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Retro Rerun: Waist Cinchers and Corsets

The Editor | Sep 3, 2018

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Roberta Angela Dee

by Roberta Angela Dee

Most people have seen a professional female impersonator and find ourselves amazed at how well a male can mimic female behavior and appearance. Then, there are crossdressers who are just as successful as the professional entertainer, and there are those who are assessed as a “faux female” from 100 yards.

The difference between the amateur and the professional is, of course, the amount of detail that goes into the impersonation. The average crossdresser simply hasn’t the time, resources or opportunity to impersonate a woman so well that he would not be detected or “read” in public.

One reason so many crossdressers fail to “pass” in public is that they don’t appreciate the importance of presenting a physical proportion that is feminine. Even a child, by the time he or she is three years old, has learned to recognize that men basically appear to be rectangular while women tend to be more pear shaped. Equally important is the physical proportion and location of a woman’s waist as compared to a man’s waist. A woman’s waist tends to be smaller than a man who is equally as tall. A woman also measures her waist an inch above the navel, where as a man measures his waist an inch below. These two differences make for a remarkable difference as one examines male and female form.

Look at the average woman, even from a considerable distance, and you’ll see that her hips are wider than the span of her shoulders. Again, men differ. Most men are broader at the shoulder than they are at the hip.

The Waist Nipper

Waist nipper

A week ago, I tried a little experiment with a waist nipper. They used to be called waist cinchers. They’re different names for the same feminine undergarment. The particular waist nipper was purchased at J C Penney, for about $21 dollars, and was made out of Lycra – a type of synthetic material used to make form fitting garments. [Editor’s Note: This price was good in the ‘90s and you could still find a J C Penney store. Lord & Taylor offers a cincher for around $45. The Breast Form Store has cinchers for $35.95.]

My waist size is 32-inches. So, I purchased a waist nipper 4-inches smaller than my actual waist. I wore the waist nipper for about 8 hours, removed it, then measured my waist again. This time my waist measures 30-inches. This reduction was only temporary, and within an hour my waist returned to its normal size. However, my experiment did prove that the waist would respond to being kept in a restrictive garment for a period of time.

What I found so wonderful about the waist nipper is that while wearing it, the garment accentuated my buttocks and made my hips appear to be wider — even without any padding. The overall feminine appearance provided by this one garment, costing only $21 dollars, was absolutely incredible. And whether I wore a dress or trousers, my feminine physique was enhanced by wearing the waist nipper.

The Corset

At this point, every serious transgendered woman or crossdresser should be asking, “Is there a way I can permanently reduce the size of my waist to project a more feminine physique?” The answer is “yes”, but it will not be inexpensive and will require a certain amount of diligent effort and commitment.

You will need to be fitted ( or at least sized) by a professional corsetier. These corsets range in price from $150 dollars, to an average of $300 dollars. Corsets made of leather, PVC or rubber can cost several thousand dollars. So, there’s a financial investment as well. However, a good corset, if properly maintained, tends to go up in value.

The reason it’s necessary to be properly fitted is that a transgender woman or crossdresser will need to reduce the waist at the “feminine waist line” — the circumference measured an inch above the navel.

Another point to take into consideration is your “ideal weight” or the weight which you tend to maintain. Corseting to reduce the waistline, then dieting to lose 10 or more pounds, defeats the purpose of waist training.

The final commitment is time. You will need to wear your corset most of the day, taking it off only for the purpose of hygiene. And you will need to wear it for a minimum of 6 months to see permanent results. The corset should be sized to be 4-inches less than your actual waist. And when you reach the desired reduction, you’ll need to purchase another corset, if your desire is a more pronounced hour-glass figure.