Week 3, day 3.

I am so excited to be starting corset reviews! I will be posting reviews for several different corset styles from Mystic City Corsets, Orchard Corsets, Timeless Trends, Isabella Corsetry, Rebel Madness, and more. I know, for someone who just started wearing corsets on a daily basis and started waist training even more recently, I have a lot of corsets. But my love for this timeless garment runs deep. My corset is my armor, protecting me from debilitating anxiety and holding me through my grief at losing my father (I lost my mother in 2014, so I am also coming to terms with the loss of everything that came with my parents - Sunday dinners, shopping, all their grand-kids playing in the backyard, holidays, birthdays...I have always lived less than 2 miles from my parents, so you can imagine how huge it was to lose them.).

I am still having a fairly easy time with waist training. I love it. When I wake up in the morning and see the subtle changes in my body it motivates me to keep on going during the day. I have yet to cheat, and event though it's good to take a day off, I don't really like to. I usually work on seasoning newer corsets on my day off from waist training. That way I am still corseted, but not cinched down tightly.

I am hoping to have the first review posted tomorrow, starting with the MCC 68 from Mystic City Corsets. I will be sharing all the usual information, measurements, materials, construction, but will also be sharing my personal experience with not only wearing these corsets, but my first impressions, my feelings after seasoning is over, and any issues, discrepancies, or minor inconveniences. I feel that, especially for those of us on a budget, all of those are important. Although my experience may be different from others, I don't want to leave anything out. A corset is an investment, and I can't speak for you, dear reader, but I want to know what I am getting for my money. If I buy a $600 corset is it worth the money? How is the construction? Materials? What styles are there? How many bones? Flat steel? How much wear can I get from a $49 corset? Is it good quality even though the price is low? What should I expect if I buy a corset on clearance? Can I return a corset that doesn't fit/is damaged/is not what I ordered? I've asked all of those questions at one time. And even though I am by no means an expert, I am an educated corset enthusiast and the more information that is out there to help people looking into corsets for any reason, the better.

I also plan to start posting about Corset and waist training myths! There are so many!

Please let me know if there is anything that you would like to see here. I'm just starting out here and would love to know what kinds of information YOU want to see here.

Squishy Corset Hugs,
-Vixx

Things I am bad at....

Blogging on time. I am not good a that at all! Actually this past week has been so busy that I have barely had time to sleep. I have been getting to bed incredibly late, but have accomplished so much as far as the house remodel that I am perfectly okay with missing some sleep.

I have been faithfully following my waist training program that Ann (of Romantasy Exquisite Corsetry) designed for me, and managed to complete week 2 at 29.5 inches with no issues. In fact, while I was out on Tuesday, I needed to tighten my laces and accidentally closed my corset! Just 2 weeks ago there was no way I could've managed to close any of my corsets! I did not keep it closed since I do no want to go too fast, but it was exciting. Today is day 1 reduced another half inch, to 29 inches over my corset. When I started this program I wasn't sure that my body would budge past the 29.5 inch mark, but  it has become much easier. Lacing down is like home, I swear!

I have managed to lose a few pounds, but I tend not to focus as much on weight as I do on measurements since muscle weighs more than fat and as I build muscle from exercise, my weight may not change much for a bit. My body, however, is changing. I am starting to see it. My tummy is still soft, but almost flat as opposed to my round pooch. My hips look slimmer, people are commenting on my posture and saying I look good. Yay! Some days it is tough to resist the pull of a giant chocolate cake or berry covered cheesecake, but I manage. When I quit smoking years ago I learned that a craving usually only lasts for 5 minutes. If you can make it past that point, it will usually dissipate. I have been using that strategy to get past my sweet tooth. I'm sure that I'll lose more when I have my dental work done as well. That's another long story though, so nsuffice it to say that I have to have my entire mouth reconstructed due to an injury that happened when I was 7. It destroyed my developing adult teeth and my enamel will literally shatter at random. I am having a ton of crowns and implants done to fix this once and for all.

