a bitty bit 'bout boning
Before you buy a Renaissance Faire bodice, be sure to ask your seamstress what type of boning they use in their bodices.

In our bodices, we use a combination of steel and synthetic bonings, depending on the area being boned. For curved lacing points, such as the front of our Elven wedding dress, or at the sides of our long-line bodices, we use a 1/4" synthetic whalebone. This boning is stiff enough to keep the lacing points from bunching, but flexible enough to follow the body's curve.

For bodices which require boning at the front, center. We use either a 1/2 synthetic whalebone or 1/2" coated steel. Both types of boning are equally strong. We will eventually offer both options on the website, and because of the synthetic boning's affordability, it will be less expensive than the steel.

If you're thinking about buying a bodice, we recommend that you ask what type of boning is used before you make your purchase. The type of boning used in your bodice will make a difference in the level of support, comfort and sturdiness of construction.

If steel is used, it should be coated, shaped and raw edges coated with tipping fluid, or capped with a metal u-cap. If a seamstress is using metal strapping, curved rods or any type of metal that has a memory to it, please request that they use only "real" boning and not use items found in scrap yards.

If plastic boning is used, it needs to be shaped or capped with plastic tips. We do not recommend Rigilene as a supportive type of boning. In my opinion, it does not have the proper strength or stiffness to appropriately bone a bodice.

Bodices vs. Corsets
Corsets and bodices are two very different garments. While a bodice can be supportive, it is not always designed to do the work of a corset.

Corsets tend to be made with sturdier fabrics, using sturdier construction methods, with much more boning for support. They tend to use less decorative and delicate fabrics than bodices.

Bodices tend to use much more decorative and more expensive fabrics. Wearing a corset under your bodice is not only historically accurate in most cases, but it will lengthen the life of your bodice by taking the strain off the finer bodice fibers and putting all the stress on the more functional corset fibers.

Corsets are also often boned and shaped much more differently than bodices.

Historically, corsets were used to shape and smooth the lines of the body to give you the correct period silhouette.

During the Elizabethan and Tudor eras, the corsets would flatten the torso to create a conical shape. Later in history, corsets became curvier (think of Victorian corsets)

Modern faire attire is not always historically accurate, and while we do use sturdy boning in all of our bodices, we often recommend the use of a corset if you're hoping to achieve the proper historical silhouette of any era.

We can customize your bodice and use extra boning for an additional charge.

If you purchase a corset, you will need to take new measurments with your corset on to make sure your new bodice fits. You may order both the corset and bodice at the same time, you will just need to send a first set of measurements for your corset, then a second set while wearing your corset.