Corsets And Boots: Part Nine free porn video

Chapter Seventeen Some Case Histories This is a short selection of the desires expressed by some of our more extreme customers, taken from my files. In each case I asked for and was granted their written permission to relate their stories, and I always gave them my personal assurance that their anonymity would be protected at all times. 1. "PAINKILLERS PAULA." I remember this particular case because it was one of the few that reduced Dorothy to tears. She had booked the original appointment for the female customer and began the consultation in a perfectly normal way, but was unable to continue and had to ask me to take over. Paula (although that was not her real name) was a tall, and at first sight slender and very well groomed woman, with long dark hair, and a pleasant oval shaped face. Expensively dressed in a beige coloured two piece suit and high heeled shoes, and carefully made up. She told Dorothy that she had been tightly laced for a number of years, and had continued to wear corsets on a regular basis, simply because her husband "liked to see a small waist." Dorothy told me that she had at first found it difficult to get coherent answers to her questions about this customer's precise requirements. It was as if Paula was repeating a lesson and had been told what she must say, in spite of her own feelings. She eventually handed Dorothy a letter from her husband who was a Doctor, and this detailed in precise terms the garment we were required to supply. She was shown into Dorothy's fitting room, and at Dorothy's request began to remove her outer clothing. She wore a pinch waisted corset that had obviously been altered several times, and which now had a number of very ugly tucks around the waist area. Dorothy asked her to remove her corset so that she could use a fitting frame, but Paula replied that she was unable to stand upright without the support of the corset for any length of time because her dorsal muscles had ceased to function, and she could only take her corset off if she lay down on a flat surface. Dorothy called me, and explained the problem. After a few moments thought I remembered our "Spare bed;" a folding and compact structure that we had purchased in a rash moment in anticipation of visitors coming to stay with us. I wheeled it into the fitting room; set it up, spread a sheet over the mattress and then left the two ladies on their own so that the consultation could continue with the customary degree of privacy. I was rather surprised to hear Dorothy's shocked and raised voice several minutes later, calling me back into the room. She was very distressed, and asked me if I would mind doing the fitting, if Paula had no objections. Paula gave all the appearance of being past caring either one way or the other, so Dorothy quickly and tearfully left the room, and I took charge. The cause of Dorothy's distress soon became apparent. Paula's body was in a terrible condition, and it was the sight of this that had upset Dorothy so much. Her flesh was a mass of discolouration, in various shades of blue and black over practically the whole of the area that had been covered by her corset She had several surgical operation scars below her rib cage; what could be seen of her waist was red and raw, and my experience told me that her skin and flesh had started to fold and break up. Much of her waist had been bound with strips of surgical tape; her spine bore all the signs of severe scoliosis, and her rib cage was badly deranged at the lower edge, with the base of the sternum having become folded inward. I have seen a number of cases of abuse of the human body, caused by the crushing effects of over enthusiastic tight lacing, but I think I can safely say that this was the worst ever. I could understand why Dorothy was so upset, particularly when she took such care to protect her own skin from similar abuse. I had to admit to some personal reluctance to touch Paula's body, to prevent any possibility of cross-contamination between the two of us, and I took great care to avoid any physical contact as much as possible. None of our stock measuring frames would have been small enough to suit Paula's present waist size, so I carried out a full series of measurements to the best of my ability, with Paula lying flat on the bed, and rolling over on to her side when necessary - which did not make the job any easier! I persevered, and sincerely hoped that I had 'Got it right.' When the measurements had been done, I lifted Paula by her shoulders; helped her to sit up and put on her corset, and then carefully laced her bruised body to what I considered to be a safe degree. I took the opportunity to check some of my more important measurements over her laced corset, and then quickly left the room while she was re-dressing and thoroughly washed my hands! Dorothy had by now managed to recover, and she returned to the fitting room after I had finished my work, so I left the two women chatting, and made them both a cup of tea. Dorothy later told me about their conversation, and I could see that she had become very worried by Paula's plight. By a strange coincidence, they seemed to have several things in common, because Paula had also been all alone in the world when she was discovered by the good doctor. She had neither home, nor friends, and no living relatives, and had agreed to marry the doctor in a moment of desperation and weakness. He made sure that she was fed and housed, but he controlled all the money, supervising the buying of her clothes and allowing her nothing of her own. She could only say, in reply to Dorothy's questions, "He is in full command, and I have to do as he says. It is the only way, now. What else can I do - Where else could I go?" a heart rending statement which again moved Dorothy to the verge of tears. I carefully checked the completed order form, before sending it off to Gerald, and made a number of minor modifications to the shaping of the waist, which would in my judgement help to alleviate some of the suffering to which Paula was being constantly subjected. My figures on the order form revealed that her waist now measured thirteen inches over her closed corset, which meant that it matched the present known world record. In his letter, Paula's husband had been most insistent that her new corset should measure two inches less around the waist. I found it hard to accept this request, because I felt sure that it would be physically impossible for her tortured body to be laced to even smaller proportions. I tried to close my mind to all the extraneous issues by applying my usual dictum of "The customer is always right," and sent the order off to Gerald, but not without some misgivings. Not surprisingly, Gerald rang me to query the measurements. I gave him a few details of the consultation, and it was obvious that he shared my repugnance of the whole affair. However; he assured me that he could make the corset to my design, and that was financially the most important aspect as far as I was concerned. In due course the finished garment arrived, and I rang Paula with a request that she should call in for another fitting. She was accompanied by her husband on this second occasion, and several questions were almost immediately answered. He was a silver haired and distinguished looking Doctor of Medicine, who reeked of affluence, and presumably did his daily work in well established consulting rooms in a better class area. He had even brought his 'Doctor's Black Bag' with him. He was a very dominant man, who took over the whole proceedings as though it was second nature, and I found myself being virtually shouldered aside and relegated to a back seat. He subjected the new corset to a close scrutiny; twisting and pulling the material with his strong hands, as though he was trying to tear it apart. When he was satisfied, he turned to Paula, and said abruptly: "Right then, girl. Off with the old; on with the new; Eh! Look slippy