I am also starting corset reviews this week! I am going to start out with one of my Mystic City Corsets, so if you have been curious about MCC, keep an eye out!

Playing Catch-up

The past few days have been so busy that I have almost literally fallen into bed at night. I have been having issues with my work tool and it was related to a faulty Windows update, which meant spending a lot of time trying to find the right restore point. It also means working like crazy all weekend to try and make up hours. Also moving furniture around since I am getting all of my Dad's furniture. Fun stuff, lemme tell you. Moving things is not my forte. I gave up and hired people to do the actual heavy lifting. I still have to handle my own furniture as well as getting rid of a ton of older stuff in the house since I rented a gigantic dumpster and may as well take the opportunity to de-clutter. I have owned his house for almost 16 years and several friends have stayed here and left things on top of my own mass of stuff. My home is adorable, but it was designed by someone who was very drunk or something since it has no close space, drawers that can't open due to walls in the way, no bathroom storage, no kitchen pantry and very few cabinets. What little storage space I have is crammed full. Looking forward to making some room, finishing the remodel and buying a stand alone pantry!

So all of that is why I haven't updated the past few days, but in all honesty this first week wasn't hard at all. Maybe it's because I am more comfortable in a corset than out of one. I also found out that my back irritation is due to the fact that I am a bit bustier than I thought! I am, in fact, a 36DD. I have been wearing a 36D for years and just thought my bras weren't supportive enough. Turns out I have been wearing the wrong size on top of not enough support. I bought a few bras locally and ordered some from Her Room as well, and the minute I put on that gigantic DD cup bra, my back literally sighed. So much better. I'm only 5'6", and I'm built to be about 130lbs, so a DD cup is a lot of weight for my frame.

Speaking of weight, I have dropped down 4lbs! Seems like a small amount, but I'm trying to lose weight in a healthy manner and don't want to lose too much too fast. I am the same age my Mother was when she had her first heart attack, so I am really trying to make sure to stay as healthy as possible.

I will post measurements tonight, but I did measure my waistline last night (which was my day off so no corset) and I have lost a teeny tiny bit. I was measuring my snug waist at 33", and now its like 32 2/3". It's not much, but it's something. Even that teensy bit has boosted my confidence and given me hope. I have tried so hard to lose weight in the past, and since I am no longer a crazy active 21 year old that dances and goes out all the time, my metabolism has slowed and it's so hard for me to lose weight. I may have my doc check my thyroid just to be sure. In any case, this tiny bit of progress has renewed my hope. THANK YOU ANN (Romantasy) for being there for people like me that want to lose weight and waist train.

Ann has been a real inspiration to me lately. I have known her for about 2 weeks, but I love her positive spirit and willingness to share her knowledge. I am more than halfway through her book "Corset Magic" and it is fabulous! I'll save most of what I have to say for the review, but let me just say that Ann is not only informative, but she's funny too!

I am also working on what will be the review section of the blog. I only own 13 corsets at the moment, but my love for them is strong, so I tend to want to try new brands and styles. I toyed with the idea of sharing my experiences with certain brands and styles but was on the fence. Until Friday. I recently ordered a beautiful French Roccoco corset and a blue satin waist cincher from Timeless Trends. The waist cincher is what helped me decide to review. Right out of the package I noted extensive damage to the fabric, as if something had rubbed against it repeatedly for a good long time. Fully opened, the wear on the fabric was on all sides of the corset. One spot had a good one inch bundle of thread hanging out. The flat steels beside the grommets are warped badly on one side. When I dared to put it on, it became obvious that this cincher was seasoned to someone else's shape. Now I did get the cincher on clearance. However clearance does no mean heavily damaged and warped. Warped steels are not okay for wear. I sent a message but have yet to hear back. The return policy is 45 days, however I would have to pay to ship the cincher back to them, which I am opposed to since had anyone looked at this cincher prior to shipping, it would have been obvious that it was not up to par. I am fairly sad since all I wanted was a nice little cincher for work or just hanging about. I am hoping they make it right, otherwise I will never do busness with them again and will certainly share my experience on my nail polish FB page, which has tens of thousands of followers.

