[BarelyB]

Miss Banbury cross is said to have a 21 inch waist. And she looks amazing, definetly not gross. Guess it depends on your overall figure if it would suit you or not, and the size of yiur rib cage. I have quite a straight frame, lacing down to 22in looks normal on me (i actually look wierd without it, i hate my figure -,-)

[timarie]

I think a waist below 22 inches is gross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRrkV1nVh8

Oh wow. Personally I don't understand how a person can find it attractive to cinch their waist that small yet have a lower gut hanging out and rolls of fat over their bra band (as seen in the video Ceci posted)??? A small waist is cute and ONLY cute if the amount of fat in the other parts of the body are controlled and proportional. Just silly. I really do hope that people only turn to corseting when they have effectively shed off fat and firm up their muscle tone to see what happens to their waist. If they still have a pathetic waist while the rest of their body looks great and healthy, then yes, a corset is a good option. But before?? I just don't understand it. These people still look out of shape or "fat" to me, just with a corset. A corset will not be the only thing needed to look great. One needs to workout (lift weights) and have a healthy diet as well.

[timarie]

Miss Banbury cross is said to have a 21 inch waist. And she looks amazing, definetly not gross. Guess it depends on your overall figure if it would suit you or not, and the size of yiur rib cage. I have quite a straight frame, lacing down to 22in looks normal on me (i actually look wierd without it, i hate my figure -,-)

Thanks for the mention of Miss Banbury! I have never heard of her. And yes, she looks great because her waist actually looks natural in proportion to the rest of her body and especially her rib cage. She is not bearing a creepishly unnatural waist-to-hip ratio either, as she is only 60%. I am currently 64% myself, and I definitely don't look unnatural! It's when you go lower than 60% that it begins to look unnatural, such as Laura Dore and Nicole Austin (even though they both look amazing, it is amazing with a slightly unnatural look, which is what gives them the "wow" factor). These girls sport a 57% waist-to-hip ratio, and I would never wish to go lower than that. It's all about finding a balance, as BarelyB said.

[BarelyB]

I dont really like the negativity being put on corset waist training. Providing its done properly with a healthy diet and regime you can both lose weight and get a defined waist. I also think exercising is vital in keeping your muscles strong, otherwise im assuming you'd lose muscle mass if your body relies fully on the corset for support. For the record im moving on to a 20in corset soon, i dont have any excess fat anywhere and i definetly am not supporting a bulge.

Sophia st Vellier has a 26" waist naturally and corsets down to 21in and i personally think she looks great. http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sophia+st+villier&client=ms-android-samsung&hl=en-GB&source=android-browser-type&v=133247963&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8iX0UaHsAYOp0QWDwIHQBg&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=320&bih=455#biv=i%7C36%3Bd%7CQOJszJctax_RHM%3A and even with her corset of her waist is stunning.

I do agree that some people look out of proportion, but i personally think even bigger women can get good results with a corset, sometimes even better results because they have more fat to squeeze and thier waist will look more defined, a skinny person can only corset so far before they hit bones (i should know). I dont like the 'pole' type waists that some corset users get, but i like the nice curves you can achieve. I dont think a 21" inch waist is gross, and i dont think corsetting is wrong or gross if used properly. But then again, i think breast implants are gross and people who pump thier body full of different crap for the sake of breasts can be quite niave and foolish, because people dont do their research. Ive been researching corsetting for a while now and id recommend it to anyone, plus they look cute with an outfit! Just do your research. Dont over do it. And you'll achieve good results. like with anything else :-)

[BarelyB]

I just watched that video and yeah that doesnt look very appealing. But i dont believe thats 22in at all. Shes not exactly bearing much fat, so i find it hard to believe that woman is any more than 18in. Id never go that small it doesnt look comfortable at all.

[mochaccino]

Just to contribute to the last conversation, Cathie Jung has a 16" waist. The smallest waist IN THE WORLD on a living person. She's not a good example of what most tightlacers look like. Attractive waist size is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but it's also determined by height. I know a lot of Filipina women who are in the 4'8-4'11 range, and it's not all that uncommon for these women to have 20-22 inch waists. Plenty of women under 5" do have "normal" (meaning 24" or larger) size waists on a tiny bodies, even when they're thin, but a few have waists that are "proportionate" to their tiny height. That means that their waist measurements will "sound" too small to a women of normal height, but won't actually look too small in real life.

I read somewhere that if a women is going for a classic pin-up hourglass figure, her waist circumference should be 35-40% of her height. At a slightly exaggerated looking 35% of height, the waist of a 5'4" woman would measure 22.5", and the waist of a 5'0" woman would measure 21". Some people obviously prefer larger waists than this.

Your natural waist is ALWAYS larger than your corset waist. If you are average height with an average size natural waist, and you want to shrink down to a 23" inch natural waist, you will need to slowly cinch down until you can comfortably fit into a fully closed 18" corset. That sounds tiny (and it is!) but your natural waist will spring back by 25-30%, giving you a 22-24" natural waist measurement right after removing your corset. Apparently you might not get as much "spring-back" if you don't cinch down as far. For example if you have a natural waist of 26", and you slowly cinch down into a 22" corset, you might only spring back to 24 or 25" once the corset is removed.

This is an important fact to keep in mind because (if you have a 26" waist) achieving a 22" corset waist might take only 2 to 4 months, while achieving an 18" corset waist might take 1-2 YEARS, and only if if your a VERY dedicated waist trainer.

[mochaccino]

I got majorly sidetracked by the conversation going on in this thread (above), but here's what I actually came here to say. I took a loooong break from waist training, and left my poor little expensive corset sitting alone in a drawer. I was worried that I wasted all that money. Now that my super painful tummy issues are finally almost gone, I think I'm ready to start breaking in my corset the right way. Apparently I was doing it all wrong.

