Corsetage

[Heliomance]

Having spent an entertaining and instructive evening trying on a (female) friend's clothes, I discovered that I really quite like what a corset does to my figure. So I'm considering getting one, despite the fact that I'm male. I'd probably be most interested in a simple one that could be worn under clothes, more to shape my body than to look decorative itself. I don't really know how to go about getting one/making sure it fits, though. Any suggestions?

[Winston Smith]

bulletproof vest?

[phang]

http://www.darkgarden.com/

They got men's stuff

'Nuff said

[Mr. Boltneck]

You might want to talk to vendors in the Body Modification, Modern Primitives, and Fetish realms, I suspect. You might try searching for training belts or shapers. I know that Fakir Musafar designed for men, as he used them himself, and I think Dark Garden may have bought some of his patterns.
This is actually a bit of a 19th Century interest, in a sense, as men's corsets (generally not called that – I think they used terms like supportive garments, or posture aids) were fairly common. Helped to keep that straight-backed slim look that so much tailoring of the time favored. You can find ads for them.

[Flynn MacCallister]

http://galleryserpentine.com.au/productslist.aspx?CategoryID=54&selection=6
http://www.madamesher.com/en/designs/male/1/male/1/
http://www.romantasy.com/index.html?BodyURL=ZXQ/second-level-pages/mens-stays-and-transgender.html

If you are interested in a male-shape corset.

If you want female-shape, I'm personally a big fan of Gallery Serpentine. (First link.)

[Kelley]

Men's corsets were used throughout the 19th century.

Would you want a "male" corset or a more curvy feminine one ?


A typical male corset has less serpentine waist compression.

Here are some examples :

A caricature of a corseted dandy :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This particular picture would be fairly easy to make yourself, even as a first project - it requires no fitting over the hips, although if used for significant reduction, the corset will be under a great deal of stress and must be reinforced against ripping - and may rip even then if the reduction creates very significant pressure. I wouldn't go more than 2-4" with this kind of corset, especially if you're thin (and therefore more pressure is created due to pressure directly on the rib cage, not on squishy fat).


This picture shows straps used to help promote good posture :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The shape is either fanciful or meant for a man with a bit of body fat - otherwise it would cut into the hips.

A fashion plate from 1826 :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This shows the silhouette that use of the male corset attempted to achieve in the early 19th century. It's not "curvy" - the sides angle in in straight lines. At this time, the chest padding might also be used to give a "robin's breast" look.


An actual coat, most likely worn with a male corset :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Note the shape is the same as in the fashion plate (although this coat is a littler younger than the fashion plate, and the en gigot sleeves had fallen out of style).




Also, consider when you will be wearing this. A back-closing corset is nice - but difficult to lace by yourself. I only have done this once, and although I could do it - it required a lot of stretching and holding my arms in strange positions - which might be harder for someone who doesn't have stick-thin arms (since fat or muscle would get in the way of the contortions).


If you want a male or female shaped corset is up to you - however, with a female corset, be careful of the pressure put on your ribs, if you do wear one for an extended period of time. A man's rib-cage is typically wider and fat is distributed differently than on a woman's body - which can cause great discomfort if you try to lace a corset too tightly on the lower ribs.

Also, unless you are fit and trim - you will need to make sure the corset covers the lower stomach - or it will bulge out awkwardly with the fat and organs being shifted around.



And Elizabethan corset would make a good base for a male corset if one was not worried about historical accuracy to any particular period. It's easier to make, makes a masculine conical shape and is very easy to make.


If you plan on using this to take in any inches, DO NOT buy a cheap corset - you will rip it apart and wear it out very quickly.

[costumemercenary]

If you want a male or female shaped corset is up to you - however, with a female corset, be careful of the pressure put on your ribs, if you do wear one for an extended period of time. A man's rib-cage is typically wider and fat is distributed differently than on a woman's body - which can cause great discomfort if you try to lace a corset too tightly on the lower ribs.

Do not try to wear a woman's corset. Really. Male organs simply do not squish like female organs do (not being built for childbirth) and you really, really don't want to hurt yourself.

By extended, we're talking more than a couple of hours can cause kidney trouble and induced apoplexy. Various female impersonators of the early twentieth century are said to have died from corsetry.

I strongly, strongly urge you not to risk wearing a corset built for a woman.

