Corsets?

beyora

New Member
I'm new to the Marvel cosplaying fandom, and I've taken an interest to putting together a Black Cat. In my research I've noticed--a lot of people seem to like adding a corset to not only their BC cosplay, but many others as well. Can anyone tell me why that is? Thanks!
 
To give it a more scientific explanation, the average female superhero body style is largely unattainable by all but the most genetically blessed normal humans. Training, dieting, plastic surgery, and posture only get you so far and can become quite expensive. To attain the superheroine hourglass figure, cosplayers looked to history, specifically to the corset and its cousins, the bustier and waist cincher.

A proper corset comes in two varieties, an overbust and underbust. The difference is, as you may have guessed, where the top of the corset lies on the body. An overbust corset is used in place of a bra, while an underbust can be worn with a bra. The most important thing of note about a corset, however, is where the bottom sits. A true corset will actually flow down over the hips to fully accentuate the hourglass look by rounding out the hips while shrinking the waist. All proper corsets will have boning in them to fully hold the shape, will lace up, and is considered to be an undergarment. The health risks of wearing a corset are well documented. I personally think that only a few female cosplayers are dedicated enough to use a true corset, as it is very dangerous to wear especially if you plan to move around a lot and pose.

The bustier is very similar in purpose to a corset, but will use soft boning (if any at all) and will come to rest on or just below the waist. The purpose of it is to boost up a woman's natural curves and it is often found in many different fabrics, designs, and accents, including beading, sequins, and ribbons, meaning that depending on the bustier, it can be worn as an undergarment or an outer garment. This is what I believe most female cosplayers are wearing when they wear a "corset."

The waist cincher is pretty much what the name implies. It cinches the waist inwards for that little extra oomph without the dangers of a corset. Basically, it's a really wide belt.
 
I'm not a Black Cat cosplayer, but I often wear corsets (steel-boned, not the fashion bustiers with plastic boning) under my costumes for comfort - I find my lower back hurts way less after a whole day of walking around on concrete if I wear one, lol.

But yes, for Black Cat, I suspect it's primarily to enhance their figure. And also possibly for the aesthetics of it - I find I just like the look of corsets a lot of the time.

Oh and also, the "health risks" of wearing a corset are mostly fake. If you're wearing a properly fitted corset and you're not tightening it to a stupid degree (if you can't breathe, you've tightened it too much!) there is absolutely no danger. I've been wearing corsets casually for around 8 years now, and have never had any problems. I often wear them for full days at cons and other events (my wedding dress actually had a fantastic custom-made corset top, and it was super comfortable!). I don't usually lace them as tightly as they will go either - just tight enough to provide support over the course of the day. You'll have to modify the way you move (crouching down instead of bending over, not being able to slouch into a chair), and make sure you put your shoes/boots on FIRST, lol. You won't be able to reach them once you've got the corset on!

I also don't suggest plastic-boned bustiers unless you are extremely skinny (and really, not even then). Plastic boning isn't generally designed to give any real support when you're cinching the corset in. If plastic boning gets bent at all, there's a danger of it snapping. It's not as much of an issue if you're very thin and aren't really using the bustier for any sort of support, but if you have any "squish", the plastic boning won't really support it well at all. A proper steel-boned corset is actually a whole lot more comfortable, because there's no chance of the bones kinking or snapping (well, I suppose you should never say never, but it's such a small chance that it's basically nonexistent!).

Sorry for the wall of text! There are a couple of good cheap places to get steel-boned corsets if you want to try one. Custom-fitted corsets are ridiculously expensive, so I would never suggest someone start with one of those, but I definitely think people should try a steel-boned corset instead of a plastic-boned bustier that you can find at lingerie stores. They are so completely different!
 
No problem! I like combating some of the misconceptions out there about corsets. Good luck with your purchase!

If you want more information about corsets, this is a great site. They have tons of info: http://orchardcorsetblog.com/

And their corsets are quite nice! I have three of them. If you're looking for cheap but sturdy ones, http://www.corsetdeal.com/ and http://www.corset-story.com/ have good deals, but make sure you're looking at the steel-boned ones, not the plastic. These are particularly good for when you need one to modify for a costume and don't want to spend a fortune on something you're not going to be able to use for anything else!
 
