£10 per Inch!

Dorothy Langdon has always been a bossy woman with an avid interest in horses and nothing else including fashion & men, for anyone that’s knows her she always seems to dressed in boots, baggy jodhpurs & a old jumper, her father is the local squire who dotes on her, her mother died when she was young and in the normal fatherly manner she has always had her way. Her brother Piers is a spendthrift, who always overspends his allowance, drinks, gambles & womanises too much, but Dorothy adores him & would forgive him anything.

Dorothy is married to David who she has known all her life, because he is the son of Dorothy's father’s head gardener. Dorothy only really railroaded him into marrying her, because she needed someone to escort to hunt balls & pony club dances, once that Piers had disappeared off upto London. David had started a small engineering firm some year’s back and had unbeknown to anyone had great financial success by patenting two innovative pressing tools and as such was a lot richer than anybody knew.

They lived in small house not far from her father’s estate with David and Dorothy leaving at 8 O’clock every weekday morning, he to his factory in Preston & she to the stables on the estate and more often than not David arrived back before Dorothy. Six days a week, Mrs Potter their housekeeper (who had once been a maid at her fathers house) came in, prepared their breakfasts, cleaned and cooked the evening meal. On the weekends Dorothy would rush off early to go to some horseshow or hunting and David would be left not knowing what time she would return, it was not that Dorothy was ignoring him she was just carrying on the lifestyle she had before they were married, the only real complaint that David had was that he never saw Dorothy out her riding gear, which consisted of riding boots, baggy jodhpurs, a baggy shirt, an old tie and except at shows a hacking jacket that had seen better days, sometimes he did wish that Dorothy would dress more fashionably.

David was happy enough, he had his work & his designs to keep him occupied and Dorothy was attentive enough when she eventually got home from her ‘horses’. The only thing that caused any sort of major rift between them was her brother, on two previous occasions Dorothy had come to David to ask for a loan of £100 for her brother to get him out of trouble on gambling debts. He had to try Dorothy as no one else would lend him money & his father had threatened to cut off his allowance if he was found to be gambling again. Richard had said on the second occasion that he would not lend any more money to him as Piers was a wastrel and he was not sending good money after bad.

On the third occasion her brother pleaded with Dorothy to ask for another £100, Dorothy asked David and he had immediately said "No" as he her brother had not paid back two previous 'loans'. Dorothy begged David & he said "No" again “I am not going to lend that loser of brother of yours any more money as I will never see a penny of it back, I am not paying out good money for no return”. Dorothy then started crying and begged once more. David eventually said he would think about, but he would have to get something out of the ‘loan’.

At work the next day he noticed again as he had often done in the past, how attractive his secretary looked, she was always smartly presented with a high heels, a suit with a pencil skirt & a trim waist. This gave him an idea & he returned home and put a proposition to Dorothy. If your brother can give me nothing in return, you can, if you want me to provide the money, I would like you to present yourself more fashionably and as such this is what I would like you to do: -

Hairdresser Weekly for Hair & Manicure

Make up every day.

Fashionable clothes consisting of pencil skirts & High heels and suitable underwear.

A new up to date evening dress & cocktail dress to replace the one she had had since she was 16.

These clothes to be worn at all times, when she was not riding.

Dorothy looked slightly shocked at these requests but was so desperate for the loan for her brother that she agreed. The money was duly paid and David waited for results & that week Dorothy assembled her new wardrobe.

Dorothy had no idea of what were currently fashionable clothes and went to the same shops that her mother had used before she had died. At the lingerie shops she asked for a fashionable girdle and was amazed at how restrictive & heavy it was, as was made out of stiff thick material. She definitely was not used to such restriction as she was always jumping on & off horses and felt that she could not consider anything like that. She asked the assistant for a much ‘lighter’ girdle and after some trials found something that was to her taste.

Dorothy then went off to a dress shop and tried on some new look suits with pencil skirts and found her bouncy schoolgirl stride was severely restricted and she felt totally ill at ease wearing it. She asked for a wider pencil skirt and eventually found something she felt at ease in. She asked to try on some evening dresses and the assistant brought at a form fitting mermaid tail gown which said was the latest fashion, Dorothy tried it on, the assistant commented that Dorothy really needed some more ‘structural’ underwear to show off the dress to its best. Dorothy found that the mermaid tail dress was worse than the pencil skirt & the first girdle as it was boned from breast to thigh & the skirt was skin tight to below the knee, she felt totally bound up, she quickly removed the dress & asked the assistant for something less restraining and after several attempts to induce Dorothy to wear something more fashionable eventually presented an evening dress that Dorothy felt happy in.

At the shoe shop she asked for high heels and the assistant brought a court shoe with a three and half inch narrow heel, she tried them on and stood up to walk, she very nearly fell as she found herself leaning forward and at the same time her ankles collapsing underneath her with only the limited support of narrow heel, Dorothy could not believe that anybody could actually walk in them and asked the assistant for something with a lower and more substantial heel. After a lot of trials she found a pair that she felt just about happy in and returned home.

That night David got home and could hear Dorothy in the bedroom.

“Down in a minute “, she called.

A few minutes later Dorothy came in to the living room. She was dressed in her new fashionable clothes, a straight skirt, shoes with 1" heels & a baggy blouse, she took off the skirt and blouse and he saw the lightweight elastic girdle with suspenders which she hardly noticed she was wearing, (and nor did her hips or waist). She then put on the evening dress, which fitted where it touched & looked more suitable for monk’s habit than to wear at a hunt ball. David was annoyed, but he said nothing, as Dorothy looked extremely pleased with her selections.

Dorothy stuck to the bargain though wearing the clothes & minimal makeup at all times when not riding.

One night a few months later Dorothy entered the living room and sheepishly asked David for another £100. David gave her a sideways glance but eventually agreed on condition that in return Dorothy must wear: -

Tight girdle to smooth out her hips & trim her waist.

A trim suit, with a long pencil skirt.

4" high heels.

Dorothy agrees, but again buys clothes that make the bargain but with the least discomfort for her. The girdle is not very tight and only smoothes out her waist & hips a little, the suit is not very trim, the pencil skirt is nearer to straight & ends at the knees & the shoes are nearly 4 “ heels but look like something his mother would wear with ‘clompy’ heels and rounded toes. David is livid but Dorothy argues that she has stuck by her side of the bargain and anyway the money has already been delivered. When he had calmed down David realised it was his own fault for not being precise in his requirements for Dorothy & anyway knowing Piers, he would bet that he would not have to wait long before he asked for money again and with that thought he decided to prepare a list of requirements for his wife’s clothing that she would not be able to wriggle out of.

True to form some months later Piers appeared at the stables. He has a black eye and a split lip. Piers, almost crying told Dorothy that unless he could come up with £500 to pay off a gambling debt within a month they were going to break one of his legs. So that evening Dorothy had to ask David again for £500, David was at first angry at Piers that he would dare to ask for so much and then at Dorothy that she would ask him so casually for such a large amount of money, he stormed out and grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk draw which he prepared a few weeks before, he hesitated for a moment as he calculated that Piers would ask for £100 as usual or £200 at the worst, but he was so angry at Dorothy & at Piers for thinking that £500 was so easy to ask for that he handed the sheet to Dorothy, saying “If you want the money you have to earn it. Dorothy read the paper: -

1) Fashionable clothes & makeup to be worn in morning before
David went to work

2) Dorothy must be back from the stables by 5pm everyday and
dressed before David returned home.

3) New wardrobe to include suits, hats, gloves, cocktail dresses & and an evening dress of the mermaid tail design.

4) Kick pleats in suits and dresses must come no higher than the knees, be back lined with material and be buttonable with the top two buttons always fastened.

5) Colours must be bright with first suit and cocktail dress being shocking pink.

6) Shoes must have pointed toes and heels of the new Italian ‘stiletto’ type.

7) Nightwear to be ultra feminine with lacy night gowns and peignoirs

8) The money will only be handed in one lump payment at a rate to be earned at the scale set below: -

£10 for each inch added Dorothy suit & cocktail dress skirt length

down to her calves.

£10 for each inch taken in at Dorothy’s skirt hem.

£10 for each inch added at Dorothy’s skirt hips to a maximum of 44”.

£10 for each inch taken in at Dorothy’s skirt waist.

£10 for each "1/4 inch added to Dorothy’s stiletto heels.

£10 for each inch added to Dorothy’s bust to a maximum of 45”.

The baseline for any of the measurements was to be Dorothy’s latest shoes & suit.

As she started to read the sheet of paper Richard grabbed it back and scribbled another line on the bottom. As he handed it back he said

“That bit is for Piers’ audacity, does he think money grows on tree’s?”

The new line said :-

8) Hair to be dyed blond and worn in a high bouffant style.

Dorothy read the sheet of paper twice with a feeling of astonishment and the looked up at David to plead for her brother, but his face was still angry and he said

“Well do you agree”

Dorothy thought for a moment, thinking that she would look ridiculous with blond hair, high heels and a tight skirt. Then she remembered her brother’s voice as he described how they were going to break his leg and with a sigh of resignation, reluctantly agreed. David then stormed out and went to bed.

The next morning when David had left for work (still in a temper), Dorothy put on her suit, found a tape measure and sat down with a sheet of paper. She measured from the hem of her skirt down to her calves, around the diameter of the hem, around her hips, around her waist and finally around her bosom. She carefully wrote down the results: -

Hem to calves: - 5”

Skirt hem: - 36”

Hips: - 37”

Waist : - 28”

Bosom: - 36”

She then measured around her calves and found them to 25”. She examined the list for some minutes wondering how to proceed and then decided to calculate the easiest requirement. Which was hem to calves.

Current hem to calves: - 5” x £10 = £50

She then moved onto the skirt hem and thought that with a kick pleat she could easily take the skirt hem in until it was halfway tight to her legs

Current skirt hem. - Calves: - (36” - 25”) = 11” / 2 = 5” x £10 = £50.

Next came the bosom, although the thought of a padded bra made her shudder she was beginning to realise that she needed all the help she could get, she considered a reasonable figure would be 40”.

40” padded bosom - current bosom = (40” - 36”) = 4” x £10 = £40.

She then thought next thing that looked easiest was the shoes and she decided that an extra inch was possible even with the stiletto heels which would take them to 5”, when she wrote it down it seem, they sounded awfully high, she already had problems at 4” even with the ‘chunky ‘heels.

1” = 4 x 1/4” = £40

She quickly added up the total and found it to be £190, she smiled happily and thought, “Nearly halfway there, I am doing well!”

Dorothy then looked back at David’s requirements to find the next option. “Only £310 to go”, she thought, “What’s next waist or hips”.

To raise £310 she would need 31” off her waist which was of course ridiculous, “What about the hips” she thought, a 5“ addition from 37” to 42” would not seem out the question with a padded girdle.

42” - 37” = 5” x £10 = £50

“OK”, she then thought, “I have got to have some off the waist, lets say 5”.

28” down to 23” = 5” x £10 = £50

She added up the total and found it to be £290. Staring at the figures she still found she had a long way to go. She re-jigged the figures adding another inch to the heels taking 3” off the skirt hem and with another shudder adding another 2” to the bosom, when she had added up the figures she was left with: -.

And came to £360.

Dorothy was by now not feeling so confident as far she could see she really had only a few options left to think about: -

1) Take more off the skirt hem circumference, it maybe possible but she could not see how she would be able to walk.

2) Add another inch to the heels and she definitely knew that she would not be able to walk.

3) Pad the bosom out more, Dorothy was very against this as at 36” she thought her bosom was big enough and at 42” it would be shocking.

4) More on the hips, Dorothy patted her hips and they all ready felt big enough and pretty solid, “Probably from all the riding I do” she thought.

5) More off the waist, she placed her hands around her waist and pushed and she felt her hands sink in at her middle.

Seeing some mileage in this option she went upstairs and fetched a strong 2” wide leather belt and removing her skirt and blouse she strapped it on breathed in as much as she could and started pulling. When she could pull no more, she buckled the belt and stood gasping, eventually she slowed her breathing and reached for the tape measure, thinking “This is not to bad it pinches a bit but it’s bearable“ Dorothy passed the tape measure around her deeply indented waist and found it to be 24” over the belt.

“Not bad for the first attempt, except for the pinching, and I should think that a proper corset will do a lot better job and not pinch because it would be lot wider”.

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	36”	+6” to 42”	£10 / inch	60
Waist	28”	-5”to 23”	£10 / inch	50
Hips	37”	+5” to 42”	£10 / inch	50
Hem	36”	-5” to 31”	£10 / inch	50
Hem Length	Knee length	+5”	£10 / inch	50
Heels	4”	2” to 6”	£10 / 1/4 inch	80
				£340

Dorothy then totalled up the estimated changes and realised she would still need £160, but felt after getting in principle up to £340 it would not be that hard to get the rest. Feeling a lot better after this, Dorothy got dressed again to visit the shops.

