I'm just starting out myself on Tightlacing

Some tips:
Custom corsets are expensive, and not entirely necessary, but certainly the best way to go.
Steel boning is a must, any plastics etc are incredibly weak and will just end up warping or snapping.
You must lace the corset so that it crosses over on top of the material, not how it weaves in and out (like a pair of tennis shoes, sorry I don't think I explained that well).
Try wearing the corset for a few hours at home at first, to get yourself used to it.
Get an underbust corset for your first, much comfier.

www.bmezine.com go to the wikipedia secion, the risks section, and look up corsetting on there. Some very good artivles, and if you snoop aroung a bit you could find some more articles and stories on there.

I am by no means an expert, I started off with a 21"ish waist and went to an 18" easily though. As in I felt very comfy in the 18" corset laced as tightly as possible.

Ooo, I'd been wondering about starting a thread about this too.

Again, not an expert here, but I can get down to 18" too without much of a reduction. Kat's given good advice here - start out with an underbust as they're much comfier, and yep, steel boning is an absolute must. Custom corsets are most definitely expensive, but again, I'd say worth it. You can usually get about a 2-4 inch reduction from your normal waist size with your first corset.

I'd recommend getting used to it for a few hours at home, as well.. lacing up slowly the first time. Tightlacing shouldn't hurt.

Peoples sometimes bring up Cathie Jung when they talk about corsetting, I'm pretty impressed by spook though, she's got a very good FAQ about corsets on her site as well: http://www.spook.dk/

Thank you... you gave me some good info. i think i might start over the summer to get used to it.

Isn't that practice very dangerous for your internal organs?

Some of those women have theirs so small there is no way their innards can be situated safely.

And why? I honestly cannot figure it out.

I do a little bit, but not on a regular basis ... I tend to work down to 20" (I generally start at around 24") for special occassions.

I find if i got much smaller than 20" i get cramps after about a week. The stop after a few days, but I always figure it's not worth the risk for something that I'm not overly fixated on. Also my boyfriend doesn't particularly like it, and I think he'd rather I didn't at all, although he's never said as much.

I have small breasts, but i find underbust generally quite uncomfortable ... I'm also quite long in the torso, so it's hard to find corsets that line up correctly, and a badly fitted corset is more likely to do damage. It's something I'd like to do if i knew it could be instantly reversed ...

This is something I've been researching for a while now. I think, BK, that most of the real health risks come from it being done improperly and too quickly. I for one, love the look of it, until it goes TOO far. OF course, as with other mods, whats too far in one opinion, might not be in anothers. I just want a more defined waist, and I have found that the posture support of a corset is great.
AS to getting started, I've been talking with someone who's been doing this for six years. Original waist was a 26, now at a 16. She reccomended a maker, and a starter corset from that maker runs at about $200-$300. I'm more than willing to shell that out for something I intend to work on for a process of possibly years. Also, she said that you actually need to "season" the starter before actually lacing it tight. I'm sure there are websites out there that go into the hows and whys of breaking in a corset, and maybe its even different depending on the maker.
As to the risk to internal organs, I have talked to my doctor, who throughly frowns on this, and she agrees that so long as its done right, everything will shift of its own accord without harm, much as everything shifts in pregnancy to accomodate your new needs. She did warn, though, to make sure to do exercises without the corset that strenghted the core, because, much like a back brace, the extra support of the corset can weaken the muscles. I've placed an order for my first, and I know i won't have it for a couple of months. During that time, I'm going to continue to work on getting my weight down more. I've been told that wearing it may actually help with losing these last pesky pounds too, and while I'm optimistic, I still think good old diet and exercise are better for that. The corests purpose is to alter the shape I can't seem to alter with that. All in all, I think its much better than surgery to do the same.

I know exactly what you mean, but I find I get that without any serious training, just with a corset that feels "tight".

Corsets do weaken your back alot, you'll notice from the first one. Unless the woman is tiny, I don't find anything below a 20" attractive at all ... it's not even terribly feminine unless you dress feminine anyway.

As for organs shifting, it's not necesarily a bad thing, as long as, if/when you decide to stop, you work your way back to a "normal" waist. An aquaintance was very nearly put in trouble : she was at 14" and had been for a couple of years, and in a motorbike accident, so they just removed the corset and didn't put another one back on for a couple fo days: she felt ill, stop urinating, kidneys were struggling everything just went dodgy. Luckily a doctor there (a very good friend of mine) pointed out that this would all be due to the lack of support. They got her in an old 18" and she was fine a day or so later.

I would be tempted to look further into waist training, but the bf and family are dead set against it (and all my friends). I know you shouldn't do what people tell you, but when EVERYONE thinks it's a bad idea ...

It's just too serious and unusual for me. I don't want to be a freak, it just happens naturally.