Up Front by Emma Hart

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Up Front: Boning Up

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  • Sayana,

    Gosh - aren't they amazing.

    Since Sep 2008 • 50 posts Report Reply

  • Joanna,

    Oh my god, I lust for all of these so much.

    Corsets are awesome, but yes, putting shoes on can be problematic in them. That's when I guess one should use one's womanly powers to get others to put them on for you...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Corsets are awesome, but yes, putting shoes on can be problematic in them. That's when I guess one should use one's womanly powers to get others to put them on for you...

    Or skip the shoes altogether... No, even I would wear footwear with those. Boots. Big lace-up boots.

    And yeah, I keep looking at Jo's work and thinking, that's not really a frivolous use of money, not really .

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    They are very beautiful, but for one who refuses to wear bras, the idea of a corset ain't an attractive one. I find all that stuff highly restricting, but that's just personal taste. I can think of many women of my acquaintance who would be very happy to wear these.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    I havent worn a bra since I was 18...and a -corset???
    But each to their own-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    I find not wearing a bra exquisitely painful if I move at more than a stately walk. On the other hand, having anything constricting around my throat I find really uncomfortable - anything with a high collar and I feel like I'm being throttled. So I can certainly understand not liking the feeling of being constricted around the chest.

    On the few occasions I've worn a decent corset I've found it more comfortable than the shoes I was wearing at the same time. And to be thoroughly indulgent, there's nothing wrong (IMO) with feeling really shexay at the same time.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Isabel Hitchings,

    I find not wearing a bra exquisitely painful if I move at more than a stately walk.

    Yup - I've always wondered how nudist volleyball doesn't get completely halted by weeping and swearing.

    Christchurch • Since Jul 2007 • 719 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    I'm big-breasted (we're talking 42/D cup if I wore one) and I *hate* any kind of restrictive clothing (or shoes). I buy everything one size larger. Annnnd, put anything tight round my throat is the right way to get such a person throttled...

    but, hey! I've worked hard on physical jobs (mixing & pouring the foundations of your house anyone?) without any kind of bra- and while I thoroughly appreciate the shexay bit Emma - well, y'know, asex person here-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • liam,

    Now, if she wants a big market... just take the steampunk version and make it work for Concealed Carry and you'd be busy, busy, busy shipping them to the US. :-) Even more so if you make it out of one of those magic new fabrics for bullet-proof vest construction. :-D

    NC, USA • Since Oct 2008 • 11 posts Report Reply

  • 81stcolumn,

    Heh - Funny old world, my great great grandma was Nelly Voller. My second cousin Ian, runs Voller's of Portsmouth. As for me, I remember meeting the the lovely ladies in the back of the shop in the '80's when you couldn't give the damn things away. I confess there remains in me a fascination with the mixture of Art, craft and engineering. Sexy in a very geek kind of way IMHO.

    Nawthshaw • Since Nov 2006 • 790 posts Report Reply

  • Joanna,

    I've never had a proper steeled corset, just the (not-so) cheap ones with plastic boning (heh heh, I said boning) and while they're a bit odd to wear for the first half hour or so, and I spend half my time looking down and going "hehe, boobs are awesome", I think they're kind of almost sensual to wear, in that you are totally aware that you're wearing one and of the way it's encircling you. Same thing with like 5-inch belts if you're going for the What Would Joan Holloway Wear? look.

    But then again, to me the idea of wearing impractical shoes is totally repugnant, so each to their own. I'm just glad there's finally a PA post that I can comment on topic for!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Easterbrook,

    'd like to contribute something insightful, but my brain went a bit wobbly when I saw that steampunk corset. Sorry.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Easterbrook,

    It even made me leave off the "I". I've lost myself, clearly...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Same thing with like 5-inch belts if you're going for the What Would Joan Holloway Wear? look.

    I love Joan Holloway. I used to have to tell people I walked like Jessica Rabbit, but now there's Joan.

    Researching for this column I ran across a disturbingly likely idea, that wearing tight undergarments and walking like Joan, while generally considered to have been done for the benefit of men, is actually physically sexually stimulating for women.