about it! Mustn't waste this gentleman's time; Eh!" This rude approach frankly appalled me. I had always treated Dorothy with the greatest of respect, and would never have dreamed of addressing her in such an uncouth manner. Paula seemed to find it quite acceptable, and it was obvious that she was regularly addressed in this way and had ceased to care. She obediently removed her outer clothes; lay down on the folding bed and took off her old corset. She had to struggle into the new garment, with no help being allowed from me, while the Doctor made signs of impatience as though he was dealing with a more than usually difficult patient. Paula eventually managed to clasp the corset round her body, and then stood up, unsteadily and with some difficulty. She supported herself against one end of the bed, and the doctor began to lace up the new corset. I was moved to utter a protest and urge him to take care, because I did not want all my good work to be destroyed by his impatience. He completely ignored me, and continued the savage and brutal lacing. The corset closed tightly around poor Paula's waist, and she began to show all the customary signs of distress. I had seen this in many of our other customers, and knew what to expect. It began with an unsteady swaying; followed by a pallor of the face, indicating some restriction of the blood flow, and difficulty with breathing which further added to the facial pallor. I could tell that Paula was on the point of fainting or collapse, and again tried to enter a plea for mercy on her behalf. And now I come to the totally unbelievable part of the story. If it had been told to me by anybody else I would quite frankly have disbelieved it, but I was a personal eye witness and can swear that every word is true. The Doctor tied a temporary knot in the laces, and then opened his black bag. He took a hypodermic syringe from a fitted black leather case; carefully filled it from a small bottle of clear liquid, and turned it, needle point upwards. Tapped it with his fingernail a couple of times, squirted a few drops of liquid from it, and then inserted the needle into poor Paula's upper arm and pressed the plunger. He removed the needle, wiped the puncture with a wisp of cotton wool, and returned all his equipment to his bag. I had never seen an operation of this nature being performed with such coldly clinical and unfeeling precision, and could not help but notice that much of Paula's upper arm was scarred with the pinpricks of many similar and previous injections. He waited for a few minutes, until Paula began to show some visible signs of relaxing. A dreamy smile came over her face, whereupon he again took up the laces. He continued with the brutal lacing until he had succeeded in fully closing the corset from top to bottom. By this time, my personal feelings were becoming very mixed. On the one hand I was greatly opposed to the whole business, and to the Doctor's total lack of feeling towards his obviously suffering wife. On the other hand, I was glad to see that both my design and Gerald's workmanship had managed to stand up to the extreme strain, and I had to admit that Paula's body was now neatly moulded to a very attractive and eye catching silhouette. Her well formed breasts thrust upwards and outwards, and her waist was now much smaller than when she had first entered the shop. As far as I could judge, she was bearing the increased pressure without any signs of undue pain or distress. The Doctor then seized one of my tape measures, and passed it round Paula's waist. "Ah! Excellent!" he said. "Look at that! Exactly twelve inches. Now I feel quite confident that we shall make it. This is already a new world record, you know, but I want to continue until I can be sure she is totally unique and unbeatable." "But; exactly what are you trying to achieve," I cried. "Surely you will kill the poor girl, if you lace her any tighter." "Nonsense, young man," he replied. "You obviously know nothing about medical matters. Single figures, that's what I want; single figures. Now then; I ask you; can you beat that? Eh?" I tried to suggest that the circumference of her vertebrae would limit any further reduction, but he was quick to correct me. He spoke as if he was lecturing a classroom full of rather dim medical students. "You will notice that Paula has an unusually small and fine bone structure, for a woman of her height. This was one of the reasons why I selected her for this clinical experiment. All her lower or floating ribs have been surgically removed, as have the nodes from the lumbar vertebrae. I believe that, with your help, I can now reduce her to the absolute minimum and still sustain her full and active life. Any pain will be controlled with a choice of pain killing drugs, either orally, or by injection, and I can assure you that she will not suffer in any way. My Hippocratic Oath demands nothing less." To my mind, he could be judged guilty of some very mixed standards, but it was not for me to say so. He paid for this first, and all his subsequent garments in cash without question, and this classified him as a good customer in my personal estimation. He became a regular client for the next two years, and, after that first visit, sent his orders by post; demanding new garments in seemingly impossible and ever decreasing waist sizes. We never saw poor Paula in our consulting rooms again, and I am unable to say to what size she was finally reduced. His orders suddenly ceased after about three years, so I assumed that he must have achieved all his aims. I looked in the relevant books from time to time, but to the best of my personal knowledge another lady with a waist measurement of thirteen inches still holds the record. I have, in my library, a copy of the book written by her husband, which gives the details of her achievement. I have spoken to her on the telephone, and although she never became one of our customers, I know that her record is factual. 2. STRETCHED ON THE RACK. This was another consultation that began in the usual predictable way, but was soon to change quite dramatically. A male customer telephoned us with a request for a fitting, and Dorothy put his name in my Appointment Book. He arrived on time, and was immediately subjected to my customary visual 'Body Scan.' He was strangely 'out of proportion.' There was no other way to describe it. He was extremely long and narrow waisted, and either his arms and legs were too short for his body, or alternatively it was his body that was much too long. He was more than simply 'Long waisted' in the conventional sense, but it was only after he had stripped off his outer clothing in my fitting room, that I was able to discover the reason for his peculiar shape. He was wearing a heavy canvas and leather 'Body Brace.' My colleague who owned the Surgical Goods shop had shown me several similar garments, when we were in the process of our initial negotiations about passing business to each other. This man's garment was certainly a 'Heavy duty' model! The fabric was a dull grey, and very strong canvas, and the boning followed upon conventional lines, but with each bone being much wider than usual. The bones were obviously strong and stiff, and had been inserted into stay pockets made from brown leather, sewn to the canvas with strong and waxed linen thread. The garment was designed to be laced at the back, and had large and riveted brass eyelets of the type sold by ship's chandlers, or sail makers. They were of much greater diameter, and stronger than the ones we were accustomed to. The nautical theme continued with the laces themselves, which were of strong, braided nylon cord, and would have been more suited to a ship's rigging than a conventional corset! This most unusual garment firmly controlled his narrow waist, and I could see that his body had much more than the conventional distance between his rib cage and pelvic girdle. My curiosity was aroused, and I asked him if he had always