Granger 09

This article is a Biography

(Chapter 08) -- Ethel Granger -- (Chapter 10)

Chapter 09 - High heeled and happy

We were advancing slowly but surely along three or four separate roads, all leading to my goal. The reduction of the waist and its subjugation; the treatment for the hands and feet with gloves and high heels, hair and make up and lastly, body adornment in the shape of piercings. In each and every field we had made progress, but possibly the most important of which was the breaking down of those inhibitions she had had implanted in her against these things.

However, one inhibition we did not overcome, or at least nature defeated us, was the improvement of the bust. After our daughter's birth Ethel's breasts had developed magnificently as nature intended they should do and were used for nine months in the natural way, and while this was being done they retained their shape and size, so I had hopes that at least some of their development might be permanent. We were dis ­appointed, for they slowly began to shrink. back to their former insignificant size, despite all we could do to stimulate them by devices advertised for that purpose.

I had read in London Life where doctors at the beginning of the century, when a good bosom was a female asset and a necessity of fashion, had advocated the piercing of the nipples and the insertion of gold rings therein to stimulate and help forward the development of well shaped breasts. I can see that they might stimulate the wearer, or possibly the male member of the union, to sexual activity, and no doubt to the stage where sexual union would produce a pregnancy and in that way certainly enlarge the breasts. In fact this is what most of the pills and potions advertised actually seemed to do.

Then I suggested to Ethel that she might allow me to perform the operation of piercing her nipples with this idea in vice, she refused, point blank to have her breasts, as she said, mutilated in this fashion. Even the high busted corsets did very little to help to enlarge the breasts in any way, except that they did push up her chest a little and so made what she had more prominently displayed. Eventually, continual wear of these corsets, with the reduction of the lower waist, did expand her upper chest, to improve the shape of her bust considerably, but the breasts themselves remained small. Most of the surplus flesh was pushed down on to her hips, which became more prominent and well curved.

She refused and scorned to wear any artificial aids, which at that time, except for surgical reasons, were not so commonly used as they became later, when accentuated busts were in fashion, so that many women like Ethel had to improve themselves in that way with rubber bust forms. But at that time, her natural inhibition prevented from doing anything practical about it, which at that time would have been unfashionable anyhow.

Having tried the old spoon busk style corsets, we decided there were some things about them we liked, such as the length and height; but many we did not agree with, especially the way they made the abdominal regions protrude. It was obvious with this shape that there was a downwards pressure on the womb and Ethel began to notice this.

So I now had a corset made on the Straight Front model lines, which flattened the abdomen and pushed the internal organs backwards but not down. They were quite as high at the front under the breasts, but not so low over the hips as the previous pair, so Allowing more freedom to bend here. They were ordered with an inch further reduction at the waist, so bringing the new waist down to 16 inches, of pink sateen, lined with white coutil. Also very heavily boned.

Since they were so high and stiff it took a long time lacing them in, with plenty of squeezing and kissing to give her the necessary incentive to go on. She was already an addict and in fact did urge me on periodically after each adjustment of the laces, a walk round the room, tottering in her high heels, admiring her gorgeously wasp like figure in the mirror in between, before urging me on again until we had got her waist really hard and firm. Next day she would come to me and say, "Do you like the feel of your little Ethel's little waist? Do you think she is a good girl to suffer like this and what shall I have for it? Kiss me, then do you think you can pull them in a bit more, as they have settled down, so that I feel that I can stand some more, in fact I would love to be tighter if possible. The sensation is a growing upon me."

I did not want much asking, so again I ran up and down the laces, pulling them in little by little, while she pressed them in at the sides. Gradually they were closing in at the back. After another pause, she said, "Pull them in now, as hard as you can. I am sure that you can manage to close them now, and I am certain I can stand it. It feels delightful and thrilling to be laced so hard. I never thought it would but I can admit that it is now so. These do not press down, but they are arching my back in more than before and that is quite painful at present but I can stand it."

So I exerted my strength, crossing the laces over at the waist, pulling as hard as I could, with strong pulls, seeing the laces slipping through the eyelets, until they were closed from top to bottom. On her insistence, I tied them tightly and surveyed the result. Her hands went to her tortured waist and she nodded with satis ­faction when she felt the gap at the back was now closed.

A delightfully tiny waisted figure was there before my eyes, panting in little gasps in her upper chest, but her shape was nice and flat over the abdomen with her posterior well pushed out to the rear below the waist, with a deep arch inward at the waist. Also they had made her waist slightly oval so that it was smaller when looked at from front or rear with a bigger measurement when looked at from the side. It had taken a few days to get them fully closed, and now she had a waist of 18 inches in which she slept, day and night. But this day and might wear was rough on the cheap corsets so that they did not last long before they began to give way at the seams under the terrific strains imposed by the tension of the laces. This allowed the waist measurement to increase slightly, beyond what it had been. But as they were relatively cheap we always had another pair on order, in the making, which usually took two weeks, ready to change into, when they gave way, beyond simple repairs. Sometimes we had them in pink sateen, sometimes in black sateen or even coutil, and with each new pair the lacing had to be done again to recover the ground lost by the stretching and wear of the old ones. Except for minor repairs we did not bother to keep them in use but discarded them. Gradually we reduced her waist from 18 inches to 17½ inches and then down to a tenuous 17 inches. They were quite inexpensive from this Mail Order firm and made fairly well, although I guess they had so other client as small even then although they were now really specialists in wasp waisted corsets

Now although Ethel appeared to be resigned to the restrictions of a tiny waist and even in the inevitable pain that went to its development, in fact she now began to take a delight in her wasp like figure, and she could well be proud of her achievement, nevertheless she would not really exhibit her figure in public, except on rare visits perhaps to her dross makers, where they would go into ecstatic praises about her figure, all saying that they wished they could get a waist like it; which they could, if they went about it the right way, and threw away their elastic girdles.

