Thursday, March 12, 2015

Oh, swoon!


Just a quick post. Was just reading a fantasy book and one of the corset-wearing characters had a pack of smelling salts just in case she fainted from "lack of breath." Maybe I don't wear super tight corsets, but I've borrowed a few constricting ones. I breathed just fine. Seemed bogus. I checked out a few academic sites and read the various discussions there. Academics get bogged down in references and literary examples, though. For the record, I'm not shitting on academics (I used to work at an academic press), but sometimes you want to just ask a real human being. Not a Victorian person, but there are plenty of people who tightlace today. Wear corsets daily for long periods of time. Might be interesting to see what they've got to say on the matter. (Also what about those weightlifters who work out in manly weightlifting belts...come on, those are corsets?)



Turns out one of my favorite corsetry blogs, Lucy's Corsetry, did a post on just that. (Video below, partial transcript and video on her site). Related: her post on blood pressure and wearing a corset (spoiler, her blood pressure rises).

Hey...an MRI scan showing that your lungs don't move around. From this post on Lucy's Corsetry. Your guts, however, do move around...there's also an interesting photo showing how a pregnant person's organs move around in generally the same direction. If I didn't want to get back to my book, I'd find a mother who was also a tightlacer and ask what she thought of this.

Ever feel like fainting when you've worn a corset?

4 comments:

  1. I only own one tight lacing corset, which I seldom wear because it cuts into my hips. I don't have trouble breathing in it but it can make my stomach uncomfortable. Back when I was interested in waist training I read that if you have difficulty breathing or you're in serious discomfort you're either a) wearing it wrong or b) it's not a properly made corset. Otherwise I guess it's normal to feel a little off when you first start wearing one but no fainting spells.

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  2. oooonly in the early days when i didnt know how much time my bhody needed and tightened too much ^^ since then only my stupid hip-bones (they stick out too much and yes, also on custom ones because i like my corsets not too short...)

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  3. I have ribs that don't go inwards, they are wide and round shaped and go all the way down to my hips so I CANNOT wear a corset without pain and huge red marks. I don't think I could get it tight enough to restrict breathing though.

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  4. I like my corsets laced nice and tight. When I first started wearing them I found them to be quite uncomfortable but I am quite used to it now. I didn't really ever think that any of them have interfered with my breathing at all.

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