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Leather and Bone Corset

(it's made of people)
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Corsets are some of the most ritualistic, symbolic and impractical pieces of clothing that still manage to be stylish today.

At one point in time, the "stays" or "bones" in a corset were made from actual whale bones.

Today, leather corsets are a staple in the world of fetishwear and BDSM.

Why not combine all of these concepts, and make a corset from the human body?

I intend to design this, as well as making a 3D printed mock-up, using a scan of my own body, and then leave instructions in my will for my skin to be made into leather, my bones shaped into stays and my body immortalized as a piece of wearable art. Whether or not anyone would honor my wishes remains to be seen.

Kumawktopus, Jul 10 2014

Human leather products http://www.humanleather.co.uk/
[Voice, Jul 10 2014]

Necropants http://www.huffingt...ture_n_4163741.html
[Voice, Jul 10 2014]

Human Bound Books http://en.wikipedia...podermic_bibliopegy
It comes up more than you might think. [MechE, Jul 10 2014]

Keratin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratin
Fingernails are not made of bone. [Voice, Jul 10 2014]

Baleen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whalebone
Neither is whalebone used in corset stays. [MechE, Jul 10 2014]

[link]






       Have you met Hannibal Lecter? You two could be brothers, or something. Scary that way.
blissmiss, Jul 10 2014
  

       unoriginal [-]   

       also welcome to .5 bakery!
Voice, Jul 10 2014
  

       There are precedents. In medaeval Japan, rich individuals who did not wish to erndure the pain of an elaborated tattoo would pay money to the family of a condemned criminal to be tattooed instead. After execution, the skin would be carefully removed and tanned, then worn as an adornment.
8th of 7, Jul 10 2014
  

       Human skin is actually really horrible for leather. First, we tend to large pores and irregular grain. Second, we lack the large scale sections that tend to produce the most useful leather (compare a human torso to the body of a cow, or even a deer). Third, we tend to have lots of blemishes and scars by the time the material would become available. And a related fourth, human skin is relatively thin and fragile.   

       I also have a sneaking suspicion that human bone isn't really suitable for corset stays. Whalebones are very large, allowing you to slice out sections for use. You might be able to get a few stays out of the major long bones, but not many.
MechE, Jul 10 2014
  

       I thought stays were usually baleen, rather than actual bone?
pocmloc, Jul 10 2014
  

       Hm. I think you may be right, meaning no direct human equivalent (unless someone really grows out their fingernails). I was thinking of the use of bone for composite bow construction, which would tend to imply it could be used as stays.
MechE, Jul 10 2014
  

       I thought composite bows used horn?
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 10 2014
  

       And you are right, so we are down purely to fingernails.   

       In my defense, some used bone. But it was specifically to stiffen the tips to minimize flex.
MechE, Jul 10 2014
  

       Contact the bodyworld bloke. Why be a corset when you could be a work of art!?
po, Jul 10 2014
  

       I'm fairly sure I could make most of the stays out of ribs and femurs without all that much shaping, and use both the scapula for the busk. The lacing in the back would probably wrap through pieces made of the ulna. I would be tempted to try and make cups for a sweetheart bust out of the skull, (sliced down the length of the nose, eye sockets accenting the cleavage area) but I think my skull is just asymmetrical enough that it would be hard to work with.   

       The only reason I would even consider suggesting the leather is that I have great skin for it. I'm quite pale, with a very even complexion and small pores and never go outside without sunscreen, so I assume my skin will stay decent when I begin to age more visibly. I knew about the Japanese tattoo preservation, that's why I believed it might be feasible, assuming the leather is bound to a heavy coutil lining.   

       Finally, I do believe a corset is a work of art, more so than the bodyworlds exhibits. Those are amusing and a great way to teach people about what's inside them, but they were not intended to be art objects, while corsets are pretty much only intended to be objects of art and fashion.
Kumawktopus, Jul 10 2014
  

       Also, MechE, corsets are comprised of many small hourglass shaped pieces, so it would be totally feasible to make a fourteen-panel corset with four panels from each leg, four panels from the torso and one from each arm.
Kumawktopus, Jul 10 2014
  

       Welcome to the Halfbakery, [Kumawktopus].   

       You're very odd.   

       You'll fit right in.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 10 2014
  

       What Max said.
blissmiss, Jul 10 2014
  

       //so we are down purely to fingernails.   

       In Crowley's poem says all the parts of the body are connected so   

       "...yet we find even in England men of evil mind,   

       pornographers who love obscene details,   

       shameless enough to mention fingernails."   

       Why do I know all this rubbish?
not_morrison_rm, Jul 10 2014
  

       That does all sound a bit Charles Stross Atrocity Archive btw
not_morrison_rm, Jul 12 2014
  

       some of the time, I am a woman.
Kumawktopus, Jul 12 2014
  

       Join the crowd, seems a common affliction on HB
not_morrison_rm, Jul 12 2014
  

       //some of the time, I am a woman.//   

       That's nothing. Here at the HB we have some people who are women all the time.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 13 2014
  

       We look forward to the day when women can be people, even if it's only some of the time …
8th of 7, Jul 13 2014
  

       //Here at the HB we have some people who are women all the time.   

