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Waist Training vs Tight Lacing: What’s the Difference?

Posted on by Rachel Barb
Waist Training vs Tight Lacing
03
Apr

If you start looking on the Internet for info about waist training, you’re going to find that a lot of people confuse what waist training actually is. For the record, it is NOT about wearing your Spanx to the gym in the hopes that your shaping undergarments will help you lose weight. That is a whole different enchilada (or three – there’s a reason we go to the gym, after all…mmm, enchiladas).

In addition, people who don’t actually do waist training often confuse terms like waist training and tight lacing (not to mention waist taming, but that’s a topic for another day). You might find yourself shaking your fist and crying to the heavens, “Dear God! Why can’t anyone explain this to me?”

Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but the good news is, you’ve come to the right place! Those of us who love corsetry and are totally down with REAL waist training are here to give you the skinny (pun intended!) on waist training vs tight lacing. Strap in, lace up, and get ready to expand your mind – and trim your waist.

What is Waist Training?

Waist training is the slow and steady process of diminishing the size of your waist using steel-boned corsets. Did I mention the process is slow and steady? It’s slow. It also requires that you work your way up to wearing a fitted corset all day, every day. Over time, you’ll gradually tighten the corset to actually make your waistline smaller. Then you’ll upgrade to a smaller corset to continue.

What is the point? To achieve an effect that lasts even after the corset is removed. Waist training is a slow, safe process designed to create and enhance a feminine, hourglass silhouette without causing undue discomfort or physical harm in the process.

What is Tight Lacing?

Tight lacing is something altogether different, although it may seem very similar. Tight lacing involves pulling corsetry lacing as tight as possible to affect an immediate and dramatic reduction in waist size, often defined as four or more inches smaller. The goal is to create an exaggerated hourglass shape by squeezing the waistline and boosting the bosom. Many consider the practice to be somewhat antiquated and less safe than waist training.

Why Do People Confuse These Totally Different Activities?

We’re not sure, but it’s probably related to the fact that they both involve corsets, which have been the wardrobe equivalent of Alan Rickman. He was great once upon a time in your favorite holiday movie, “Die Hard” back in ’88, then all but fell off the radar for years before becoming hugely popular as the dark-arts-loving death eater in the “Harry Potter” franchise (sniffle…RIP Snape). He was there all along, but nobody knew where.

The same with the corset. Although it was a staple of Victorian-era fashion, it fell out of favor when the fun-loving flappers decided it was too confining for their rabble-rousing ways. Okay, that’s a lot of hyphenated words. The point is that many women are only just discovering the joys of corsetry, including the art of waist training, so it’s only natural for some confusion to abound.

Do you have additional questions about the differences between waist training and tight lacing? Contact us – we’d love to help! If you’d like to stay up-to-date with weekly blog posts, waist training tips, and the chance to win one of our monthly corset giveaways, like us on Facebook & subscribe to our mailing list today!