no mistake – there is no way an entirely-elastic shaper will do what this corset did to my frame. Full disclosure: I only kept it on for about 10 minutes. I had flashbacks to the Merrywidow incident – and felt no need to be a martyr here. Trying it on was enough.
In short: we feel you when you wish for a more defined waistline. I wish for one too sometimes – but genetically – it’s probably not really in my cards, unless I were to make extraordinarily dedicated efforts or to utilize a very firm tool in my toolkit. Would it be worth it sometimes? Yeah – probably. But the right answer for me, in the place I’m in currently, is no-corset, all comfort.
If you ever want more on corsetry – shoot us a message or leave a comment below. We’re here to answer your questions and point you in the right direction if it’s outside our wheelhouse.
We’re right here with you-
MG (with help from Lauren).