Article: Overbust Corsets Designed for Stomachers

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A Modular Tradition Reimagined by Immortelle

Overbust Corsets Designed for Stomachers

Immortelle overbust corsets are intentionally designed to accept stomachers, honoring a centuries-old tradition of modular European dress while offering modern versatility and refinement.

Historically, overbust corsets and bodices were not closed garments. They were architectural frames, created to receive a removable stomacher — a triangular panel placed at the center front of the body, often richly decorated and symbolic in nature. Immortelle revives this tradition through precise patterning and historically informed construction.

What Makes an Immortelle Corset Stomacher-Compatible?

All Immortelle overbust corsets are engineered to accommodate a stomacher seamlessly. This compatibility is inherent to the design — not an accessory or alteration.

Each Immortelle overbust corset is constructed to:

Frame the torso symmetrically at the front

Maintain the correct vertical proportions for stomacher placement

Allow a removable panel to sit flush against the body

Preserve the elongated, historically accurate silhouette

As long as the corset is overbust, it is designed to accept a stomacher.

Why Choose a Corset Designed for a Stomacher?

A stomacher transforms a corset into a modular garment, allowing one foundation piece to serve multiple expressions of style.

With a single Immortelle corset, you may:

Wear an ornate or jeweled stomacher for formal or ceremonial looks

Pair a textile or embroidered stomacher for daytime elegance

Wear the corset alone without a stomacher as each Immortelle corset has a built in modesty panel or stomacher for a clean, sculptural silhouette

This approach mirrors historical wardrobe practices, where garments were designed for longevity, adaptability, and layered meaning.

Historically Informed. Intentionally Modern.

Immortelle corsets are not costumes — they are heritage garments informed by historical dressmaking principles and refined for contemporary wear. The inclusion of stomacher compatibility reflects a deeper respect for the structure and logic of historical corsetry.

By designing overbust corsets that accept stomachers, Immortelle preserves:

Authentic patterning traditions

Modular garment construction

The symbolic language of European court dress

Explore Immortelle Stomacher-Compatible Corsets

Whether worn alone or paired with a stomacher, an Immortelle overbust corset offers timeless versatility, architectural beauty, and historical integrity.

Designed to frame.
Created to transform.
Built to endure.

Written by Tiffany Lewis

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The Immortelle

Society Papers

A record of dress, decorum, and the private languages of beauty.

The Immortelle Society Papers exist to observe what is worn, what is chosen, and what endures. Drawing inspiration from the salons, ateliers, and private correspondences of earlier centuries, The Immortelle Society Papers chronicle the intersections of history, design, and personal refinement. Each entry is composed with restraint and discernment, honoring the lineage of dress while allowing it to live, breathe, and evolve.

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Immortelle overbust corsets are intentionally designed to accept stomachers, honoring a centuries-old tradition of modular European dress while offering modern versatility and refinement. Historica...

The Immortelle Gown

Corsetry as architecture. Dress as presence. An Immortelle gown is not a dress worn over a corset. It is a corset gown—conceived as a unified garment from the first line drawn. Structure and silhou...

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The Grimoire of Corsetry

Collected knowledge on fit, form, and the wearing and care of Immortelle

On Choosing Your Immortelle Corset Size

Throughout our atelier writings, we speak often about corsetry as structure rather than restriction — a discipline of balance, posture, and proportion. Choosing the correct corset size follows the same philosophy.

An Immortelle corset is designed to meet the body where it is, allowing shape to emerge through thoughtful construction and proper lacing rather than force. Size selection begins at the natural waist and is refined through fit preference, experience with corsetry, and intended wear. Modesty panels and adjustable lacing are integral to this process, allowing the garment to adapt gradually over time.

In this guide, we build upon our existing corset articles to address one of the most common questions we receive: how to choose the correct Immortelle corset size. We explain what measurements matter most, how much reduction is appropriate, and how an Immortelle corset should feel when fitted correctly — composed, supportive, and steady.

For a deeper understanding of corset structure, lacing technique, and long-term wear, we invite you to explore our full corset archive alongside the fitting video.

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Fit & Lacing Your Immortelle Corset

An Immortelle dress is designed to meet the body with intention, not force. Proper lacing is less about tightening and more about balance — allowing the garment’s structure to support, shape, and move with you.

Each piece is meant to be adjusted gradually, honoring the architecture of the corsetry and the natural lines of the wearer. When laced with care, the dress reveals its full silhouette: upright, composed, and effortless in presence.

In our full guide and accompanying video, we walk through the ritual of fitting your Immortelle dress — from first lace to final adjustment — so it may be worn as it was designed to be: with ease, confidence, and authority.

Read the full guide & watch the fitting video →

The Care & Preservation of Steel-Boned Corsetry

Immortelle corsetry is crafted with steel boning and structured textiles that shape and support the body; it should be treated as a tailored garment, not an everyday underlayer. Always lace gently and evenly, allowing the corset to mold to you rather than forcing it closed. Avoid excessive tightening.

After wear, allow your corset to rest fully unlaced so the structure may recover its natural form. Store flat or hanging by sturdy ribbons in a cool, dry space away from moisture and direct sunlight. Spot clean and dry clean only when necessary, and never machine wash or submerge. With thoughtful care, your corset will maintain its integrity and beauty for years to come.

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The Art of Measurement

Measurement is not an act of judgment — it is an act of understanding. At Immortelle, proper measurement begins with awareness of the body’s natural proportions rather than the pursuit of reduction.

Knowing where and how to measure allows the garment to do its work correctly. It ensures balance in the corsetry, clarity in fit, and comfort over time. When taken with care, measurements become a quiet collaboration between body and structure.

In our full guide, we walk through the art of measurement step by step — how to measure for corsets and corset dresses, where precision matters most, and how these measurements inform the final silhouette.

Read the full guide & watch the fitting video →

On the Nature of the Stomacher

A stomacher is a ceremonial element of historical dress, traditionally worn beneath an open-front gown or corset overdress. Rather than shaping the body, it serves as a visual focal point — filling the space between laced panels and transforming structure into composition.

In the Immortelle tradition, stomachers are interchangeable works, designed to shift the mood and identity of a garment without altering its silhouette. They allow a single piece to move between restraint and opulence, ceremony and interpretation.

Not all designs accommodate a stomacher. When appropriate, it remains an element of expression rather than necessity.

Understanding the Silhouette of Historical Dress

The silhouette of a gown is shaped as much by what lies beneath it as by the fabric itself. Hoops and panniers serve different purposes, each supporting the garment in a distinct way.

A hoop skirt creates even volume around the body, forming a full, balanced silhouette. A pannier extends the gown at the hips, emphasizing width and allowing layered panels and overskirts to be fully displayed. Some designs achieve their intended form through the use of both.

Choosing the correct understructure ensures the gown presents itself as designed — composed, expressive, and properly supported.

Read the full article: Hoop or Pannier? →