Corsetry

I have lots of corsets.

Overbust, underbust, waspie/cincher, satin, PVC, linen, brocade, lacey, tartan, plain, spotty and pinstripe. I would say that these are as big a fetish as shoes if not more so.

They make me stand up straight, jut out my breasts and smooth the curve of my hips. In short they make me feel very sexy.

It gets attention, but not always the desirable kind.

I was out one night a couple months ago with a couple of friends at a pub. I was wearing a black satin waspie over a white blouse, black jeans and high black shoes. I was laughing and drinking with my friends when a girl who I didn’t know came up to me and said, ‘I can’t believe I’m seeing a woman strapped into a contraption of male oppression in the twenty first century.’

I was stunned and like an idiot asked, ‘I beg your pardon?’

She continued with, ‘women earned the right not to wear those when they burnt their bras and won the vote. You’re making a mockery of female rights.’

I was still stunned that this girl would be bold enough to spout crap at a complete stranger, but not stunned enough to say, ‘I choose to wear this corset and many others. This corset is about the males desire to submit to a strong woman, and until you have experienced a man begging at your feet to serve you because you are wearing one, I suggest you keep you opinions to yourself.’

She went purple in the face and puffed her cheeks before flouncing away.

I turned back to my friends who were also stunned, but not at the girl, at me.

‘Holy crap, LRB, I never knew you had that in you.’

‘Well,’ I said. ‘You’ve never seen me comforted while wearing a corset before. Now you know why I don’t wear them to work. I’d get into all sorts of trouble.’ Then I winked.