Are ‘corsets as outerwear’ the greatest fashion sin of all time?

Kim Kardashian and her corset curves. Picture: Instagram

I love a fashion trend as much as most. But sometimes we need to tread with caution.

Take the corset. The much-maligned wardrobe piece was essentially outlawed by feminists and women who wanted to claim back their bodies in the 60s and 70s, but as of now it’s been re-claimed by some fashion high-street stores. And straightaway that has set off alarm bells.


See, the organ-constricting, bone-crunching corset as an underwear-as-outwear look is NOT for everyone.

To me, the corset (circa 2017) is one that belongs on Kimmy K. It’s Hailey Baldwin, Rihanna, the Jenner’s and Gigi Hadid. It’s Nicole Kidman in Vogue. It’s a high-end runway and streetwear look that rocks on the bodies of svelte, gigantean models and in highly-styled, aspirational fashion editorial shoots.

It rocks. It’s cool. It’s a lust-piece.

But it’s just a bit too close for comfort and not for most of us.

The times I ever wore seriously corsetted dresses (a coupla Logie awards gowns spring to mind) left me feeling sick, in pain, with a bruised ribcage and just wanting to get back to my room and into a hot bath.

It was bad enough when we all discovered shapewear, in earnest, about a decade ago.
The stories about people fainting, not eating, having painful organs and just feeling like crap all night (albeit with a very smooth stomach and body line) are still an everyday occurrence.