The spoon busk was a specialised kind of
busk—the rigid element of a
corset
A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...
placed at the centre front. As its name implies, it was shaped like a spoon, with the bottom part of the busk widening and taking a dished form. It was invented in 1879 by Joseph Beckel of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The spoon busk allowed a greater reduction in waist size without producing a bulge of flesh at the bottom edge of the corset. This was a problem experienced when corsets with straight busks of even width were tightly laced: as the flesh of the abdomen was, essentially, squeezed out of place and appeared where there was no pressure. The wide, dished part of a spoon busk accommodated the abdomen, and at the same time compressed and controlled it. Corsets with spoon busks usually descended to a point lower than the level of the hips at the front.
Despite the extra control given by spoon busks, they are not favoured by modern
tightlacers as the bottom point of a spoon busk will dig in when a corset is very tight. If a spoon busk is used, it is in a modified version with no dished shape.
Steel spoon busks
Galvanized steel
Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged ...
spoon busks are not suited for tight lacing because the steel becomes brittle during the manufacturing process.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
spoon busks, on the other hand, are suitable if reinforced with a layer of flat steel behind the busk. Wissner, a busk and boning manufacturer in Germany makes stainless steel busks. They stopped making galvanized spoon busks because they were breaking under the pressure of tight lacing. If a person buys a spoon busk, they should make sure it is stainless steel and reinforce it with flat boning behind the busk.
There is still no guarantee that the spoon busk will stand up to tight lacing.
External links
*Gallery of
Victorian spoon busk corsets a
Staylace.com
*Original Victorian spoon busk corsets shown in the Late Victorian category of th
Antique Corset Gallery
{{Corsetry
Corsetry
History of clothing (Western fashion)