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Crossdressing activities often lead to ‘interesting’ situations, many of which in retrospect can bring a smile to the face. I recounted a few such CD incidents in response to a Forum in February 2023 ( https://www.crossdresserheaven.com/forums/topic/funny-stories-both-crossdressing-and-non-crossdressing-related/). But there is one incident that still sends a shiver down my spine whenever I recall it.
It all started about 10 or 12 years ago when I decided I would like to try a corset to see if I could reduce my waist a bit. I decided I needed to find a retailer where I could try one on under guidance. The location of the retailer also needed to fit in with my business trips (I was very much ‘in the closet’ at that time). Using the internet I researched potential sources of corsets and eventually narrowed it down to two options:
1. Camden Market in North London.
I had a business meeting coming up in Camden, so decided it would provide a great opportunity to visit the market which is a huge and diverse variety of outlets crammed into a small area but teeming with visitors. I did find the corset ‘shop / market stall’, but it soon became clear that there would be no privacy for discussing options with the lady and it was far too public a location to try a corset on!! So I chickened out.
2. The ”What Katie Did” shop, nestled under the A40 viaduct in West London.
I had an afternoon business flight out of Heathrow, so I went to the shop in the morning. Was I nervous! I hung around outside at a discrete distance until I was sure there were no other customers in the shop, then plucked up the courage to go in. The young goth lady looking after the shop looked a bit scary but turned out to be really sweet and was very helpful. After a discussion on what I was trying to achieve she suggested a particular under-bust style of corset and offered to lace me into it. Wow! I loved it. It took at least 2” off my waist and made me feel really special. I had to buy it and asked if I could keep it on under my male clothes, so I left the shop wearing it and went to a nearby shopping mall where I had an hour walking around revelling in the feel of the corset, blissfully unaware of the trauma that lay ahead.
But all good things must come to an end, so back into the car and I drove round to the off-airport car park at Heathrow and parked up in a quiet corner. All I need to do now is to whip my shirt off, slip the corset off, shirt on, grab my luggage and hop on the shuttle bus. Then the problems hit me - .how the &*^§ do I manage to get these laces undone? The corset is very tightly laced, the knots are impossibly tight and time is of the essence!
Options:
1. Find a way to cut the laces. Have I got anything in my luggage that I could use to cut them? But why destroy an exquisite expensive corset?
2. Keep it on, risk the steel boning setting off the airport security scanner alarms, get dragged off to a side room for interrogation, risk missing my flight, explain to senior management why I was not in the meeting the following day …
3. Drive back to the shop and ask the lovely goth lady to unlace me. I would definitely miss the flight and face all the associated consequences …
4. Persevere with trying to undo the laces by hand and hope I can get it done in time so that I don’t miss the flight. Also hope no one else decides to park next to me in this quiet corner of the car park. This seemed to be the only sensible option. In an effort consisting of unimaginable contortions that would have made Houdini proud, and 10 – 15 minutes of SERIOUS sucking in and holding in my stomach to try and reduce the tension on the knots, I eventually loosened and undid the knots. I was free! Fortunately nobody parked up near me so my strange contorted behaviour remained unobserved. I quickly got dressed again, ‘calmly’ waited … and waited … and waited for the next shuttle bus and fortunately managed to catch the flight in time.
I still have that corset, though sadly the lovely “What Katie Did” shop under the A40 Westway arches has gone (I think) but they still trade online. In the years since I bought it I have managed to self-lace myself into it a few times, but I never managed to get the waist reduction that I enjoyed on that first occasion. And since I retired 7 years ago I have not had the chance to try again. Maybe one day … but meanwhile I still shudder at the thought of what might have happened on that first encounter with my lovely corset.
