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   * Weight and corsets
     A corset is NOT A LOOSING WEIGHT DEVICE. It will restrict your stomach therefore preventing you from eating as much as usual but it might lead to unhealthy habits, like a sudden need to snack after you remove the corset and so on. If you want to lose weight I recommend this efficient, almost magical trick: healthy diet, more exercise. Bet you had never hear of that one, eh?
   * Type
     There are roughly 2 main categories of people who wear corsets: those who wear them just for looks and wants their corset to be relatively comfortable and those who use them to do tight lacing, which alters the shape more dramatically. I’m somewhere in between. From what I’ve gathered, loose wearers (that’s how I’ll refer to them for lack of a better expression) will usually go to a maximum waist reduction of 2 inches and tight lacers a minimum of 6 inches. I take my corset 4 inches smaller. So I’m a poser, hehe.
     Anyway, before you buy a corset, it’s a good idea to know how much tight lacing you want to do as you won’t necessarily be looking for the same things in the corset you want to buy.
   * Tight lacers (more than two inches)
     From what I’ve been reading all across the net and my own experimentations, here’s what you should be looking for in a corset for tighter lacing:
                   + Stiff boning, made usually of stainless steel or another tough and long lasting substance
                   + The front part of the corset, called the busk (can either be two panels that you can close at the front with hooks or just one panel) should be made tougher, possibly with steel.
                   + Avoid lighter materials like satin, brocade or even latex as they will not stand the constant pressure of tight lacing and will plunge to their death a lot faster. Plus, the materials do not let your body heat escape as much so its not as comfortable in warm temperatures and will make you sweat more. Cotton or a mix of cotton and polyester is your best choice as they breathe better, but the material is not as shiny. I confess to owning some corset that I do tight lacing with that are made of those materials however and they haven’t died on me yet.
                   + I have found that some corsets will be made with middle grommets that are closer together at the waistline than the others. This is actually great if you can’t completely close your corset, as it will prevent it from loosening at the bottom.
                   + An insert, generally made of the same material as the garment itself, which will fit under the lacing, to prevent binding of the skin as the laces are pulled closed, although I have many well made corset who don’t have that.
                   + For those who have trouble lacing and don’t have a lacing buddy, do not despair, many companies can make you a front-laced corset that can look as good as a back laced one.
   * Loose lacers
     If you want to wear a corset as a fashion accessory, then you don’t have to worry about the material of the item or it being handmade (although a handmade item will always fit and look better). Also, the type of boning used doesn’t make that much of a difference. I do however stay away from cheap plastic ones as they bend out of shape easily and make weird and ugly figures in no time. Once after sitting down for a little while, the corset was completely deformed and I had the impression I looked ridiculous for the rest of the evening…So I usually try it on at the boutique and bend down for a minute and when I get back up, if the corsets takes more time returning to it’s shape then the blood back down in my body, I don’t buy it :P
     Now, I know many people consider people who wear corsets just for looks to be complete idiots. And people wearing tight laced corset to be health hazards. But pleaaaaaaase, to each it’s own, no one likes to be judged and so on…I wear tightly laced corsets and also ones for look and I feel just fine thank you.
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Choosing a Corset
