Day 1 of waist-training. Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Prescod/Instagram
A few months ago, Kim Kardashian posted an Instagram of herself in the gym wearing a corset by shapewear brand Ann Chery. After I got past the white leggings, I had to know more: What was that corset for? A quick Google search and deep dive into the #waisttraining hashtag gave me my answer: Kim was using this device to attempt to cut down the midsection of her already infamous body-oddy-oddy.
That device is also known as a faja, or a girdle, popular in South America. Ann Chery is known for them. A few years ago, The New York Times reported on the trend of women wearing fajas as a "shortcut to an hourglass figure," and Jessica Alba credits wearing corsets with helping her shed baby weight. So, this isn't exactly new. Still! I had to try this. Having the most physical Kim-milarites of all the ELLE.com staffers (coupled with a psychotic Kim obsession), I was the obvious choice for being the waist-training guinea pig. Okay, fine. I forced everyone to let me. Whatever. Before I knew it, I was on the phone with team HourglassAngel.com, who reps Ann Chery, and my slimmer waist was en route from a sexy warehouse in Los Angeles. And just like Kim would, I will tell this story in selfies.
Before I start, though, I feel like I should be really clear about something: I am a terrible, horrible, very bad listener. Specifically when it comes to following instructions. When I get a new electronic item or tech thingy, the first thing I do is toss that pesky instruction booklet in the trash. Who needs it? I just turn it on and inevitably end up crying on the phone to some sad person in tech support two hours later. Similarly, when my corset arrived, I just put it on. I didn't listen to the warnings from the HourglassAngel.com team that I needed to workout and make sure my core was strong while waist-training (how are you supposed to wear this thing to the gym?!), or that you should probably only do it for six weeks. I mean, I heard them of course, but I get tunnel vision, and the only thing I saw was a skinnier me at the end of it so I just blindly strapped in.
Ann Chery Corset Photo: Courtesy of Company
Step 1: Pain and Discomfort.
Like a really smart cookie, I started my waist-training regimen on day one of New York Fashion Week. Fashion week for me means that I'll really only be sitting down for shows and/or in the car riding to shows, and the rest of the time I'm on my feet running around like I'm Hermes or something—and I don't mean like a fancy Birkin, I mean like a messenger boy with wings on his shoes. Plus, the start of this New York Fashion Week also marked our first unseasonable heat wave of the year. Joy! So on day one of my waist-training excursion, it was 90-plus degrees and I was basically running a marathon. Perfect, I thought because I wouldn't want to do this halfway. I needed the full monty, and since I was going to ignore workout advice because I hate working out and ain't nobody got time for that, I figured upping the intensity level could only be a great thing. Turns out, it almost killed me. Day one was excruciating. I couldn't stop thinking about how uncomfortable I was, and though I said I was lazy, I am nothing if not determined, so I didn't take it off until the full 12 hours later. When I did, it was sweet, sweet relief. I was finally able to breathe, my stomach fat rested comfortably against my waistband again, and all was right with the world…until the next day.
Step 2: Hiding the Waist-Trainer
I suppose I was more mentally ready for day two of waist training. I knew it was going to be grueling and terrible and make me cranky and mean, but I also knew that Kim was doing it, so, I had to dig deep and get it together. Surprisingly, when I put on the corset for day two, it already felt looser. I was relieved—and amazed. I even called the HourglassAngel.com team to check that I hadn't stretched out my Ann Chery corset. They told me no, I hadn't. It turns out, it was working. Miracles! With that boost of confidence I tackled day two, feeling really energized by my progress in 24 hours. There was just one problem: the very high potential for wardrobe malfunction. You could see the corset under a lot of my clothes. Turns out, I own a lot of sheer items and crop tops. This presented a particular challenge getting dressed every day, which was magnified by the pressures of fashion week. If you look closely on style.com you can see me strolling along West 15th Street in a great look with just a peek of the corset showing. Um, mortifying. Now the world knows I'm wearing a girdle.
Step 3: Agitation/Acceptance
About 10 days in of waist training, I start to notice something: Waist training gives me a bad attitude. It makes me irrationally mean. I am irritable, cranky, and short-tempered. I am sending rude e-mails. I am blank-staring at jokes, when I could just give a polite giggle. I am walking away in the middle of conversations when I've just had enough. It's the corset—I realize that it's controlling me. The other thing is, I'm hungry. Actually, I'm HANGRY. The corset is so tight and constricting that I find myself skipping meals. The bladder issues are out of control. I have to pee every 10 seconds. Still, I persevere. Why? Because I am obsessive and crazy and I want a waist like Kim's. So I accept it. I ignore it. I tweet that I am waist training and hope that the 3,500 people that may or may not read that will process this information, pass it on (aka RT), and forgive my transgressions for the next few weeks. It's something that I can't control—like when Frodo is carrying that heavy ring to Mordor. It must be done after all, but you know, it's slowly turning me into Gollum.
