Within the corset community, corset seasoning can be a bit of a contentious issue. Among wearers and makers alike, there’s a distinct split between the individuals who insist upon it and those who think it’s unnecessary. For those outside the community, the phrase can be a little confusing. I know that when I first encountered the term my immediate thoughts were of salt and pepper rather than any kind of […]
I’ve spent a lot of time recently pondering the term ‘handmade’; it’s a difficult word to dissect at the best of times but becomes particularly complex in the realm of lingerie. As a lingerie designer, a large part of my brand currently relies on the notion that my products are ‘handmade’. Almost every garment that leaves my studio doors was sewn by me from start to finish. Yet as we […]
While there are relatively few networking and professionalization events in the lingerie industry, one of the most revered is also one of the newest — The Oxford Conference of Corsetry, held over the summer at Oxford College. For those unfamiliar, The Oxford Conference of Corsetry (otherwise known as OCOC) is a three-year-old event, created by corsetmakers, for corsetmakers, and dedicated to the study of corsetry. People fly in from all […]
This year I had the opportunity to visit the design and production studio of Andrés Intimates, a brand that has been creating lingerie locally here in San Francisco since 1978. This is a brand with a rich history, and it’s heartening to see another space where truly local manufacturing is still succeeding. While touring the studio, I met the design team, flipped through color story and fabric books, and got a […]
Today I’m here to put to rest one of the most common misconceptions about corsets. (No, not the lie about how terrible they are for you.) Many people seem to think the presence of steel bones is all that defines a “real” corset. Sometimes this is expanded to a specific number of bones, typically 20 bones, being necessary. But what does corset boning really do? And if it’s not the bones, […]