I’ve cosplayed Black Cat, recently in fact http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=239476 and I do use a corset, but I use a latex one under the bodysuit, I have nothing like a super heroic figure and need one for the curves, but I didn’t want to wear one over the costume because its IMHO, inaccurate, I’ve never seen a pic of Black Cat in the comics wearing one. I was in the costume for over 4 at MCM expo in London recently, but it was the high heel boots that got to me in the end, not the corset (which I wore to and from the con as well)

My latex corset is only a waist clincher and doesn’t have a front busk (but it’s still steel boned)) , so it’s very low profile and being latex still allows you to flex even though it nips you at the waist properly, I can do my boots up with it on, which is something I can’t do in a regular corset. I wear it under all of my superhero costumes.

I do wear regular fabric or leather corsets every now and then for clubbing outfits (I go to some erm exotic clubs) and provided they are the right size and reasonably well made (as Yrien If they are not steel boned, don’t bother) aren’t that uncomfortable for a few hours and you can still walk, move, dance etc, Though the shape you get out of them depends on their construction and it can vary a lot.
 
No problem! I like combating some of the misconceptions out there about corsets. Good luck with your purchase!

About that... yes, you called me out on that (and rightfully so), so I feel I should clarify that the health risks of corsets are generally associated with those people who wear them incorrectly. Unfortunately, this happens to be a large percentage of corset wearers because they don't take the time to thoroughly research exactly how to wear one.

This has been most prominent in the Renaissance Festival world by people who think "Hey, I can get the girls up on display!" and then walk around all day in 90+ degree heat wearing thirty to fifty pounds of garb with their breathing naturally constricted and drink alcohol all day without properly hydrating and then wonder why they are passing out and overheating.
 
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About that... yes, you called me out on that (and rightfully so), so I feel I should clarify that the health risks of corsets are generally associated with those people who wear them incorrectly. Unfortunately, this happens to be a large percentage of corset wearers because they don't take the time to thoroughly research exactly how to wear one.

This has been most prominent in the Renaissance Festival world by people who think "Hey, I can get the girls up on display!" and then walk around all day in 90+ degree heat wearing thirty to fifty pounds of garb with their breathing naturally constricted and drink alcohol all day without properly hydrating and then wonder why they are passing out and overheating.

There's SO much wrong information out there about corsets, and so few people do any research at all! I absolutely agree that most of the risks are when people wear them incorrectly, or do foolish things while wearing them (such as overindulging in the heat, as you mentioned!). That's why I like to share my own experiences when possible. I'm the most corset-savvy person in my group of friends (though I still consider myself to be a relative newbie at it), so I'm used to answering questions, lol.
 
I’ve cosplayed Black Cat, recently in fact http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=239476 and I do use a corset, but I use a latex one under the bodysuit, I have nothing like a super heroic figure and need one for the curves, but I didn’t want to wear one over the costume because its IMHO, inaccurate, I’ve never seen a pic of Black Cat in the comics wearing one. I was in the costume for over 4 at MCM expo in London recently, but it was the high heel boots that got to me in the end, not the corset (which I wore to and from the con as well)

Thanks for the link! I recently bought a black cat suit, but the reason I'm thinking so highly to an outer corset is because the cat suit fits snugly over my curves, but there's this awkward space around my waist. Do you think that means I should buy a smaller cat suit?

Thanks again for all the input so far!!
 
Sounds like you have curves in the right places and don't really need a corset and since its only a little bagginess at the waist, a whole new suit isn't really necessary, you just need to take it in a bit.

Catsuits that are Lycra/Spandex and have seems running down the side are very easy to adjust, I had to it a lot with mine. You can just turn it inside out and draw a smooth curved line (use a dress making pencil) from the edge of the seam near the hip to an inch or two (however much you need to bring it in ) from the seam at narrowest point of the waist and back again to the seam at the chest on each side ( erm slightly hard to described, would be easier to draw) then use a sewing machine to stitch down those lines with a stretch or a zig zag stitch. Turn the suit it right way round and try it on again to make sure it fits properly, if not resew/unpick and try again etc. When you are happy with the fit turn it inside out again and trim off the old seam and excess material up to your new seam, (leave a quarter to a half inch outside you stitches) and perhaps sew an extra line of stitches just outside of you first line for reinforcement. 10-20 minute job.

Its not hard to do, I've done it to my suits and am an awful seamstress and only have a very very basic cheap mini sewing machine.
 
Sounds like you have curves in the right places and don't really need a corset and since its only a little bagginess at the waist, a whole new suit isn't really necessary, you just need to take it in a bit.

Ah, that's a better idea! It seems a little complicated to me, but then again, the only thing I've ever sewn was a square pillow (and I didn't even do a good job)!

Someone I know here designs clothes; she makes Lolita dresses, but I figure she can help me out.
 
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