Lucy (aka Bishonenrancher) of Youtube, recommends breaking in a new corset by wearing it at a 2" inch reduction, 2 hours per day, for 2 weeks. She calls it the 2/2/2 rule. If you haven't waist trained before AND the corset is very stiff and sturdy, apparently it might take 3 weeks to a month to break it in fully.

My corset is CRAZY stiff (and hopefully it really is as sturdy as it feels). The boning along the back lacing grommets is thick and 3'4" wide. The fabric has no stretch at all, and feels a lot like heavy denim. Now that I understand what I'm supposed to be doing, I'll be giving this corset at least 3 weeks to conform to my body before I start "real" waist training. I wouldn't be too surprised if takes a whole month. I'll have to force myself to be patient and be honest with myself about whether it really feels fully broken-in.

I'm starting again today! I'll report back when my corset is finally broken in, or sooner, depending on what happens. I lost ten pounds recently, so my waist is already 1.5" smaller than when I first tried to waist train. BTW,the 10 lb weight loss had nothing to do with the corset, if you're wondering. I wasn't even wearing it at the time. Wish me luck!

*Edit*
I just wanna say that my tummy issues weren't caused by the corset. I've had them for ages. I used to get stomach cramps after almost every meal. Mostly they weren't all that bad, but 3 or 4 times a week they would be really bad. On the worst weeks, I might get super bad cramps once per day, and they'd last hours after eating. They're mostly gone now. It seems to have all changed after I switched from my natural eating pattern of 3 large meals per day to something very different. I now eat a SUPER tiny breakfast and lunch followed by a relatively healthy but huge dinner and "dessert" or snack. The "dessert" is usually something like fruit or oatmeal, not cheesecake of course. I had no idea that this would help my stomach issues, and I expected to find that the huge meal would shock my stomach and hurt really bad, but for some reason it doesn't. Huge meals always used to hurt a lot. Beats me ¯\(°_o)/¯ It's also how I lost the 10 pounds BTW. I've tried eating 4-6 small meals a day and it didn't suppress my hunger as much, or help with my stomach issues. I don't understand why. This is has been the easiest low calorie diet to follow ever.

[timarie]

I dont really like the negativity being put on corset waist training. Providing its done properly with a healthy diet and regime you can both lose weight and get a defined waist. I also think exercising is vital in keeping your muscles strong, otherwise im assuming you'd lose muscle mass if your body relies fully on the corset for support. For the record im moving on to a 20in corset soon, i dont have any excess fat anywhere and i definetly am not supporting a bulge.

I do agree that some people look out of proportion, but i personally think even bigger women can get good results with a corset, sometimes even better results because they have more fat to squeeze and thier waist will look more defined, a skinny person can only corset so far before they hit bones (i should know). I dont like the 'pole' type waists that some corset users get, but i like the nice curves you can achieve. I dont think a 21" inch waist is gross, and i dont think corsetting is wrong or gross if used properly. But then again, i think breast implants are gross and people who pump thier body full of different crap for the sake of breasts can be quite niave and foolish, because people dont do their research. Ive been researching corsetting for a while now and id recommend it to anyone, plus they look cute with an outfit! Just do your research. Dont over do it. And you'll achieve good results. like with anything else :-)

I don't see how what I wrote was any more negative than what you just wrote. We both discussed that it looks best if done properly, and you admitted that it needs to be done with a good diet and exercise to be done properly. I think the only thing on which we disagree is purely based on opinion and is NOT a matter of me being negative, which is that I think that large people look ridiculous (because it is very obviously fake) when they try to push around their belly fat instead of putting out the effort to get rid of it. That's it. And yes, of course it is known that overweight people will get better results with a corset because fat can be pushed around and muscles and bones cannot, but my point is, who really cares if you get more inches off of a waist line if your arms are just as thick? Some people forget the body's appearance as a whole, and those are the people to whom I am referring. Not to people like you. See the image below. She is a great example, along with Cathie, of what I think looks just flat-out silly, while the lady to the right looks nice in my opinion...

[BarelyB]

I just thought the comment about a less than 22in waste being 'gross' was quite negative, thats all. And one message has a certain tone about it that all corset wearers have a bulge and 'rolls of fat' around thier bra line, when they dont, yiu might not have an athletic type tone to your belly but i wouldnt call it a bulge. The woman in the video is an extreme case, which i do think is silly.

Aah i knew i seen that woman somewhere in the news before. She looks really un natural! thanks for clearing that up it was driving me crazy haha

Ugh stomach cramps. Drinking lots of water and eating multiple smaller portions is a must for me, but i dont always listen and end up loosening the corset after a meal or taking it off. My progress has been slow and steady. My goal is 24in but im not in any rush! plus i cant afford a brand new corset any time soon :-(

I wonder if you can get a corset adjusted? like make it smaller instead of buying a brand new one?

[AbiDrew85]

I'm presently taking a break myself until I get my fat burned off my midsection. Then I'll start waist training for reals.

Mocha: that 2" rule, is that 2 inches measured outside the corset while wearing the corset, from your natural waist, or 2 inches outside the corset while wearing the corset from outside the corset wearing the corset, but NOT cinched down at all? LOL... That might sound kind of confusing...

Basically, do I measure my natural waist FIRST, before even putting the corset on AT ALL, and then cinch the corset down 2 inches beyond that measurement, OR do I put the corset on, tighten only just to where it's flush to my skin but NOT compressing me at all, measure, and then tighten down to where it's 2" from there?