Female Sub Costume An open cup bra and panty makes a perfect sub costume and allows your partner easy access to the intimate parts of your body. CLICK HERE for Lingerie

Male Dom Costume Combine a classic X Harness with a black studded jock or boxer for a quick and effective Dom look. CLICK HERE for Fetish Costumes

Easy Costumes A black jock, brief, boxer or G String with studded trim and a slave collar will add to the drama for your bondage play. CLICK HERE for Fetish Costumes

Queen Size Black Teddy Some full figured women prefer the way a bustier, corset, babydoll or even a teddy helps conceal to certain areas while still giving their lover easy access to their body. All of these can be used as an effective costume in a bondage fantasy. CLICK HERE for Lingerie

Sexy Bustier Bustiers and corsets sold on adult web sites are designed with sex in mind, so they are usually a lot more erotic when it comes to their styling than ones sold in lingerie stores or on mainstream web sites. CLICK HERE for Lingerie

Leather Look Corset Leather, vinyl or materials that look like leather are always a popular choice for a Domme or sub in a bondage fantasy. Materials like vinyl and pleather can give you the leather look without the high price. CLICK HERE for Fetish Costumes

Mesh Merry Widow The Merry Widows sold on adult web sites are usually designed more for style rather than function, and are a lot sexier than today's nylon and lycra 'body shaper' that has replaced the original merry widow. CLICK HERE for Lingerie

The 'Medusa' Made of stretch faux leather, fetish outfits like the Medusa give you the BDSM look for around $30. Add a pair of Ellie high heel shoes or thigh high boots and you have a complete Domme or sub outfit for under $100! CLICK HERE for Fetish Costumes

Ellie Shoes & Boots With prices starting under $50, you can complete your sub or Domme costume without breaking the bank.  The best part is, these shoes are also designed for comfort as well as looks. CLICK HERE for Shoes & Boots

"What's the difference between the corset, bustier & merry widow?"

If you're not sure what the difference is between a corset, a bustier and a merry widow, don't feel alone.  Most people don't have a clue which one is which, and even the definitions between them have become somewhat vague as manufacturers create products that have features that cross over between the three of them.

Why are we even spending so much time talking about the difference between these pieces of lingerie?  Because the bustier, the corset and the merry widow are very popular choices as a costume for a bondage fantasy, and people wanting to know the difference between them is a frequently asked question.

If you're like the hundreds of other people reading this, you probably get a little confused when it comes to deciding whether to purchase a corset, a bustier, or a merry widow, especially online, so to help clear up the mystery between them, we not only explain the difference in them, but also explain why so many items that seem the same have different names... or why so many items that seem different have the same name.

Originally designed as an under-garment, the corset was popularized as an outer-garment in the mainstream when pop star Madonna wore one in her 2006 'Sorry' video, and a similar one for her entrance at the Grammy Awards that same year. The original corset worn in the video was based on a reproduction of a circa 1900 Lilly corset in white satin.  The corset was altered by the manufacturer to Madonna's requirements by having the opening in the front changed to a specific length, and later dyed purple for the video.

Corsets, bustiers, merry widows and variations of all three are frequently worn as costumes by the actresses in bondage videos and by the models in bondage photo galleries, but most men and women have no idea what the difference is between the them.  They look almost identical, and many manufacturers are breaking the 'rules' that distinguish between them.  While this adds to the confusion and makes the terms corset, bustier and merry widow somewhat interchangeable, it does offer buyers more options when purchasing them.


The Corset and Bustier

The main difference between a true corset and a true bustier is that a corset is designed to make a woman look curvy by holding them in the waist.  A corset has structure and is designed to support and sculpt the body into a certain shape.  The bustier doesn't do this.  The bustier is basically a bra with a torso built into it, and is primarily designed to work like a push-up bra to provide added cleavage.  The torso of the bustier may gently shape the waist and can help smooth things out, but the bustier doesn't sculpt the body or help to thin the waist like a corset does.   This makes a bustier better suited for hiding a problem waist to make for a more flattering look rather than mold and shape the torso for a desired look like a corset does.  But a corset doesn't have cups like a bra, so it doesn't offer support for the breasts or enhance a woman's cleavage like the bustier does.

Some guidelines that further distinguish a corset from a bustier is that a corset is strapless, covers a woman's body from the bust down to the hips, does not have garters attached, and may or may not cover the breasts.  A bustier has shoulder straps, covers the body from the bust to either just below the ribs or to the waist, has garters attached, and ALWAYS covers the breasts.  Many manufacturers of mainstream lingerie label their products based on these guidelines... but not always.


The Merry Widow

Some people consider the 'merry widow' to be an exception to the rule for a corset not having bra-like cups.  The merry widow was first made in 1952 for the film 'The Merry Widow' starring Lana Turner, and looks like a corset with bra-like demi cups and garters. But technically, a  merry widow isn't a corset; it's a corselet.  A corselet is a piece of lingerie that shares the elements of both a bra and a girdle, and was designed as a substitute for wearing two separate pieces of underwear; namely a bra with either a girdle or a corset.  In the '50s merry widows weren't very comfortable.  Lana Turner is reported to have said, "I am telling you, the merry widow was designed by a man. A woman would never do that to another woman."  Part of the reason is that every woman that wears the same size dress doesn't have the same size breasts.  Since a merry widow is supposed to sculpt the body and support the breasts, you have a body size and a breast size to deal with in one piece of supportive, and sometimes restrictive clothing.