Today I am doing 6 hours at 29.5", which I think I can handle. I will update later tonight!

Day 5

Today is my second day laced down to 29.5" for 4 hours. I woke up this morning and decided to start my day by spending some time seasoning a new corset. And this corset is stunning, so I can hardly be blamed! However after sitting in it for 2 hours, I noticed that my back was feeling somewhat strained. I have several corsets that allow me to sit comfortably for hours, but this is not one of them. My MCC's are my fave's for sitting since they have high backs (one measures 15" along the back!) and are nicely seasoned. I don't have too many back issues, but I do have to watch my lower back due to a car accident I was in 20 years ago. Anyway, I removed that corset to go run some errands and did not change into a different corset since I thought I would be home soon. The combination of the sitting uncomfortably and breaking in a new bra (that I suspect doesn't have half the support that I was told, thus creating a lot of tension in my back) led to a sore back. It's still a bit tender, but I laced down for my 4 hours in my MCC-68 satin and damask underbust and my back yelled at me for a moment, then sighed in relief. Funny how that works. Now if I could just find a pretty bra that supports the girls without chafing, pinching, or resembling a surgical wrap. 

Had a horrible craving for greasy fries tonight but that quickly faded into nothing when I stepped in my scale and saw that I had lost 4 lbs! Wahoo! Ended up having a lovely veggie filled salad and some yogurt with berries and granola. Berries are my very favorite food. I could eat raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, anything that ends in berry all day long. Thankfully my corsets remind me that portion size is just as important as what I'm eating. 

So today has been about a 4. My back is a bit angry, but that's something I deal with carrying around veritable cantaloupes on my chest. It's nothing compared to what my hubby deals with daily and my corset has almost totally alleviated the soreness.

Hopefully I'll find time to share more than just my daily progress soon. So much to get done lately!

Day 4.

Increased wear time today! 4 hours at 29.5". It was much easier than I had anticipated, but I know that I will be challenged soon enough. It can't all be this easy. On a scale of 1-10, I think today rated as a 3. Only challenge was that I was wearing an outfit that made it difficult to use the ladies room. Note to self, silk fisherman pants may be gorgeous and comfy, but not all that functional when paired with a corset.

I have had no food cravings today, and I made it through my weak spot after Pilates this morning with no issues. My weak spot is what I call the hour or so after working out where I end up ravenous and can easily justify overeating. This morning I didn't feel hungry at all after Pilates, so whipped up a protein shake and crocheted a bit (Yes, I crochet. Expertly at that. I specialize in modern clothing and work in heavy, medium, light and lace weigh yarns as well as thread, which is a personal fave.) of a swing skirt that I'm working on. I also tend to munch while working, but have made sure I have nothing but healthy snacks on hand and have managed to barely munch anything while working. I had about a handful of shelled, unsalted sunflower seeds. Other than that In had a few slices of pear, and some granola throughout the day and yummy veggie rice for dinner. I am even down to a single cup of coffee a day! I am not sure I will ever be able to give it up entirely, so I am quite proud to be down to one cup as opposed to my usual 2 in the morning and 1-2 in the afternoon.

Felt so good this morning (despite a severe lack of sleep since Dex had a tough night and wanted mommy) that I threw in an extra 30 minutes of Pilates. Hubby says that I look like I am losing weight and my posture has changed dramatically. He is also incredibly supportive of my corseting and loves how I look while corseted. I mean, he loves me without my corsets, but it's wonderful to have some support at home. Ann is also a huge support and I cannot wait to get to know her better. I found her through Lucy's Corsetry, and I admire Lucy a great bit. However since talking with Ann almost daily, I have to say that Ann is who I admire most in the corseting world. As a matter of fact, I have to get started on her book "Corset Magic" tonight.