[Flynn MacCallister]

If you want a male or female shaped corset is up to you - however, with a female corset, be careful of the pressure put on your ribs, if you do wear one for an extended period of time. A man's rib-cage is typically wider and fat is distributed differently than on a woman's body - which can cause great discomfort if you try to lace a corset too tightly on the lower ribs.

Do not try to wear a woman's corset. Really. Male organs simply do not squish like female organs do (not being built for childbirth) and you really, really don't want to hurt yourself.

By extended, we're talking more than a couple of hours can cause kidney trouble and induced apoplexy. Various female impersonators of the early twentieth century are said to have died from corsetry.

I strongly, strongly urge you not to risk wearing a corset built for a woman.

Surely, though, a well-designed modern trans corset would be fine?

[costumemercenary]

Surely, though, a well-designed modern trans corset would be fine?

True, and I did say in my post its corsets built for women that they should avoid like the plague. There are indeed corsets designed for men and they are fine. That said, the transwomen I know wear corsets that still differ somewhat from the standard "feminine" shape (i.e. they don't go in at the waist nearly as much). So there are probably limits to exactly is and isn't achievable. Resources, as far as I'm aware, aren't nearly as comprehensive on the web, but good luck to the original poster.

[Kelley]

I'm very curious about this subject.

I hadn't really thought anything about the ability of men and women's organs to re-arrange. I wonder if it's really that different ?  Or if something else is at play. When and how do the organs develop differently - and what causes it ?

I think that suddenly attempting great waist reductions with no training would of course be dangerous, for anyone - and the reduction for a man to attain an attractive female waist would be quite great. A woman trying the same kind of drastic change would face great discomforts and pain as well.

The problem is the rib-cage - and it being less malleable with age. I would suggest padding if a man was trying to achieve a female figure - along with only slight corseture. Women of the Victorian era certainly used padding in the hips and in the bust (which allowed ready-to-wear corsets to fit more women and to create the illusion of greater curves).

[costumemercenary]

I hadn't really thought anything about the ability of men and women's organs to re-arrange. I wonder if it's really that different ?  Or if something else is at play. When and how do the organs develop differently - and what causes it ?

Childbirth. I'm not sure I need to say more. Biological women get pregnant and their torsos are capable of handling the stress of having a fetus inside them which requires considerable distortion. Biological men don't get pregnant, their bodies are adapted to this sort of thing.

The problem is the rib-cage - and it being less malleable with age.

I should probably look this up properly, but the conveniently located biologist tells me that whilst this does happen, this isn't the main problem. Women's ribcages are capable of going outwards (childbirth again) and consequently, also capable of being squished inwards. a bit. There was just never an evolutionary need for men to develop this ability.

[Kelley]

I suppose I just wonder how it develops.

Is it the slightly lesser bone density of women ?  A physical configuration of the ribs ?

How does estrogen or lack of testosterone result in more moveable organs ?  I understand the need for it, certainly - but is it that simple, or something else ?  Is this difference present from childhood, or only a differentiation in maturity ?

I'm not necessarily trying to burden you with these questions, just wondering aloud.

[SteamBlast Mary]

If you want to look at a British corset maker/supplier, Axfords do several men's styles:

http://www.axfords.co.uk/mens.html

Perhaps you could contact them about any shops they supply where you may try one on?

While we're on the subject, I'd be very interested in finding out of there's a historical pattern company who carries a pattern for a man's corset, I'd love to give it a shot at making one. I made one for a friend a while back in DPM camo but it was fastened at the sides with clasps rather than at the back like a historically accurate model.

[Flynn MacCallister]

I suppose I just wonder how it develops.

Is it the slightly lesser bone density of women ?  A physical configuration of the ribs ?

How does estrogen or lack of testosterone result in more moveable organs ?  I understand the need for it, certainly - but is it that simple, or something else ?  Is this difference present from childhood, or only a differentiation in maturity ?

I'm not necessarily trying to burden you with these questions, just wondering aloud.

Why do women have a uterus and men not? Is it estrogen? Lack of testoterone?

It's all the factors that cause the gender difference in the first place. It is a gender feature that just comes as part of the whole package.

[aldebaran]

Why do women have a uterus and men not?

Because Mother Nature is a bitch.

But anyway. A comfortable corset is one that fits your body shape, so I don't see how being a man and wearing a female corset would be comfortable.