In August 2014 and after Week 3 of waist-training. Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Prescod
Step 4: Addiction
Midway through week three, I realize that I am a corset addict. I already see pleasant results (I think I can see a waist!!!) and I am eager to see just how far I can push this. I still haven't worked out one bit. I haven't changed my diet at all, save for the few meals here and there that have been eliminated due to the fact that I can't fit a full meal into the corset. I call team HourglassAngel.com for a check-in. They ask me how it's going, and I give them an enthusiastic "Great!" I tell them I need a smaller sized corset for when I graduate from my first one. They tell me again to make sure I work out. I totally ignore them because I only hear what I want, and what I want to hear is that they are sending me a smaller corset.
I have a very high tolerance for pain (ballet training was good for something), and I know that sometimes, pretty hurts. Right, Beyoncé? So I got really good at ignoring my discomfort while wearing the waist-trainer and I promise you, it was very uncomfortable. But I slowly began to relish in the feeling. I kind of loved it. I still felt sweet relief when I removed the corset after 12 hours of wear, but about 10 minutes after that, I wanted it back on. It was helping my posture. I suddenly loved my side profile. I was seeing a thinner waist emerge and I wanted it all the time. If I could have the corset surgically adhered to my body, I totally would. (I Googled it. You can't.)
After Week 4 of waist-training. Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Prescod
Step 5: Recovery
By the end of week four, I was a still a semi-hungry, bitchy mess, but I looked good. I still hadn't so much as touched a workout and there was some healthy space in between the waistband of my pants and my actual waist. So #blessed, right? But I knew that I would need to stop. It was following me around like a dark cloud. Though it was making me thin it was also making me miserable and kind of itchy. On a particularly hungover morning, I decided that I simply couldn't corset-up and would have to do without it. This was the beginning of my waist-training recovery. I was so distracted by my tequila-induced headache, that I barely even missed my waist-trainer. And not wearing it the day after and the day after that became easier.
But like any good addiction, it managed to sneak its way back into my brain. Afraid that I was undoing all of my progress, I went back to the grind (the squeeze?) after three days going corset-less. Only now I had a new problem: I was literally made of mush. My whole belly was a mushy mess. Slim, yes, but flabby. Why? Because I didn't listen and I didn't work out.
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Step 6: Repair and Recovery
A frantic call to team HourglassAngel.com had me in a tailspin. "I'm atrophying guys! My muscles—I have none of them." Oh, this is bad, bad, bad, I thought. I can't have a small waist and not even be able to lift my feet when I am getting a pedicure. You don't realize how many ab muscles that requires until you have none. Team HourglassAngel.com was pretty calm about the whole thing, but they did tell me, again, to workout. To fix my problem, I (finally) went to see trainer Matt Griffin at DavidBartonGym. Griffin is a former dancer and part-time costume designer, so he knows a thing or two about cores and corsets. 15 seconds into my first exercise with Griffin, it was painfully clear that I had no ab muscles. Like, zero. When he ordered me to do gyrokinetic planks, I could barely crank out three without needing a break. He told me that it was way more important to build up your core strength before you started waist training because otherwise, you would just rely on the corset for those muscles and not actually use them. Sounds about right...
Griffin recommended planks with accompanying side twists, crunches with weights, and a fancy set of leg lifts to would get my core into shape. He advised only doing these exercises about three times a week so your body doesn't get too used to them and then wearing the corset for your whole life. "It shouldn't be a crutch though. You should build up those muscles already and eventually you won't even need it." Under Griffin's watchful eye, I completed the exercises and have postponed putting on my corset until I can flex my stomach and actually feel something besides soft Silly Putty.
Step 7: Relapse
What can I say? I am an addict. This morning, after about three weeks of no corset, I strapped myself back in and I'm sure you're wondering how it feels. Well, it feels delightful. I was happy to return back to corset home and to discover that all was not lost. I know trainer Matt will say that I'm not ready, but I did my exercises three times last week, which is literally a 300 percent increase in any previous exercise for the entire time that I had been wearing the corset before. So, despite weeks of moderate pain and discomfort, my clothes fit better, my waist looks slimmer, and my posture is top notch. Conclusion? I am officially a corset convert. Thanks Kimmy! As for whether I'll listen next time? Still to be determined.
Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Prescod
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