Dorothy drove into Preston and first went to a lingerie shop, and outlined her requirements to one of the assistants, she told her that she would need a girdle that would take at least 5” off her waist and add at least 5” to her hips. The assistant pointed out as diplomatically as she could, that the flesh compressed from her waist would have to go somewhere. She went onto explain that some of it usually went downwards to the hips so a 5” addition would not require much work with such a great reduction at the waist, she summed up with,

“Madame would be advised to try something less drastic until Madame is more used to a tight girdle”.

Dorothy was insistent and so the assistant tutting slightly, took her measurements, looked slightly perplexed and went to talk to her manager, after some discussion, she went into the back and then returned with a long cardboard box, she then led Dorothy into a fitting room and asked her to undress, while she was undressing Dorothy watched aghast as the assistant unpacked from the box a long skin pink, rigid affair with what seemed miles of laces hanging down and a lot of metal, showing at the front. Dorothy stopped undressing and said

"I asked for a girdle, not a corset".

"This is a girdle Madame, we do not stock corsets and also a corset would have a lot more boning and a busk, this as you can see has only got hooks and eyes".

"But I only want an elastic corset, that will be far to heavy".

"I am afraid Madame, that an elastic girdle would never manage the reduction that you require, but if Madame wants an elastic girdle, I am sure we can accommodate her and it will smooth her your figure wonderfully, but I am afraid it will not give you the your required dimensions”

"No that's quite all right this will do, I must lose those inches, fo…or” “Dorothy thought quickly “…a special dress that I have ordered.

“Madame should know that this the heaviest girdle we stock and the waist compression you have asked for is about the maximum it is designed to take. “

While Dorothy undressed, the assistant busied herself opening the lacing on the 'girdle' and undoing the hooks. Dorothy looked in awe at the thick, flesh pink, heavy material, which looked as if it could stand-alone. She could also see the padded pockets added into the sides and buttocks. The assistant then said

"Now Madame, the fitting",

She stood in front of Dorothy and passed the opened 'girdle’ around Dorothy's waist with one hand, and grasped the other end, Dorothy shuddered as the cold metal of the hooks came into contact with her skin, the assistants quickly fastened the 13 hooks and eyes, and then stood back. Dorothy looked in horror at her reflection in the fitting room mirror, the horrible colour of the flesh pink girdle and it's thick material made her look bigger at the waist than before and even before it was tightened she could feel it holding her rigid from the bottom of her ribs to halfway down her thighs.

“If Madame would hold onto the handle, we will begin”.

Dorothy nervously grasped the sturdy handle, firmly attached to the fitting room wall. The assistant went behind her and started to tighten the laces, saying

"I think Madame should start off with perhaps a 3" inch reduction and build up to a 5" reduction over a period of weeks so that the girdle can settle to your body".

Dorothy considered this, but she feared Piers could not wait that long and replied,

"No the full 5" If you please"

The assistant raised her eyebrows a little and continued lacing. Dorothy could feel the tightness increasing which was quite pleasant at first, but as the lacing continued she felt the compression above, below and around her waist increasing to an extent that her breathing became labored and the pressure was becoming quite painful, it was not like the belt at home the pressure was over a larger area and it did not pinch, but everything was compressed leaving her with very little space to breath. Dorothy raised her body to try and get some relief and gasped

"Are we there yet!”

"Oh no Madame ", replied the assistant "another 2" yet and we haven’t laced down over your hips yet, do you want me to stop?”

Dorothy would have loved her to stop, but she realised she must persevere,

"No it’s alright carry on", she gasped.

The assistant continued and the pressure on her waist increased, at last the assistant said

"That’s about right. Now for the hips, just tighten the lacing the smooth everything out at the back and the front"

She then started pulling the lacing through lower down, Dorothy then started to feel the pressure increase around hips and thighs, pulling her stomach in to a washboard flatness, and what was worse the pressure also pushed upwards causing more pain around her compressed waist. The lacing continued until everything was smooth and she felt the pressure from her ribs to her now clamped together thighs. The assistant tied off the laces and wrapped the excess around the bottom of the girdle at the thigh.

Dorothy released the handle and staggered back as she reached for her waist, trying in vain to massage it through the thick material in an effort to gain some relief from the pain of the compression.

The assistant bent down and proceeded to tightly fasten the eight garters wide garters to Dorothy stockings, looking up to see Dorothy’s distress said,

“Would Madame like me to loosen her laces a little” the assistant asked a little to smugly for Dorothy’s liking.

Dorothy dropped her hands to her side, straightened up and drawing as deep a breath as the instrument of torture was going to turn and say no, except that the pressure was too much, and so she said

“Yes, if you could, just a little.”

The assistant loosened the lacing a little.

Dorothy welcomed the relief and when her breath returned said

“Thank you. Now do you sell padded brassieres?”

The assistant finished the garters resumed her composed expression and replied

“Yes Madame, what size do you require”.

Dorothy thought again of how ridiculous she would look, but still said,

“Something around 42” would be about right”.

This time the assistant’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly as she nodded and left the fitting room. Dorothy waited breathing quickie and shallowly and her hands crept back down to her waist searching for some relief from her still tight pink armour.

A few minutes later, the assistant returned with another mass of white solid looking material.

“This is the design, I would suggest Madame, It has wide straps to allow the bosom to be lifted and it is longline so that it will overlap the top of the girdle and as such will give Madame a smooth line from top to bottom”.

The heavy brassiere was fitted over Dorothy’s arms and down onto her breasts, the assistant went behind her and started to fasten the hooks, again Dorothy felt the compression as her breasts were lifted and top of her chest was pulled up. But she thought, as she looked down she decided that 42” was not so much, as her breasts looked not much bigger than in her normal brassiere, but the cups were slightly misshapen!

“And now the inflation, Madame, this brassiere is fitted with pockets to inflate the cups and give Madame the perfect line”.

And with that she bent forward and inserted a little tube into the left-hand cup and began to blow. The misshapen cup began to inflate until it became a perfect cone, and with every puff on the tube by the assistant Dorothy’s face fell further and further, “It is massive,” she thought. The assistant quickly inflated the right hand cup. Dorothy was almost in tears; the cups stood out from her chest at least an extra 4” sitting high on her chest like twin cannons, pointing slightly upwards, unnaturally rigid and blocking Dorothy’s normal view of her feet.

“There Madame, is that the affect you required”,

Dorothy quickly tried to hide her emotions and replied in a quiet voice

“Yes that will be fine, thankyou”.

“And now for the hips Madame,”

The assistant then bent and inflated pockets at the hips of the girdle, and after one measurement and a further inflation, stood and pronounced

“There Madame, exactly 42”, you are now 42-24-42.

Dorothy turned slowly and viewed her new shape for the first time in the full-length mirror on the fitting room wall. She had to admit that the new underwear did give her a very ‘new look’ shape that she had seen in papers & magazines, but the underwear looked and what was worse, felt like medieval armour. That was enough, there was no use worrying over it, Piers was relying on her, “Lets get on with it”, she thought.

Dorothy then tried to bend down towards the chair where her blouse and skirt lay, and found that the girdle would not let her, that and the tight longline brassiere held her rigid from thigh to nearly shoulder. Along with the rigidity, any attempt to bend increased the pressure and the pain at her still harshly compressed waist. Dorothy straightened and looked imploringly around at the assistant.

“Shall I help Madame to dress? ”,

Dorothy nodded and the assistant picked up Dorothy’s blouse and helped Dorothy into it, Dorothy buttoned it finding to her horror that it strained the buttons to near bursting over her newly expanded breasts, the assistant saying nothing picked up the skirt, bent down and opened it into a circle, so that she could step into it. The skirt, which was the one, brought on the last shopping expedition asked for by David, and had fitted her quite well, but now it was extremely tight at the hips and hung off her waist. The problem was quickly solved by the shop assistant, who pulled out a safety pin and tightened the waistband to Dorothy’s drastically reduced waist. Dorothy was glad to get her jacket back on which just had enough bagginess to disguise her new bosom.

Dorothy then thought about the assistant earlier comments and required targets and asked

“If this is your strongest girdle, would I need a corset to get a smaller waist”.

“I am afraid so Madame, my senior has advised me that we could not guarantee a girdle under any more strain than this”

“And if you do not sell corsets, could you suggest, a corsetiere, who could supply a corset that would allow a waist of say 18”

“I will ask, Madame”

While Dorothy wrote a cheque for the goods, (thinking that David would very soon have to put some money in her account if the cost of this fashionable underpinning was anything to go by) the assistant consulted with her senior and then wrote down some information and returned to Dorothy, handed her a piece of paper.

“Mrs Wilson, has said that you would probably have to go to London to find a corsetiere, that could supply a corset of that size for your figure”

Dorothy was a bit put out, London was so far away and she had never been.

Dorothy thanked her, and left the shop, finding the new experience of moving in such a tight girdle very trying, the tightness made her stand and walk in a totally new way, no slouching was allowed in the tight boned girdle and brassiere whose wide straps pulled her shoulders back. And walking, she found that her usual longish strides were severely restrained by tight skirt of the girdle pulling at her thighs and she eventually found that the only way to allow the her legs enough movement was to rotate her hips forward against the tightness of the girdle with each stride.

Dorothy’s next stop was a the dress shop that she had tried a few months ago, knowing that this time she would have to buy a suit even more ‘fashionable’ (ie longer & tighter) than the ones she had tried on the last time. As she walked in the assistant remembered her and angled her over towards the basic suits section away from the more ‘haute couture’ section of the shop. When Dorothy explained her needs the assistant soon took her back to the more fashionable section of the shop, and offered her a seat, Dorothy who was slightly out of breath, although she had not walked far, felt the need to sit. Remembering the last attempt at bending, she slowly lowered herself to the seat. As she tried to lean forward to balance, she felt the girdle fighting her. Dorothy persisted and although the pressure at her waist increased and the top of the girdle dug into her ribs she forced herself down to the chair. She immediately found the pain at her waist was unbearable and slid herself forward to the edge of the chair and leant back so that the pressure at her waist diminished slightly.

The assistant walked to the racks and came back with a brown suit with a long pencil skirt and a nipped waists which at first sight seemed to fit the requirements but the Dorothy remembered David’s proviso that colours must be bright and this suit was dark brown.

“Have you anything brighter”,

Dorothy asked, knowing that they would not stock shocking pink as David had asked for the first suit, but that she had to start with something ‘bright’. If the assistant was taken aback with the request she did not show it and soon returned with a mid-red suit with white piping. Dorothy was not sure at all about the colour, but asked to try it on. Dorothy forced herself back up & out of the chair and followed the assistant to a fitting room. Dorothy began to undress, self consciously turning her back on the assistant to hide her padded breasts. With perfect composure the assistant said nothing and showed no surprise at Dorothy’s ‘upholstery’ and helped her on with the suit.

When the suit was on, she viewed herself in the fitting room mirror, Dorothy saw that it did not quite meet around her bosom and was loose around her waist, the skirt was about right on her hips, but Dorothy was not sure about the fit at the calves.

“What is the hem circumference?” asked Dorothy, the assistant looked slightly surprised but measured the hem and replied “ 33 inches, Madame”.

Dorothy turned and examined the rear view and saw the kickpleat rose to well above the knees. After a few moments, she said,

“I have decided, I’ll take it, how long will it take to do the alterations?”

The assistant said “Not long Madame, we could deliver it by tomorrow afternoon”,

She called for the seamstress, who came and took some measurements. Dorothy added on the requirements that the kick pleat be lowered to her knees, the first two buttons to be sewn closed and the hem taken in by 2 inches. As she was undressing she made a decision and said,

“And take in the waist another 2”, if you would”.

Dorothy paid with another cheque and moved onto the towns biggest shoe shop, looking in the window, saw the same type of shoes that she had tried on before, with pointed toes, and dagger slim heels. With reservations she entered the shop and asked an assistant who walked with ease on a pair of at least 4” heels with and needle thin heels, for a pair of 6” stilettos in white.

“I am sorry Madame the highest we have are 5” and I am afraid we only have them in black”

Dorothy considered a moment, “I will try those please, in a size 6”

The assistant soon returned with a pair of black stilettos. The heels were the highest Dorothy had ever seen and the toes came to what looked like unwearable sharp points.

“I have brought you half a size down Madame, as high heels have to be worn tight or they will slip off.”

As Dorothy did not feel able to sit down on the shops very low chairs, she stood at the counter while the assistant fitted or more like forced the shoes onto the her feet. They were so tight, her toes were forced deep into the toe of each shoe, and she could feel them uncomfortably taking up the shape of the points, they had to be forced so that she could get her heel down into the shoe and as she lowered her foot down her sole was forced almost vertical, pulling her calve muscles taut and as her full weight came down on each foot the toes were forced even deeper into the points causing Dorothy to wince.

The only way Dorothy could stand was with her knees bent, if she tried to stand up straight she found herself thrown forward as her calf muscles would not stretch far enough. There was no way that she could walk out of the shop in them, she could hardly stand let alone walk.

“If this was 5 inches”, she thought, “How was she going to manage 6 inches”.