I will be doing a full review on "Corset Magic" here soon, but I definitely recommend her Corseting Primer "Corset Waist Training". For those of us just starting out with corseting, even if you don't want to waist train, this book contains so much of what we need to know to be safe and get the most out of our investment, and corseting is an investment! (Especially if you are like me and amass several better quality OTR corsets and plan on going custom in 12 weeks!)

Bedtime now. Lots to do tomorrow.

Day 3- or what happens when you accidentally save a draft!

Yup, this post is late. I wrote it on time, however I failed to hit publish and it merely saved as a draft. So here is yesterday's post. I'll post tonight's update before bed.

I am looking forward to tomorrow since I get to increase my wear to 4 hours at 29.5". 2 hours has been a bit too easy. It's literally when I feel the best. My anxiety is gone, I'm happy with how I look and feel, which is huge since I am not happy with what I see in the mirror these days. But waist training, pilates, yoga, and walks with my beloved Great Dane will certainly help. Anyway, difficulty was about a 2 today. Easy Peasy. I wonder if it's less challenging to me since I have been corseted around 6-8 hours a day everyday for a few weeks while seasoning my new corsets. Of course I am nowhere near as cinched when I am seasoning, I know better than to rush seasoning, just a thought.

Had my usual protein shake breakfast. I'm not much of a breakfast person, but can handle those. It also has a good amount of fiber, which is a bonus. Nibbled on bananas and pears throughout the day, as well as some unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds. Dinner was a lovely turkey salad that I could only manage about 1/3 of! I truly do prefer to graze over trying to eat an entire meal while corseted!

Managed to escape pesky cravings today as well. Let's hope that keep up.

Day 2

2 hours at 29.5" again today. Definitely easier than yesterday, even when sitting. 2 hours again tomorrow and then I increase to 4 hours on Wednesday. I feel like I could already increase my wearing time, but I don't want to go too fast the first week.

I think my biggest issue is food. Man, I am so used to instant gratification and heavy foods. I used to eat clean and when I had my second kiddo I just gave up. It was easier to eat on the go while running a business, working the business and raising two kids than it was to cook or to prepare meals ahead of time. Even though healthy food tastes so much better to me, I still have that crazy urge to just grab something quick and horrible for me

. I need to launch a full scale grocery store visit, but I did manage to snag some healthy snacks as well as dinner tonight. I had a lovely Cesar salad with white meat chicken for dinner. I munched on some yummy granola throughout the day, as well as some pears and organic bananas. Picked up more Almond Milk (was bummed that they were out of the Hint of Honey!) and protein shake mix and some fiber filled cereal (no sugary cereals for me anymore! I think I will hit the store tomorrow and see what I can work with. It doesn't help that I am an incredibly picky eater.

It feels good to be getting out more as well. I work from home, so I don't have to leave the house until we run out of food, haha! I'm kidding, I am just making a point to be more active since I could laze about half the day and nobody would bother to chastise me.

My 2 corsets from Isabella Corsetry arrived today and they are gorgeous. I ordered the Petite Josephine in a pink and blue floral on black, and the Victorian Underbust in Teal Blossom. Having a couple higher quality corsets has me itching to get one from Romantasy. Not that my MCC and Timeless Trends are bad quality...for OTR corsets they are surprisingly well made and fit better than expected. But even with just wearing these new corsets for seasoning the difference was marked. They are lighter, yet sturdy, and the minute I laced them on they were already clinging to my curves.

 Okay, it is bedtime for me. My eyes are droopy. To recap, today was about a 2 in terms of difficulty when laced in, but a good 8 when it comes to resisting the temptations of cupcakes and chocolate bars. At least I didn't give in!

