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!
S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G !!!!! [And while you can't wait to stitch it, Marianne, I can't WAIT to see it on Elisa!]
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me, mystery commentator, seeing it on Elisa is one of the reasons I'm so excited to sew it! Also, I find doing flossing very sooooothing, so I'm looking forward to having an excuse to do some!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really stunning image of Elisa in the mockup. I've got questions: Why the lacing at the top?
ReplyDeleteCompared to other corsets I've seen the line looks low along her bust? Simple aesthetics or some structural differences?
Jnumonic,
ReplyDeleteThe busk lengths I regularly stock are unfortunately not quite the right length for this particular style. Rather than cutting down a longer busk, I opted to use a shorter one, then make up the difference with lacing that is both decorative and functional.
Elisa is fairly long in the torso, so the top edge of the front of the corset does sit quite low on her. (The back of this style, however, is quite high.) Were this a fully custom piece, I probably would've raised it about two inches. However, it's a purely aesthetic choice - for her altered ready-to-wear, far more important to the fit is the additional waist reduction and (added after the fitting), extra room in the rib cage.