The shoes were wrapped and Dorothy paid. Still suffering with girdle, she returned home, driving her little car was a trial, as the girdle did not want to let her sit back in the seat. Mrs Potter had left and Dorothy ran inside or more like swivelled inside as fast as the girdle would let her, she wanted badly to get it off, the waist was bad enough, but the hips were really aching. She undressed quickly stepping out of the skirt, nearly ripping off the blouse and then sobbing with frustration as the laces refused to loosen enough so that she could unhook it. Eventually she managed and sank down on the bed rubbing her hips with relief.

Dorothy started to worry, if that was pain of just 3 hours of wear, what would it be like wearing it full time and even worse when she had to move up to a corset to achieve the waist required to get the £500.

She got up and put the horrid pink girdle away in a draw, but she could not completely forget about Piers and so she picked up the black patent shoes and forced them onto her stocking feet, and they pinched her toes even before she stood up. She tottered around the bedroom for ten minutes, her ankles wobbling violently as she tried to balance on the minute area of the toes and the spike heels. Eventually she gave up, her toes were in agony, her ankles and calves ached, these things are torture how can anyone wear them. There was no way she was going to manage the measurements required to get the money for Piers. She was just going to have to get the money out of David some other way, and with that she removed the distasteful padded bra, got dressed and went downstairs.

Later when David came home she kissed him and he responded.

“David, dear I have started to get the clothes you have asked for, but darling, they are not for me the girdle was agony, the shoes impossible to walk in and I looked ridiculous in a padded bra. Are you adamant that I have to go through with this”

“Of course not darling, if you don’t think you can do it, you don’t have to”

“Does that mean you will give me the money for Piers”

“No darling I did not say that, I just said that you did not have to do it.”

“But Piers is relying on me, I can’t let him down”

“Piers will rely on you for the rest of his life, if you help him again, he will be back in six months asking for more, you have to let him down or he will keep coming back”

“But you don’t understand, if he does not get £500 they will break his legs, I can’t just stand by and let that happen”

“And I can’t just let £500 go with out getting something for it”

“But the whole thing is impossible, nobody is the shape that your measurements demand”

Calmly David walked over to his desk and pulled out an old copy of the Reveille newspaper and opened it.

“Have a look at this”

Dorothy looked at the opened page; there was a picture of a spectacular platinum blonde, with an ample bosom and a wasp waist in a clinging sheath dress with a pencil skirt. The caption announced that the Rank starlet ‘Sabrina’ 44”, 17”, 42” had attended a film premiere in London

“OK, maybe, there are exceptions but that’s just a one off from fantasy world of show business, nobody in real life has a figure like that”

David returned to the desk, sorted through some papers and returned with two, one described an Ethel Granger who only had 36” bust and 38” hips but had an amazing 13” waist, another article had a picture of a local beauty queen who had 42”, 20”, 40” figure.

“All right, so people that shape do exist, but they are, they are ….”, Dorothy struggled for words, David assisted her.

“Curvaceous, alluring, attractive, shapely, desirable, pleasing to the eye…..”

“No, No, No, I mean ridiculous, everybody notice me, will stare at me”

“I hope people will stare”, said David, “They will stare because you will look devastating”

“But I will look so different than I do now, people will notice”

“They will only notice the improvement, nobody knows what shape you are under those baggy clothes you normally wear”

Dorothy at that moment had to admit grudgingly to herself, that her present suit had fitted over her enhanced bosom and hips, but only just.

“All right, you have a point “, said Dorothy ”But do I have to go quite as far as them”, indicating the women in the papers.

“As I said, it is up to you, you can do what you want”

“You are leaving me no options” shouted Dorothy “Don’t you realise, I can’t let Piers down”

The next morning Dorothy made a decision, after David had gone to work, she went upstairs, unlaced the ‘girdle’ wrapped it around herself, fastened the all the hooks and eyes and then she called Mrs Potter upstairs.

“Right Mrs Potter, you are going to lace this contraption for me until it is closed at the waist”

“I haven’t done anything like this since I used to help lace your gran up when I was a maid at the big house”

“And did my grandmother have a small waist”

“Oh yes, when she was laced that was, she was a big girl and needed some real pulling to get her down a neat waist”

“And just how neat was her waist”

“She could manage 18” at a push with her strongest corsets and a lot of pulling by me and her ladies maid”

A thought then occurred to Dorothy.

“Would any of grandmothers corsets, still be at the house”?

“I should think so, your family never throws anything away, they will probably be in one of those trunks in the attic”

“Will you go up there, and see what you can find”

Mrs Potter gave Dorothy a questioning look.

Dorothy sputtered out “I might need something for a fancy dress party”

“You just see what you can find, right lets get on with it”

Dorothy looked around for something to hang onto, they tried the bed, but it pulled away from the wall and pulling on the door handle just made the door come open. Eventually Dorothy ended up on the floor, with Mrs Potter foot pressing down on her bottom while she hauled up on the laces. On the floor with her face buried in the carpet Dorothy did not feel in the least dignified, as every haul on the laces was preceded by Mrs Potters foot trying to force her through the floor, and as the girdle tightened her breathing speeded up until every rapidly indrawn breath was dragging dust and fluff out of the bedroom carpet and she started coughing.

Dorothy urged Mrs Potter to continue until at last the girdle was closed and Dorothy could feel it holding her completely rigid from below her ribs to mid thigh, she slowly rolled over onto her back and tried to sit up, with no success, the girdle was so rigid that it just forced her flat again. Mrs Potter tried to help but Dorothy shooed her away, she rolled back onto her front and by straightening her arms she managed to get her body of floor in straight line from shoulders to her knees, she forced herself back, making the girdle bend enough so that she could push herself up to a kneeling position, red in the face and panting heavily she walked on her knees to the dressing table and hauled herself up to her feet, breathing rapidly.

She then found herself needing Mrs Potter’s help again and felt so embarrassed as Mrs Potter fitted both stockings and tightened the garters. Mrs Potter had to even help with her new shoes as there was no way she could bend down to put them on. She did wait for Mrs Potter to go downstairs before removing her normal bra and fitting the padded one and reinflating the breast pockets.

She put on her dressing gown and tottered down the stairs one step at time, her inflated brassiere leading the way. She found that girdle did not want her to sit down at the chair by the phone and so she stretched the cord over to the sofa and slowly lowered herself down straining against the girdles rigid hold.

Once down and relatively comfortable, she started by phoning the stables and giving her head girl her instructions, saying that she would not be in that day. She then asked Mrs Potter for the directory and searched through for dressmakers, she chose one and made an appointment for the next day. She then rang her hairdressers and booked an appointment for a perm and a blonde colouring.

The next job was shoes, to get anywhere near the total she required, she would need six-inch heels and in several colours, even pink. She phoned all the shoe shops and department stores in Manchester and not one could help. She did not want to go London, but she was beginning to realise that was the only place she would be able to get the shoes. She decided that her brother who after all, was the cause of all this fuss.

“Dorothy, is that you, have you got the money?”

“No not yet, I should be able to get it for you, but I need some help”

“What do you mean ‘should’, these bruisers mean business, they may not stop at breaking my legs!, look I have only got three weeks left before they come knocking again”

“Alright, I will get the money, but you have to help, David has set some conditions, I have to tidy myself up and I need some 6” high heeled shoes, stilettos heels. You must be able to get them in London.”

The conversation continued, Piers bemoaning his lack of money and time to go searching around London, Dorothy eventually getting a little angry and telling him he either helped or there would be no money. After that he made notes on size, colour and style. As they finished Dorothy thought of the £160 that she was short of the £500.

“Oh and Piers, if they have any higher heels than 6”, can you get some of those as well.”

Piers hung up, sounding a little bemused. Dorothy finished with her phoning, struggled up off the sofa, and began some more walking practice on tortuous shoes, the girdle was beginning to hurt again but she was determined to keep it laced closed for as long as she could bear, and so ignoring the pain at her waist and hips, she began to totter around the room. Her gait was clumsy her legs were bent and she had to lean forward to keep her balance.

She continued through the day resting on the sofa when the pain on her compressed toes needed some relief. After a light lunch, (the girdle did not encourage substantial meals), a boy delivered the new red suit. Dorothy struggled back up the stairs to try it on. First putting on a an old slip which did not really fit, Mrs Potter then helped her into the suit, which fitted perfectly, a little to perfectly thought Dorothy as it showed of every curve of her new figure. The suit was tight at her enhanced bosom, tightening even more down to her nipped in waist and even tighter over her padded hips, loosening slightly against her legs as it narrowed all the way down to her calves.

A few tentative steps made it plain, that even the shortened steps necessitated by the high heels, would have to be altered to cope with the restraining pencil skirt. After some experimentation Dorothy found that the only means of relatively smooth motion was by rotating her hips against the grip of the girdle and placing one foot in front of the other to move forward in a gyrating action. Dorothy even found that the method caused her to walk easier in the high heels, as her calves were not being strained as much trying to make longer strides. Dorothy practiced walking and sitting in the tight skirt (in high chairs only) for the rest of the afternoon.

As the time approached for David’s return Dorothy decided that she would take off the new outfit, for one reason the girdle was beginning to ache again and the other was that the for some reason she did not want David to see that she was bowing to his wishes. A quiet evening followed where Dorothy mentioned nothing of her day’s labours.

The next day Mrs Potter helped Dorothy to dress and after lacing the girdle, Dorothy who was panting hard again and really feeling the compression gasped,

“I think this feels tighter than yesterday, I don’t think I am going to get used to it, and I really need to lace smaller”

“Well if you keep taking it off, what do you expect, it will take you ages to get used to it”, said Mrs Potter.

“What do you mean, I wore it all day yesterday”

“Only in the daytime, you took it off for the evening and the night”

“The night, you can’t be expecting me to wear this thing in bed”

“Well if you keep releasing your waist, it will swell back out over night and you will be back at the start again, your gran always wore a short corset in bed to keep her waist small, usually 2” up from her day corset, but if she really wanted get small, she wore them as close to size of the day corset she was trying for as she could manage”.

“Are you sure”?

“Oh yes dear, on her maids day off, I was on duty to undress her and get her ready for bed and I always laced her into the short corset before bed”.

Dorothy considered Mrs Potters words while she finished dressing and as they were finished came to a decision

“Mrs Potter, I want you to go up the manor house, after were finished and see if you can find me any corset’s and bring them back here”.

Mrs Potter left and Dorothy drove into town for the first of her appointments. The drive was a struggle as at first she had had to return to house for two cushions to support her unbending waist, and when she finally got going, driving in the unnatural high heels was a severe trial. At the hairdressers she discussed the blonde colour with the assistant and she came to conclusion that she really did not want to be peroxide blonde as she thought she would look like some Rank starlet.

In the end she had it coloured natural blonde and had it put up tight on the top of her head like Tippi Hedren, she could not face a bouffant style yet, it was to much of a step from her old simple style. She covered up the new hairstyle with a large scarf and minced over the street with tottering unsteady strides to chemist and purchased a whole bag of makeup, next she bought two new tighter slips and then as her feet were starting to hurt to the a tearoom, where she would plan out her visit to the dressmakers.

She ordered tea and cakes and gingerly sat down at a table with the girdle reminding her of its presence and pulled out the list of measurements from her handbag.

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	36”	+6” to 42”	£10 / inch	60
Waist	28”	-5”to 23”	£10 / inch	50
Hips	37”	+5” to 42”	£10 / inch	50
Hem	36”	-5” to 31”	£10 / inch	50
Hem Length	Knee length	+5”	£10 / inch	50
Heels	4”	2” to 6”	£10 / 1/4 inch	80
				£340

Reviewing the list for a long time, she knew she somehow had to find another £160. At first Dorothy did not want increase / decrease any of the items to raise the total.

Her inflated bosom was already a constant reminder of its unfeasible size and profile, as she had to lean forward slightly to see the list. The waist was a possibility, a painful and breathtaking possibility. Her already padded hips would seem to be a possibility, although she had looked over her shoulder in the mirror this morning and it had seemed a lot wider than she could have imagined. The skirt hem circumference could maybe come down a little, but walking in the red suit was a trial already. The hem length was at a maximum already so there was nothing she could do about that. That just left the heels, which were already pencilled in at 6”, she had to find and learn to walk in that height before she could think of anything else.

“Alright she thought, I will have to start somewhere, she increased the hips to the maximum of 44”, next she decreased the hem circumference by 2” and with the new corset she could possibly decrease her waist by 3” to 4“, doing some quick addition she knew she had to do it and reddening with embarrassment at the thought, increased the bosom to 44”. She reviewed the list once more.

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	36”	+8” to 44”	£10 / inch	80
Waist	28”	-8”to 20”	£10 / inch	80
Hips	37”	+7” to 44”	£10 / inch	70
Hem	36”	-7” to 29”	£10 / inch	70
Hem Length	Knee length	+5”	£10 / inch	50
Heels	4”	2” to 6”	£10 / 1/4 inch	80
				£430

In theory she was nearly there, it would be very embarrassing, but she knew she could not let Piers down.

