How can I make my corset more comfortable? [Corset Training]

Even if beauty is pain, I think you can agree with me that a corset that is uncomfortable is not worth being in pain for.

So today, I will break down the tips on how to make your corset more comfortable so that you will actually continue your waist training journey.

Comfort is an important aspect of waist training if you are comfortable you are more than likely to want to continue waist training. On the other hand, if the waist trainer is causing you strife you will most likely not continue with an uncomfortable waist trainer.  In general, you can make your corset more comfortable by making sure the corset is not ill-fighting, you have seasoned it properly, you keep a simple style, and you listen to your body.

How can I make my corset fit better?

Here are some steps to take to make sure your corset has the best fit possible:

1. Make Sure to Season Properly

The best way to ensure that your corset has a good fit is to make sure that it is seasoned properly.  Corset seasoning is akin to breaking your corset in.  Much like you have to do with other things such as “shoes or jeans.” Corset seasoning is one of the most important aspects of making sure you have a corset that is molding to your shape and is not protruding or warped in any manner.

After my successful results corseting my sister and law began corseting also.  Her first few days she was okay, then all of a sudden she was experiencing pain.  So I told her I would come over to check out the corset and to make sure she was not overwhelming herself too soon with tying it too tight or rushing the seasoning schedule.

My advice was to make for her to take time to season and advised of my schedule below that worked for me.  Additionally, it should fit like a snug.  Also, she could always stretch out the corset scheduling to two weeks or even three weeks if that is what it took and ultimately to listen to her body.  If she wanted to cut out my more aggressive approach which my goal was to get to 8 hours + on a truncated but safe time period, to just do it for a few hours a day and extend that our for a week or two before stressing over a specific schedule if that did not fit her body and/or lifestyle.

2. Keep Your Style Basic at the Beginning

Keep a basic style–In the beginning, don’t worry about heavy materials and embellishments that can drag down the corset or make it unnecessarily uncomfortable.  Additionally, you might want to try a shorter corset vs a longer corset because overall shorter corsets maybe more comfortable. However, a longer corset sometimes can provide more coverage so you have to balance that out as best you can.

Although a longer corset can be great to provide even more coverage to waist train and to svelte your body, if you are just getting used to being constricted or you are a person bothered easily by constricting garments then you might want to start off with a simple solid underbust corset.

 3. Keep Your Body Moving

I do believe that it is important to keep your body moving while corseting. Let your body get used to the corset while sitting but also walking.  I try to walk every day.  At the time I was corseting I was on a 10K step challenge and often walked 10k to sometimes 20k steps a day even with a work from home sit down job.

It is important, however, to strike a balance between the two.  On one hand, you should not be going insane with heavy physical activity because at that point a waist trainer with lighter steel bones would be more appropriate when doing activities with a great amount of physical exertion because waist trainers are more flexible.

Please note, I am not saying you can not work in a waist training corset. So for example plenty of people like nurses that are active in their day and even people who may have to crawl around and have some higher level of physcial activity than just a normal desk etc can still wear corsets while working.  I am moreso discussing high intense workouts, etc.

4. Size Is Important

Size is definitely important many different corset brands have sizing experts and charts to point you in the right direction.  In general, going down inches is a good starting point for most beginners who are wearing corsets.

5. Wear a Shirt, Corset Liner, and/or Barrier Underneath your Corset

Make sure to have some sort of protective barrier underneath your corset.  This aligns with our earlier objective of staying comfortable.  When you take off your corset you will often times notices corset marks, you don’t want those steel bones that are pressing down in your skin to cause irritation or sweat build can cause your skin to be irritably and cause unnecessary rashes.

If you are wondering if there are specific ones to use. You can buy corset liners from corset companies like Orchard Corset.  I personally, just use a camisole but mostly I use my outfit as my protective barrier because 99% of the time I am wearing my corset over my clothes and I am not stealthing.

Can a corset be comfortable?

A corset can definitely be comfortable and it doesn’t have to leave you breathless and cause a fainting spell like the women experiencing in Victorian times. Today’s corsets made with steel bone not only can be comfortable but they can actually help a person with back pain be more comfortable and is said to improve posture and provide solid support to your back.

Before I started waist training I was considered about the corset being uncomfortable due to all the negative image the corset conjures up for so many because it is one of the most vilified garments in history.

To me comfort is everything I am not one of these people who will wear something just because it can make me look better if I can’t stand it..it will not be sustainable for me and if its not sustainable then why bother.

I am able to comfortably keep a corset on for an average of 10 hours a day and I can honestly say I have maybe had 2-3 times when I overdid it with the lacing wherein I felt I was doing more old school Victorian tightlacing vs careful methodical gradual lacing of the corset that fits “snug” and I listened to my body. For me, I am in no rush for results so if I ever feel like I have gone too far I will readjust and loosen immediately.  I think I had done pretty well as I have

How do you break in a corset?

I just recently broke in a corset and after much online searching, this is exactly how I broke in the corset to make sure it was seasoned right without warping the corset so I could have a seamless transition into breaking in my corset.

Here is exactly the schedule I used to break in my corset so that it could be comfortable.

I used my cell phone to put a 30-minute timer to keep it with the tightened adjustment so that I could gradually work up to the corset confirming to my body.  This is an actual screenshot from my phone where I would log with a check box in 1/2 hour increments of my corset seasoning schedule. This is a Day 1 Schedule which is a total of 2 hours. Please also see below for my full corset seasoning schedule.

Fasten the corset until it fits like a perfect hug from your grandma. Once you do that for the first time then stop. Then at every half-hour mark, I tightened the laces.

In conclusion, please remember this when it comes to making sure your corset is comfortable don’t rush anything. You are not in a race, the best way is to let the corset naturally meld to your body. Trying to overdo it too quickly like rushing could potentially leave you with a warped corset and adverse results. Also, consider that an OTR corset (off the fack) corset that is mass-produced could also make a difference in fit.  As you can imagine a custom corset made specifically for you will season differently than one that is not. Give your body some time to adjust and don’t make too quick a judgment after a day or two. If you follow these tips you should be able to have a comfortable waist training experience like I did and still do!