There are so many things that I loved about this corset, which is why I am puzzled that overall, I can only say that I like it.

Let me give you a little background. When I was a very brand new Edenite, attending my first Naked Reader Book Club discussion, a couple of the other people started up a conversation of their recent corset purchases. I admitted that I'd never bought a corset and didn't even know where to start. Coquette, here on Eden, was the maker recommended as a first corset, and I went on the hunt for my next big thing. Enter the Lace Taffeta Corset by Coquette.

I think that what first caught me about this corset was probably its coloring. The red with the black just has this crisp, classic sexiness. I looked up the sizing and finding myself somewhere between the small and medium sizes, I rounded up because I don't have anyone to help me into the thing if it's too small.

Coquette's Size Guide:
Size; Cup; Bust (in); Waist (in); Hip (in)
Small: 4 - 6; B; 34 - 36; 26 - 28; 36 - 38
Medium: 8 - 10; B; 36 - 38; 26 - 30; 38 - 40
Large: 14 - 12; C; 38 - 40; 30 - 32; 40 - 42
X Large: 14 - 16; D; 42 - 44; 34 - 36; 44 - 46
1X/2X: 18 - 22; D; 46 - 50; 38 - 42; 46 - 52

My measurements are, size: 4-6, cup: B, bust: 34, waist: 28, hip: 38. I had been under the impression that as a corset, the Taffeta would cinch and so I could order the slightly larger size and be able to cinch it down to where it would fit me well. I was wrong. The only bit of adjustment is the six-tenths of an inch in difference between the two rows of hook-and-eye closures. It wasn't as though it was about to fall off of me, but if you find yourself in between sizes, you'll probably want to go with the smaller of the two sizes.

A bit about the corset. It is, as proclaimed on the tag, 100% nylon except for the trim. There are two layers of fabric, the inner is a bit thicker and is a very sexy, silky smooth; and the outer is a thinner black, floral lace that is quite soft as well. These two fabrics are repeated in the two-layer ruffle at the bottom of the corset which is finished nicely in a red thread that picks up the color of most of the boning as well as the cups. One of the best things about the corset are the fully detachable shoulder straps as well as garters, which let me adjust how I'm wearing the corset.



There are a total of eleven pieces of boning, nine of which are covered in a satiny red fabric, the other two are covered in the same black fabric as the rest of the corset and make up the sides which can be seen in the picture above. On the inside of the corset there is a wide strip (about an inch across) of fabric-coated elastic which helps the corset nip in at the waist. The back of the long double-strip of loops that make up half of the hook-and-eye closure is covered in a very soft, felt-like fabric which makes it comfortable for more long-term wear.

As with all things there were a couple of things that I wasn't totally enamored with. The first is the design of the cups. As you can see in the picture below, they aren't actually shaped like bra cups, so you need to be able to overflow the cups to fit the cups, as far as I can tell. You can see the odd shape to the cups easiest when the corset is laid out flat on something. I don't know about you, but my boobs aren't shaped like that!



The other small thing that irritated me to no end was the slider on the bra strap. I had put the straps on backwards so that I could more easily adjust them. After about fifteen minutes the soft bit of skin between my boob and my shoulder started to feel like it was being scratched, and when I'd looked there was a definite red spot where the bit of roughness on the slider had started to scrape at my skin. This was easily remedied by putting the straps on the other way around with the slider in the back, though it was more difficult to adjust like that. It's that bit of roughness that you can see on the bottom right in the picture.



(Continued Below)

Even with these two negatives, I still like the Lace Taffeta Corset. To fix the odd boobage I tend to wear a push-up bra underneath as the cups aren't underwire. And I only wear the shoulder straps when I'm also using the garters. The solution to that problem was more obvious... to use the straps in the manner that they were intended. (I know that it seems obvious, but I was trying to find an easier way to adjust the straps).

A couple of helpful hints that I would like to pass on to everybody out there. First, for me, I've found that the easiest way to get the corset on is to turn it around and fasten the hook-and-eye closure in the front and then carefully shimmy it around to the back. I say carefully because I caught the edge of the ruffle when I was doing it once and it tore away from the bodice about a half an inch. It's not as if the quality of the corset was to blame.... I probably should have been a bit more gentle with the poor thing.

Secondly, this is to be hand washed, and it would be best to do it in the coolest temperature water that you feel comfortable doing so. Let it air dry and then when you go to shove it back into your lingerie drawer be gentle about folding it long-ways as the boning is plastic and too much rough treatment will break them.

Oh, and thirdly, if you like the bows, more power to you! I didn't like the way that they were a slightly different color red and so took them off, which is easy because they are on big safety pins. You can rearrange them to your preference, I took mine off when the corset came out of the plastic bag it was shipped in.