We are happy to have worked with Raven since fall of 2004, first as a corsetiere on our team, and then as we discovered her additional talents, as a web designer and small business adviser! For three years we benefited from both talents, however, in late 2007 ROMANTASY decided to expand our team members' web presence, revise outdated web pages and bring them current, and introduce new products and services to our market. We then found that our needs for Raven's web assistance exceeded our needs for her corsetmaking, especially since she has intimate knowledge of both our product and market, and the requisite skill level to bring our visions into reality on the web. Thus, we mutually agreed to re-focus her efforts for ROMANTASY in that critical business area and add Raven to our team of esteemed former corset makers. We will retain photos of some of her cute corset styles produced over the years. And who knows? We may convince her to try a corset or two in the future!

As for her background in fashion and corsetry, Raven started wearing corsets over 25 years ago not because she had to, but because she loved to. She found them quite beautiful. Some 20 years before that she had apprenticed under a tailor, Willie Mae D., who had an amazing talent: she could walk into a designer boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City, look at a designer outfit and come home and re-create it. Willie Mae D. taught Raven many valuable “tricks of the trade, ” yet Raven never saw her use a pattern for any project! In the 1990s Raven became aware of corsets once more especially as worn by the re-enactor of historical events. Since then, her focus expanded to producing costumes and corsets for many interest groups and purposes.

The Ribbon in pale blue floral silk

This style creates a gentle, comfortable U shaped waist profile. It is best for comfort, ease of dressing and undressing, waist-training, maximum waist reduction, and for sleeping. It usually rides high on the hipbone and covers the lower abdomen, but can be made with a lowered or straight-line bottom edge.

This corset comes in a simple four-panel per side, or a five-to-six-panel per side style. The six-to-ten panel Victorian provides a slightly better and more accurate fit (your waist size determines how many panels we use) plus greater shaping possibilities, but either pattern is attractive and suitable for corset enthusiasts. Garters must be ordered extra for this corset.

THE RIBBON CORSET

This unique style corset is from the Victorian era, and serves more as a fashion statement, rather than being suitable for serious tight-lacing. It laces down about 3-4-inches in the waistline, and does not create an hourglass waist profile, but rather a gentle, U-shaped profile. The Ribbon is suitable for wear over dresses and gowns much like a wide belt.

The front busk is about 9-inches tall and the sides are about 3-4-inches tall. Almost any fabric can be used for the front and sides, and a coordinating ribbon color may be chosen (six standard colors in stock but many more available).