Ethel could prove to them that she was quite comfortable in her tiny waisted corsets, her high heels and long tight gloves, but our relatives at home did not approve, and said so. Still it did not seem to affect Ethel's health in any way, so far as I could see she remained remarkably free from illness, while her hair had grown to a good length. nor did she get the trouble in her back any more. Nor had it spoiled her appetite. People asked if she dieted in any way. The answer is NO! Actually she ate as much as I did, for even, on our slender means we ate well. When in a restaurant, many times I have seem the waiter catch sight of her wasp waist, and then the message goes around the secret telegraph, so that even the cooks make an appearance to see her from the rear on some excuse or other. Then very often I have seen them put an extra large helping in front of her and when it disappeared seen them arguing in amazement as to where she put it all. To them it was a conjuring trick they could not explain.

It was about this time that we made our first visit to the Regent Shoe Stores, down Wardour Street, in London. We had read about it in London Life, seen their adverts inside, and also letters and articles from Mr Stern, on the art of high heel wearing. In the window we saw heels far higher than we ever considered possible to make or wear. Also boots, lacing or buttoning up to the knees or thighs, in gleaming patent leather or kid. However these lovely items cost then from £12 to £20 a pair, and were far beyond our slender means. The window was a real feast of delight.

Nevertheless we entered the store and after looking over the stock and trying on a few pairs, we finally selected a pair with slender heels of 4½ inches or 11 cms high. These were in black patent, costing about £3 -0 -0. Heels of' 10 cms were as little as £1 -10 -0 while heels of 13 cms ran about £4 -0-0, and heels of 15 cms or 6 inches cost six guineas. The ones we chose were a court style, so Mr Stern suggested that he fit them with a pair of instep straps so they could be firmly held on the feet, as Ethel had no ball at the back of her heels to hold court shoes in place, so the straps were in her case a necessity. I admired the gleaming black patent leather and what then appeared to be a remarkably slender heel, but not when compared with the tiny pencil stiletto heels of the late 60s which were made of plastic, instead of wood as were these. Ethel put them on, and they fitted perfectly, but Mr Stern kept them for a short time, so he could get the instep straps fitted. He also took careful measurement of her sizes and when over we came in after years, Mr Stern would immediately remember her size and measurements. This was the first of many visits to the Regent Shoe Stores. Each time we bought a different style and colour, with gradually increased height of heel as Ethel conquered each additional rise, which increase in height increased the prices. We got heels of 12 cms, 13cms and finally a pair of 15 cms or 6 inches high, which was about Ethel's limit, for she only takes a size three, and 6 inches put her right on her toes. 5½ inches or 13 cms was the limit she could manage with case. I have seen her walk all round London for a whole day in heels of this height without complaint. The 6 inch heels were reserved for special occasions as they had great sex appeal. Usually I would put a small rubber heel on them when I got them home, which would add another ½ inch or 0.5 cms on to the height, but I found them wear better so.

When we got the first pair of 4½ inch heeled shoes I soon found she was running the heels over very quickly, but the rubbers helped them to wear longer and kept them in good shape. Also I put a little piece of thin leather along one side of the soles to tilt them level, against her natural tilt the other way. One pair of rubber heels lasted about 6 weeks, but through my father, being in the trade, I bought them by the dozen pairs. The first pair of real heels was a great step forward from the ordinary commercial shoes. Their glamorous patent of gleaming quality was excellent, so they wore very well in fact, with repairs when needed. They were in use right up to the beginning of the war.

Ethel's figure was now exquisitely trim and neat. Her body shape was now well formed and defined at the waist, so that her figure remained a true hour glass for a long time after the corsets had been removed. This was never for very long, only long enough to allow her to take a bath, or sometimes a little intimate love making. There never was any trouble to get them back and fully closed again. People in our home town got used to her heels, and one would see them automatically look down at her feet, as soon as they saw her approaching. Only rarely did we find anyone wearing heels so high. When she wore a thin frock, with a white leather belt, people would turn and stare after her, although at that time the belt was only fitted loosely round her waist as a rule, but even so, the fact that it was loose could be seen easily, and that the waist underneath was really much smaller than the belt. Then there would be an audible gasp, or murmur of "That Wasp Waist."

Her costume skirts were made to measure. When we would ask for skirts with 18 inch or 17 inch waists, they would query our request, or ask again for it to be confirmed by saying, "What size did you say?" The petersham waist bands of the skirts were fitted with eyelets, so they could be laced on as tightly as possible. Over the skirt she wore a white leather belt I had made; it had a white plastic clasp with holes so that it too could be laced together as tightly an possible, and when it met, I took a little out to make it smaller.

Thus with her tightly corseted waist, over which the petersham waist band of the skirt was also tightly laced in over the corsets, and over the top was the white leather belt also tightly laced. Her waist was thus held to a rigid size. Over it all she wore a well cut costume jacket, and thus she exhibited a figure beyond compare. On several occasions, not being satisfied that the costume jacket or coat, had been cut in closely enough, I have taken a couple of inches out with darts, while Ethel was out, and she has not suspected what I had done. But the waist shown off was just so much neater to my eyes, and to those of other beholders. So her waist was shown off to a great extent, more than she suspected. I liked it if she did not.

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