A corset, waist cincher and thong for under $50? I'm in!

This set by DreamGirl arrives wrapped in the pink EdenFantasys tissue paper, with no factory packaging. There is a tag attached to the corset, but that's it. Oddly, there was a little plastic bag around the tag, the kind that usually holds the accompanying garters and straps, but this one only had the tag in it. Weird! I also discovered while looking at the info for my review that there were supposed to be stockings, but I didn't get any.

The corset and thong are made of 100% Polyester and should be dry cleaned only. I can't imagine dropping the money to dry clean a thong, so I'll stick to hand washing that and spot cleaning the corset.

The corset is the main piece, decorated in a swirly print in creamy gold and black. The gold has a bit of metallic sheen to it but it's subtle, not gaudy. Something about the fabric says Christmas to me, almost like this would be on a fancy stocking, but I'm not really sure why I have that association. The outside of the corset is smooth, but the inside is coated in black mesh that is quite a bit rougher. It isn't uncomfortable, but not the smoothest fabric they could have chosen for putting up against your skin. There is zero stretch to this stuff, but you can adjust the fit via the laces. The ribbon up the back is just plain black ribbon- it got pretty wrinkled up just from trying this on, so I may replace it soon.

There are no underwires, padding or even a desginated area for the bust, so cup size isn't as big of a deal as just the circumference of your body. However, this also means that your boobs are probably going to get smooshed flat unless you have awesome corset lacing skills and can make the top nice and roomy while keeping the rest tight.

There are 9 eyelets up the back, which measures 11.5" tall. I wish it was taller so I could wear a bra underneath without the band poking out the top, but it should be ok on women of more average height. (I'm 5'11".) There are 10 pieces of plastic boning sewn in, and elastic around the top and bottom hems also help this mold to your shape. The zipper in the front measures 15" tall. Laced up as tight as possible and laid flat, the corset measures about 34" across in the center, and about 36" across in the bust area. The included ribbon is long enough to add maybe 3" to the dimensions.

The "faux leather pleated belt" was the piece I was most curious about from the description, since it sounded like it could either be really awesome, or pretty bad. It isn't fantastic, but not total crap, either. The model in the photo must be MUCH shorter than me, since it seems to cover about half of her torso, but it is only about 8" tall at the center peak, and 7" tall everywhere else. When laced up tightly, it measures 31 1/2" when laid out flat, so I had to loosen the laces a bit for it to fit. There isn't a tag sewn into the cincher, but the attached one says only that it is "non-leather material", so I have no idea what it actually is. The tag also suggests wiping it clean with a damp cloth. The "ribbon" that laces the cincher up is made of the same faux leather, but I get the feeling that it isn't especially sturdy under pressure, so you may not want to lace this TOO tight, or you may have to replace it fairly soon. There was 19" of spare ribbon dangling down when this was laced at its tightest, so you have quite a bit of room to loosen it. The faux leather ribbon is a little awkward to work with, it's very hard to get the laces even and "pretty" if you adjust them. Also, some of the snaps on mine are really hard to close.

The accompanying thong is definitely not your standard black accompanying thong- it is made of the same fabric as the corset, which is both good and bad. Good because it's pretty, matches perfectly, and is infinitely more interesting than having yet another plain black thong. Bad because the fabric is a little rough, and although there is a small 4" long crotch liner inside, the majority of it is the regular, fairly scratchy fabric, and I'm not so sure I want it rubbing up against my ladybits for any extended period of time. If you are just planning to wear this long enough to surprise someone, though, it rocks.

The corset arrives with everything attached: garters, the cincher, the bra straps... it is super confusing when you pull it out of the package, I couldn't even figure out which was was up for a second. So, here's my handy guide to getting this thing on!

Step 1: Disconnect All The Things! Well, okay, I left the straps on, but I pulled the garters off and removed the cincher while I went about trying on the corset itself.

Step 2: Undress Yourself. Disconnecting all the things takes a while, so you might want to stay nice and comfy in your shirt until this point.

Step 3: Unzip the front, then wrap yourself up like a burrito.
Step 4: DO NOT catch your boobs in the zipper.
Step 5: I repeat, DO NOT catch your boobs in the zipper.
Step 6: SUCK IT IN!
Step 7: Suck in harder!
Step 8: Give in and untie the strings in the back to give yourself al ittle more room.
Step 9: Try the zipper again. WATCH YOUR BOOBS.
Step 10: Zip Up the front.
Step 11: Reach around to your back and find the ribbons again. There should be 4. Close your eyes so you can focus and tie them in a bow.
Step 12: Slip straps up over your shoulders, if you're using them.

Ta da! You're in! If you have someone else around, you can get them to adjust the laces in the back to make everything perfect, but I find that if I'm by myself, I'll settle for just getting the darn thing on.

If you are using the cincher with the corset, you can then slip it through the giant belt loops and button it up. I found that wearing the two together was too busy of a look for my tastes, so I will probably use them separately. If you choose to wear the corset without the cincher, you can slip the ribbons through the giant belt loops before tying your bow in the back, to hold them out of the way. it's a little awkward, but I have no idea what else to do with them.

I was pretty confused about how to select a size for this corset, since it doesn't go by the standard small-XL sizing. I started a thread on the lingerie section of the forums long before I even ordered to ask if anyone knew how this sort of piece was sized, but nobody else seemed to know. Given that the sizes run from 32 up to 44, my best guess was that it went by bra band size, so since I wear 38D I ordered a 38, and it worked out pretty well. I would probably have been better off with the 36, since even at the tightest the bottom half is a little roomy, but I worry going any smaller would make this too short vertically to wear, since it is already quite short on me.

Sorry for only one (off-center) photo, my camera's memory card is being evil. I'll update in the follow-up with more once I solve my technical difficulties!