Granger 31
- This article is a Biography
- Chapter 31 - A new corsetiere, back to 13 inches again
Now we had had two or three pairs of post war corsets from Overett, to bring her waist down, step by step to 14 inches, quite satisfactorily. Then I ordered a pair from him with a 13 inch waist, but when they arrived I could see they were not cut with the same skill as those of Mrs Kayne. They were heavily boned with 3 pairs of suspenders, high busted, but not too long on the hips. When they arrived, with that 13 inch waist, we put them on, and after a struggle laced them nearly to, but they were not a success as they were so badly cut all over and the bones did not lie flat, but turned on edge, so they cut into Ethel's body. Also they were so big at the top and on the hips that one could stuff a pillow in. They were uncomfortable and wrinkled up, looking ludicrous in wear. She never did wear them much, for the bulges showed through her thin dresses. In the end, we sold them, and looked elsewhere. Overett never had been so good at cutting as had Mme Lorette or Mrs Kayne. Where could we go next?
I got hold of a copy of The London Advertiser, which was filled with adverts for all kinds of things, including one from a corsetière which said she could cut and make old fashioned wasp waisted corsets. Having had some experience with Mme Vereneau, we rather doubted it, but in desperation, were willing to try anything once. So we wrote and got patterns, to find she was a Mrs Stafford living then at Beckenham, in South London. We chose a nice black nylon satin lined with coutil, sent in measurements and asked for a fitting. I am certain that she was surprised to get an order for a 14 inch corset, but she said she could do them and would be delighted to see us, no doubt thinking Ethel would be only able to wear them widely unlaced, for that was how the partly made garment was when we first saw it. She was a middle aged person, a bit older than Ethel, quite pleasant and co-operative, and 1 learned that she too had been a tightlacer in her early years, so the had practical experience most important.
When she saw Ethel, 1954 it was, she went into rapturous expressions of wonder and praise for her figure, and we found she had heard about us from one of our old corsetières. She said that Ethel had the smallest waist she had seen for years, and it was a marvel to behold. Especially when she put the corsets round her and commenced to lace them in until they were practically closed, and all this without effort on her part. She said, "I will not close them now, but I easily could, because they are not finished and it will pull them out of shape, but I have never seen a waist flexible and supple. You could easily wear a pair of 13 inch ones if you wished." We told her that was the size she had been at the beginning of the war, and to which we hoped to return before long. She really knew her stuff, like Mme Lorette, and she suggested one or two alterations to improve the fit on bust and hips, after which we left them with her.
When they did arrive, it was delightful to see these well cut, black shining nylon corsets, ready to be laced, as we liked, with an additional lace at the waist. We had told her about this and she thought it was a splendid idea. Very quickly I had them clasped round Ethel's body and as there was only about 1 1/2 inches open at the time, it took no time before we had them closed to within inch and before the week was out she was wearing them completely closed from top to bottom, showing off a most attractive wasp waisted figure, over which her waspie belt was soon gripping her dress in closely, delineating her figure from bust to hips in every detail, to make a real eyeopener, as those who saw her had to admit, when they recovered from their astonishment.
This was indeed a time of attractive female figures, stiletto heels, earrings, waspie waists and also attractive confections called hats, with veils and feathers. For some reason I always liked a woman in a veil, perhaps a throw back to the memory of my mother. It adds to the female mystery, so when I saw one that I considered an attractive hat in a window, I took Ethel in to buy it, and usually it was the one I liked that suited her best. The veiling, in fact, emboldened us to try other things, which at first we did not want to be too obvious, such as when she first began to wear a nostril stud in public.
The 14 inch pair had been so very successful that Ethel was wearing the 14 inch corsets with comfortable ease. So we ordered a new pair; these in a lovely pale blue nylon broche material, lined with coutil. Remembering what Mrs Kayne had said, we ordered these on the same measurements as those lovely green pre -war corsets, short on the hips and just high enough under the bust to hold her in position. They were not too heavily boned either, for Mrs Stafford had said it was a mistake when trying to get a very small waist, to have too many bones, for they took up space and also tended to resist the incurving of the body required for such a small waist. I believe that she told me that for some time she had worked with Lenton and also Mme Lorette, but she had not that rigid outlook on the shape required that Lenton had.
