As I turn over the “back in 10 minutes” sign on the virtual shop door I thought it was worth putting up a explanation for anyone who missed my earlier social media post. If you are wondering what’s going on, I’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily close the online shop as of Sunday 11th April. What this means is that made-to-order styles like our Seirian, Perle and Adara will not be available online for the forseeable future. The reason for this is that I try to keep the shop at a 4-6 week turnaround and right now, I can’t hope to keep up with that on my current waiting list! Demand means I’m currently booking in July/ August work so in order to make sure everyone gets the service they deserve I will reopen the shop when I’ve got better turnaround times to offer to you lovely people.
You can still place bespoke orders as usual (bearing in mind the long lead time!) and if you’re happy with the wait on delivery you can send me a message at any time to get added onto that list! Naturally, if you already have an order placed with me that still stands.
Needless to say, I’m still here doing what I’ve always done, and just to prove I haven’t been idle, I released a new style last month! You can check out Heledd here, a standard size stealthing corset suitable for daily wear, with multiple options to help you get a great fit.
Last but not least, I’ve added a new item to the shop that will remain live during the shut down. A bespoke design pathway! When you enquire about a bespoke order and we have worked out the basic details I will be asking you to purchase one of these to take us to the next stage of design development. It’s not an extra charge but a downpayment of sorts on the time taken to work on your ideas, taken off your final balance payment when you place your order. This allows me to give my focus to clients who are ready to commit to the design process as time is so short these days. Thankyou to everyone who has embraced it so far! Seeing how you readily value my time and energy has been really touching. Including some people who have purchased one before we’ve even spoken! I feel endlessly blessed with the clients I have gathered in this little nook of the internet! You’re good eggs, as my gran would say.
Well. What a strange time to share with you. For those of you who are in quarantine (most of us across the world I suppose!) I send soul hugs. we are social animals and it’s so poignant to be left avoiding our loved ones for their own safety. It’s also a worrying time for us all financially, as we look at an indeterminate period ahead of us where our working lives are uncertain. I am counting myself as very fortunate that for the last two years I have been working from my home studio, with everything I need around me to be creative and productive, even if quarantine measures are tightened further in the UK.
I have been truly touched by the number of new and old clients who have been in touch with orders, checking in on me and also confirming that they are still going ahead with their planned commissions, so I thought it would be worth letting you all know how things are working here, and what may change as this situation develops.
I hope it goes without saying that all expected safety precautions are being taken very seriously here during quarantine, we are still able to help with fittings and measuring by video call but are no longer welcoming visitors to the studio. I am social distancing and keeping the work area clean. Current advice suggests that the coronavirus can survive for 24 hours on cardboard and 72 hours on plastic so although our mail services have lots of safety measures in place you may wish to consider leaving packages somewhere safe for these periods before enjoying them and washing hands thoroughly after receipt.
Despite the quarantine I am still running my business as normal- I have all equipment needed to work on your orders and my main supplier also works from home so is suffering no interruption to business. I do have reserves in my supplies but the main thing looking to the future is what restrictions may be placed on mail services. I will keep everyone informed on this front but at present we are able to serve you much as we always have!
Your orders have never been more welcome as we try to weather this storm. I know that many of our supporters are not in a position to spend money on a new corset right now but if you did want to help us here are a list of our products from £10-£50!
£10- Gift Vouchers We offer digital gift voucher codes so even if the mail is interrupted in your area we can still send these to you for last minute gifts!
£25- Chokers. Our Aures tassel choker has been proving really popular lately! We also have our classic Trinity choker which is simple and elegant, adding a minimalist edge to any outfit. There is one last limited edition Betsi choker left in our ready to ship section as well!
Trinity Noir choker
Betsi choker
Aures choker
£25- Corset storage bag. Available with custom finishes to match your corsets! These are the perfect way to keep your beautiful corset protected and hung neatly in the wardrobe without damage from hangers. You can even pop a little lavender or a few rose petals in so they come out beautifully scented!
£30-£35- Suspenders. We sell sets of 20mm wide or 30mm wide suspenders which can be made to hook on or clip onto your corset! There are some lovely colours available and gold or silver hardware to choose for most options.
