Now, I would do the traditional style review here, but since there are so many of those on here already and I feel like being a little more educational at the moment, I'm going to take this a slightly different route.

A few months ago I was contacted by a legit corset company who specializes in custom steel-boned corsets that run $250+. They wanted me to write a post on my blog about the differences between the "novelty corsets" and traditional ones. This waist cincher is the absolute perfect way to compare the two, but it'll also give you a little hint about the quality of this specific piece and may introduce you to the difference between the two styles.

What we have here in this cincher is a style that does a very good job replicating the traditional look and feel without costing an arm and a leg. Now, there are obvious differences in quality, but to the untrained eye (and waist) they're strikingly similar. Both feature black satin-like material on the exterior, a sturdy lining, a reinforced waist, a metal busk closure and metal boning. It's hard to tell them apart from a distance (well, excluding the fact that one is overbust and the cincher is technically an underbust style). The general effectiveness in both for shaping is quite similar, although the steel-boned corset provides a little bit more support, obviously.

Boning: Both do have metal boning. The cincher's metal boning is located only by the busk closure of the corset and back lace, while the rest of the boning is plastic. The metal here isn't as rigid as the steel boning is, but it is considerably sturdier than the plastic boning. The plus of the plastic boning on the sides allows the cincher to conform to curves, but still cinches in the waist quite a bit due to the cut of the material and the reinforced waist. The steel-boned corset, on the other hand, gives much straighter lines because of the rigidity of the boning and does not give the same amount of curvature. When it comes to wear, the flexibility of the cincher allows for more comfort which makes it more suitable for situations where movement is a good thing. The steel-boned corset limits movement which can be uncomfortable if your up and about quite a bit. The positive side of the rigidity is that it does a great job at improving posture.

Material: To the eye, both pieces have an incredibly similar look. The exterior is made of a black satin material. The corset's material looks like it's of slightly higher quality, but it's not a noticeable difference unless you examine it closely. Both have a very similar feel, as well. The insides are both lined, although the corset's lining is a little thicker and it weighs about twice as much all together than the cincher.

Closures: (I just want to say that I think busk closures are the devil, but anyway) The busks on both pieces are almost identical, although the corset's is slightly smoother and of slight better quality. Both are incredibly sturdy and "easy" to work. (Except those busk styles are a pain in the ass sometimes because they refuse to cooperate). Both lace up in the back and feature a modesty panel for wearing the piece as outerwear without revealing too much skin. The laces in the back are a little different on each. Obviously, the ones on the corset are a little thicker, but there's not that much of a difference. The corset has more of the traditional lacing, whereas the other has more of a novelty corset lacing patter. Both are easily adjustable, as well

I did have some slight size issues with the cincher, but that's due to my tiny frame. It sits fine on my waist but could stand to be a little tighter in at the top and bottom. This issue is minor and isn't something that causes a whole lot of trouble. The point of the top of the corset pulls away from me if I don't stand up completely straight even when it's laced up all the way, but it's usually fixed by wearing it a little higher.

Here is the general size chart:

Dress: 5 - 7
Bust: 32 - 34
Waist: 23 - 25
Hip: 34 - 36

The sizing chart is very accurate. I do fall just under the bust and hip measurements, so the size issue is pretty understandable. A friend of mine on the larger end of the scale wore this and it fit her just fine, so you should be good if you're on either end of it.

Overall, I'm highly impressed with this waist cincher because of the impression it gives that it's high quality. Of course it's not as good as the real deal, but it's certainly a wonderful purchase because genuine waist cinchers can run over $100, and that's a little much, you know? It seems as if they put a whole lot of thought into making this as classic as they could, and I really appreciated that. After getting that genuine corset I was a little uninterested in the more "novelty" ones I'd owned because I had a reference point for what real corsets were like. This one passed the test.