As covered last week, corsets are (justifiably) expensive. A friend of mine joked that I could’ve summed that whole article up as “corsets are hard” — touché, James. Still, corsets come in a huge range of price points. What’s “reasonable”? What should you expect when spending that much money on a garment? How much should you even think about spending in the first place? Well, the answer depends entirely on the […]
In corsetry, custom, bespoke, and made-to-measure all mean essentially the same thing, just as ready-to-wear, off-the-rack, and made-to-order have similar or overlapping definitions, depending on the maker. Which means they should all follow a similar process, right? Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. All too often, I hear sad tales of made-to-measure corsets that don’t fit because an essential step was skipped. Here’s what you should expect when ordering a […]
This past Sunday, I got to meet burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese. I wasn’t alone, of course. Dita was doing a meet and greet at Dark Garden Unique Corsetry to promote her Von Follies lingerie line as well as her perfumes, both of which are exclusively available within San Francisco at Dark Garden. Dark Garden has been Dita’s “go-to corsetmaker for the past 15 years,” and I’ve been working there for […]
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. One of the questions I’m asked most frequently on TLA is, “Where can I buy a good corset?” Though I’ve been writing about lingerie for years now, it’s still a question I totally understand. Even the most inexpensive (but still good quality) steel-boned corset will cost around $75. A corset with custom measurements, high quality fabrics, or special details (like fan-lacing or a lace […]
