Sunday mornings are my corset training times. The idea is to gradually accustom my stomach to go elsewhere but out front. So far, things have been going quite well (but then I have a very nice stomach et al). I am currently wearing a 26″ corset which is not totally closed giving ne a waist just above 28″. When fully closed, I’ve managed 26 3/4″ but for only a very short time.
One thing that I have found is that the corset is the only underfashion that can give you a feminine waist (which is somewhat higher than the male waist). While the girdle can give you a very flat tummy, it can’t do much more than trim 2″ off your waist and that doesn’t give quite as good a shape as a corset does.
A lot of people feel that the corset is an instrument of torture and it can be if you try to reduce your waist to size that isn’t possible. What you do is to get one that fits your normal waist and gradually reduce it to the amount the corset is designed to do (usually 4″ but sometimes 6″). For example, if you have a 38″ waist there is no point going out to buy a 30″ corset because you won’t be able to do it up (without torture, that is). In other words, a corset is designed to make the most of the body you already have.
It can also be a useful tool for dieting because you can’t eat as much as you would normally. More small meals is the answer which is good for weight loss. Of course this means that you have to be able to wear it quite often which will be a problem for a lot of people. While at Esprit, I wear mine night and day – switching to one of my older corsets for night. Doing this makes it easier to don my daytime corset when I wake up (yes, I do sleep and very well).