Alternative model Elisa Berlin is a dear friend of mine. We originally met modeling at a Dark Garden fashion show, but we're both polyamorists when it comes to corsetmakers. Once, when she was at my apartment, I had her try on an 18" sample corset I had lying about, and she described it as the most comfortable 18 she's ever worn. Naturally, I was thrilled when she ordered a corset from me earlier this year. (I seriously have the prettiest clients.)The style she chose was the Ingenue, which features a longline hip and high back. Elisa's natural figure has a very dramatic hip to waist ratio, and she's been waist training for a while now, so an off-the-rack fit wouldn't suffice for her if she's to continue training. As an intermediary between fully custom and standard patterns, I can do alterations to the ready-to-wear styles, so we put a 17" waist on the body of a 20" corset. Since that's a pretty dramatic reduction (RTWs already have a 4" reduction), I wanted to do a mockup to check the fit. I took snapshots from all angles during the fitting so I could refer to them while making the final pattern adjustments, and Elisa graciously allowed me to share this shot with you.
Here she's laced to about 19", which makes her waist an even 1/2 of her hip measurement! You can see the waist lies perfectly smoothly, despite the extreme curves involved. While I originally wanted to round out the line of the hips a touch, Elisa liked the way the shape of the corset suggested the shape of her skeleton underneath. The final piece will be in black organic cotton sateen, with selective ivory flossing. I can't wait to stitch it.
Got any questions about waist training, fitting procedures, or where you can see more Elisa? Ask me in the comments and I'd be happy to answer them!