£35- £40- Harnesses. I just love how these can be used to style up an outfit! Our Regate harness has a simple lariat style and comes in 4 colourways. Our Morgan harness has a more layered look and comes in ivory or black.
Regate harness
Morgan harness
£40- Valour lace mask. Available in three different lace colours, this delicate mesh mask is the ultimate boudoir accompaniment! A little baroque finishing touch to your ensemble.
Valour mask in cobalt blue
Valour mask in silver
Valour mask in gold
£50- Branwen garters. These are one of our newest additions, and though we have 3 colours on offer we can source custom colours for these glorious strappy accessories!
Branwen garters in black
Branwen garters in red
Thankyou so much. If you are unable to buy with us at this time please keep interacting with our social media (we’re still suffering under Instagram and Facebook’s puritanical approach to lingerie!) and sharing our posts with your friends, helping small businesses stay visible is a huge part of staying strong right now! Quarantine is such an important tool in fighting this sickness and we all need to stick together in helping it be effective so keep listening to the latest advice and please be careful of any popular articles being shared on Facebook that haven’t come from official channels. There is so much misinformation but if something is TRULY effective in preventing infection you can bet it will be on our major news channels first!
Every year I try to make sure I share a little review of what’s passed. Partly for anyone who takes an interest but also I find it a huge help to force myself out of my constant “What Next” goal driven mentality and with a screech of brakes, remind myself of all those little moments that made me feel so lucky to spend another year in this wonderful job.
I’ve been so delighted to see more fetishists finding us for their intimately realised bespoke corsetry. These commissions really mean the world to me as they come from a place of great trust from the client and allow me to explore more deeply the possibilities in structure and elegance with elements such as locking devices and nuances in fit that create different experiences for the wearer. Here’s a piece that absolutely had to make it into the review! A punishment corset made for a male submissive. It weighed nearly 2 kg and was designed to be heavy and rigid, challenging to wear due to a wasp waist and pipe stem cut. The continuous boning made it a sculptural piece to handle and wear, and the interlocking waist straps were subtly elegant and architectural!
In May we held our second selfie competition! The winner was Amethyst Skye who staged an elaborate photo shoot with a captive in tow! She put so much effort into her entries, and I love how playful some of these shots were. I truly appreciate the creativity and originality my clients bring to their self expression!
There was also a thrilling moment which I’m only now relating to you- I had a call from Vogue magazine asking for a corset to shoot with the incredible photographer Tim Walker! You may have seen his exhibition at the V&A Museum recently! They had seen the piece they wanted and with approximately 24 hours notice (due to my travel plans as I was about to leave the country!) I attempted to remake it using only what I had in the studio! I was able to post it out on my way to the airport but sadly it didn’t get used. This is always the way with publications- there are no guarantees! I’ve been lucky in the past and had my work shot by Mario Testino and featured in the main fashion story for British Vogue, so that goal has already been hit but… I would so have loved to shoot with Tim Walker! This is the corset I remade in that frantic time period!
What review is complete without a fan girl moment! In June I woke up to discover that the beautiful Miss Miranda had danced for Lady Gaga wearing our Perle Luxe underbust corset! There is a phenomenal video where Lady G is helping Miranda out with her suspenders and truth to tell, I’m still not over this moment! Watch it here!
We released our Creation Stories too! A unique opportunity to mark a special commission with a creative scrap book documenting the process of making your corset. This makes a perfect memento for brides, where the connection to the process can run very deep! They are completed with creative writing about the techniques and stages of construction.
And of course, the most recent development of note- we finally released our standard size overbust for our made to order collection! If you haven’t met the Meriel yet then where have you been?! These stunning corsets feature elegant Chantilly lace that blooms dramatically across the body. I’m deeply proud of them and have been so pleased by the reaction they’ve had so far! Here’s the first custom version I’ve made, specially sized for the wearer with a silk satin overlay in deep red, with a matching corset bag for ultimate indulgence!