At the dressmakers, she discussed her requirements, the shocking pink suit, cocktail dress and the mermaid tail evening dress. The dressmaker was slightly surprised; when after measuring Dorothy she substantially revised the measurements.

“Are you quite sure Madame, some of these measurements may be quite hard for you to achieve, and impossible to walk with”

Dorothy was flustered for a moment but came out with as close to the truth as she could muster.

“Look its for a bet, I know it will be difficult, but I have got to do it”

She returned home to find Mrs Potter waiting with three corsets laid out on her bed, the first was a short one only 7” deep but 18” in the waist.

“That was your grans riding corset”, said Mrs Potter.

“Riding Corset!” spluttered Dorothy, “You can’t ride wearing a Corset”.

“Well I don’t know about that, but you gran did, fully closed and side saddle to boot”, retorted Mrs Potter.

Dorothy held it up in wonderment, thinking how could any body ride with eighteen-inch waist.

“This next one is one of her day corsets, beautiful isn’t it”, said Mrs Potter.

Dorothy had to agree; it was a work of art in the finest striped silk, embroidered all over and delicate lace at the top and bottom.

“I reckon that if you wore this to bed laced to 23”, you would not loose all the ground that you’ve made today”, she said.

Dorothy thought about it, she had now been wearing the boned girdle for 4 days and it felt no better.

“This next one, was one her best dress corsets. You know, she wore at parties and balls and do’s like that”, went on Mrs Potter.

It was all black, trimmed in with lace, about 2 ft long. Dorothy picked it up, gasping at it’s rigidity and length, she held it against her body and saw that it was even longer than the girdle she already wore, running from below her breasts to well down her thighs.

“These are all much to rigid, I would not be able to breath or move in them”, announced Dorothy.

“Well I don’t know about that, but your gran didn’t have much of a problem, she wore them for everything, sleeping, eating, walking, riding, she even had a special lightweight tennis corset”, said Mrs Potter.

Just then the phone rang, it was Piers.

“I’ve found you some shoe’s, it’s taken me ages. The shop is Regent Shoes in Wardour Street, they all types and sizes 6” and 7”. They say they can deliver in five days as long as they are paid in advance”, recounted Piers

They then discussed the styles and the high prices and Piers was adamant that he could not find enough money.

“Alright I will just have to phone them myself and get the money off David, but we will have to find some way to get them the money straightaway as time is running short”, said Dorothy.

They talked for a bit longer and Piers emphasised his predicament and pleaded with Dorothy to make sure the money was available before the months end.

Later on as Mrs Potter was about to leave, Dorothy made a decision,

“Right Mrs Potter, lets try out that day corset”

Mrs Potter then helped Dorothy to undress, leaving on her shift, stockings inflated bra and shoes. The lovely day corset was wrapped her body and Dorothy felt the solid rigidity of the stiff busk and the many bones as Mrs Potter fastened the clips. As Mrs Potter took the slack out of the laces she asked Mrs Potter.

“Did you ever wear a corset like this”

“Oh yes dear, not as pretty as this mind, shop bought but, just the same really, once you had broke them in, and stopped fighting them, they were OK, and you had to wear them in my early days at the hall, so that you had a neat figure, your gran was very strict on that. The ones that always gave me trouble, were my Sunday best, I didn’t wear them that often and I always laced them extra tight, vanity I suppose, but I was always glad to get home and loosen them. Though I must say I did look well in them, I’m sure that was how I caught Mr Potter”

Dorothy then had to lie down and she found that unlike the girdle, which acted from waist to thigh, the corset made her rigid from breast to the top of her hips, it was even more confining as the girdle. Dorothy did not feel at all comfortable on the floor and decided that tomorrow she would get the handyman to fit a strong handle to the wall, like the one in the girdle shop. She could feel the air being forced out of her, as Mrs Potter pulled on the laces.

“Was, …..ooof, my grandmother ….ooof, slimmer than me … ooof”

Mrs Potter, stopped pulling and took the strain, while she thought for a second.

“Well she was obviously, smaller than you at the waist, from wearing corsets all the time, but she was a bigger women overall, with wide hips, and a large bosom. You can tell that from this corset, it’s almost closed at the top and bottom while you’ve still got at least 5” at the waist, how far do you want me to go dearie”.

“Just a bit tighter, and I will stand up and try it”

Mrs Potter, continued to lace and Dorothy sucked air and dust from the carpet.

When Mrs Potter had tied off the laces, Dorothy struggled to her feet, staggering due to the high heels and the rigid corset. Her inflated bosom rose and fell rapidly as she strained to air into her constricted lungs.

“Whoosh, this is really tight”

“Well lets see, I’ll measure you”, Mrs Potter wrapped a tape measure around her waist, “That’s just over 22”, I think you should give it a few minutes before you make your mind up, I’ll just go and make a pot of tea”.

Dorothy walked around the bedroom, the corset fought her all the way, what was it Mrs Potter had said don’t fight it, the corset was even more rigid than the girdle, it would not let her move at the waist. She had to rotate her hips and put one foot in front of the mirror to get some sort of motion. At the mirror Dorothy had to admit that the corset was nicer to look at than the horrible pink girdle. But it was really tight at the waist and gripped her ribs and hips terribly, and she tried to rub it, the hardness of the boning surprised her. She tottered over to a chair and tried to sit down, and then she found the difference between the girdle and the corset. At least the girdle would bend a little, but the corset did not give a jot, worse still the pressure on her waist and ribs increased. Dorothy tried to stop the downward motion, but half balanced on her heels she stumbled and fell sideways, as she landed on the floor, the pain was awful on her constricted waist, the bones dug into her and the end of the busk dug into her stomach. Dorothy screamed.

Mrs Potter came running to find, Dorothy struggling to get her feet.

“This thing is torture, I can’t wear it.”

Mrs Potter quickly unlaced her, and Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief.

“The girdle will have to be enough, I can’t wear anything tighter. I will just have to get David to pay up on what I’ve done”, thought Dorothy.

“Right Mrs Potter, before you go, could you help me back into the girdle and my new suit”

Mrs Potter relaced the girdle to it’s tightest 23” and fastened all the garters. Dorothy was then embarrassed as she had to ask Mrs Potter to inflate the bra & hip pads as the now rigid girdle did not allow her to reach. She then helped Dorothy on with skirt and jacket, then she had to rush off to make Mr Potters dinner. Dorothy put on some make up, perfume, tidied up her newly blonde hair. She went slowly downstairs in the high heels, tried to sit down and when the tight, girdle fought back she quickly found that lounging was the only option available on a low settee. Dorothy settled down to wait for David.

When she heard the front door, she struggled up out of the settee and stood waiting for David.

David came into the lounge and quickly scanned Dorothy up and down.

“Well is this what you wanted, are you satisfied now”

“You look wonderful dear, and yes that is the look I wanted”

“Does that mean, I can have the money for Piers”

David was quiet for a moment and said,

“Look, I am sorry, darling, but we made a deal, and to be truthful I don’t want you to give any money to Piers. Why don’t we call it off and you can tell Piers that he will have to find the money elsewhere”

“But, I can’t do that, nobody else will help him and so I have got to!”

David walked over to the desk and took out the piece of paper.

“Alright, if you insist, what are your measurements”

Dorothy looked angry; she was not going to win,

“Waist 23”, hips 42”, Bosom 42”, hem length plus 5”, hem 31” and heels 5”, she spat out.

David said nothing and made some rapid calculations on the paper, he looked up and said

“Right, now if you will agree to wear outfits of this type at these dimensions from now on I will give you a cheque for £300, not a penny more, what you do with it is up to you”.

“But Piers ……”, started Dorothy, but she saw the look in David’s eye and stopped. He was not going to be moved. Dorothy knew she was not going o win so she stormed out the room, or tried to, the girdle, the shoes and the tight skirt only let her move slowly to the door.

Dorothy took off the suit, the horrendous underpinnings and the crippling shoes, put on her nightgown and lay on the bed to think.

“I need, or really my stupid brother needs, another £200”

She reached over to her handbag and got out her list.

Perusing the list up & down she eventually thought,

“Well everything else is at the maximum or minimum, except the hem, the waist and the heels. Another inch on the heels, two off the waist and if I loose another inch off the hem, I won’t be able to walk, but I’ll have to manage somehow.”

The waist was the biggest worry, the girdle at 23” was crushing, how was she going to manage 21” and still breath. She would have to practice, she got up and got out her grandmothers day corset. She shuddered at the thought of sleeping in this armour, but could not see any other way. Mrs Potter was right any advantage she gained with her waist in the day was lost when she removed it at night. She loosened the laces, wrapped it around her torso and fastened the busk. She knew at once that she could not lace it on her own and called down to David.

David came upstairs and gave a little smile when he saw the corset. Dorothy ignored it and lay on the floor. She quickly worked out what was needed for a 21” waist.

“Lace it until there is about a 3” gap at the waist”

David was a lot slower than Mrs Potter, but got the hang of it, he kept stopping though as each tug, produced a groan or an “Oooff” from his wife. Dorothy eventually said,

“Ignore me and get it laced down or else we will never get to bed”

“You mean you are going to sleep in this thing”

“I’ve got no option if I want to get the money for Piers”

David muttered that it was up to her and started to tug with a bit more effort until the gap was closed to 3”.

Dorothy struggled up with David’s help, gasping for air, and staggered to the bed, she found that she could not lower herself down, the corset would not let her bend and so she just flopped down. When at last her breathing had calmed, she said,

“I want to order some shoes from London, but they want a full payment up front, I need them as soon as possible, can you sort out the payment”

“I can’t see a problem, ring them tomorrow, make the order, call me at work with the price and details of the order, I will arrange for the money to be sent round to the shop. By the way you look beautiful in that corset”

“Maybe, but it feels like a medieval instrument of torture to me”

That night Dorothy tossed and turned trying to get comfortable in the corset, which ever way she lay there seemed to be one or more bones sticking into her, or even the stiff rim on the top and bottom of the corset, she had overdone on the first night, and eventually she had to ask David to let the laces out 2” after which she managed to fall into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning started in rush, the head girl at the stables said that one of the horses had gone down in its box at the stables. Dorothy knew it could be long job, soon after when Mrs Potter arrived, she got out of the corset and was starting to get dressed in the girdle when she realised that she could hardly go to the stables and help with a sick horse in a tight suit and 5” heels. But she could not wear the girdle and her jodhpurs, but if she left off the girdle she would lose any gains in the waist compression that she had managed with that damn corset. She made a decision.

“Right Mrs Potter lets try that riding corset”

The riding corset was short, plain and black, but still with plenty of bones. Dorothy put on a bra then a short shift, panties and then the fastened the busk of the corset. Mrs Potter started lacing, the corset laced smoothly with a lot less effort than the girdle or the day corset.

“How tight do you want it dear”

“Try 23” I can always let it out later”

At 23” Dorothy felt reasonably comfortable, well except for the shortness of breath, certainly a lot more comfortable than the long girdle and the high corset. She tried a few small bends, she was stiff but it would have to do. It seemed OK, the problem now was the jodhpurs, the hung off her now much reduced waist.

“I should have bought some of your grans down, they would have fitted you”

“I thought you said that my grandmother rode side saddle, that means a skirt doesn’t it.”

“Yes, but they all wore tight trousers, for modesty in case they fell off and showed some leg”

“Well it’s to late now, you can get them later, I’ve got to get to the stables now”

With aid of several safety pins, a belt and a baggy jumper, Dorothy was ready and she rushed off to the stables, not forgetting the telephone number of the London shoe shop.

At the stables everything was a mess the head girl had stayed with the downed horse, the junior girl had called in ill with a bad case of flu, none of the other horses had been fed, and the vet still had not come. Dorothy dispatched the head girl to do the feeding and she stayed with horse, she bent down and the short corset made itself known, by bending her knees and keeping her back straight it became bearable.

After an hour things were back under control. The vet had arrived and diagnosed a bad case of colic. He had dosed the horse and it was now resting comfortably. They had finished feeding and the head girl had taken the first horse out for exercise. Noting the untidy state of the yard Dorothy went to the office and phoned the shoe shop in London.

After much discussion with the shop assistant, she ordered a 3 pairs of 6” heels in red, white and black, the black pair would be oxfords. They then went onto discuss 7” heels and Dorothy found out about ballet heels. The shop assistant told her they were very difficult to walk in, but Dorothy felt she might need the extra height and the extra £40. Thinking about the state of the yard and realising that she needed to be down here more, she asked about high-heeled boots and eventually ordered some brown lace up boots with 5½” Louis heels. When she heard the final total of £65, Dorothy was quite happy, maybe David would realise that high fashion cost serious money and let her off the silly bet. She told the assistant that somebody would be around later today to pay for them. Dorothy then phoned David relayed the order and waited for the shocked voice when she told him the price and was very put out when he made no reaction. He said he would organise somebody to go round immediately, check out the order and pay.