been this peculiar shape. After some hesitation he began to tell me his interesting story. He could be neatly classified in my 'Punishment' category. A rather unruly young man, who had been punished by being laced by his mother into a corset that had originally belonged to his grandmother, in an attempt to control his behaviour. He had been made to wear it day and night, but in spite of the severe restriction of the corset, and the ridicule of his school friends, he had continued to defy all forms of authority. His parents had decided to continue this form of punishment, and to reinforce, in every sense, the level of discipline. His father was a harness and saddle maker by trade, while his uncle owned a small engineering workshop, nearby. Father and uncle had put their heads together, and had devised and built a unique combination of apparatus. Father had made the first of several of the heavy body braces, and uncle had fashioned a machine that was based upon a mediaeval form of torture. My customer would be made to lie down upon a flat board. Strong leather straps were then firmly attached to either end of his body. One strap was fitted around the top of his pelvic girdle, whilst the other encircled the top of his chest, and passed under his armpits. The straps were fitted with metal rings, and these rings were connected to hooks and cables, one at either end of the board. Two small but powerful winches were coupled to low geared electric motors, and the motors were then switched on. The cable was slowly wound on to the winch drums; the hooks applied tension to the two leather straps, and the customer was literally stretched on a rack. His body was pulled apart until he showed signs of extreme agony, and the winches were stopped. Brakes were applied, and he was left in that uncomfortable state; often for several hours. The climax to the performance was that his heavy brace would be laced on to him, and tightened to its absolute limit. The straps would then be disconnected from the winch mechanism and be pulled from beneath his brace and he would then be released from the traction. If during the course of the tight lacing his corset should become fully closed, it would be removed. His skin would be powdered; any chafed areas suitably anointed, and he would then be firmly laced into a smaller waisted corset. This man was another customer who found it impossible to stand erect without the support of his corset, and the bulk of my measuring and fitting had to be done with him lying on his back, with a series of cushions supporting his body where necessary. After his initial reluctance, this customer became quite frank and open about his situation, and was able to give me some interesting and useful information. He freely admitted that, like me, he ENJOYED being tightly corseted. What was meant to be a form of punishment, had, in fact, given him the greatest pleasure, although he had taken care to avoid exhibiting any signs of enjoyment! Far from punishing him, his mother had, by lacing him into his grandmother's corset, actually stimulated him. The tighter she laced him, the more he enjoyed it. As a fellow tight lacer, I could readily accept this, because I was well aware of the many pleasant feelings that he would have encountered. These feelings are very difficult to explain to anyone who has never been tightly laced into a corset. Those who are without experience tend to violently recoil at the very idea of any form of bodily restraint. People have often raised their hands in horror, and have asked me, "How can you do such a thing?" when I tell them about my corset wearing. I had to be very careful about what I said to them, in case they should gain the wrong impression. Unbeknown to me, one of my so-called 'friends' was a free lance writer for a magazine, and had written a rather lurid article about tight lacing, loosely based upon several of my personal experiences, and had illustrated it with some drawings of Victorian corsetry. Fortunately he had the courtesy to ask for my permission, before rushing to print the story. As so often happens, he had come to several false and totally erroneous conclusions about tight lacing, due to his own lack of personal experience, and I found it necessary to correct him on a number of major points, and firmly steer him away from many of the unpleasant and erotic aspects of corsetry that are often written about by inexperienced authors. I want my readers to know the true facts about the many pleasures of corset wearing, but I know how easy it is for some writers to distort these facts, in the interests of a supposedly good story! I entered the details and progressive measurements of many of my customers in confidential files, and kept them under lock and key, and I was always very careful to obtain the written permission of a customer before publishing anything of a personal nature. I used the information for the benefit of customers who had a similar problem, and although I was asked on many occasions for the 'Inside story' of corsetry, I continued to give my solemn oath to my customers and protected their full confidentiality at all times. The customers who are mentioned in this section have readily agreed to my publishing their details, with the only proviso being that I should not give any information that might lead to their real names being revealed. In conclusion, I only need to say that I was eventually able to send another satisfied customer on his way. He had been able to dispense with his ugly and cumbersome body brace, and was now quite comfortably corseted and well supported. I know this for a fact, because I still treasure his enthusiastic letter of thanks, together with the photo he allowed me to take. 3) THE GIRAFFE NECKED WOMAN. This case gave me a whole wealth of new and interesting experiences, and I had to do a certain amount of research, before I could finally set down the full facts. As so often happened in our seaside holiday resort, 'The Circus came to Town.' Dorothy and I had once been to a performance, and enjoyed it, but apart from that it was just another seasonal attraction the local residents had come to accept. Dorothy received a phone call, asking if she could do an evening fitting for a young lady who came from abroad, and was only in the town for a few days. This was not unusual, so all the customary arrangements were made. A high-topped, closed van arrived outside the shop after dark, quite late in the evening, and a middle aged lady got out and rang the bell. Dorothy answered the door, and invited her inside. The lady explained that the fitting was not for her, but was for her companion who was still concealed inside the back of the van. Dorothy had to work very hard to keep a straight face at the sight of this new customer. She was what is generally known as a 'Giraffe Necked Woman.' A young and beautiful girl from the Padaung tribe, in the highlands of Burma. It was the custom for many of the girls and ladies of this tribe to have their necks stretched way beyond the normal human length or height, and bound around with coils of heavy gauge copper or brass wire. My research had confirmed that this neck stretching was a long established practice within the tribe, who lived in a remote area of the country and actively discouraged any visitors from the outside world. Apparently, it was taken as a sign of beauty, and the women would often compete with each other to achieve the longest of necks. The closely guarded secret of the tribal custom was now known only to one old woman, and was in danger of dying out. The neck vertebrae were first carefully dislocated when the girl was little more than a child, and her neck was slowly stretched. Long strips of thick brass or copper wire would then be wound around her neck, and she would remain in this rigid state until her body became accustomed to it. The rings would then be removed, and her neck was once again stretched and secured. The long and slow process bore