[Kelley]

I suppose I just wonder how it develops.

Is it the slightly lesser bone density of women ?  A physical configuration of the ribs ?

How does estrogen or lack of testosterone result in more moveable organs ?  I understand the need for it, certainly - but is it that simple, or something else ?  Is this difference present from childhood, or only a differentiation in maturity ?

I'm not necessarily trying to burden you with these questions, just wondering aloud.

Why do women have a uterus and men not? Is it estrogen? Lack of testoterone?

It's all the factors that cause the gender difference in the first place. It is a gender feature that just comes as part of the whole package.

I just see the sexes as a branching tree - not two different packages. After all, there are people who do not truly fit either, physically - sometimes development stops or goes wrong - wrong in the sense that they will not be able to fulfil their biological imperative of reproduction.

I'm curious if when young girls began coresting, if they faced the same tender issues as men would. If this is something that younger women - who are not of child-bearing age, or just barely, should be wary of - after all, women's hips start out just as narrow and it's only with age that the sexes fully differentiate.

[Flynn MacCallister]

I suppose I just wonder how it develops.

Is it the slightly lesser bone density of women ?  A physical configuration of the ribs ?

How does estrogen or lack of testosterone result in more moveable organs ?  I understand the need for it, certainly - but is it that simple, or something else ?  Is this difference present from childhood, or only a differentiation in maturity ?

I'm not necessarily trying to burden you with these questions, just wondering aloud.

Why do women have a uterus and men not? Is it estrogen? Lack of testoterone?

It's all the factors that cause the gender difference in the first place. It is a gender feature that just comes as part of the whole package.

I just see the sexes as a branching tree - not two different packages. After all, there are people who do not truly fit either, physically - sometimes development stops or goes wrong - wrong in the sense that they will not be able to fulfil their biological imperative of reproduction.

I'm curious if when young girls began coresting, if they faced the same tender issues as men would. If this is something that younger women - who are not of child-bearing age, or just barely, should be wary of - after all, women's hips start out just as narrow and it's only with age that the sexes fully differentiate.

I mean in the sense of a "package of features". It appears for the same reason as wide hips, a uterus, etc, etc, which is a combination of factors. You can't really narrow it down. Just as some women have slim hips -- sometimes to the point of being unable to carry a child normally, as was the case for a friend of mine, some women might not be as rearrangable, or whatever else you feel like throwing out there. Look, to be perfectly honest, I feel you're being pedantic for the sheer hell of it.

Yes, of course this is something the still-growing should be wary of, along with high heels, over-tight clothing, ill-fitting shoes, and so on. You can "mould" a growing body, like a growing plant, as the phenomenon of lotus feet clearly shows.

[Kelley]

No, I'm just a curious person - and I like knowing how things work, and wondering about them when I don't know.

[Heliomance]

To be honest, I'm more interested in the female shape corsets. My body shape naturally seems to include a fairly narrow waist, and I'd like to enhance that. At some point down the line, I'm considering trying out a pretty androgynous look - this is the first efforts in experimentation along that path.I'm slim, so excess body fat squidging out the sides isn't an issue.

[Kelley]

If I were you, I would talk to my doctor before doing such things, especially if you're going for any major reduction.

Having less fat is actually potentially more dangerous from what I understand - it means to reduce your waist, ribs and organs will have to move dramatically, instead of shifting excess fat.



I once tried on a corset out of curiosity, and it was an incredibly painful experience that I won't repeat. I am of a skin-and-bones build, and it took about three or four inches off my waist. It wasn't bad to put on or to wear - it was when I took it off. I could feel everything inside me moving back to where it was supposed to be - accompanied by extreme abdominal cramping (most akin to the time I had food poisoning) and a general cursing of my own foolishness.

Perhaps I was just unlucky, I don't know.

[costumemercenary]

You can "mould" a growing body, like a growing plant, as the phenomenon of lotus feet clearly shows.

Lotus feet aren't about moulding the feet, I'm afraid. If it doesn't work, you take a cleaver to it and bend it until it fits. No, don't think about it too hard.

I'm curious if when young girls began coresting, if they faced the same tender issues as men would. If this is something that younger women - who are not of child-bearing age, or just barely, should be wary of - after all, women's hips start out just as narrow and it's only with age that the sexes fully differentiate.