       What? No one told me....must have been out of the office that day.
not_morrison_rm, Jul 13 2014
  

       I'm clearing my throat, and then I'm going to leave, stomping out with the click, click of high heels. Torch you, haters.
blissmiss, Jul 13 2014
  

       Good, that's got rid of her. So what are we watching, lads ? There's The World At War on the Hitler channel, or someting from the DVD collection - how about Full Metal Jacket ?
8th of 7, Jul 13 2014
  

       //about Full Metal Jacket   

       They never seem to get them right under the armpits.   

       Anyway, how come all those manly knights got to wear "breastplates"?
not_morrison_rm, Jul 13 2014
  

       Hi [Kuma]. ewww on the idea, but welcome to the hb.
xandram, Jul 14 2014
  

       Why "eeew" ?   

       A lot of people wear leather or sheepskin coats without expressing any distaste. We understand from relaible sources that more intimate garments are also available made from these materials.   

       It is far from uncommon to carry a container, usually as a neckalce or pendant, containing a quantity of hair from a loved one, be they alive or dead.   

       So, garments made from pieces of deceased mammal are Baked and WKTE. Similarly, wearing portions of another human as an adornment are Baked and WKTE.   

       There are no actual legal, moral or social taboos being violated by the proposed idea, shirley?
8th of 7, Jul 14 2014
  

       Owning body parts gets dicey legally depending on where you live and how old they are, but if it was from a recently deceased person and was willed to be wherever it was I don't think it would be an issue.
Kumawktopus, Jul 15 2014
  

       The willing of bodies (or parts thereof) is not legal in all jurisdictions, with specific exceptions for certain uses (mostly medical).   

       In addition, many jurisdictions have laws against the desecration of a corpse that may or may not respect the wishes of the deceased.
MechE, Jul 17 2014
  

       Which is really too bad because we'd be less hungry if we just ate people. A corpse is just a thing, which makes it a resource. I think the previous owner of said corpse should be able to choose how his or her body helps people after they die, but I don't understand why we're just not allowed to make use of a resource.
Kumawktopus, Oct 04 2014
  

       //why we're just not allowed to make use of a resource.   

       Used to be using dead people to make more dead people, as graveyards are a good source of saltpetre for gunpowder. Is that close enough? Not to mention very recursive.
not_morrison_rm, Oct 04 2014
  

       //Why not combine all of these concepts, and make a corset from the human body?//   

       I noticed your other invention was a broth brewing device for the kitchen. I think you should sell these two items as a set on an early morning informercial. I could see the two spokespeople happily chirping to each other about the products.   

       "Bob, I know it's a cliche', but what could be more relaxing on a rainy afternoon than sipping warm broth and relaxing by the fire in your human leather and bone corset?"
doctorremulac3, Oct 05 2014
  

       // //why we're just not allowed to make use of a resource. //   

       ... particularly of the former inhabiting consciousness has made it clear, in writing, what their wishes are.   

       Note the case of Gunther von Hagens who attracted criticism for his displays of plastinated human bodies, despite the presence of abundant and irrefutable evidence that the people involved had knowingly and willingly donated their bodies; indeed, they receive many more offers than they can utilise, so they divert the surplus to medical schools.   

       Bones contain useful amounts of phosphates and other nutrients. There is no reason why, properly prepared, human tissue can't be processed into nutritous pet food IF THIS IS THE FREELY EXPRESSED WISH OF THE DECEASED.   

       The exception would of course be politicians and Geography teachers, who could have their bodies converted to petfood but have their heads left upon spikes on Tower Green for the ravens to peck at, as a lesson to others (humans, not ravens; ravens generally don't need lessons in pecking at things, except when they are very little).
8th of 7, Oct 05 2014
  

       //The exception would of course be politicians and Geography teachers, who could have their bodies converted to petfood but have their heads left upon spikes on Tower Green for the ravens to peck at//   

       Why would you want to do that to geography teachers?   

       And in the case of politicians, why would you want to do that to ravens?
doctorremulac3, Oct 05 2014
  

       Also, what have you got against pets? And what about pet ravens?   

       Could you harvest panels of your own skin by binge eating, then crash dieting, then surgically removing the excess skin, and then repeating the cycle? If you were serious about it (properly scientific binge eating and crash dieting, not just amateur efforts). Also I am wondering about how long it would take to grow and harvest enough fingernail and toenail. Perhaps hair could also be used if it was re-made into composite material.   

       Is 10 years of this enough time to harvest the neccesary materials?
pocmloc, Oct 05 2014
  
      
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