a remarkable resemblance to my own tight lacing system, when I was assisting one of my customers with the progressive reduction of his or her waist measurement. The lower metal coils tapered gradually outwards, to rest upon the girl's shoulders, whilst the uppermost coils forced her chin and head upright in what seemed to me to be a most uncomfortable manner. As a slight aid to her general comfort, the girl would sometimes wear a soft and decorative piece of cloth or woollen material under her chin. This particular young woman already had her head raised to a height of approximately fifteen inches above her shoulders. Apparently the stretching procedure was still ongoing, and it was confidently predicted that the length of her neck would soon be regarded as a new tribal record. The coils of wire had been skilfully and closely wound around her neck to give a carefully contoured and slightly waisted effect, and she had obviously become quite accustomed to a practice that would have been considered an extreme form of torture to any woman in this part of the world. The stretching did not appear to have affected her vocal cords. In spite of the obvious weight of the heavy metal coils there was no visible or apparent damage to her shoulders or spinal column, and she could obviously eat her food, although I must confess that I found it difficult to visualise her carrying each spoonful upwards to her mouth. She now led a semi-nomadic life, appearing in a side show at the circus together with two of her younger and shorter necked companions from the same tribe, and they travelled to various locations around the British Isles. She had been fitted with her first pair of shoes soon after entering this country. These were a conventional pair of black, laced, Oxfords, with very high heels. The lady who acted as companion and 'Minder' explained that they were in the process of raising her heels to their maximum possible height, but this need not concern us in any way. The reason for this present consultation was simplicity itself. The girl had seen some of the other circus performers who enjoyed tight lacing on a regular basis, and she had expressed a wish to be fitted with a corset of her own. She was naturally slim, and Dorothy was able to carry out a conventional fitting, using a measuring frame. She later told me that the whole fitting had a slightly bizarre touch to it. The woman had only a small command of the English language, so all her requests had to be passed through her companion, who also acted as her interpreter. It was natural for Dorothy to look at the customer's face when she was checking that the fit of any new garment was satisfactory, and she found it most odd to keep looking at the point where the girl's face would normally have been, only to find herself addressing the centre of the shiny coils of metal. The girl donned her loose robe at the conclusion of the first fitting, and returned to the closed van. We arranged that she would come back to the shop for her second fitting, when the corset was completed. She returned in due course, and after taking the usual precautions went into Dorothy's fitting room. She was then laced into her new, and first corset. Dorothy issued all the usual stern warnings about the dangers of over tightening the corset, but the young woman kept asking to be laced tighter. Dorothy was insistent, and the woman's companion had to intervene to say that she should stay at her present waist size, with the corset partially closed, until they returned to the circus, whereupon they 'Would see what could be done.' The girl made three further visits to the shop, and was laced into a smaller corset on each occasion. After the third visit she said she was satisfied, and we were asked if we could make her a special corset so that she could display her new waist to its best advantage. The finished corset was a really stunning creation in gold satin, and was yet another brilliant example of the corset maker's art. The laces were a contrasting blue colour in my favourite shade, and the corset bones were outlined in the same shade of butterfly blue satin. The girl's firm breasts were supported within two breast cups, and a large gold tassel was attached to the front of each cup. Both tassels swung in a most provocative and fascinating way, whenever she moved. A further fringe of smaller tassels surrounded the lower hem of the corset. At the conclusion of the final fitting, we were presented with two complimentary tickets for the next circus performance, and were invited behind the scenes to see the girl being prepared for her first appearance in public, wearing the new corset. This was the first time I had actually had a close look at the girl, because in spite of my curiosity I had always kept out of the way when Dorothy was busy with her fitting. I can only say that I was truly amazed when I saw her. She seemed to be about eight feet tall! Her high heeled shoes had been removed, and replaced by knee length, high heeled and laced boots. But these boots were quite unlike anything I had seen before. I later learnt that they were what is known as 'Ballet Boots.' They were designed to keep the wearer's feet 'en pointe,' a term used by conventional ballet dancers. The straightened legs of the boots meant that the wearer would have to stand supported only on the tips of her toes whenever she stood up or walked. The boots had been fashioned so that the frontal surface was absolutely dead straight up and down, from knee to toe. To ensure that this straight line was maintained, the boots had apparently been reinforced with internally stitched metal strips, of a type similar to those that are used in the boning of strong corsets.The curved and natural heel of her foot was now projecting from the back of the leg, and the heel itself was supported by an impossibly high and polished narrow metal spike heel, about the same length or height of the extended and straightened foot. The spike heel appeared to be made from polished steel. In most other respects these boots were very similar to my own, except that the leather had been coloured in gold. There was what seemed to be some internal blocking or extra padding at the tips of the toes, which only added to the length of the foot and height of the heel, and this made the extended heels much higher than my own six inch heels. Above the top of the boots the visible portions of the girl's legs were covered by a pair of sheer and fine gold tights, and she wore the briefest of gold lam? skirts. Her new corset covered her from hips to breasts; outlining her tiny waist, and the many tassels swung back and forth with every slight movement. A short gold lam? jacket, opened at the front, covered her shoulders and the upper part of her breasts, and the sleeves of the jacket closely fitted her arms. The coiled metal rings round her neck shone as though they had been freshly polished, and her head was crowned with a tall, beaded, and conical golden Burmese metallic headdress, closely fitted to the top of her head. It was about fifteen inches high, and tapered to a sharp point at the top. She was balanced on the toes of her golden boots, and the combination of the stiff corset, and her even stiffer neck rings made her move in a slow and fascinating way. Her ears had been pierced, and she wore a pair of long and dangling ear decorations. I could not call them earrings in the conventional sense, and for once Dorothy was unable to give me the correct name of a modern feminine equivalent. Three or four lengths of fine chain; closely clipped to each other at the top end, hung from each ear. The chains were each about twelve inches long, and had bright metal discs or coins attached to their lower ends. The chains reached to just below the 'waist' level of her neck rings, and swung in independent arcs whenever she moved her head. As a final touch, a set of extended and sharply pointed golden finger nails, each about six inches long, were