THINGS I NEED TO FUCKING KNOW: Why every fuckin trans man or nb person I know who binds is like “oh binders are the worst, you can’t breathe in them, I know someone who broke a rib once”,
And meanwhile over in historical costuming, we are fucking eating, sleeping, swordfighting, riding horses, and feeling great like this:
(credit: Jenny La Flamme, The Tudor Tailor, Verdaera)
Like is there NO overlap between people who want to bind and people who care about accurate 16th century clothing reconstruction techniques?
(I, okay, maybe it is kind of a niche interest, but…. REALLY? Anyone who’s made a boned binder, PLS SPEAK TO ME)
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Omigods yes that’s what I used to make my trial binding corset for under a 1830′s gentleman’s costume! I adapted the Elizabethan Pattern Generator Corset to look more like the gentleman’s corset of the time as portrayed in satirical cartoons.
This was only the second pair of stays I made, but it already made me practically flat and was quite comfortable. I didn’t even full bone it and it looked like this:
(don’t judge me for the awful way the boning sticks out at the top, I am by no means a corsetry expert)
People who are actually good at stays will be able to make things like these with no trouble, because if something made from old sheets and recycled boning can do this, imagine what you can do with proper materials.
Just for fun, here’s me in my gentleman’s outfit:
It basically eliminates my boobs, but leaves the hips alone because at that time the hourglass silhouette was fashionable for men as well. I’m not exactly flat-chested, so I’d say for a first attempt this one is very succesful.
…okay, was anyone going to tell me that gentlemen’s corsets were A Thing or did I just have to learn that in a random reblog myself
I think a lot of it comes down to production cost, because most binders are like 3-4 pieces sewn together simply and thus pretty cheap to produce. A good corset or pair of stays tends to be $100+ just because of the amount of time and craftsmanship that goes into it.
That said, here’s the corset pattern generator, some info on historical mens corsetry, and info on cheap boning substitutes. I’ve been wary of trying this myself just because with the size of my chest I’m afraid I’ll end up with a shelf instead of being flattened, but I think it’s worth a try.
Update:
I’m impressed as hell honestly, I’ve never been both so flat and so comfy. In this picture they’re laced loosely enough that I can fit my whole arm down the front with room to spare.
I’d encourage anyone who’s been intimidated by stays or corsets to give it a go! I definitely fucked this up in a couple places but it’s still comfortable and functional, and overall probably cost me about $15. I just used cheap cotton muslin sandwiched around a piece of cotton canvas, with 14 inch cable ties for the bones.
I actually remembered to take photos as I went, so I’m going to put up a writeup some time soon in case it might help anyone else. for now here’s a picture of the pattern:
The nice thing about this is that it’s just one long piece, so you don’t have to worry about all the tricky curved seams that make corset making so difficult. You just cut out a couple copies on the fold, stack them on top of each other and sew your boning channels.
Would love a write-up and I’m definitely checking out the links!