    I confess there remains in me a fascination with the mixture of Art, craft and engineering. Sexy in a very geek kind of way IMHO.

    Indeed. And the sub-cultures where corsetry is still popular (Goth, BDSM) are FULL of geeks.

    As for me, I remember meeting the the lovely ladies in the back of the shop in the '80's when you couldn't give the damn things away.

    I was thinking yesterday that corsetry should have come back in in the 80s, because the fashion had swung back again to structure. I mean, corsets were in in the 18th century, then they went out again for the Empire line regency period (Austen - looks practical, apparently freezing bloody cold), back in for the Victorian period, then out again when the Arts and Crafts movement came along and floaty was back in.

    Instead they've sort of ended up down a side-line, and I guess I find that kind of cool, that we can all choose now, whatever's comfortable for us.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I struggled to think of a way to say something without coming across as horribly sexist. But there's just no way. I tried several approaches, but they all came across terribly. End of the day, women will always choose to maximize their beauty with whatever means come to hand, and men like me, will always do their damnedest to see through every disguise to the core, what the woman looks like naked. Never the twain shall meet in this discussion.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    women will always choose to maximize their beauty with whatever means come to hand, and men like me, will always do their damnedest to see through every disguise to the core, what the woman looks like naked

    Whereas the pants on expensive Italian men's suits are cut solely for comfort, right? And when a man works for his massive biceps and six-pack abs, it's in case he has to pick up something heavy.

    In both sexes, there are people who work hard to look attractive to the sex they want to attract - which may not necessarily be the opposite one - people who work hard to make an impression on their own sex, people who work to meet the social expectation (srsly, ties, WTF?), and people who just don't give a crap. These may be the same people on different days or in different situations.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Heh, guys do it too, that's for sure. Does that make me unsexist?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Stevenson,

    There are some guidelines that things in your life should fall into one of three categories (that run something like);
    Functional
    Beautiful
    Sentimental

    You could make the case that these items fit into functional and beautiful and will, given time, become sentimental.

    I really like it that Jo is creating works of art and craft that give enjoyment both in the making and the use. While my own hobbies will probably never reach the scale of Jo's, I hope that I can match the ethic.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    (srsly, ties, WTF?)

    They're handles, aren't they? (Picture Joan Holloway towing some lucky lad in the direction of the midcentury bedroom).

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    End of the day, women will always choose to maximize their beauty with whatever means come to hand, and men like me, will always do their damnedest to see through every disguise to the core, what the woman looks like naked.

    Personally I've always been more interested in what's not shown, than having it all out there. I find women look way more interesting in some clothing than naked. There's less allure once its all revealed.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Joanna,

    I find women look way more interesting in some clothing than naked. There's less allure once its all revealed.

    Corsets take ages to put on, AND ages to take off...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    (srsly, ties, WTF?)

    Absolutely. I can't bear them. A more convenient way of being choked to death would be hard to find. Perhaps that's part of the attraction, the symbolism. They're saying "I'm tied to X by the neck, quite literally". Where X is whatever made them wear the tie.

    Personally I've always been more interested in what's not shown, than having it all out there.

    I think you're making my point rather than opposing it. You're looking past the clothes with your mind. But then again, maybe not? Perhaps you're looking at what you'd like to see under there, rather than trying to see what is actually under there?

    And sure, clothes can still be sexy. Particularly the symbolism of them, what they say about the state of mind of the wearer at the time.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Corsets take ages to put on, AND ages to take off...

    Indeed. And if I'm paying $600 for a corset, you know what I'm NOT doing in it?

    Personally I've always been more interested in what's not shown, than having it all out there.

    Yeah, me too. Male or female. Same way it's more scary in the movies when you don't see the monster - it leaves more to the imagination.

    Okay, maybe not quite the same way.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Stewart,

    Hahahaha "...you don't see the monster..."

    </childish>

    Te Ika A Maui - Whakatane… • Since Oct 2008 • 577 posts Report Reply

  • Megan Wegan,

    Can I just say (love corsets too, etc etc etc) what impressive restraint Ms Hart shows, using the phrase "boning up" to title this post, rather than the myriad of other titles I'm sure she came up with.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report Reply

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