Orchard Corset Haul

Orchard Corset

    -- So I wasn't planning on this being done until the end of January, since I'm a complete poor fuck and couldn't afford any sort of quick shipping. However, the angel of shipping mistakes is apparently looking over me, because once again I received my order in 3 weeks instead of 6-8. It was a pretty nice surprise, considering I was in hospital yesterday. I also got some long satin gloves but they were impossible to photograph nicely

   I was gifted some money by a friend, and spent some of it on expanding my collection of Orchard Corsets. Being the slight nitwit that I am, I didn't think to take photos of the package or of them nicely wrapped as they come with delivery.

nonetheless, Orchard Corset bundles their pretties up in these pretty two-layered tissue paper -- white with "Orchard Corset" printed on them, and a colour underneath. Sometimes pink or blue or green, but mine was red this time! I know that packaging is kind of irrelevant but it's always felt very nice to me.

   The corsets I got were the 411 in black mesh and the 426 with hip ties in black cotton, to go along is my beloved black mesh 206.

Mesh 411

   The black mesh is just like the mesh waspie -- strong, non-stretch, fairly widely spaced net mesh. It's honestly one of my favourite materials. Fresh out of the mail, it is a bit heavy, but I find it stretches out and settles during seasoning. The binding and bone channels are bound in a different fabric than my 201, which is bound in a black drill cotton like the external black cotton on the 426. Instead, it appears to be bound in a very very small weave black cotton. It has little to no stretch to it.

   The mesh 411 is the first corset from the brand that I know of to have more bones the higher the size number. Mine is a size 26 (so, for those not in the know, the waist measurement is 26"), and there are fourteen spiral bones on each side, plus two flat steel bones either side of each set of grommets (of which there are 20, ten on each side.)

   The busk is very heavy duty, a total of just under two inches wide in total. The fabric around it is unstiffened, and there is no supporting bone beside (although there is a channel that would accommodate one -- baffling, but probably a design decision that made sense at the time. The busk itself measures 10", with about an inch total of fabric including binding in total (so about 1.5cm either end of the busk). There are four loop and pin sets, with the bottom pair slightly closer together.

   There is a one inch wide waist tape, sandwiched on the underside of the mesh between the boning channel casings. It appears to be made of a heavy duty canvas type something.

   I really like the Orchard Corset label. It's really nicely designed. I just wish they put a black one on their mesh so it's less obvious!

   I measured the waist straight out of the packet. The waist internally measures closer to 25" than it does 26", which isn't a problem for me, but is good to keep in mind if you have more specific requirement.

      I noticed that one of the bones in the centre back is, or appears to be, slightly twisted towards the top. I will alert customer service about this fault, however I won't be requesting an exchange or refund and if it is a problem at all, I can easily replace the bone myself.

   There are no suspender tabs on this corset, but I don't like using suspenders attached to a corset, so that's fine with me. If you prefer this sort of feature, you could easily add some yourself. I didn't take a picture, but it has a 5"-ish modesty panel, that I will probably remove, either permanently or to stiffen and put in as a floating panel.

426

   This update on the very very popular 426 was designed by my dear friend Lucy of Lucy's Corsetry, I believe as part of the "Level 4" line she assisted in designing, which will hopefully be released in the next few months.

   The 426 is possibly the most well-known and popular design in the Orchard Corset range. It is very longline (in fact, they just released a shorter version), measuring just over 11" along the front busk, plus fabric and binding leaving a total around about 13".

   The design has a very obvious Lucy flair to it, which I'll go over!

   First of all, in lieu of the usual Orchard Corset label with the size and production information (which are listed on a smaller label further down), it has Lucy's logo and corset branding. Incidentally, I believe Lucy's logo was partially designed by my dear late friend Christine Wickham, who passed earlier this year just shy of her twenty-second birthday. I smiled to myself when I saw it -- a reminder of a very good friend.

   Another Lucyism -- a placket under the pin side of the busk. I don't believe this ever existed in any other Orchard Corset, but it may have, since I've only ever seen the meshes and the 411 in person. I am a cat, what do I know? I would like it more if the placket was stiffened, but it doesn't really make a difference, I think.

   There are eighteen spiral steel bones, nine each side. Eight of these bones are placed either side of the seams, and one is placed on the seam of the back panel. There are, of course, two flat steel bones either side of the grommets, of which there are twenty-four, twelve on either side.

   The busk is one of their standard 1" wide total, half an inch on either side. It is rendered rather inflexible, because -- Lucyism Number Three! -- there appears to be some sort of stiffening interface with the busk and in the first panel, which ends halfway through the second panel. Presumably, this was done to prevent bowing in the front around the busk, which is a common problem with any narrow busk. I also suspect the final panel, the grommet bones, may also be reinforced in this way. The busk has five pin and loop sets, with the bottom two slightly closer together.

   I took a picture of the hip ties (Lucyism Number Four!), but my phone decided it didn't want to send it to my laptop for whatever reason. There are two hip ties, one on each side, between panels three and four. The steel bones that hug that seam separate over the hip tie opening. There are ten grommets on the ties, five on each side of the split, making twenty of them in total between the two sides of the corset.

   I am unsure how this development will work functionally. Usually, when corsets have hip ties, they have two per side -- on the front and the side, and I don't think I've ever seen it between two bones before. However, given that this design was negotiated by Lucy (who is more or less the bastion of all corset knowledge), I have faith that it will work well. In saying that, I've heard that her attempts at design were somewhat hindered by the company.

  The fabric is a very nice black drill on both sides, and there is a one inch wide waist tape in between the layers. The only faults I can really find immediately is that the binding is very very bulky and doesn't appear to have been ironed prior to being put on. It's not a big deal, but is kind of annoying for me. Then again, I'm pretty neurotic, so. Once again, there is a 5" modesty panel that I will likely remove.

The Facts

   The 426 with hip ties is available in black cotton and black satin. The mesh 411 is available in plain black, red mesh with black binding and casing, and a really rather nice warm beige. These corsets are available from Orchard Corset. The mesh 411 retails for $USD76, and the cotton 426 retails for $USD88 -- however, a rather nice Lucy-related trick will get you a good 15% off any order, any time -- simply enter her discount code, "LUCYCORSET15" at the checkout.

      I will make a full proper review of this once I've managed to season the corsets; but it may take time, as I was just in hospital with a gall bladder issue and will need to take it easy on the corsets for a little while.


   Wishing everyone a great new year.
         xxCat

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