Rebecca, that’s a great story, I’m so happy you shared it with us. I actually use a door knob in my condo to pull the laces very tight. After I get the tightness, I tie a double knot, so it stays tight. Since I live in a condo, occasionally the fire alarm goes off by accident and I’ve always hoped that it never goes off when I’m fully glammed up. I’m not sure if it was an actual fire if I’d rather burn than face all my neighbors in the only clothes that I’d have left. But luckily for me, I purchased a corset that has a zipper in front and I can get out of it rather quickly.
it must have been quite scary for you knowing that you had put yourself in a position so as to out yourself unintentionally. I’m hoping that never happens to me, but you never can anticipate every option that can come your way with what we do for fun.
I love corsets, both on women and mine. I would never tighten up my wife's without her knowing how to get out of it, for whatever reason.
When I tie up my own, I use a bow in front. I will have to see if I can find a knot that I can handle at my back. There are lots of easy to tie/untie knots. The question is which one besides a bow would work in your fingers.
Edit: I just looked at a few corset web sites and saw that they were recommending square knots. I know them as reef knots. I would not recommend using a square knot at your back because they can tighten up so tightly that you would either need help to release them or to cut the lace. Even a helper might need to use a tool, such as an awl, to release the knot. Double tying a bow should be sufficient, if you really had to do that. It should depend on your lace. So, please, don't use a square knot to tie a corset, especially behind you.
The doorknob trick is the best way to tighten a corset if alone. Though not pretty, after getting the laces tight, tie them in front and not in the back so it is easier to "escape" your forest.
The best way to get waist reduction is to wear a forest frequently, and slowly tighten it more with each wearing. Wearing it too tight at first creates problems...
Here is how I know...I bought my first corset and was laced in by the lovely SA who really cinched it up tightly which gave me a nice waist. I then proceed to drive up to a ski town and went for a walk with my lovely new waist. Well, with the effort of walking, the high altitude and the construction of my diaphragm I could barely breath, and almost passed out from hypoxia. I had to stop, do some controlled breathing, and then slowly make my way home to loosen the laces.
Despite that, I do love corsets.
Took me a long time to learn that tying the laces in the front is the only way to get it tight enough without the help of another person. I have two and do love the snug feeling it gives not to mention the posture. Nothing makes me feel so feminine as the shapewear of a good corset
I love corsets, I think I have six now (online shopping after happy hour is not advised!). Mine came with detailed instructions on breaking them in, but I realize now that they were really breaking ME in. I have a few that are suitable for waist training, but the hard part is finding the time to wear them consistently. Still, they're lovely and my favorite form of shapewear.
Always wanted to wear one since a child scanning the Sears Catalog. I made the mistake of buying an overbust corset and long waisted to boot. It has 17 rows of eyelets and this old lady can’t bend enough to reach half of them. I “seasoned “ the corset as directed by wearing progressively longer and tighter. My wife has to lace me in and she can’t get the hang of it to close the back evenly. But when on as tight as she can make it, it is the ultimate feeling of femininity for me. When tied in back I’m helpless to get out. When tied in front I can wiggle free. I believe the referral to a square knot refers to when you put the laces in. When using a single lace you start at the top remembering to make the center waist eyelet laces slack. When you come to the bottom, you tie the lace ends in a square knot at the last eyelet. Do you ladies wear a corset liner or put the corset over a camisole or slip?
Hi Rebecca, great story! I have worn lace up corsets, but I don't use them now. I do have some corset back long dresses which don't pull you in like a proper corset does but they do work well and feel great on. It can be difficult trying to get out of them in a hurry though! So I know the dilemma you must have faced in that car park! Although trying to get out of a long dress with a corset back in a car would be well nigh impossible!
I prefer to the in the middle since it allows the best overall tension for the corset. I use a standard now knot tied in the front.
Attaching the laces to a doorknob or other fixed object is a great way to get a corset as right as you want it. It work when pitting it on by yourself, but works easily as well with two people. The second person can help adjust the laces as they pull through the various eyelets while the person in the corset simply steps forward to tighten the corset overall.