Corset Seasoning with Hannah McKnight

This article was originally published on hannahmcknight.org. Hannah McKnight identifies as transgender whose mission is to talk about what it’s like to balance a life between genders.

The other day I started to season a corset.

Seasoning a corset is, in a sense, breaking it in. However, it’s not so much as getting your body to adapt to it, but more the other way around. There’s a lot of ways you can wear a corset and they can help giving your body curves or shaping your hips, torso, waist, or everything.

I wear my corset every time I am en femme and have done so for almost two years. I love how it gives me curves but they can take some getting used to. The corset I normally wear fits perfectly and I can wear it for a long time and not feel the slightest bit of discomfort. I think the longest I have worn it is fourteen hours. I wrap it around my body, pull the cords tight, wrap them around my waist, tie it, and then get dressed.

This new corset is from Glamorous Corset who also made my first one. I loosened the laces, put it on, and felt it tighten around my body as I pulled the cords. I stood up straighter as I did this as a good corset is usually steel boned and naturally improves your posture. Once it was tied I got dressed (in boy mode) and went about my day.

When you season a corset and you aren’t used to wearing one, you should wear it for about an hour at first, and then gradually wear it a little longer each day. Like a gaff, you will notice and feel that you are wearing it, but if you feel pain or are uncomfortable, you are wearing it wrong and should readjust.

Some of us feel that suffering for femininity comes with the territory or that beauty is pain, whether it’s the quick discomfort from waxing your eyebrow or your stiletto not being the right size. I mean, I get it. BUT you don’t want to mess with a corset as it can cause breathing problems. Sure, you may look amazing but you won’t look so amazing if you pass out.

Since I am used to wearing a corset I (somewhat arrogantly) decided to wear it for most of the day. I have a photo shoot in a few days and I wanted to get used to this new corset before then. After about a half hour I started to feel… well, not discomfort but I was more aware I was wearing it than I normally am. If you’ve never worn a corset it is a similar feeling to wearing a bra. Yes, you KNOW you are wearing one, you can FEEL it, but sometimes the underwire starts poking you or the clasps in the back begin to dig into your skin a little.

This was a bit of a surprise as I am used to wearing one, but was quickly reminded that each corset is different and there is a reason for the seasoning.

When I am en femme (and therefor wearing my corset) I am doing a lot of things. Walking, driving, going up and down stairs, and a million other things. My corset doesn’t hinder me at all. But this is from properly seasoning it and cinching it the correct way for my body… which is exactly how a corset is supposed to work.

For the first day of seasoning this new corset, I spent the day at my desk doing work things. Meetings, phone calls, all that jazz. I noticed I wasn’t slouching as much so that was a plus. But the bigger plus was how quickly I was getting used to it. I’ll continue to season it over the next few days.

A full review will be coming shortly, but I am already impressed by the quality of this corset.

One more thought.

When I was growing up I was, and still am, fascinated by lingerie. I loved the options, to be honest. You could choose to simply wear tights or you could choose to thigh high seamed stockings with a Cuban heel along with a lacy garter belt. You could wear a simple bra and cotton panties or you could slip on a beautiful satin bustier with a matching panty.

But a corset was the ultimate piece of clothing.

A corset could give you support, hold up your stockings, give you a shapelier figure, and just look incredibly sexy.

My first impression of a corset, before I wore a quality one, was that they were, by and large, impractical. If someone wore one it was usually for sexy time and only for a little bit.

My thinking changed when I received my first proper corset. Yes, it is a very sexy part of my lingerie drawer, but over time I realized how practical and how essential it was to me. If worn correctly (and I stress that it must be worn correctly) it can be as comfortable as anything else in your closet.

For the original post, and images, see https://hannahmcknight.org/2022/05/04/corset-seasoning/.

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