Since the 16th century began, corsetry has been a significant part of the world of fashion. Though corsets once used to be worn as women’s underwear on daily basis, nowadays they usually serve as costume pieces, including erotic lingerie. The aim of wearing this garment, historically as well as these days is to help enhance a woman’s figure in a way it resembles the desired shape of an hourglass.

Floral Tapestry Corset by Shirley of Hollywood
Modern corsets can be found in a range of styles, colors and materials. Some cuts can be even appropriate as outerwear. Both the design and function of this piece of underwear make it similar to a bustier. The difference is that the latter provides subtle shaping and enhances the natural shape of a woman’s body and the corset can totally re-shape the body, removing some inches from the waist and enhancing the bust and hips.
The historical corset, as it was worn daily, caused real changes in a woman’s body. Impossible as it may seem, the smallest waist size, was 15 inches. It was gradually accomplished by 12 years of wearing very tight corsets. The woman who wore it, Cathie Jung, became a heroine of the Guiness Book of World Records in 1999. Still, wearing a corset this tight for such a long time can have a very dangerous effect on internal organs and even ribs, which can be broken. However, apart from many extreme cases, a lot of women wore corsets in order to improve posture or to alleviate the back pain.
Fortunately, the modern corset worn mainly as sexy underwear or outerwear will not change a woman’s body in any way and it is not dangerous at all. Instead, when it is fitted properly and the lacing is reasonably tight, it can easily remove a few unwanted inches from the waistline. If a woman is heavier, even six inches can be achieved. However, in order to achieve the waist-clinching effect, you need a corset in your exact size. It is sometimes even advised to choose a corset with the waist size you want to achieve, for example two inches smaller than your current waistline. Still, if feeling comfortable is your priority, you may want to choose a one in your size or even larger. It will not confine your waist while helping enhance your bust and hips.
The basic corset lingerie is made of a flexible fabric and has multiple strips of boning. It used to contain a real bone, but today it is usually replaced with steel or plastic. Some styles do not even contain boning strips of any kind but they resemble the real corset anyway. This piece of underwear generally extends from under the bust to the top of the hips, though many sexy corsets are today designed to extend over the bust. The first is referred to as underbust and the latter - overbust. They may lace either up the back or the front.

Best Selling Corset
If you choose an underbust model of a corset, you should know that it can be easily converted into a piece of outerwear by adding a soft, fitting shirt underneath it. For more sophisticated Medieval-like look, choose a peasant style blouse with ruffles. An overbust version can be successfully worn alone or with a jacket as a tempting top for a night out. The bust-covering style is often worn in bedroom as well. Most men admit that the corset is a very sexy piece of underwear. In fact, modern corsetry is used everywhere, from the bedroom to dancefloor. A lot of wedding dresses also have a built-in corset to enhance the figure of the bride. It has also become common to see laced-up dresses at the high school prom. Certain subcultures, such as the “goths” have also contributed to the revival of corsetry.