attached to her fingers and thumbs. Her face was then made up in the highly coloured and exaggerated style of classical Burmese dancers. When she was finally dressed and decorated to perfection, she was helped to her feet by her assistant, and began to walk slowly up and down the room, balanced on the tips of her toes, in preparation for her forthcoming appearance before the circus audience. Her combined movements provoked a wholly fascinating series of sounds and noises to my sensitive ears, and I had to use every atom of my iron self-control to avoid giving yet another of my well known exhibitions of foolish and jaw dropping amazement. Her boots, with their reinforced toes and impossibly high heels amplified the sound of each step on the wooden floor of the dressing room. Her tightly laced corset began to creak, in the same way that Matron's corset had creaked in my hospital days back in my distant youth, and re-awakened many long forgotten memories. The small metal discs on the ends of her ear chains jingled against each other, and reminded me of the sounds that were made when loosely hanging corset suspenders came into contact with each other. When they were at the fullest extent of the swing, the metal discs would occasionally tip-tap against the thicker metal of the neck rings, and this tapping resulted in a deeper and peculiar diatonic ringing sound. The lengthy transformation had been carried out in one of the circus dressing rooms, and the walls were lined with more mirrors than my own fitting room. The girl finally stood in the centre of the room, with her straightened legs together, balanced comfortably on the tips of her toes in a position where she was reflected in the many mirrors, and could be viewed from every angle. We were glad to have received the complimentary tickets, because they gave us two front row reserved seats for the performance. The girl, in all her golden glory caused an immediate sensation as soon as she appeared before the public. People were fighting each other, and climbing over the backs of some of the seats to get a closer look at her, and it took some considerable time before order was restored. She certainly was a 'Show Stopper.' It only remains for me to say that this lady proved to be the source of some quite profitable custom. Her circus friends were highly delighted with the standard of our work, and several of them became customers. Some time later I received a complete set of coloured promotional photographs and advertisements of the girl wearing her ballet boots and full regalia, and they made a welcome addition to my already large collection. 4) BONED LEGS. I remember one man who had sent me what appeared to be a totally impracticable design. He called for a corset of such a considerable length that it resembled a roll of carpet, more than anything else! A long and well boned back lacing structure, which, from his measurements, would enclose a man of average height from under his armpits to well below his knees! I had heard of so-called 'Training' or 'Punishment' corsets but this was my first encounter with such a device. The customer specified full length boning of extreme stiffness, and it was immediately obvious that the wearer would be totally incapable of either walking or sitting down. I was very worried about the practicality of wearing such a garment, and sent him a polite letter of enquiry. He replied with some asperity, saying he knew precisely what he wanted. His cheque was good, so who was I to complain? I had the order made up to his specification; sent it to him and heard nothing more about it, so I assumed that he was satisfied. Now that I come to think about it, I know he was satisfied, and I can tell you why. It must have been about six or seven months later when we received his next design, together with a request for an estimate of the cost of making it. This specification was totally unique, and neither Dorothy nor I had ever seen anything like it before. Oh, dear me yes; I remember that we very nearly defeated Gerald with this one! It started conventionally enough, high up on the chest; was well shaped into the waist; continuing down over the hips, and even further down over both legs, as far as the knees. The difference was that, this time, the thighs had been separated and each thigh was contained within a small tight lacing corset of its own, making it look rather like a pair of tight laced knee length trousers! Neither Dorothy nor I had seen anything like it before, and we had never even considered trying what Dorothy was quick to christen 'Boned legs.' The full boning detail called for very long and firm bones, from armpit to knee, and quite closely spaced. There was full length back lacing, and a strong and rigid wedge shaped busk was specified, with a similarly shaped reinforcing bone behind it. A short section of lacing at the top of the legs was presumably intended to cater for most conventional toilet functions, but, in my opinion, when all the laces were fully tightened and secured, the garment would only allow the wearer a limited and constrained walking movement, and it would be extremely difficult to bend, or to sit down. The final unusual detail called for a pair of wide and strong shoulder straps that had to be especially long, so that they could pass from the top front of the garment, up over the shoulders; crossing over at the back, and continuing down through a series of loops around the waist, to fasten at the front with a heavy metal buckle. The strong straps were intended to correct any tendency to develop round shoulders, and I could see that the shoulders of the wearer would be forced backwards as the buckle was tightened. It was, all in all, a fearsome garment! I sent the design off to Gerald without making any comment, and was not surprised when he rang me to say he was having difficulty constructing what he would insist on calling (to my annoyance) the 'Codpiece.' Apparently the point where the single corset divided into the two legs was proving to be difficult to make, and I offered to help him, when he had explained the nature of the problem. I looked through my extensive catalogue collection, and was able to find a picture of a basically similar corset in a foreign publication. This gave a good illustration of the separate legs, and the way in which they were joined together under the main corset. I sent a copy to Gerald, together with a few hints and tips of my own, which enabled him to complete the project. The final cost was considerably in excess of our original estimate, so we sent the completed garment to the customer, and waited apprehensively. He sent us his full payment by return, together with a delighted letter telling us that it was perfect in every detail, and ordering another garment. This was generally similar in design, although it was smaller; and with obviously feminine dimensions, modified shoulder straps and the addition of lace trimming at the top. 5) THE TORTURE CHAMBER One man does stand out in my memory. He sent us a polite enquiry on headed notepaper, asking for a home consultation and fitting, and enclosed a cheque to cover my expenses. His address was inland, but still quite close to our town, so I telephoned him, to make an appointment to call, and he sounded to be a perfectly normal man over the phone. I took the van; followed his directions; and eventually arrived at an isolated house in the country, standing in extensive and well tended grounds. A middle aged man opened the door. He was wearing a black dressing gown or cloak, with a high stiff collar at the back. He was tall; dark haired, and facially resembled the popular image of Sherlock Holmes. He asked me if I would follow him, and he lead the way down a long, dark corridor; his footsteps echoing loudly on the stone flooring. I looked for the cause of the noise, and noticed that he was wearing high heeled boots, with sharp spurs attached to the heels. It was then that I realised that this could