How To Care For Your Corset

Corsets aren’t quite like any other garment. Perhaps more than any other item in your wardrobe, they require special care and attention in order to stay in tip top condition. We’ve come up with four essential tips that should help you on your way to making the most of your corset, and making sure it enjoys as long a life as possible!

1) Season your corset

We really can’t stress this enough, especially if you’re new to steel boned corsetry. A steel boned corset takes some getting used to, even if you’re an aficionado.

When you first begin to wear you corset you need to allow some time, not only for your body to become used to your corset, but also for your corset to get used to you. The temptation when you receive your corset will be to tension it as tightly as possible immediately; however this can damage you and your corset.

To season your new corset it is recommended that you wear it loosely to begin with at home for a few hours each night. You can begin to tension the corset progressively over the course of a few weeks.

The aim is that it should eventually adapt itself to your shape, but this takes time. Be patient, ease yourself into it, and you’ll be amazed by the long term results.

2) Cleaning

Your corset contains numerous steel components which will rust if you submerge it in water. Dry cleaning is preferable but you can clean you corset with a damp cloth. It is important that you lie your corset flat in an airing cupboard to dry to ensure that any residual moisture evaporates as quickly as possible. 

3) Store your Corset Flat

The ideal way to store your corset is flat. Your corset needs some space to ensure that the bones are straight, a drawer is an ideal home for your corset but please avoid cramming the garment in with too many other items of clothing……or more corsets for that matter.

4) Keep It To Yourself

“Oh, I love your corset. That’s just the thing I’ve been looking for! Can I borrow it?”

Your answer to this question, no matter who’s asking it, should always be a firm “No”. Corsets and their wearers enjoy an almost symbiotic relationship. Not only will a corset that you have taken the time and effort to get used to look worse on a friend or relative, even if they’re a similar size to you; it will also run the risk of leaving the corset misshapen. Your corset will have adapted to your body shape over time and, as your friend begins to wear it, it will begin to adapt to their body shape.