Normally I would end a review with some goals for the upcoming year and there are some that I want to keep to myself just for now. However I can share that our aims to keep driving our own standards of consciousness and ethics with regard to the environment are ongoing and at the forefront of all decisions! read more about this here. I also want to focus on showing off some of our more dramatic bespoke skills as well, as the made to order pieces have taken so much of my attention while I built up the shop. There will still be more to come but it’s been a while since I just got creative for the fun of it, and I know from your responses that this is something that excites you too! I want to make more videos of our commissions too- time pressures often mean I don’t always get to record my work properly before it gets posted but a video is such a great way to share my feelings about a piece as well as to show detail and angles! What would you add to our review? is there a moment we’ve shared that stands out to you? get in touch and tell us all about it!
It seems that one way or another we are lucky enough to get a lot of beginners just finding their feet with corsetry at our virtual door. The world of corsets is a funny one, full of archaic terms and odd calculations. But it’s also a really welcoming community, full of people with a shared passion and a wide variety of experiences, and I hope you find a happy little family here.
The Lingo
I hope to grow this into a little series, so to start us off what could be better than building up our vocabulary?! As beginners, nothing can make you feel excluded like people using words you don’t fully understand, so let’s call this your reference library for all things corset, or your babel fish if you like your geekery as I do.
If a word is in bold it’s because it has a description in our list should you need to reference it!
Bespoke– If you’ve spent a little while on our site you may have spotted that we have two different sorts of corset that we offer at two different prices. Bespoke and Made to order. Bespoke is our more exclusive (and expensive) option and it essentially means that all elements of the corset are chosen by you, and that it is made from a unique pattern built from a large number of your own measurements. There will likely be fittings and toiles to ensure comfort and a flattering fit. For a beginners first corset you may not feel this is necessary, but clients who waist train or take a significant waist reduction will quickly need to move onto this option! It’s an opportunity to create a deeply personal piece with levels of comfort that simply cannot be achieved any other way!
Anita DeBauch shot by Sally Sparrow photography
Boning – We still call the corset supports and the process of inserting them “boning” – even though it’s been many years since we stopped hunting whales for their precious baleen. Nowadays, if I talk about your corset boning I’m more than likely talking about flat and spiral steel, as illustrated below. Some people think that it’s boning that creates the waist reduction– but you can now correct them! Boning prevents the corset from wrinkling at the waist under the tension of tightlacing. It also gives support to the compressed body, and can play a part in adjusting your posture.
Busk – The busk is the front fastening you will come across on a lot of corsets in my shop. It consists of two steel bones, one of which has hooks riveted securely on, and the other has studs to meet them. The patent for the first busk was registered in 1829 and we have not altered it much! There are many different types but this is more than likely what is inside your corset. They make it much easier to get in and out of your corset on your own and as they come in a wide variety of colours and functional styles, they play a part in the beauty and support of your finished garment!
Corsetiere– This is the proper term for the person who makes your corsets! Corsetmaker is also fine, but doesn’t corsetiere feel nicer to say? If you want more of a glimpse into my job, here’s another blog post for you.
Cinch– You may hear about waist cinchers (a type of corset, usually intended for light waist reduction) or asked how much you “cinch” down by. This is effectively another term for waist reduction, or the action of reducing your waist!
Eyelets – Technically we use the higher quality “grommets” for the lacing section of our corsets, but eyelets is the better known term. These metal rings are set into the fabric to reinforce it sufficiently for us to reduce the waist and tighten the lacing time and time again. In earlier styles, hand embroidered eyelets were used until the metal eyelet was invented in 1828, meaning corsets could be laced tighter than ever before, without fear of tearing of the fabric.
Made To Order – This is where most beginners will start their corset wearing journey with us. These corsets are significantly cheaper than bespoke pieces because they are made to a standard size pattern, meaning they will fit most people pretty well! These corsets are a great way to test the waters, experiment with styling your corset and have some fun! Being made to order means these corsets are not sitting, waiting to be posted out to you – we give you lots of options for you to create your perfect “pick and mix” corset look and then make it once you’ve ordered it. This allows us flexibility if you have any special requests or need sizing on the pattern tweaked to work better for you!
Off The Rack – Also known as OTR or RTW (ready to wear) we sell made to order corsets instead as we like to offer you lots of choice, but OTR corsets are also made to a standard size pattern, typically mass produced and ready to be popped through your letterbox! Again, these are a fun way for beginners to experiment with corsetry if you don’t have any specialist fit requirements.