be a troublesome visit if I was not careful, and my misgivings were in no way allayed when we entered what he called his 'Study;' a large room, containing a surprising assortment of unpleasant items. He had an extensive collection of whips, canes, and cats-o-nine-tails, all mounted high up around the walls, in an artistic display. A reproduction of a large wooden grating, similar to those I had seen being used for the flogging scenes in old time navy films, was mounted upright at one end of the room, with sawdust spread upon the floor beneath it. Standing in the centre of the room was a wooden pillory, with holes to secure the hands and head of a malefactor, and it had a large modern padlock to fasten the apparatus in a closed position. There were two glass fronted display cabinets standing against the wall. The larger one contained a number of strange leather helmets that had only eyeholes at the front, and laced at the back, and appeared to have been designed to totally enclose the head, and prevent any movement of the mouth or chin. Two complete black leather suits with full length lacing on both arms and legs were also displayed. The smaller cabinet housed some leather collars in various heights, with matching armlets and wrist bracelets. All these items were liberally studded with vicious metal spikes. There were also a number of what appeared to be plastic balls of about two or three inches in diameter, which were pierced with numerous small and circular holes. They were mounted on narrow tapes or straps which had buckles at one end. I had no idea what "games" they were meant to be used for. A reproduction of the old fashioned "Stocks" had been placed near the pillory. It was principally constructed from two pieces of thick and heavy wood, which slid into upright posts at either end of the wood, and into which were carved two holes to take and secure the legs of a criminal who would then be made to sit on a small, uncomfortable and rough wooden bench. The two pieces of wood could be separated, and then fastened together, The two halves of the stocks were also fastened together with a modern padlock. There were a number of iron rings securely attached to the floor in various different locations around the study, which had a curious array of chains, fetters and handcuffs attached to them, The only other items of furniture in the room were an assortment of strangely shaped benches and stools. These had been placed at random around the room, leaving me at a loss to imagine what their purpose might be. The man stood in the centre of the room near the pillory; drawing back his dressing gown, and revealing himself for my fascinated inspection. He showed no sign of embarrassment, but was smiling in an odd sort of way. He was wearing one of the high spiked collars around his neck. A tight fitting one piece black leather corset enclosed him from shoulder to crutch, and he wore laced up and high heeled leather boots similar to mine, although his were thigh length; close fitting, and had sharp spurs attached to the heels. He completed his ensemble with full length laced up black leather gloves on his arms, and extended epaulettes on his shoulders. I was very interested in his unique ensemble, but I have to confess that I was somewhat repelled by his assortment of flagellationist paraphernalia. He showed me a photograph of a tightly corseted woman, who was dressed in an outfit that was much the same as his own, and explained that she was his German lady friend. I noticed that she had a really tiny waist, and I commented upon it with considerable interest. He confirmed that it was believed to be one of the smallest waists in Europe, and told me that he had consulted me because he also wanted to reduce his waist, and possibly set a new masculine record! He gave me details of the stiff, and well boned, leather corset he wanted me to make for him. I was sympathetic to his needs, and wished him every success in his efforts, but I had to tell him that, unfortunately, we were not equipped for working with leather. I offered to pass his request and details on to another manufacturer who I knew specialised in this type of leatherwork, and who had proved to be quite generous when I had provided him with similar commissions, in the past, and I took a conventional series of fully detailed measurements from the customer while I was there, rather than waste my time and his money. All the arrangements were carried through with my customary degree of efficiency. I never went back to the house, but I subsequently learnt from the leather manufacturer that my service and his had been satisfactory to the customer. I told Dorothy about the clothes the man was wearing, but gave no details about the other things I had seen in the room, for fear of upsetting her. 6) THE "PIPE-STEM" WAIST I have already written about some of the abuses and criticisms to which corsetry has been subjected, over many years. The objections mainly come from those who I like to call the 'Uninitiated;' the people who have never had any practical experience of the many and varied pleasures of wearing any form of corset, and whose opinions are usually based upon what is little more than oft-repeated hearsay. Samuel Orchard Beeton, the husband of Mrs. Beeton of cookery book fame, could possibly be cited as a case in point, although, in fairness to him, perhaps he was only using the corset for his own commercial gain. He published many Victorian magazines and periodicals, and was well known for his numerous correspondence columns, in which he invited his readers to submit their points of view on different matters. The subject of corsets and tight lacing was raised in the early 1870's, in one of his periodicals entitled 'The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine.' Some similar letters also appeared in other magazines. It has been suggested that the subject was first raised by Beeton himself, as a clever way of boosting the circulation of the magazine, but I am unable to confirm this. Much space in the colums and pages was devoted to various aspects of corsetry, and the opinions of readers were constantly being invited. Replies were soon received from female correspondents who had obviously enjoyed corset wearing, and who could speak from a wealth of personal experience. These were then promptly countered by other female readers, who claimed to have suffered varying degrees of pain and abuse as a result of being made to wear an ill-fitting corset. There was a new and interesting twist when a male correspondent ventured to submit some of the details of his own experience of wearing a tight corset from personal choice. He was promptly joined by other men, who also offered some interesting opinions, including some more examples of enforced corset wearing. I suppose it was inevitable that the imagination of some readers was allowed to run riot, and some quite outlandish claims were made, particularly by certain readers who claimed to have been physically punished by being forced to wear a tightly laced corset. I have to agree that this is known to have been done, but the imagination of the subscribers to the magazines far outstripped the details that were passed to me by some of my own customers, whose stories I know to be true. This corset correspondence was resurrected in a rather similar style in other magazines of the 1930's, and once again the more imaginative readers were allowed to have their say. Some of their suggestions were patently impractical, and it is a wonder that they were permitted to pass Editorial scrutiny. I tend to dismiss many of them out of hand, as the figments of overheated imaginations. One rather dubious innovation was the so-called 'Pipe-Stem Waist.' The narrowing and shaping of the waist in Victorian times had become a classical art, as well as being a well established and acceptable fashion. Names such as 'Wasp-waist,' and 'Hour Glass' were common parlance. Some of the more imaginative of