Til tomorrow,

Day One

Measurements:

Underbust: 35

Waist: 33"

Hip: 40.5"

Derriere: 43"

Oh how unhappy I am with those measurements! I looked at my uncorseted body in the mirror last night and almost cried. Despite having lost some weight (since October I have lost 1.5 inches at the underbust, 1.5 from my waist, and 2 from my hips!),  I am still at my heaviest. I weighed a couple pounds less when I was pregnant with my son! This is what emotional eating can do. I lost my mother and turned to food and lethargy. I should have gone to see my doctor, but I was in a fog and didn't realize my meds weren't working.

I lost my father in December. It's harder than when I lost my mom because I am now an adult orphan and have to find my place in the world without my parents. My dad was my superhero. I love him so very much. Losing him has been the hardest thing ever. But I am on the right meds now and my depression isn't running rampant. I'm not coping by eating and sitting on the couch. I invested in new Yoga and Pilates equipment and am eating clean. I am remodeling my house and getting out more. I miss my dad every day, but I am grieving in a healthier way.

My corset also helps with depression and anxiety. I have been plagued with anxiety my entire life. I have yet to have an attack while corseted. My corsets are like my armor.

I am currently cinched in at 29.5 inches. It's very tight. Yet not very uncomfortable. When I am standing it just feels like pressure. Sitting can get a little tough after awhile, but still only at about a 3 or 4. I wasn't sure I could get down this far, but I am apparently a bit squishy. Past this should be fun though, since I do have some muscle hiding underneath my winter fat!

I have found a new friend on Ig. He corsets as well, and has some of the neatest custom corsets including Pokemon and Mario. It's nice to have people to talk about corsets with. I could talk corsets all day long, I swear. Ann is also amazing, tolerating my silly questions without making me feel like I'm being a pest. I can only hope to be so knowledgeable someday! I also love that she is the epitome of class. Corsets have become so sexualized over the years. I have been asked why I wear bedroom wear out several times and have had to explain that the corset was not invented for the bedroom. Yes, they are sexy, but considering that they restrict movement somewhat.....well, you know where I'm going.

Dinner tonight was some yummy California veggies and rice. Then some mango slices a couple hours later. The a handful of nuts. I am definitely a grazer, so eating this way doesn't bother me at all. In fact I love that my corset acts somewhat like an external lap band. My biggest issue has been overeating. I was eating just to feel better so I would just hork down a ton of whatever it was that tasted the best. I also have a bad habit of only eating once a day, so this is beneficial to me in so many ways. Earlier in the day I also had a protein shake, and I have to admit that I have yet to give up my decadent morning Latte. That will be the harder to let go. I have a serious love of coffee, but I do have a great coffee recipe that tastes fabulous but has no refined sugar or saturated fats. I do need to make sure that I am getting enough fiber though. I may have to check into a supplement. I kind of fear them since I have issues with anything gritty or with a watered down flavor.

My two hours are up now and I have to say that was easier than expected. Then again I have been wearing my corsets regularly for the past month or so and I usually lace down to about 30 - 31", I have two beauties from Isabella corsetry coming this week so I will have seasoning to do. I am getting very antsy to add a Romantasy corset to my collection though!

Testing. Testing....Can anyone hear me?

Hello, universe. First posts are always awkward for me. I never know where to start. I'm going to just jump right in today otherwise I will sit here for hours trying to find the right opening line.

I fell in love with corsets when I was very young. I saw an old western with a damsel in distress who was wearing a corset and fell in love with how she looked so feminine and curvy. I have no idea what movie that was, but I must have been about 5 or 6. When I was a teenager my friends and I were into Madonna, and while what we were wearing did not qualify as actual corsets, I loved how they made me look and feel. I graduated from Bustiers to your run of the mill Frederick's of Hollywood fashion corsets, complete with horrible plastic boning and tiny hook closure. I had no idea where to find actual corsets, so I suffered in those. Once the internet came into my life, I was able to find actual corsets, but still only wore them on special occasions. I bought mine so that they closed in the back immediately, because I didn't know better. I cinched them tight as hell thinking that's what you're supposed to do. In fact , I was wearing a beautiful custom corset when my husband proposed, and when he hugged me after I said yes....well, let's just say it was so tight and he was so happy that I ended up with a tiny fracture. My doctor said it was from my husband's strength, and I have to agree since my hubby is a big guy and forgets how strong he is. Luckily my rib healed perfectly and I was given the all clear,  but it still led me to shy away from corsets for awhile.