We went again for a fitting, although she had now moved to Sunbury on Thames. As before, she made some necessary adjustments, after which the corsets were soon sent off to us and duly arrived. We opened the parcel with eyes filled with joyous anticipation to see these little pale blue beauties, with that tiny 13 inch waist. Ethel was eager to begin the struggle as I was, so with a gap of about 2 inches open at the back, we clasped then round her body, adjusted the suspenders, while she wriggled her body to get them settled into position.
Standing on high heels, as she usually did, I very quickly and easily pulled on the loop of laces at the back, easing then up and down, seeing the loop grow longer as the laces slipped through the lace holes at the waist. With no trouble at all they were down to 14 inches, when we paused for a while to enable her to regain her breath. Then she got down on her knees and begged me to exert myself and pull them in some more until she asked me to stop. I pulled and strained, while she urged as on, until they were closed to within half an inch at the back, where I tied them. Helping her to her feet, she stood swaying on her high heels, clasping her tiny waist as she had done so long ago.
She said, "Let me get used to them at this size. Then tomorrow, you shall pull then in some more and I will be your little 13 inch waisted wife again." In fact, that is just what we did, and she kept them on all day and night at that size without too much trouble.
The next day, as she had promised, she turned her back to me, saying, "Does Bill wish to lace me in now? I want them really closed before you finish." And when she was on her knees again I crossed the laces over and exerted my strength, to see the laces come through inch by inch, as the gap closed. Smaller and smaller it grew as she urged me on. saying, "It is delightful. Cut me in two it you can. I could swoon with ecstasy, for I have a wonderful tooling of numbness below as though I am severed into two, just like I did so long ago." One more big pull and they were closed, tightly tied so I could help her to her feet to allow her to recover. Once more her waist was as hard as wood and my hands encircled it so that my fingers overlapped a long way. She was as small as she had ever boon, after a lapse of more than 13 years. It was an amazing recovery. Her dress, with the waspie belt now appeared to out her in two and many people saw her new minute waist with astonishment and wonder. She wore these dainty blue corsets until they wore out, a beautiful 13 inches all the time, and marvellous as it may sound the local people began to get used to it and her laced in so small.
They lasted quite a long time, but at last wore out, but even than they came in very useful later as you will learn. However, we ordered a third pair, and these were longer, and again in black satin nylon, for there is a great attraction about black corsets and also black underwear, as it offers a beautiful contrast to the white akin beneath. But although these were made to the same measurements, except for the extra length, and the fit was perfect, yet, the corsets were not a success. I don't remember that we went up for a fitting this time, perhaps if we had she might have seen the mistake.
We found that for some reason, which at the time we could not uncover, they would tend, after a few hours of wear, to become crooked, or perhaps one might say, twisted on the body. For both the front busks and also the back lacing too, instead of remaining vertical, as they should be, would become inclined from the absolute vertical by a considerable angle. This meant that the bottom of the busk on one side came down over one leg, while the tops of the busks came under the opposite breast, instead of between them, and the backs were the same.
We tried taking a bit out on one side at the bottom and on the other side at the top, hoping this would pull them right, but it did not cure the trouble. It was not until years later, when we had another pair do the same thing that I worked out the scientific reason for this, and even when we did, it was difficult to explain it to the corsetière, to get it put right.
It is most important that the actual waist of the corset, (not just the place where the waist tape is sewn on), but the actual smallest diameter, which should be the waist, must exactly be opposite on each side of the two busks, when fastened, and the same, at the back lacings. If the waist is a bit higher on one side of the busk than the other, it will be pulled over in that direction, as the most severe strain is at the waist, and the same thing applies to the backs.
In mechanics, the forces then act as a couple, which tends to twist the busks out of vertical. It is most important to get the waist absolutely accurate all round. We should have returned them, and no doubt they could have been corrected by moving one side of the busk up or down on the material and maybe the back too until accurately placed. Then they could have been comfortable. But as we were now entering another episode, we never did bother about them, and wrote them off as a failure, so they were never really worn out, and the material is still good today. Now we know what to do, perhaps one day we might do it ourselves, for they were a good corset nevertheless.
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