the modern magazine's contributors tried to claim that it was possible to completely re-shape the waist by stretching the spinal column to such an extent as to form a waist of extended height; with parallel sides, rather like a cylinder, or tube! Frankly I have to say that I find this suggestion rather hard to accept. Perhaps the writers of the articles could have been influenced by the previously mentioned 'Giraffe necks.' I know from personal experience that it is possible to stretch the neck, but I have grave doubts about the possibility of a similar degree of waist stretching, however desirable it might seem to be. It must be obvious to most sensible people that to try and lengthen the spine in this way would require a considerable degree of enforced traction. A rigid and tubular corset, designed to achieve this effect, by applying strong pressure at each of its ends would of necessity have to be very stiffly and rigidly boned, and would soon become extremely painful to wear. It would exert a great deal of upward pressure on the lower ribs and ribcage, and a corresponding downward pressure on the bony pelvic girdle. The compressed flesh that was trapped between skin and bone, would soon become painful to an unbearable degree. I have mentioned elsewhere a case where extreme traction had been applied to the body of one of my male customers. It certainly had the effect of extending his body beyond all reasonable limits, but by no stretch of the imagination could he have been said to have the remotest suggestion of a straight or parallel sided pipe-stem waist. I would venture to suggest that a corset of the type described in the correspondence columns could only have been worn for a very short time - if at all! Perhaps one of my more knowledgeable readers (preferably possessed of some practical experience, and genuine pictorial evidence!) would care to disabuse me! There comes a time when truth is indeed stranger than fiction. The imagination of the readers was allowed free rein, and I fear that some of them may have reached a stage where they honestly believed the truth of their written fantasies. A few rather outlandish drawings accompanied some of the letters, but it is perhaps worth mentioning that, although photography was by this time well established, to my personal knowledge no photographs of pipe-stem waists or corsets were ever published. I know from my own experience that many of our customers had requested photographs of themselves, once they had proudly donned one of my creations, but I can only say that in the whole of my working life I never saw a customer who either had, or who wanted to achieve one of these pipe-stem waists. ***** Chapter Eighteen Customer Services A considerable amount of nonsense has been written about Corsets and Tight Lacing over many years by authors who have no practical knowledge or personal experience of their subject. Most of these writers will try and titillate their readers by relying upon the constant repetition of popular words and phrases such as "I felt as if it was cutting me in half," or "She laced me in until I was unable to breathe," or by introducing unnecessary elements of coercion and corporal punishment into the story, thereby implying that this is an essential part of the natural process of wearing any form of corset, which of course is quite untrue, as this book will attempt to prove. Any mention of a small waist measurement in typical works of corset fiction seems to suggest that the reduction has been a considerable, immediate, effortless and permanent achievement. The chest, bust or hip measurements are seldom mentioned in relation to the waist size, and the original and natural waist measurement often remains something of a mystery. Yes, an "eighteen inch waist" is an eighteen inch waist, and it can be achieved. This is a well documented fact. But the question has to be asked, What did the natural waist, hips and chest or bust measure before the corset was "Laced fully closed?" Ridiculous statements are often made, claiming impossible waist reductions just by "Hooking up the front and pulling on the tighteners until the corset was fully closed up." This makes me want to reject the story out of hand, because it quite obvious that the author has absolutely no personal experience of the many pleasures and delights of wearing a well boned, well fitted and tightly laced corset, and does not know what he or she is talking about. It is a "Dead Give-away," and the whole story can be dismissed as no more than a work of puerile fantasy. To emphasise my point, let me just say that a naturally slim or thin person might have much less difficulty in achieving quite a small waist measurement, as compared to someone with a larger and perhaps more natural build, who would have to work very hard over a possibly extended period of time, utilising a series of progressively smaller waisted corsets to achieve a similar degree of reduction. Dorothy and I wore our corsets on a daily basis. And yet, we were not "Tight lacers," in the generally accepted sense of the words. We had both become slowly and carefully accustomed to our new and well defined dimensions, and could remain in a comfortable state from early in the morning, throughout the whole of our working day, at our leisure in the evenings, and until late at night. We removed our corsets before going to bed, and put them on again first thing in the morning, without either of us giving it a second thought. It had become just a natural part of our daily process of dressing and undressing. Nothing more than that. I have always enjoyed being tightly laced, and when Dorothy had commenced my figure training after my first mistake, she had placed great emphasis upon the folly of 'Overdoing it.' I had wanted much more from the very first moment that she laced me in, but she had been firm in her denial. With her continued help and guidance over the years, I did manage to progressively reduce myself; eventually remaining at a steady twenty three inches for several years. I could, lace myself smaller on our special occasions, and was always reluctant to sacrifice any of my hard won inches, but I found it necessary to enlarge my waist as I became older. Of course, after my accident it was different altogether; but more of that later. Dorothy's waist had measured twenty one inches when I first met her, and we had fully closed her mother's sixteen inch corset on our honeymoon, although we were unable to confirm the measurement at the time because we did not have a tape measure. I managed to span her waist with ease, which was all I wanted to do. We had a most unfortunate mishap when we tried to repeat the experience. Some time after the honeymoon, I mentioned how much I had enjoyed that first occasion, and Dorothy offered to repeat it for me. Of course, I was only too eager; but just as I was finally closing the laces the brittle whalebones began to disintegrate and several snapped at one side of the waist. The sharp ends penetrated the lining of the corset; digging painfully into Dorothy's flesh, and causing her to scream at me to take it off. I picked up a pair of scissors, and quickly cut the laces, fortunately before she suffered any lasting harm, but the old corset was damaged beyond repair, and Gerald had no replacement whalebone, so we were unable to measure her waist with it on. She knew how much I had enjoyed spanning her tiny waist, and she also told me a little more about the delightful sensations she had experienced as my hands had completely encircled and gently squeezed her. She had been determined not to cry out while I was lacing her, in spite of the increasing cruel pressure and the terrible pain. She had an inner sense of triumph as I was spanning her waist and expressing my delight, and she said that when my hands surrounded and caressed her it seemed to instantly soothe all her pain away. She said it was "As though I had Healing Hands." From that moment she had only been