The Midnight Pumpkin Blog

If you are trying to figure out your corset size, you’ll need to understand how corsets are sized, and how to measure yourself for the corset.

As a former boutique owner who fitted customers into corsets every day for ten years, I am sharing my advice on how to get the sizing right when corset shopping, plus a video showing you how to measure yourself.

Type of Corset Sizing Matters

Buying corsets online can be hard if you’re not familiar with corset sizing and how they differ. You’ll run into these two types most often:

Fashion Corsets and Sizing by Bust

Fashion corsets, which usually have plastic boning, are often sized by bust sizes: 32, 34, 36, 38, etc.

It can be hard to get the right fit with these types of corsets, as the plastic boning is weak and will not support the body and hold things in like steel boning.

For these you can go by your bra band and go up a size if you are a D or more, but I do NOT recommend them for larger waist or bust sizes. The plastic will warp over time and permanently stay bent.

Steel Boned Corsets by Waist Size

Most steel boned corsets are sized by waist measurements, for example: 24″, 26″, 28″, etc. This is the size of the corset with it fully closed, so you always want your waist to be LARGER than that by 4″ or more.

If it is right on the measurement or smaller, you will get no cinch. Your body needs to be bigger than the corset. There is also a lot of wiggle room on corset sizing since you are in charge of how tightly you want to be laced in.

The waist sizes on steel boned corsets usually correlate to a number size: XS 22, S 24, M 26, L 28, XL 30, etc.

How to Measure Yourself for a Corset

The instructions here are for measuring yourself for the usual steel boned corsets and waist cinchers that are based on waist sizes. There are other measurements involved if you are having a corset made, like bust, hips and torso length.

You’ll need to use a measuring tape, and to measure around bare skin or lightweight clothing.

If you don’t have a measuring tape handy, you can measure with a piece of string and then measure that with a ruler.

Step-by-Step:

1. Wrap the measuring tape around the smallest part of your waist.
2. Don’t suck it all the way in, but don’t let it all hang out either. Be sort of neutral when measuring.
3. Record that measurement.
4. Subtract 4-5″ (or more) for your corset size.

For example, my waist is 30″ and my usual corset size is a Medium or 26″ corset. I am four inches larger than the corset and like to wear mine comfortably laced and not too tight.

However, I can also fit into smaller sizes if I don’t mind lacing in tight or the back being open more than four or five inches. I usually like to keep it no larger than that, but it’s a matter of personal preference.

Measuring Yourself for a Corset Video:

The company that used to make the corsets for my store now sells their corsets on Amazon. They were having a lot of trouble with returns due to sizing, so they asked me to make a video explaining how to get the right size.

If you are interested in the corset company that I made the video for, you can check them out here: Bidmoor Corsets. You’ll also see me all over their page modeling the corsets, but I am out of the corset business myself. I just wear them now, not sell them.