Do you want to avoid compression at all, want a light lacing corset, or a tight lacing corset?

Do you want to avoid compression at all, want a light lacing corset, or a tight lacing corset?

If you want to avoid compression at all, you’ll want to focus your corset buying search on “fashion corsets” or “shapewear”.  There is no standard industry term for corsets that aren’t quite corsets, but if a seller is being honest about it, they will usually use one of those two terms or another term that is distinct from “corset”.  Some sellers and makers even sell both shapewear and steel boned corsets.  Despite both being referred to as “corsets” and sometimes having a very superficial resemblance, they are actually extremely different garments.  For example, Spanks, girdles, and fashion “corset tops” fall into the shapewear group. If a seller lists the boning as plastic, or doesn’t specify (this happens frequently with less reputable sellers), then it is shapewear.  Buy to your waist measurement, and if the quality is good, it should slightly shape your figure, but will also move with you.  They often involve other modern materials like elastics, and can look fantastic.  They are also usually less expensive, but tend not to be very durable.  They can be made custom, but there are very few corset specialists who know how to and will make this kind of garment, so I would recommend checking for custom lingerie makers.  In the corset enthusiast world, these are typically not seen as corsets.