Should I wear a Corset Top or a Bustier with my Jeans?

There is a growing trend in generation Y girls to trade their traditional t-shirts for high fashion items of a corset top or bustier. The day where the corset was an old fashion clothing article worn in Elizabethan times has come to an end and we are now seeing a revitalisation of the corset in our modern age.

But the question begs … do I wear a corset top or bustier?

The answer to this question begins by taking a moment to define the difference between a corset top and a bustier. Most people are familiar with the traditional concept of a corset as a torturous item that women wore to shape their bodies. Whilst this is probably a fair evaluation of the corsets of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, modern day corsets are a little less painful.

The corset in essence has structure and is designed to sculpt the body into a certain shape. Most modern corsets will use boning made of plastic or in some cases steel to shape the curves a lady is looking for. The corset top is essentially a corset that can be worn on its own, where as a traditional corset would be worn underneath a dress or article of clothing.

The bustier is similar to a corset except that it doesn't forcefully sculpt the body; it actually wraps around the body however some high quality bustier's can play a role in sculpting the body but not to any great extent.

So when do you wear a corset top and when do you wear a bustier?

There has been a huge range of corset tops enter onto the market from designers such as Rene Rofe to organisations such as Penthouse with their 2009 range of products. These new corset tops are transforming what women wear and when. We now have corset tops that can be worn during formal occasions, clubbing, during the social scenes such as pubs or even corsets tops, dare I say it - even shopping.

The question I have been bombarded with of late is when do you wear a corset and when do you wear a bustier. This can be a difficult question but let us look at the role of each item.

The bustier is designed for comfort and for most people it is suitable for super-casual events like going to the pub, shopping or a barbecue in the gardens where you are most likely to wear your day-to-day jeans. The corset top for most intensive purposes should be worn when you want to look your best. When you want your body to say, "Look at me!"

The corset top and jeans ensemble is suitable for upmarket casual engagements like going out to a restaurant, to the movies with a new date, or smart-casual cocktail parties. I was working with a client the other day and we set her up with a sweet-pet corset and high fashion jeans for a smart-casual wedding engagement.

Most ladies wear bustier's to be comfortable because they are easy to put on and don't need to be ironed, where as corset tops usually take a bit of work to put on and when worn for a long time be uncomfortable. The key when you wear a corset top over a bustier is simply dictated by the type of the engagement you will be attending.