Dorothy put the phone down and wondered a) How could David not be a little concerned about the price of the shoes, b) How, from Lancashire he could get somebody to go to the shop immediately, c) If he was only checking on the order to make sure none of the money got diverted to Piers.

She soon forgot about this when she went out for a ride and it felt good to be back on a horse. The only problem was the corset; it did not cause her much discomfort although she had to keep a perfect seat to stop it digging in. The problem was that she could feel the corset loosening up. She went home for dinner and asked Mrs Potter to measure her; the corset had slipped out to 24”.

“OK”, thought Dorothy “If riding makes it loosen up, I will have to start another inch down”.

Mrs Potter had brought back her grandmothers riding trousers, they were in good condition, made from a moleskin type material, but they looked rather small.

“They look a little small, I am not sure I could get into them”

“I don’t know about that, I am sure that your gran was as big as you or maybe a bit bigger”

Dorothy was not convinced, but she started to try them on she had to force her legs down each trouser leg and she felt the material fighting back. With some difficulty she managed to pull them up to waist and tried close the side opening.

“You will have to lace smaller if you are going to close them at the waist, dear, even on the widest hooks, you are going to need to get down to about 21”

Dorothy nodded and Mrs Potter slowly laced her down, when she tied of the lacing, Dorothy knew she was wearing a corset, it felt like a rigid steel band around her waist.

“Oh well”, she thought, “I have got to tighten up sometime”

Mrs Potter tucked in her shirt and got the hooks on the skintight jodhpurs closed.

“If you are going to wear these I reckons you really need some new shirts, and a new jacket. These old ones hang off you like old sacks.”

Dorothy agreed with her about the shirt, there was far much loose material tucked into the top of the trousers. She forgot about dinner, the corset made sure of that and went off to Preston to her country outfitters, the much tightened corset dug into her lower stomach and her ribs as she sat low in the seat, she decided to put a cushion permanently in the car tomorrow. At the shop she ordered 3 new white shirts and asked for them to be taken into to fit her new shape.

“Oh just like Miss Hetherington, she wears a girdle like that”

Dorothy was surprised, Anne Hetherington was a rival on the local horseshow circuit. Dorothy knew that she was a better rider than Anne, but Anne always won the best turned horse and rider and horses she trained always seemed to make just as much as Dorothy’s even though Dorothy’s horses had a better competition record.

“Miss Hetherington has her jackets taken in as well, would madam be requiring a new jacket cut to your waistline”

“No I would not”,

As soon as this silly bet is finished she certainly would not be wearing a corset for riding, her old jacket would do. The assistant said the shirts would be delivered in two days.

Dorothy then rushed off back to the stables to help with the feeding, she had to take it slowly as carrying the feed buckets was hard work and wearing the tight corset she was soon out of breath. When most of it was done she took a break and went to her little office to phone the handyman. She asked him to fit a heavy handle to bedroom wall as soon as possible. He asked for a few details and said he would be round the next afternoon.

The next few days continued in the same fashion, Dorothy struggled on in the day with the riding corset at 21” and at night changed to the day corset that David seemed to enjoy lacing up. Dorothy did not give him any view of it after it was laced, as she put on a heavy nightgown and her dressing gown so that not a hint of her improved shape was available to David. Each night Dorothy tried to reduce the waist size of the day corset, she could just about manage 22” while lounging on the sofa, but the discomfort of the corset was too much to sleep in and she always had to ask David to let it out to 24” to achieve a nights sleep.

At the end of the week, Dorothy stood by the calendar looking worried, she only had 9 days left to get the money for Piers. David had enquired this morning when she might need the money if she could manage the required dimensions. Dorothy had looked at the calendar and decided on next Friday, the day of the Hunt Ball.

“Right I will take the day off, and I will take you out in your new outfit, if everything goes to plan you can have your money when we return from the Hunt Ball.”

“It is not my money, it’s for Piers, I don’t want the money, I don’t want to wear these ridiculous clothes ”

“I am not giving the money to Piers, I will give it to you, and if Piers wants it he will have to come up here and in person and see how much trouble he has caused you. ….. Though knowing Piers he will not care a jot and hopefully one day you will realise that”

David had smiled and left for work. Dorothy was so angry, David was enjoying every second of her discomfort. Damn Piers for being so unreasonable to force her into this situation !

She heard the doorbell and a minute later Mrs Potter bought in a large parcel with a London postmark. The shoes had arrived, Dorothy suddenly felt guilty she had been so busy at the stables that she had not practised with her high heels at all. She opened the package and pulled out the two pair of stiletto heels. Dorothy was amazed they looked much higher than her 5” heels mainly due to the fact that the heels were much slimmer, like a dagger.

Next came the Oxfords they were just as high but the heel slightly thicker, Dorothy had thought that the lace up Oxfords would be easier to walk in but now she was not so sure.

She opened the next package and couldn’t believe her eyes, these must be the ballet heels. How could anybody walk in those things? They were ankle boots instead of shoes, as the girl had said they would give more support and would be easier to walk in than shoes. They were like the Oxfords in that they were black and lace up, but there the similarity ended, these boots were absolutely vertical with towering heels. No way was she wearing those.

The last package was the boots, this was more like it, she would wear these today with the jodhpurs. Anne Hetherington wore riding boots with 2” heels, hers would be a little higher than that, but she really needed the practice. Everybody would look at her but they were already doing that with her blond hair, wasp waist and skintight jodhpurs.

Glancing at the calendar she called out to Mrs Potter.

“Mrs Potter I think we will lace it in another inch to 20” today.”

Dorothy picked up the boots and went upstairs, she had unhooked the jodhpurs and removed the fitted white shirt and was ready at the new lacing handle when Mrs Potter got upstairs.

“You will struggle dear, every inch from now on is going to take a lot of work”

“Well we will have to try Mrs Potter if I want to fit into my new dress for the Hunt Ball”

Mrs Potter untied the laces and taking a firm grip began to haul, Dorothy groaned at the pressure. This was going harder than she thought and she needed another two inches off by the end of the week. Mrs Potter worked slowly and eventually tied off the laces. Dorothy released the lacing handle and stepped back, reaching for her waist trying to massage the crushing pain through stiff bones. This was unbearable; the extra inch had made a lot of difference.

Mrs Potter helped her on with her shirt and fastened the hooks on the Jodphurs while Dorothy stood gasping for breath, she sat down gingerly and reached for the boots, but the corset would not her bend towards them. Mrs Potter took pity and picked the boots up, fitted one and started lacing. After 5 minutes she had them both laced tight. Dorothy staggered up and found that boots were much more rigid than the 5” shoes or even her riding boots. She took some short strides round the bedroom walking very stiff legged, when she stopped she found herself constantly moving to hold her balance. They weren’t perfect but she had to get some practice.

As she was leaving the house she bumped into David.

“I forgot my diary, I’ve just come back to get it”

He then stood back to admire her ‘riding outfit’.

“You look wonderful, that outfit really suits you”

“Well I am only wearing for practice for the heels and the corset, and as soon as I have the money for Piers I certainly won’t be wearing anything like this at the stables”.

With that she rushed onto her car as fast as she could in the high-heeled boots

Down at the stables the head girl gave a very strange look.

“What are you looking at, this is the latest fashion, Anne Hetherington is wearing just the same outfit”

Dorothy continued her way, carefully over the rough cobbles of the stable yard.

She continued wearing the boots all day, riding and doing jobs in the yard. The height of the heels and the inflexibility caused her some problems and she stumbled on a few occasions. But overall the high heeled boots did not cause her too many problems.

The next day she had to rush too the stables to help out as the junior girl was still ill and get through her jobs quickly so that she could go for a dress fitting in the afternoon.

Towards dinnertime she returned home and changed into the day corset ready fore a visit to the dressmakers for her first fitting. Mrs Potter stood ready to lace her.

“How small do you want to be”

Dorothy thought for moment, “Lets try for 21” and see how that feels”

Dorothy grasped the lacing handle and Mrs Potter began lacing. Dorothy had never been below 22” in the day corset and that had been a severe trial. Mrs Potter continued up and down the laces taking out the slack and then standing back and hauling on the laces. Dorothy stretched trying to make her waist smaller, Mrs Potter had pull harder and harder to haul in the waist and Dorothy felt her insides being forcibly realigned to accommodate the unforgiving boning of the corset as it crushed her waistline down to the required size.

At last Mrs Potter was finished and the laces were tied off Dorothy, fell back struggling for breath. Mrs Potter supported her and turned her towards the mirror.

“Their dear, it might be hard work but you have a lovely figure”.

Dorothy viewed herself and had to admit that her waist was now minute, she then turned sideways and got a shock. The pressure of the lacing had forced her stomach down and it now protruded in a curve below the corset bottom edge. What was she going to do about that she could not wear a pencil skirt with that her stomach sticking out like that.

“Get my other girdle out, the light one, lets see if that will flatten that stomach”

They tried the light girdle but it did not have enough power to flatten the stomach forced down by the pressure of the corset.

Dorothy was getting irritated, “Will nothing go right”, she started feeling faint and Mrs Potter fanned her with towel.

“You will just have to wear a tighter girdle, not as high as your current one, but high enough to cover the bottom of the corset”

Dorothy agreed, and so she dressed in her red suit, padded bra and 5” shoes. Carrying her 6” stiletto’s to wear at the fitting, she rushed out to the car and struggled into it, the corset causing her vapours all the way. In town she went into the lingerie shop and asked for a girdle that would flatten her stomach, lie smoothly onto corset with 44” hips. The assistant went away and consulted with manageress. Eventually she came back with another stiff girdle.

“We suggest this model Madame, it does not have built in pads we will have to tie some on.”

Dorothy undressed and stood ready at the lacing handle, the assistant wrapped it around her fastened the hooks and started to lace the front closed. Dorothy felt her stomach being flattened and her bottom being forced back. She felt that her stomach had nowhere to go. When the lacing was closed she felt rigid from breast to mid thigh, there was no pliability at all. The manageress stood by with some pads and the assistant tied them to Dorothy’s hips tightening the ribbons back and forth across around the girdle until the pads sat tight to girdles ‘hips’. Dorothy checked herself in the mirror and the unsightly bulge had now been completely flattened, there was a ridge where the girdle overlaid the corset but she thought that it did not look to bad.

Dorothy realised that she would never be able to drive her car now and she asked the assistant to order her a taxi to take her to the dressmakers. The assistant helped her to dress and the taxi arrived as she paid.

Getting in and out of the taxi was a burden. She could now no longer bend at all and she had to crawl in to the back seat and lay there for the journey. The effort made her feel faint as she was now under extra pressure from the girdle.

She was very tempted to tell the taxi driver to take her straight home but really did not have enough breath to do it. It was very embarrassing at the dressmaker’s house as the taxi driver had to nearly lift here out and stand her up.

Dorothy asked for some time to get her breath back and calm her breathing before proceeding with the fitting. At first things went reasonably smoothly for the fitting of the shocking pink suit, Dorothy made sure that the Mrs Sanderson the dressmaker understood that her bosom would be 2” larger and that the waist would be hopefully 19” or less. Mrs Sanderson helped her into her 6” stiletto’s and supported her as she tottered very slowly around the room knees bent to cope with the almost vertical angle into which the 6” heels forces her feet, the skirt was so tight that she managed only very short steps, only just getting one foot in front of the other. She stopped in front of the mirror and turned slowly turned checking the fit of the suit. The overlap of the girdle was hidden by the peplum of the suit jacket.

“It looks very tight don’t you think, do you think people will notice”

“I don’t think so Madame, I have several clients who wear their suits and waist as small or smaller”

Next came the mermaid tailed ball gown, leaving on the 6” heels, this was of smooth black satin and then the problem showed, the ridge of the girdle where it met the corset showed as a very obvious line across the front of the dress. The line showed even worse if she leaned forward or to the side (well leaned as far as the corset would let her). It looked terrible, it look even worse from the back where the lacing of the girdle stood up proud where it met the corset. They discussed the problem, but could see no way of hiding the join. Dorothy asked her to finish them and they could find a way round it later. With some relief she asked Mrs Sanderson take off the pads, unlace the girdle and loosen the corset by two inches so that she could go home in some comfort. Mrs Sanderson promised her the final fitting in 3 or 4 days.

The taxi picked her up and she returned back to the lingerie shop where she ordered two long line 44” padded bras, one with straps for the pink suit and a long line strapless bustier for the ball gown.

As she was driving home Dorothy realised she would have to get in some serious corset wearing practice to be ready for the day of the Hunt Ball next week. When she got home and she caught Mrs Potter before she left and asked to lace her back down to 21”, fit the new girdle to flatten her stomach and help her on with the 6” Oxfords which she was hoping would provide greater support. Mrs Potter rushed off and Dorothy put on her dressing gown determined to wear it all for as long as possible.

