I'm torn on this cinch, I really am. On the one hand, it's a lovely, striking little corset. It does what it's supposed to, gently slimming me down without pinching or pulling or digging. It disappears under all but the tightest tops, and is easy to lace and unlace.

But it just isn't very sturdily made. At all.

I have worn my cinch a total of four times now, for 2-5 hours each time. The first time I wore it, I was still getting used to the way it felt, and didn’t lace it very tightly. The second time, I wore it for about 3 hours. By the time I took it off, one of the stays had popped out of its tube of fabric, by actually ripping through the fabric at the top. I assumed that, being new to cinches and corsets, had laced it incorrectly, leaving the strain unevenly balanced along the back. I sewed it back together, and swore to be more careful next time.

The next time I wore it, a grommet popped off of the fabric. It is now hanging from the laces. The last time, another came close to parting company with the fabric. Half of the rest of the grommets are already showing signs of strain, and a few are just about ready to pop. I have yet to use this corset roughly. I have, in fact, been very gentle with it.

The problem may be that I simply ordered too large a size, and the problems all stem from needing to tighten the corset down as far as it will go. However, if this is the issue, then it is one that is no fault of mine. I went to the sizing chart, went down a few inches from my actual waist size, then ordered the indicated size. If I needed to go down yet another size, they need to seriously rethink the size labels on this corset line, because that means I have to go down 2 full sizes from where my measurements put me.

And yet, with all these faults, I’m still madly in love with this cinch. It’s ridiculously comfortable, especially when compared to the plastic-boned monsters and the pinching broad elastic cinches I’ve worn in the past. It actually works, regardless of its mechanical flaws, pulling my waist in without leaving odd bends or rolls in my silhouette.

I found less strain was put on the grommets if I wore the corset backwards, for some reason. The stays were less severely bowed when I took oof the cinch when I wore it backwards. My breasts were more comfortable, since the tops of the stays weren’t jabbing them from beneath. As I have a limited range of motion with my arms, it was also much easier to lace up with the laces in the front. The laces are round, like shoe-laces; this makes it difficult to do up the corset one handed, but it takes less force to tighten it, cutting wear and tear on the laces. The soft, fleecy inside keeps it from slipping around no matter which way I wear it, and the satiny outside lets fabric glide over it, much like a slip. The only shirt I could find that it didn’t disappear under was a thin spandex exercise top; the tightest and lightest of sweaters didn’t give up my secret.

This cinch must be hand washed with a gentle detergent and no bleach, and should be hung up or laid flat to dry. Personally, I would suggest laying it out on towels, as this causes less distortion to the fabric. This cinch must not be ironed. Oddly enough, while the care instructions are given in English on the paperboard swing tag, the fabric tag sewn onto the garment only has the instructions in Spanish.

Overall, I am on the fence. If this cinch hadn’t proved so fragile, it would have won my heart forever, but I’m afraid it will be damaged beyond use after another few wearings. This was completely unexpected after the other glowing review of this cinch, by a reviewer whose testimony I trust implicitly. It’s as if the quality level of these cinches has fallen since they were released. This would be a great shame, given how well-received they have been in the past. Regardless, I love this cinch so much I’m considering buying one in a smaller size, hoping that it was a problem with sizing.