thanks, but I saw Freaks like ten years ago. Yeesh.

I don't think much corset training in those days, but yeah, that pic is for real. See also.

There's a famous 'corset lady' in Connecticut who's down to, like, 14" or some such thing. I wandered onto her website once a few years ago, and I still feel icky and shudder at the memory.


Ick. Shudder.

I never understood the 'tiny waist' fascination.

Here's a blog post about the photo.

The (geocities) Tiny Waist Page has three more photos of her from her early years. She was famed for her natural "wasp" waist.

But see my first link for the "now" ...

Today she is barely recognisable as the pouting blonde of her heyday and owes her looks to years of St Tropez sunbathing and a desire not to hide the fact she is 72.

You go, girl!

I don't think the tiny waist page gets it. I don't think "small waist" when I think of Kate Moss or Nicole Kidman. I think "very skinny." I mean, yeah, they have tiny waists. But also tiny everything else. Someone like Bardot was impressive because she had a small waist that gave her an amazing hourglass figure, not because she weighed 93 pounds. Although she is squeezed up over her belt in the photo.

I could write a long rant about the chick in CT, but I'll just say- lacing to that degree was a fetish even 120 years ago, it's way dangerous to do it as an adult than how they back then starting as kids, and I bet she can't even sit up on her own from the atrophy. I won't make waist trainers, I just don't think it's healthy or safe.