She tottered and minced her way around the bedroom a few times until the high arch and the pointed toes really started to ache. And so she made her way over to the bed to lie down for a while until David came home. Later the phone ringing woke her. She rolled over the corset digging in to her and looked at the bedside clock. It was 8 O’clock, where was David he should have been home 2 hours ago. Dorothy struggled off the bed sliding her legs over the edge and pushing her self upwards. Her waist felt really painful with pins and needles and her feet had swollen in the Oxfords. She tried to ignore the pain and she made her way downstairs as fast as the corset and heels would let, stumbling twice on the stairs and having stop herself falling by grabbing the banister.

At last she reached it and picked it up, angry at it for making her rush down the stairs and lose her breath.

“Yes, who is it”

“It David, I’m in Manchester my cars broken down, it’s took me this long to get a garage out. So I am staying in hotel and I will be home tomorrow”

They continued talking for a few minutes and then Dorothy hung up, hurrying it slightly as the corset; girdle and shoes were really beginning to hurt. Her hips ached, she had pins and needles at the waist and her compressed toes were killing her. She reached behind and tried to find the end of the girdle lacing, searching with her fingers she could not reach it and the corset would not let her bend even a little. She just managed to grasp the ends by bending at the knees, but the stance with balancing on the tiny toes of the oxfords caused her to fall forwards and pull at the laces so that they pulled into a tight knot. She struggled on for half an hour trying to untie the knots on the corset or the girdle but just could not manage. In the end she was so uncomfortable she tottered as fast as she could to the kitchen found so scissors and went back to hall mirror and cut both sets of laces, the taut laces released and slid through the eyelets like snakes and the pressure released. Dorothy suddenly remembered that Mrs Potter had warned her not unlace a tight corset to quickly, the relief at her hips was immediate, but the dull pain at her waist increased to a sharp stabbing and made her double up. When at last it subsided she dragged the corset and the girdle off, reached down and unlaced the Oxfords and sat down and massaged her throbbing feet. Dorothy began to cry. How was she ever going to manage to wear these clothes full time?

At last she dried her eyes, and made herself a cup of tea and sat down in the living room. After an hours rest, she bucked herself up and thought to herself.

“It is no use feeling sorry for myself, I have promised Piers I would get the money and I shall.”

She went upstairs, and determined not to allow any relapse, put on the short riding corset and laced it down to 22” and the went to bed.

The next few days Dorothy kept the riding corset and day corset as tight as possible, wearing the Oxfords and the red stilettos as much as possible. By Wednesday she felt reasonably comfortable at 21”, well not exactly comfortable more she could suffer them for quite a few hours. The 6” heels however were giving her more problems, she just could not get used to the severely pointed toes and after 15 minutes here toes hurt awfully.

That night she asked David to lace down to 22” and tossed and turned all night under the unrelenting pressure, she wanted a good start for Thursday as she had to go for the final fitting. The next day straight after David had left for work she asked Mrs Potter to lace her down to 21”, Dorothy felt faint again and retired gasping to her bed and stayed as still as possible to slow her breathing down. Her last fitting was at 2pm and she would to try and manage 18” by then. After half an hour Dorothy staggered up to the lacing handle again and asked Mrs Potter to lace her down again but had to stop after only half an inch and retire back to her bed. Some time later Mrs Potter brought a cup of tea and when she finished it she tried again and managed another half an inch. It was now 11.30am and time was running out. 20” and still two inches to go. Dorothy did not know how she was going to manage another two inches, the corset was already digging into her ribs and pelvis and she was permanently gasping with her bosom heaving.

She called out for Mrs Potter.

“We might as well get the rest of the outfit on or else, I will run out of time”

Mrs Potter helped her on with the girdle and Dorothy felt her stomach being crushed down to nothing. Next came the stockings attached with 8 garter straps to the girdle and pulled tight. And then the odious inflatable bra, and girdle pads and then the black oxfords. Dorothy had found that although the oxfords hurt her toes, they hurt less than the more pointed stiletto court shoes.

After this exertion Dorothy lay down again having to view the twin mountains of the inflatable cone shaped bosoms, rising up and down blocking her view along the bed. Keeping her eye on the clock she rose at 12.30pm and asked Mrs Potter to call her a taxi for 1.30pm. Dorothy then tottered over to the dressing table wincing as her weight pushed her toes down in the points of the shoes. At the dressing table she had no chance of sitting down in the corset and so she powdered her face, applied her lipstick and mascara while standing up. Dorothy took her time over this, she had been practising everyday even when she went to the stables and she was slowly getting better. Even the little she leaned over to the mirror increased the pressure from the corset and she had to keep straightening up.

When she had finished she moved slowly back to the lacing handle, trying to keep her breathing slow and even.

“Now Mrs Potter we are not going to manage 18”, but I must get down to at least 19” for the fitting, when I nod my head, I want you to pull and don’t stop pulling until we reach that size. Please be quick as I am sure I shall faint and whatever you do tie me off and don’t let me out. Do you under stand”

Mrs Potter nodded, Dorothy grasped the handle tightly and Mrs Potter released the bow and took the strain. Dorothy stretched herself up, expelled what little air the corset allowed in her compressed lungs and tried to suck in her stomach, although she could not really feel if she had any effect as her stomach was now under so much pressure from the heavily boned day corset and the tight girdle.

Dorothy nodded her head and Mrs Potter put her knee on Dorothy’s bottom and heaved. The laces pulled smoothly through and the corset closed at the waist. Mrs Potter quickly tied off the laces. Dorothy released the handle and staggered to the bed and collapsed onto it, gasping for breath her bosom rising even higher in a rapid movement as she strove to get air into her severely squashed lungs. She lay absolutely straight, rigid from bosom to thigh with even her ankles forced into a strange angle by the high-heeled oxfords

As Dorothy lay on the bed she thought about the days to come and target of 18” she must try and reach tomorrow. How she would manage it, she did not know. She then had bad thoughts about her stupid brother; it was his fault that she had to wear these constricting and painful clothes. Then she had a horrible thought, it would not be all over tomorrow it would actually all start. Once she had managed to get the £500 for Piers, she had promised David that she would wear the constricting clothes and underwear everyday from tomorrow onwards. She would have to be dressed ready for when he went to work and dressed again when he returned. The only time she would be free of them would be at the stables.

“Damn Piers and his stupid betting, well after this he is getting no more help from me. As it is I can’t see making sizes required for the £500 by tomorrow ”

Mrs Potter came and helped on with the red suit and she tottered down the stairs and out to the waiting taxi. At the dressmakers she asked her to set the waists at 18½”, her thinking was that if she did manage to reduce down to 18” the shocking pink suit and the ball dress would be slightly loose at the waist, and if she could not manage it, they would slightly tight on a 19” waist. At that moment she could not see her managing it, after less than 2 hours, the corset was becoming extremely painful, her waist was becoming numb with stabbing pins and needles and the tight packed bones of the corset were really digging in to her ribs. The ball gown looked even worse with the corset at 19” and the ridge showed even more and it would not do for the hunt ball, Dorothy realised that she was going to have do something about it. After the fitting the dressmaker said that she would finish the alterations and deliver the outfits later that afternoon. Dorothy got her to let the corset out to the maximum 22” that the red suit would allow and got dressed again.

Back in the taxi instead of going home she decided to go shopping. The taxi dropped her on the main street and she walked towards the hairdressers to book an appointment for the next afternoon so get her hair put up for the hunt ball. As she was passing the shoe shop, she spotted a pair of lavish bedroom mules with 4” heels and an idea began to form in her mind and after a few moments she went in and bought them, she also bought a long handled frilly umbrella, so that she could use it as walking stick for to help cope with the high heeled stiletto court shoes. After the hairdressers she went to the hat shop and found two new hats to go with the pink suit.

The last stop was the lingerie shop where she asked the assistant if they had anything that could give her a smooth line over her corset. They tried to be helpful, but to keep her stomach flat she had have something as stiff as the boned girdle. Instead she bought some fitted frilly nightgowns and asked for one of them to be altered to fit a 22” waist and a 44” bosom to be delivered that day, finally bought a massively befrilled floor length peignoir.

When she got home she shouted up to Mrs Potter.

“Alright Mrs Potter lets try on that dress corset, it’s the only way Cinderella is going to go to the ball”. ……

That evening before David came home she started on her idea, she had Mrs Potter lace her into the day corset down to 22”. Then came the long line padded bra and a pair of stockings held up by garters. Next was the longline frilly nightgown and the ridiculous “bedroom” mules. Last was floor length befrilled peignoir. Mrs Potter rushed off, as she was late. Dorothy the put on lots of makeup and dowsed herself in perfume. She then tottered over to the bed, stumbling on the unfamiliar mules which gave her no support at all and draped herself over the bed in what she hoped was an alluring manner. Presently David came home.

“Up here darling”

David came upstairs and was obviously taken aback by Dorothy’s ravishing appearance. She lay on the surrounded by the frilled peignoir, which was open to show off the corseted waist and the prominent inflated bosom.

She held out her hand and invited David onto the bed.

David came over and leant over the bed and kissed her. Then he pulled back,

“You look fantastic darling, but before we continue I must make it clear that I will only pay up on the sizes you achieve and I will not be swayed by all of this”

Dorothy tried to hide her disappointment that her ruse had failed so dismally, but she then determined that any goodwill on David’s part was worth the effort. She shrugged and dragged him back onto the bed……..

The next day was Friday and David stayed home. He hung around the bedroom while Dorothy started to dress. Before she called for Mrs Potter, Dorothy complained about the intrusion, but David said that he was going to have to pay a lot of money out, he wanted to see what he was paying for, Dorothy did not like it but she could not complain to much as she wanted everything to go smoothly today. Mrs Potter came up and the dressing process started.

The night before she had slept (or rather tossed and turned) in the riding corset at 20” in the hope that lacing down the day corset to 19” (or less) would not be such a trial. After an hour Dorothy stood panting before the mirror, solid from bust to thigh. Starting with long-line inflated bra, the inflated cups dominated her chest allowing her no view of what lay below except via the reflection in the mirror. At her waist was crushed by the tight boned day corset down to just less than 19” and her stomach was flattened by the long line boned girdle. The waist looked insubstantial and deeply indented when framed between the padded hips and inflatable bra, which was widened further by the roll of flesh forced up into the long-line bra by the irresistible force of the boned corset.

Dorothy stood tottering slightly on the 6” stiletto heels of the pink court shoes,

Her stockings pulled tight by the eight strong garters stretched taut below the girdle. Mrs Potter helped her on with the skirt of the pink suit struggling to make the waistband close over the slightly too large waist. The jacket fitted tightly over the vast bosom and Mrs Potter struggled again to make the inner hooks of the jacket close. Once they had been closed, straining to clasp her tiny waist, the 4 buttons went much easier. Dorothy chose the hat that had a heavy half veil and finished off with a pair of tight white gloves.

Mrs Potter went down stairs and Dorothy paraded across the room and back making tiny little steps that even so, strained the tight skirt as taut as a drum. Each tottering step making her ankles shake, as she strove to keep her balance. She slowly turned with one arm out for balance and the other on her waist, and teetered back towards David her hips swinging to allow one faltering step in front of another to achieve the slow forward motion. Dorothy who now felt distinctly uncomfortable under David’s unremitting gaze, said with some venom.

“Well are you satisfied now”

“I am more than satisfied, I am amazed, you look wonderful, the epitome of a fashionable woman”

“I may look wonderful to you, but I know can’t breath, I can’t bend, I am rigid from breast to thigh…”

Dorothy paused to take a few small rapid breaths, rubbing her tiny waist.

“I can’t see the floor in front of me, I can’t even manage a quarter of a stride and these shoes make me feel as though I am constantly falling over.”

“My dear I would be happy with just a quarter of what you have achieved, but as it is I frankly overwhelmed”

“Well why do you make me do it !!”

“For the last time, I have just said that I would be happy with just quarter of all this, you are not doing it for me, you are doing it for your worthless brother”

Dorothy snorted and tried to stride out of the bedroom but could only manage a little stagger and David had to catch her, Dorothy then tried to leave a lot slower with more dignity, but only managed to keep David’s eye as she moved across the room with a slow hip swinging walk her tiny waist fragile between the jutting upper and lower bosom and hips of a classic hourglass figure. At the stairs she had to stop and wait for David’s help, the pink suit was much tighter in the skirt at the knee than the red suit and she could not manage to reach down far enough to manage the steps. David went down in front of her and supported her down each step one at a time. In the hall Dorothy shook off David’s supporting arm and instead picked up the long handled umbrella and tip tapped out of the house using it for support and balance.

David had not told Dorothy where they were going for lunch, and they drove off in easterly direction towards the Pennines. Dorothy wondered where they were going, none of their usual restaurants or hotels were in this direction. Dorothy was more at ease in David’s big Rover but still needed three cushions to support her unbending waist. After 30 miles they pulled into a small town and stopped in front of a small hotel. Inside she found that David had pre-booked a table with a splendid view.