aware of the deepest personal pleasure; which had considerably increased in depth as the evening progressed! Without saying anything to me, she asked Gerald to make her another special corset in my favourite butterfly blue satin, but with a sixteen inch waist measurement. She put it on one Sunday morning, and asked me to lace her up. At first I thought it was her original blue one, and then I realised what she had done and just what she was doing for me. We did not manage to fully close it, because she began to suffer too much cruel pressure on her lower ribs, and it would obviously have been too dangerous for her to continue. I was just able to span her waist with my fingers and thumbs, but that was all. I came to the reluctant conclusion that Gerald must have made some slight miscalculation with his measurements; or it could have been that the metal boning lacked the flexibility of whalebone. Dorothy did eventually maintain her waist at eighteen inches for about ten years, but, like me, she had to relax a little, as she became older. TALKS AND LECTURES. Dorothy joined a local ladies social circle as a form of evening relaxation, and to give her a break from routine. She enjoyed the company, and the group were always looking for speakers or people who could give them lectures; slide shows, or similar forms of entertainment. She asked me if I would like to give them 'A little talk' one evening, and after some reflection I agreed. I thought it could be a good public relations exercise, and might bring in more business. My personal collection of books and photographs had grown considerably over the years, and was now taking up a lot of space in what had originally been Dorothy's bedroom. I did a little basic research, and made some notes. Oddly enough, I found all my notes again only recently, and discovered that I had called my first talk "The Evolution and Development of the Corset, from the Minoans of Crete to the Present Day." It was an unnecessarily long title, and I fear that I may have spoken for much longer than the other speakers; but as I recall it my talk was well received. Dorothy later told me that several of the women who had been present had called at the shop and made purchases. Some had said how much they had enjoyed the talk, and one or two had been very surprised that a man should know so much about the subject, but apparently no-one had openly objected. I repeated my talk by popular request on several occasions, over the next few years; shortened the title to "Corsets Through the Ages," and illustrated it with some slides and photographs. I eventually travelled to several different towns to give the talk, and seemed to be well received. Dorothy often accompanied me, and handed out her business cards, which helped to put our little shop on the map. MUSEUM AND ARCHIVE. I had often considered forming my own specialised library, or possibly even having a small museum of corsetry. I had been impressed by Gerald's collection on the occasion of our first visit to his factory, and thought it would be a good idea if I could have something of a similar nature. I had initially been prevented from developing this objective by the simple combination of 'Too much expense, and too little time.' The years went by; money became more plentiful, and I had a roof built over the back yard, to provide us with a garage for the van, and more space for expanding the mail order department. We also had a room built above the new garage, which was meant to be a bedroom or nursery when our family came along. We tried hard for several years, but never did manage to have any children, so eventually this room became my museum. I started in a small way by having part of the room shelved, allowing me to put my books in some sort of order, and later obtained a drawer unit from a firm of office suppliers, giving me safe storage for my extensive collection of photographs. I made numerous visits to antique shops, second hand book shops, and general dealers. Dorothy preferred to visit jumble sales, and by our combined efforts we managed to find many interesting items of corsetry; washing, renovating, and using them as dating features. If any garment was of considerable importance but was in a disreputable condition, we would send it to Gerald, and he would have a copy made. A fellow enthusiast died, and bequeathed to me his unique and extensive collection of corset catalogues. He had researched widely; collecting a large number of interesting brochures, catalogues, leaflets and booklets from all over the world. I spent a long time listing; cataloguing, and making a card index of the papers, for ease of reference. The generosity of this gentleman enabled me to fill in several missing pieces relative to the history of corsetry, and I decided that, when I had time, I would sit down and compile a comprehensive corset encyclopaedia. A profusely illustrated, in depth study, possibly running to several volumes. A book that might be generally recognised and universally accepted as the definitive work on the subject. It would be pleasant to leave my name on something I could be proud of, and I had all the necessary data and pictures. All that I needed was time! I was delighted to find among the collection of catalogues all the missing details of My Great Aunt's 'Elfrida' corset, of so many years ago, and of which I still retained the fondest memories. The text read:- "By popular request, we are once again including this model. It has found high favour with our more mature customers, and we have received many testimonials, all loud in praise of its firm support and day-long comfort." The catalogue was dated 1911, so that made my old 'Elfrida' a genuine late Edwardian original. Of all the items in this valuable collection, the most interesting to my mind was a copy of a catalogue of several of the garments that were modelled by Dorothy's mother. It had withstood time and usage very well, and was in quite good condition, having been printed on glossy paper, and using photographs that had been cleverly and artistically enhanced, to improve the silhouettes of the models. The modelling had been shared between Dorothy's mother, and another lady, and a considerable amount of space had been wasted in each photograph by the inclusion of large fern or aspidistra plants, in ornamental pots on ornate wrought iron stands. The legs of the two models were hidden under artistically draped voluminous petticoats, of a late Victorian or early Edwardian style. The two ladies had superb figures, and elaborate hairstyles. The front cover bore a large photo of Dorothy's mother wearing a severely tailored, straight-fronted Edwardian corset, and leaning gracefully, in a classical pose against a Grecian pillar of the Doric period. The contrast of her sweeping curves against the straight lines of the pillar was most striking and impressive. I could see Dorothy's strong likeness to her mother, because they each had the same way of looking at you, with a frank and open direct gaze. Mother held herself stiffer, and was rather more erect than Dorothy. Her carriage and deportment was similar to that of Matron, and no doubt the well boned corsets were a contributory factor! I made no mention of my discovery, but had several copies made and gave the original one to Dorothy on her birthday. She was deeply and visibly moved, and carefully stored it away along with her other personal treasures. SKIN CARE, AND HEALTH. I can recall one occasion when Dorothy's health gave me cause for concern. She began to complain about pains in her back at night, and again on rising in the morning, although it went away as soon as she put her corset on. She tried to ignore it, but it persisted, and I had to help her by applying massage at night. The condition did not improve so I eventually took her to see the lady Doctor. She examined Dorothy, and decided that her condition arose from wastage of the muscles. She had worn a corset all her adult life; the corset