Then my father passed away. I lost my mother to lung cancer in 2014 and had just pulled myself back together. My dad had COPD and had been close to death many times since mom passed. In fact, my hubby lived with him for 9 months to help him regain his strength after RSV almost killed him. He was doing so well that he was ready to be alone, and then out of nowhere his lungs failed. He was going to be sent to hospice and would have to live on a CPAP 24/7. He didn't want to live that way and was tired and missed my mom. He passed on 12/6 with me holding his hand.

Losing him changed my world in so many ways. I love him so much, but I was so bound to my family that I didn't dare show certain parts of me, like my love for funky hair colors, or corsets.

I went online and met Sylvia from Mystic City Corsets and ended up ordering 3 corsets from her. I loved them enough to order a fourth. Then my husband decided to try a men's corset for his back (he has a fractured L1, a botched surgery and a few other issues) and found Timeless Trends. I ordered matching corsets for us. See the trend? I have 11 corsets at the moment, and am planning on going custom next.

I started reading about corsets online, and that led me to waist training. I'll admit that I coped with losing my mother by eating and sitting at home feeling bad. I gained so much that I was at my heaviest ever. I actually broke down one night and sobbed. I immediately changed my eating habits and decided that since I had always wanted to corset and have that amazing hourglass figure, I was going to do my research and give it a serious shot.

I am staring my new waist training program on Sunday and could not be more excited. I know, what about all the bad things you read about corseting? I assure you that when done safely and correctly, corsets, waist training and tightlacing are perfectly safe. There are so many myths surrounding corset wearing, many of them far-fetched. Yes, we can breathe. No, we don't need to have any ribs removed. But I will get to all of those in time. My waist training program was designed just for me and my body by the amazing Ann Grogan of Romantasy Exquisite Corsetry.

I found Ann and Romantasy while devouring information on Lucy's Corsetry. Lucy has an amazing website and YouTube channel devoted to all things corset, complete with scientific information on the effects of corseting on the organs, muscles and nerves, etc. I was looking for more information on waist training since I had decided that I was ready to commit, but did not want to go too fast and risk injury. She mentioned that Ann offers waist training coaching and I immediately went right over to Romantasy and signed up for one. Ann is so very sweet and knowledgable and my waist training plan was done within a week. I also received a copy of her book Corset Waist Training and devoured it within 2 days (I'll be posting a full review of her book Corset Magic here as well.) The Romantasy website has a wealth of information as well, and I could browse the pictures of custom corsets for days.

Now I feel like I am armed with enough information to waist train safely, and I know Ann is an email away if I have a question (which is wonderful since I have had some iffy interactions when just asking about a custom corset, nonetheless waist training questions.). Have I raved about Ann and Romantasy enough yet? Honestly I just love that Ann not only offers amazing custom corsets made by renowned corsetiers, but also educates about corset wearing, waist training and tight lacing. She is so sweet and warm, and I immediately felt like I had a friend as opposed to participating in a business transaction.

Back to waist training... My goal is to go from a 33" natural  waist to a 30" natural waist in 3 months. My ultimate goal is to get back down to a 24" waist measured over my corset, but I know that will take time. I'll be combining waist training with Yoga, Pilates, and walking/running since the corset is not a magical fix that will just make me lose weight with no effort. It's a tool, albeit a gorgeous tool that also makes me feel like a Princess!

I will be posting her daily as part of my waist training plan. I know that sharing with the entire internet will help me hold myself accountable.

With love,
Vixx