Dorothy felt the eyes of the few lunchtime customers follow her across the dining room,

“Well they can just take me or leave me”, she thought

She pulled back her shoulders, tried calm her breathing and slowly (although she had no choice) she minced across the dining room her head high, ignoring the rest of the room, but behind the thick veil her eyes were darting this way and that watching the reactions of the people. At the table David chose the highest chair for her and deftly moved the cushions from two other chairs and piled them up. He supported Dorothy’s arm while she lowered herself onto the chair. The corset and girdle fought her all the way and she just managed to perch on the edge her now prominent bottom on the edge of the chair and tuck her legs underneath, effectively her body was now straight again.

The effort of walking across the room and sitting down, had started Dorothy panting again and behind the veil she was sucking as much air as the day corset would allow her. David ordered and made light conversation throughout the meal. He seemed in a good mood, Dorothy on the other hand was not in a good mood, she was in fact distinctly uncomfortable, her feet hurt, her waist hurt, she had trouble seeing plate past her massive bosom and she could not lean forward due to the rigidity of the girdle and corset. Not being able to see her plate did not really matter as she only picked at the lunch as her tight underwear left her with no appetite. Dorothy answered David’s questions in short monotone, but he was not discouraged and spent the whole meal complimenting her on her appearance and how pleased he would be to see her wearing it in the future.

At the end of the lunch, David had to help her up and Dorothy had to make the seeming long walk across the dining room. When they got home she asked David for the money so that she could have it sent to Piers in London.

“As I said before, I will pay up on the measurements and Piers must come up here to collect it. I want him to see how much effort has gone into getting for him”

“Alright lets go upstairs and get it over with”

David helped her up the stairs and started the measurements, he was as helpful as he could be, he measured the bosom over the suit jacket and the waist with the jacket off. He sat down on the bed and started some calculations on a piece of paper. When he had finished he handed the paper to Dorothy.

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	36”	+9” to 45”	£10 / inch	90
Waist	28”	-9½”to 18½”	£10 / inch	95
Hips	37”	+7” to 44”	£10 / inch	70
Hem	36”	-7” to 29”	£10 / inch	70
Hem Length	Knee length	+5”	£10 / inch	50
Heels	4”	2” to 6”	£10 / 1/4 inch	80
				£455

“But this isn’t enough, he needs £500 pounds or they will break his legs”

“I will stick by my deal, that is all I am prepared to give you, what you do with it is up to you”

“You are being really beastly, making me dress like a tart and it will be all for nothing if I can’t stop Piers being hurt”

David, shrugged his shoulders and walked out.

Mrs Potter came up and helped Dorothy on with her jacket again and then Dorothy who did not want to speak to David at that moment was embarrassed at having to ask Mrs Potter help her down the stairs.

Down stairs she phoned Piers and arranged to meet at the café in Preston Station early on Saturday morning where she would give him £455.

“But that’s not enough, if I don’t hand over £500 tomorrow night, they will kill me, Sis you have got to get me the other £45”

“That’s all I can manage, I just can’t manage any more, you don’t know what I have had to go through for your money”

Piers pleaded with her and eventually she gave in and said she would do what she could.

“Thanks Sis I am relying on you, there is no one else I can turn to”

Dorothy promised to the best she could and rang off. She did not know what she could do for the other £45 and she only had £2 in her purse.

Then she had to go to the hairdressers to have her hair put up in a bouffant style for the hunt ball, she had to ask Mrs Potter to help her change into the black oxfords as she would never be able to drive in the stiletto heels.

She drove to the hairdressers as fast she could and her blonde hair was raised into a high bouffant style and lacquered into place with at least a full can of hairspray. She protected the stiff hairstyle with a scarf and drove home again.

At home she dragged herself up the stairs and out breath from the effort, the rush but mostly from the unaccustomed 18½” waist, she called for Mrs Potter between pants.

“Right Mrs Potter we have got 4 hours to get me down to 18” in that dress corset”

Mrs Potter gave her a sideways look, but said nothing as she had told Dorothy the day before that it would be hard work getting down 19” in the long dress corset never mind 18”.

They had tried it on the night before, Dorothy complaining all the time that it was impossible to wear.

Mrs Potter helped her strip out of the pink suit, the corset, the girdle and with evident relief she stepped out of the Oxfords. She removed the longline bra and replaced it with one of her old ones. She stood in front of the mirror and put on a long tight slip. Mrs Potter came up behind her and held the dress corset while Dorothy stepped into it. Mrs Potter drew it up and wrapped it round her torso. It reached from just below her breasts nearly to her knees. The dress corset weighed over 20lbs and was boned heavily to the hips, but only lightly in the skirt (as Mrs Potter described it from the hips downwards). The busk ran down from just under her breasts to her pelvis and then the skirt was closed at the front with another set of lacing. Dorothy supported the heavy weight of the corset by holding the top rim while Mrs Potter fastened the 14 clips on the long stiff busk. Even when the busk was closed Dorothy still held on as the heavy weight of the corset would drag itself down without some support.

Mrs Potter moved around the back and started the initial lacing of the main back laces. From top and bottom towards the middle, as soon as the Dorothy felt the rigid corset grab her body, she loosed her grip on the top rim. The corset was formidable; she moved her hands down feeling the close packed boning which at the waist had no space at all between them. After two initial lacings which brought Dorothy’s waist down to 24”, Mrs Potter then tightened the skirt front and back, balancing the lacing so that the skirt sat smoothly across the thighs and tightening the back skirt lacing always upwards which forced Dorothy’s bottom up and out. This was about as far as they had got the day before, as that was when Dorothy had tried to move in the corset and found that she was already totally unbending from breast to knee. She had then rejected the corset out of hand. Even when Mrs Potter assured that Dorothy’s grandmother had worn it lots of times and danced till dawn.

Today Dorothy knew that she would have to suffer its inflexible embrace. Mrs Potter gently eased her over to the lacing handle, Dorothy moved very slowly as the tight corset skirt already bound her legs tighter than the pink suit.

“Hang on tight dear”

Dorothy grabbed the handle and tried to relax as she felt the corset become tighter and tighter, she tried to stand taller and raised her head upwards trying to get more air in to her rapidly diminishing torso, the instrument of torture was so much stricter than then even the day corset and made the riding corset feel like a tight belt. After about five minutes of continuous lacing, Dorothy called a halt and Mrs Potter tied the laces off. Leaving yards of lace trailing behind and down to the floor.

Dorothy tried to stretch and relieve the unremitting tightness, and panting taking very small breaths.

“How far have we got”

Mrs Potter picked up the tape measure, and measured the waist.

“That’s 21” dear, not bad for the first attempt”

“21””, thought Dorothy “and only 3 hours left”. She slumped, (well as much as the whalebone armour would let her), and wriggled over to the bed, and falling straight as a plank she decided to rest for a while and try and calm her breathing. Mrs Potter left her and went downstairs.

“All this effort and the best I can manage is another £5, where can I get another £40”, thought Dorothy.

After a while she had a thought, a very unwelcome thought,

“The ballet boots, they are 7” and another inch worth £40, but I can’t wear them, I can only just about walk in the 6” stiletto’s”

“But then again, nobody would see them under the long dress, and if I have problems David will have to support me”

Dorothy rested four 15 minutes, moving occasionally trying to settle corset to her body. It did not feel much more comfortable after this time and when Mrs Potter returned she said

“Alright, help me up and we will continue”

Mrs Potter struggled to raise Dorothy from the bed, with little or no help from Dorothy as she struggled to get her legs beneath so as to stand up straight.

Dorothy made her way slowly back to the lacing handle and Mrs Potter slowly laced her down another 1½” before Dorothy called a halt.

“Mrs Potter can you fetch me those high heeled boots that I threw into the box room, they are in a brown box”

“Alright dear, I wont be a minute”

Dorothy stayed at the lacing handle, very still, trying to calm her breathing.

Mrs Potter returned with the box and while Dorothy held onto the handle, bent and drew on a stocking and then fitted each boot. Dorothy felt her feet being forced into the en-pointe position that she remembered from school ballet classes and pulled herself up as she rose an extra seven inches from the floor. She tested out the first boot by lowering her weight down onto the shoe. Her toe was forced painfully down into the narrow toe and Dorothy pulled herself back up.

“I think you will have to lace them a lot tighter, I going to need all the support I can get”

Mrs Potter laced them tighter and tighter until at last Dorothy could let her weight down and be fully supported by the tightness of lacing and not on her toes. Mrs Potter finished off by attaching the 8 garters to the stockings and pulling them tight. Dorothy then partially released the lacing handle and her ankles began to wobble, these things were impossible, she did not feel attached to floor. Bending her knees as much as the corset would let her and using Mrs Potter shoulder for support, Dorothy shuffled over to the bed, her feet being crushed by the tight-laced boots. She collapsed on the bed to take the weight off her feet. Mrs Potter knew she would not be required for a while and left Dorothy alone.

Dorothy was very tired she had very little sleep in the past two nights and even with the discomfort of the long corset and the ballet boots, she fell asleep.

She woke to find Mrs Potter tidying up,

“What time is Mrs Potter”

“ 8 O’clock dear”

“8 O’clock, were late, why didn’t you wake me”

“Mr Langdon, said to let you sleep, he said you needed the rest and that you did not need to go to the ball if you were to tired”

Dorothy thought, “He’s not getting away with that, I worked really hard to get Piers his bloody money and we are going to that ball and he is going to pay me what he owes”

Dorothy tried to get up, and the corset made reasserted it self, while she was sleeping, she had gone numb at the waist with the lack of movement, but as soon as she tried to move, it quickly reminded her of it’s tightness and amount of bones it contained. She collapsed back down and waited for Mrs Potter to help her up. Again leaning on Mrs Potter, Dorothy tottered back to the Lacing handle,

“Right Mrs Potter lets have that last inch and a half, so that, I can get the dress on. No stopping if I faint, just finish off and get out the smelling salts”

Dorothy braced herself and Mrs Potter put her knee on Dorothy’s bottom and heaved. Dorothy felt the pressure at her waist increase and the world started spinning, taking short breaths Dorothy worked to control it and after what seemed an age Mrs Potter stopped pulling and tied off the laces. Dorothy felt breathless, she couldn’t breath, she was so hot. She fanned herself with her hand and gasped for air. Mrs Potter rushed over to the dressing table and pulled out two fans, she gave one to Dorothy and rapidly fanned with the other one from the other side. Dorothy wanted to sit down, but the corset would not let her bend a jot. She controlled it and after a few minutes her breathing slowed.

“Right, she gasped, “That 18”, now the longline bra, dress and gloves,”

“Mrs Potter fetched the bra fitted it and fastened the hooks, Dorothy now had an 45” bustline. Mrs Potter held the dress open and low and tottering wildly Dorothy raised one foot and then other and Mrs Potter fed the dress underneath them. As she raised it Dorothy swore, and breathlessly

“We have forgotten the pads”

“Mrs Potter went a got the large hip pads and fastened them onto Dorothy’s hips adding 2” in width to make her hips and 7” to her hipline.

Mrs Potter continued pulling up the dress and hoisted it over the jutting bosom. She then started to hook up the back from below Dorothy’s bottom every half an inch up to the top.

“Now the make up, I can’t bend, so let me do it in front of the long mirror.”

Tottering heavily, her legs now pinned even tighter by the fishtail skirt, Mrs Potter had to help her over to the long mirror, she then brought over the make up and held Dorothy as she touched her lipstick and powder that she had applied earlier on.

Dorothy then released her grip from Mrs Potter and stood swaying in front of the mirror, her inflated breasts rising with every breath and tried to settle herself.

“Right tell my husband I am ready if he would come up”

Mrs Potter left and a few seconds later David appeared and gave a low whistle.

“Darling you look wonderful, I could not imagine you would look so fantastic”

He came and stood beside her facing the mirror, putting her arm around her now minute waist. Dorothy could not feel his arm through the solid boning. The support was a relief as without it she was constantly making tiny movements to keep her balance on the minuscule toes of the ballet boots. She did notice that she towered over David, usually he was 2” taller than Dorothy, but now with the 7” ballet heels and the bouffant hair she was at least 6” taller than David. She had to admit to herself that she did now look like something out of the fashion magazine, she had been reading in the hairdressers. Although with the blonde hair, her massive bosom, the sharply indented waist, curvaceous hips and swaddled legs she looked more like a Hollywood starlet than a Paris fashion model.

Even though Dorothy looked the part, she was worried that she would not be able to make it through the ball. The corset was killing her, crushing her from rib to thigh, her waist had severe pins and needles and her calves were aching from being held at the acute angle by the ballet boots.

Heavily supported by David she staggered down the stairs, picking up her fur wrap at in the hall, after that she managed to get teeter to the car by leaning on David’s arm. At the car the tight skirt meant that there was no way she could raise her leg to get into the car. Eventually by turning backwards, bending her knee’s and forcing the corset to bend a little, the corset creaked in protest but Dorothy was able fold her self backwards into the car, by putting the seat all the way back, and padding her back with cushions David was able to lift Dorothy into a sitting position or as she could not bend at the waist, more of a lounging position. The effort of getting into the car had started her gasping and hot again and she fanned herself while David drove off with the window open.