The true merry widow is seldom seen today because each one made for a specific body size has to be made with multiple breast and cup sizes.  This means that for each corset made based on a woman's body size or each bustier made based on a woman's breast size, each merry widow made in one body size also has to be made for different bra sizes, and each one of those has to be made to accommodate different cup sizes.  While this kind of variety may be feasible in the bra market or as an unattractive 'body shaper', the true merry widow isn't a common enough item for manufacturers to produce that large of a variety of them.  A true merry widow usually has to be custom made to match a woman's body, breast and cup size, and can be extremely expensive.  It's much easier, and cheaper, to use a stretch fabric to accommodate a variety of breast sizes, or more commonly use the term merry widow to describe an item that would be more accurately defined as a bustier.  Today's version of a mass produced merry widow is often called a 'body shaper' and is made from stretchable nylon and lycra.  This allows them t sculpt the body and support the breasts, but these body shapers aren't what anyone would consider sexy, and would not be anyone's choice as a costume for a bondage fantasy... or any other sexual fantasy for that matter!

The merry widows sold on adult sites are both sexy and comfortable, but that's because they are designed more for style rather than function.  As a rule of thumb, these are classified as merry widows simply because they have shoulder straps, they cover the breasts, and they have built in garters.  They flatter your body rather than shape it, and merry widows made from materials like mesh usually offer no actual breast support or body sculpting features of any kind.


Style Versus Function

The corsets and bustiers offered in the mainstream lingerie stores tend to follow the rules more closely when it comes to the function of a corset, bustier, merry widow or body shaper, but the colors are usually limited to solids, particularly white, and styles definitely lack the sex appeal that the ones sold on adult sites have.  This is understandable because these are functional under-garments, and like a bra or a slip, they aren't suppose to stand out and be visible under your clothes, or be sexy to look at.

Corsets and bustiers sold on the adult web sites tend to focus more on the erotic aspect of fashion rather than making sure the corset or bustier remains hidden under the clothes.  Many of them are still functional in their design as well as sexy.  The corsets still offer body sculpting and support, and the bustiers still have a built in bra, but they also stand out with bright color combinations and lots of decorative lace, bows and laces.

Moving away from function and focusing more on erotic fashion, adult sites offer bustiers with demi cups that offer less coverage over the breasts and more exposed flesh, but still offer the function of a demi bra, and corsets that stop at the waist rather than the hips, offering little or none of the waist sculpting features of an actual corset.
 
Moving even farther away from function, the adult web sites carry leather and vinyl bustiers, halter bustiers with an extremely deep-plunging  neckline, sheer lace see-through bustiers, 'peek-a-boo bustiers' that leave the breasts fully exposed, satin merry widows that offer little to no bra-like support, cupless merry widows, and merry widows made from see-through sheer mesh.  Although these products are called corsets, bustiers and merry widows, they are designed to flatter your body and seldom offer the supportive features of the actual products they are named for.

So why do manufacturers call these products corsets, bustiers and merry widows when they don't follow the rules that define what these items really are?

To satisfy consumer desires for erotic fashions, manufacturers try to offer a wide variety of products.  It makes more sense to use a name of an existing product that has some of the features of the new product rather than come up with a new name every time they create a new product that varies from the original in style or function.


Buying from the Mainstream or from and Adult Web Site

Many of the corsets and bustiers you can buy at a mainstream lingerie store or lingerie web site are cute, and they may offer more body shaping features than some of the ones sold on an adult site.  Many of these mainstream pieces might even be acceptable for a female sub in a bondage fantasy, but most of the items lack the raw sex appeal of the ones you can buy on an adult web site.

If you're buying a corset or bustier to be a Domme or Mistress in a bondage fantasy, you can forget all about buying from the mainstream lingerie stores and web sites!  They don't offer anything that comes close to being as sexual and erotic as the products the adult web sites carry.

Regardless of whether your body is toned and tight, or you  feel the need to cover up some problem areas, when it comes to buying any kind of lingerie for a role play fantasy, sex appeal should ALWAYS be your number one priority.  With this in mind, the lingerie sold on the adult web sites are the ONLY way to go.


Fetish Wear by design

While an outfit for a bondage fantasy can be created by mixing and matching different pieces of lingerie, sometimes it's easier to get a outfit that has been designed with a BDSM theme in mind.

Many people that are heavy into the BDSM lifestyle prefer exotic outfits made of leather and lace with studs, chains and metal rings for laces designed into the costume.  But for many couples that just enjoy incorporating a little playful bondage into their sex lives once in a while, spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on these exotic costumes may not be realistic.

Not to worry.  There are fetish wear outfits  available that not only give you the BDSM 'look' you want for your bondage fantasies, but the faux leather keeps the price reasonable.  You can get fetish wear outfits like the Medusa for around $30.  Add a pair of genuine Ellie high heel shoes or boots for about $30 to $50 and a good quality whip or paddle, and you can have a complete Dominatrix outfit for less than $100!