Perle in dove grey, a perfect corset for beginners
Standard Size – Fun fact – there’s really no such thing as a size 10. Every clothing store has their own special set of measurements based on market research which are used to develop their clothing patterns. For instance, their target market might be curvy and full busted, or more petite making the body lengths shorter. In our case, our patterns are based on 13 years of bespoke client information, trying to create styles and sizing that will work for our main groups. It won’t be perfect for everyone, but my experience of fitting and selling these corsets is that they are very versatile in providing a flattering and comfortable fit.
Sally Sparrow and Diego!
Tightlacing – Here’s a useful term. Tightlacing is the insider word for wearing your corset, for me it tends to infer that you wear your corsets regularly but you do not waist train. However the practice of waist training is really tightlacing daily with the intention of greater figure alteration!
Miss Deadly Red wears the Seirian Luxe in Rosette Pink shot by Sally Sparrow
Toile – Pronounced “twarrrl“! If you’re having a bespoke corset you will likely come across these! Essentially a toile is your intended corset pattern made up in a basic fabric in order to test the fit, comfort and style in real life. A good friend of mine says that “measurements are a 2D version of a 3D reality” and she’s absolutely right! A toile lets us see where we need to develop and improve from what the tape measure told us. A toile will likely be very rough and simple to look at, but it is the key to unlocking a corset that feels like a second skin.
Training Corset – Generally speaking, a corset intended for waist training tends to be bespoke as it needs to fit the wearer really well to be comfortable for long hours of daily wear. We will put a lot of thought into engineering it to be durable, suitable for the environment of the wearer (it may need to be used in a hot climate or worn discreetly to work) and ensuring it offers the right type of support for the amount of reduction being taken and any other requirements the wearer has. Training corsets can look very simple but there’s a lot of knowledge and skill in bringing the right corset to the right wearer!
Waist Reduction – When you’re asked to calculate your waist reduction we’re talking about what the corset is built to cinch you down by. For beginners buying their first corset this is more than likely to be 2-4″ or 5-10cm but a lot of factors can alter this. Confused? We have a sneaky tip to help you find your ideal starter reduction – take your tape measure and note your natural waist measurement. Then slowly cinch down until it’s no longer comfortable for you (remember that your corset will distribute the pressure more evenly) this second measurement will indicate your potential corseted waist size!
Waist Training – You may have heard people talk about their waist training plans. The goal is to create semi-permanent figure modifications through wearing your corset consistently over time (see Tightlacing) Waist training means that you can slowly build up the hours you spend in your corset and subsequently wear a smaller waist size of corset. It is about patience, dedication and persistence. It’s not for overnight results or quick wins! But if you want to achieve a dramatic silhouette, this is the route to it. We sell starter waist training kits which are a great way to care for yourself while you embark on this process. Some beginners do go straight onto waist training but for most it’s a more gradual approach!
Did we miss out a term you’re curious about? Let us know! We’ll be happy to add it. What would you like our next beginners article to focus on?
Spring is here! And we’re having a little competition to celebrate reaching 40,000 followers on Instagram! If you’d like to win a £200 Orchid Corsetry gift voucher then now is your chance to get snap happy! A few simple steps for your chance to enter before 30/4/19-
Take a picture in your favourite Orchid corset, lingerie or accessory. It can be a selfie, taken by a friend or even a professional photographer if you like!
If possible share the picture on social media (though we do accept email entries too) tagging us @OrchidCorsetry on Instagram and Orchid Corsetry on Facebook and use the hashtag #OrchidSelfie
Tell us how you feel when you’re wearing the garment! Do you feel powerful? graceful? confident? sensuous?
Some top tips for entries that make an impact!
Be creative! Choose a beautiful or unexpected location for your shot- sometimes a dramatic backdrop is right around the corner!
Get friends involved! Either helping to take a great photo or even posing with you! Couple shots are very welcome!
Lighting is key- make sure we can see what you’re wearing!
Remember we want to see ALL our clients! It would be lovely to see some of our male and trans clients strutting their stuff this year!
Be aware that we may share entries on social media so feel free to disguise your identity if that’s what you’d prefer to do.
Multiple entries welcome! The more the better!
The images in this post are from last year’s competition winner Amethyst Skye, with most photos taken by Diana Suder.
Remember- the deadline is the 30th April so don’t delay- shot today!