You'd probably run into all sorts of other problems, but yes, lots of the things that allow for easier corsetry on a woman become more pronounced (such as wider hips - which accentuates the difference between waist and hips) and fat get distributed differently (to hips, thighs, pubis, buttocks - allowing padding for boning). Boys, if you like, get less corset-able since they get more muscle and less fat.

Ribs on the other hand, might be an inborn feature rather than one that develops (that said, women have all sorts of rib-related problems during pregnancy still). I believe some MTFs remove the bottom rib to create a smaller, more "feminine" waist.

To be honest, I'm more interested in the female shape corsets. My body shape naturally seems to include a fairly narrow waist, and I'd like to enhance that. At some point down the line, I'm considering trying out a pretty androgynous look - this is the first efforts in experimentation along that path.I'm slim, so excess body fat squidging out the sides isn't an issue.

You're probably more likely to have a problem if you're slim since you've less to squidge (or as Kelley puts it, you're not "shifting excess fat"). Slim people in general (moreso men than women since women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat) that you can end up cutting off circulation to your legs and the boning across your hips can cause bone abrasion. Both extremely unpleasant. I think the standard way of handing this is either having it shorter around the hips or having padding of some description.

These people seem to know what they're talking about and have experience with this sort of corsetry.

I once tried on a corset out of curiosity, and it was an incredibly painful experience that I won't repeat. I am of a skin-and-bones build, and it took about three or four inches off my waist.

Three to four inches is a bit ambitious, even for a woman. I believe women start off aiming for about two inches.

I will add that I'm a big fan of corsetry, that I own a few and wear them on a fairly regular basis. This paranoia isn't characteristic.

[Flynn MacCallister]

You can "mould" a growing body, like a growing plant, as the phenomenon of lotus feet clearly shows.

Lotus feet aren't about moulding the feet, I'm afraid. If it doesn't work, you take a cleaver to it and bend it until it fits. No, don't think about it too hard.

They are about very violently moulding the feet. Feet bound, bent and broken from childhood do stay like that even when unbound in adulthood. It's an extreme example; even tightlacing doesn't come close. I never meant to imply it was a gentle process!

[Kelley]

You'd probably run into all sorts of other problems, but yes, lots of the things that allow for easier corsetry on a woman become more pronounced (such as wider hips - which accentuates the difference between waist and hips) and fat get distributed differently (to hips, thighs, pubis, buttocks - allowing padding for boning). Boys, if you like, get less corset-able since they get more muscle and less fat.

Ribs on the other hand, might be an inborn feature rather than one that develops (that said, women have all sorts of rib-related problems during pregnancy still). I believe some MTFs remove the bottom rib to create a smaller, more "feminine" waist.

The changes the body goes through during pregnancy always amazes me. I've never thought of the rib-cage in that situation before, but now that I do - that's quite impressive.

It's so interesting to me, how we've evolved and adapted into such perfectly imperfect creatures. Despite all the complications of pregnancy in humans, it's still such an amazing thing. Maybe I'm just silly, but I can't help by feel a sort of naïve fascination and wonder with biology - a feeling that only increases the more I learn.

Three to four inches is a bit ambitious, even for a woman. I believe women start off aiming for about two inches.

I will add that I'm a big fan of corsetry, that I own a few and wear them on a fairly regular basis. This paranoia isn't characteristic.

O, yes, it was definitely not properly planned, or planned at all. It was more of, "try this on, it will be super !"

[Esmee Weatherwax]

A word of warning... I have a gorgeous handmade fit-to-measure for me alone leather corset.
When we take into account it has been made to the mm of difference you know it's a precise job.
And yet it takes an expert to boot the laces. They have to know how to lace, first up, then down, then the middle and all over again.
I had it done once by someone who followed my pained instructions as it become increasingly uncomfortable. The person did their best but it caused a few bruised ribs.

And this is a one-off for my curvaceous self corset. Imagine what an off the rack corset can do of damage.
Please reconsider.

[aldebaran]

The way I see it, the amount of damage a corset might do depends on how tightly it's laced. My corsets are all standard size, straight off the rack, because they fit my shape. I've never had bruised ribs.

I lace myself in by myself 'cause I don't have anyone else to help me when I'm getting dressed in the mornings. Overbust corsets are a pain to lace by yourself, especially the upper half. Underbust corsets are much easier to lace.