They arrived at the ball an hour and a half late, David did not seem to worried and Dorothy realised that it was a good thing as she could not have managed to sit down for the dinner part anyway. David helped her out of the car and they entered the hotel and made slow progress towards the ballroom. Leaning heavily on David, Dorothy minced with minute strides, the flounce of the fishtailed skirt swaying with every stride. As they made their entrance a crowd of interested people began to gather, some attracted by the tall glamoourous woman, some recognising Dorothy and not believing their eyes and some not recognising her and wondering who David was escorting to the ball.

Dorothy raised the fan to hide her face and her embarrassment; David reached across and pulled it down. Dorothy forced a smile and moved through the crowd of people her breathing quickening and her inflated rising and falling in sympathy. The band were playing a slow waltz and David guided her onto the dance floor and gripping here tightly at her corseted waist, he led her round the floor away from the watching eyes. David was holding her so tight that she hardly had any weight on her compressed toes. Dorothy was surprised at his strength as he easily supported her around the dance floor. After three dances, even with David’s support Dorothy was totally out breath and her gasps were becoming shorted and shorter. David guided towards the edge of the bar and found her a high stool, Dorothy perched her padded bottom on the edge of the stool not bending at all and fanned herself while David fetched her a large gin and tonic.

David returned with the gin & tonic and Dorothy drank it down in one go, she was so hot, she would have to be careful though as there was no way she could go to the toilet in this corset. When she had calmed her breathing and cooled down somewhat, David escorted her towards the ladies room supporting her with a strong arm, after he left her, Dorothy had to concentrate and make a slow mince into the ladies room where she repaired her makeup after the hot flush. Standing still at the mirror, she could feel her feet were farther down into the toes of the ballet boots and she was taking more of her weight directly on her toes.

Using the wall for support, she shuffled to a turn and minced back out of the ladies room, wincing slightly as she tried to rearrange her toes to take the increased weight, David grabbed her by waist as soon as she came out and took the weight off her toes.

“These boots are going to take some getting used to”, thought Dorothy.

The corset was another matter, her waist now just felt numb and her ribs were sore. But she was not going to give up yet she would have to wait for the measurement to see if David agreed that she managed to get to the £500 her stupid brother required. David then escorted her around some of the tables where they spoke to some their riding and business friends. At several tables, they were asked to sit down, but David neatly avoided the problem saying that they were not staying long and had to get on. Dorothy was pleasantly surprised by the number of gushing compliments she received from men and the begrudging comments she received from the women. When they reached Anne Hetherington’s table, Dorothy looked her up and down with her new knowledge of fashionable underpinnings. She could now see that Anne Hetherington was nearly as severely buttressed as she was. But Dorothy was pleased to note that Anne’s waist was at least 4” bigger than hers.

They then had one more dance and David must have realised that Dorothy was failing, her feet hurt, her waist hurt, the corset was digging in at the hips and ribs and she was struggling to breath. They said their goodbyes and with David’s help made it back to the car and struggled into it. Back at the house David just picked her up straight out of the car and carried her into the house and straight upstairs. Dorothy had never realised that her husband was so strong.

In the bedroom Dorothy stood at the lacing handle while David unhooked the balldress. He reached for the corset laces but Dorothy stopped him.

“First the measurements, waist and heels please, I have to get the money to Piers tomorrow”

David got the tape and measured her waist and heels, found the piece of paer from earlier, added the new figures and totalled them up again.

“Well strictly speaking it is £495, but you have worked really hard so lets call it £500”

Dorothy was so pleased; she sagged with relief and almost lost her balance.

“Now please get me out this lot so I can get some sleep”

David went behind her and started loosening the laces and Dorothy immediately sighed with relief.

David then put a bit of a damper on her pleasure it, by saying.

“Right, you can have the £500 tomorrow, when I have your solemn promise from this day forward that you will stick to the bargain and keep your bosom, waist, hips, hemline and heels at these measurements at all times when you are home from the stable”

Dorothy then realised that from now on she would have to go through today’s performance every day if she accepted. She knew she had to, but the thought of an 18” waist and 7” heels every day was most unwelcome.

“Alright I promise, but we have got to be at Preston station for 9 O clock tomorrow with the money ”

“Preston will take about half an hour, so what time do you want to get up”

Dorothy remembered the two hours that it had taken her to get ready this morning with Mrs Potters help and also that Mrs Potter did not come in early on a Saturday. When at last David had finally loosened the mass of lacing enough so that Dorothy could unhook the long front busk, she dropped it to the floor and teetered over to the bed and collapsed onto taking deep breaths and rubbing her sore ribs and hips and feeling the blood come back to her numbed waist. After a minute of this she bent her legs and unlaced the ballet boots and then massaged her toes.

Dorothy would have loved to have gone straight to bed, but they had to be up early tomorrow and she walked back to the lacing handle, picking up the day corset on the way.

“We had better lace this back down to 20” if I am going to ready in time tomorrow”

David laced her back down to 20” and Dorothy moaned as the pressure increased, she had had only 5 minutes of freedom all day.

When she was laced Dorothy went to the bathroom and came back free of makeup and wearing her old baggy flannelette nightgown. She got into bed and turned her back on David and tried to go to sleep.

The next morning Dorothy awoke to find David dressed and already up and about. Dorothy put on her old dressing gown and went downstairs and made herself a cup of tea. Taking the tea back upstairs she started to get ready, first the heavy make up, and then the stockings, then the long line padded bra, inflating the bosoms before she put it on. Next came the girdle, Dorothy loosened the laces and pull it up above her waist to hook it up, by feel and using the reflection in the mirror as she could not see past the massive shelf bosom.

“Next time she thought, I will leave the bra until last”

Once the girdle was hooked she pulled it down into position and reached behind to tighten the laces. She managed a little, but knew she would have to rely on David to finish it off.

With a little shock, Dorothy realised that from this day forward, that unless she was going to the stables she would always need some one to help her get dressed and undressed.

Feeling a bit miserable, Dorothy called out for David, and walked over to the lacing handle. David arrived and started and laced the girdle and started on the corset, taking instruction from Dorothy he laced from top and bottom towards the middle pulling the slack out at the loops, after an inch had been taken in Dorothy would have liked to rest a little, but glancing at the clock she realised that they did not have time, and she reasoned there was only another half an inch to go. Panting she asked David to continue, Dorothy felt her waist being compressed even more and waited for him to stop, when she was sure that it was as tight as yesterday, she asked him to measure it. He wrapped the tape around her and said,

“Eighteen and half inches”

Dorothy started to back away from the lacing handle, but David stopped her.

“Hang on dear there is still another half an inch to go”

“What do mean, I can get into the pink suit at 18½”,

“Ah, but to get the £500 you need to be at 18”.

“What are you saying, …..does that mean I have to wear the ballet heels as well”

“If you want the £500, yes, I want your ungrateful brother to see what you have gone through and will have to keep going through to get him his money”

The tears welled up in Dorothy’s eyes, and she sobbed,

“You cannot expect me to walk through Preston in those boots”

“I can if you take the money, a promise is a promise”

Dorothy cried and pleaded, gasping for breath as crying is not easy in a tight laced corset. But David was adamant; he said a deal was a deal, but if she wanted to pull out it was up to her.

After a few minutes Dorothy calmed down and returned to lacing handle, knowing that she could not let Piers down at this late stage.

The last half an inch was very hard for Dorothy and she struggled for air as her waist was compressed to 18”. She released the handle and nearly collapsed feeling sure that David had tightened her a lot more than Mrs Potter around the ribs which felt like they were in a vice. David fastened the eight garters very tightly pulling her toes backwards in the stockings. Before the ballet boots were fitted, Dorothy asked him to pack the toes with cotton wool to cushion the weight on her toes.

Dorothy then crossed to the bed and lay down stiffly and raised one foot and then the other while David laced the boots. Dorothy asked him to really tighten them, as she knew she would need all the support she could get if she was to walk around Preston in the boots.

David helped her up and she winced as her weight pushed her down into the boots, David helped her balance as now 7” taller she shuffled back to the lacing handle and used it for support while she raised one foot and then the other to allow David to get the skirt up her legs. He slid it up her legs and she had to bring the ballet boots together so that her legs were closely gripped together. Once it was hooked at the waist, David helped her on with the jacket and passed her the hat and the white gloves. The hat did not really sit very well on the still bouffant hair, but Dorothy pushed it down and tried to make the half veil cover more of her face.

Dorothy then tried to hurry out of the bedroom, all she wanted to do was get it over with. But she had to stop at the top of the stairs as there was no way she could manage them in the tight calve length pencil skirt and the ballet boots. Without a word, David picked her up and carried her down the stairs.

The trip to Preston was made in silence, except for Dorothy’s rapid breaths trying to get air into her compressed lungs. David parked opposite the station and went around and opened the door for Dorothy and helped her out. He handed her the long handled umbrella, an envelope with £500 in it and stepped back.

“Aren’t you coming with me”

“No, this is between you and Piers, I am staying here, what you do with the money is up to you. If you want to give it your spendthrift brother I am having nothing to do with it”

Dorothy was aghast, she had thought that at least she would have David’s support walking through Preston dressed so strangely, but he was already getting back into the car. The tears returning Dorothy, looked to cross the road, but then realised that she would not be able to walk fast enough to beat the traffic in the tight skirt and the ballet heels. She had to totter slowly up the pavement towards the zebra crossing, every one she passed turned to stare, by the time she reached the zebra crossing, a crowd was following her. As she slowly crossed the road all the traffic stopped but did not move off again as drivers and passengers stopped to stare. Dorothy could feel herself getting redder and redder under the heavy makeup and she tried to keep her eyes straight forward and ignore the stares. Slowly she tottered across the wide pavement, using the long umbrella for balance. At the low station steps she found a problem, the ballet boots would not allow her to bend at the ankle and the tight pencil skirt would not allow her to raise her knees. In the end she had to walk along the stairs to the handrail, reach down with corset creaking and pull the tight skirt up a few inches and pull herself up each step using the rail.

A crowd was now following her and one man had even taken a picture of her using a box-brownie. Feeling redder than ever and now feeling very warm as well, she hurried as fast as she could towards the station café. Dorothy trying to hurry just increased her mincing stride and her padded hips move from side to side. At the café, there was no sign of Piers and she looked around for somewhere to sit, she tried to lower herself into one of the normal chairs but the corset which was an inch tighter than yesterday just would not bend enough, struggling back upright, Dorothy made her way over to a high stool and leant her padded bottom against it, putting herself on full view to the café customers and the small crowd that had followed her into the station.

The crowd did not move and more people joined it. A few minutes later Piers pushed his way through the crowd and looked around the café and his gaze passed over Dorothy twice, before she waved and attracted his attention. He came over and sat down beside her.

“My god sis, you have changed, I would never have recognised you, I must say though it’s definitely a change for the better, I always thought you never made enough of yourself”

“What do you mean I look great, have you seen that crowd, I am the local freak show”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic, I see women dressed like you everyday in London, well I must admit that the boots are bit over the top”

“Over the top, this is Lancashire, where they call a spade a spade, I look like an overdone Jane Mansfield which may be alright in London or Hollywood but is not alright in Preston”

“OK, OK, so tone it down a bit”

“I can’t tone it down a bit, this is what I have to wear from now on, so that you can get your money”

“Well I really appreciate and you will soon get used to it”

“I can’t see me soon getting used to wearing a corset I can’t breath in and I can bend down in, skirts I can’t walk in and heels I could commit suicide off”

Dorothy opened her purse pulled out the envelope with the £500 in it and thrust it at her brother.

This is the last time Piers, here is your damn money, from now on I don’t care if someone is threatening to hang, draw and quarter you, do not even think of asking me for any more money”

At that Dorothy pushed her self up and tried to storm out of the station café, but the skirt grabbed her legs and she stumbled heavily into a table, spilling the diners coffee.

“I am so sorry”

Blushing even more, Dorothy straightened up and tottered as fast she could out the café through the crowd and out of the station. Struggling down the stairs and across the road stopping traffic again, Dorothy began to cry.

David got out of the car, and rushed to help her to the car. All the way home she sobbed and sniffed and when she got to the house, she asked David to help her up the stairs and then to help her undress. He helped her off with the suit.

“What do you want to put back on ?”

“What do you mean, get me out of this corset and these boots”

“Why, it’s not bed time and your not going to the stable today, so the corset and the ballet boots stay on, a deal is a deal”

Dorothy then came to realise that she would have to put up with this from now on.

“The peignoir please, I think I will lie down, I did not get much sleep last night”

David helped her on with the peignoir and Dorothy teetered over to the bed , bent her legs a little and collapsed onto the bed.

David went down stairs and listened to Dorothy sobbing upstairs.

An hour later he took her up a cup of tea.

“Listen dear, I can see your not happy with the situation, so I am prepared to renegotiate our arrangement. Dorothy stopped sniffing and said

“What do you mean”

“I think you look beautiful in your new outfits and you were certainly the belle of the ball last night, but I am prepared to make certain changes to our arrangement”

“Go on, I am listening”

“Alright, if you agree to certain changes you can have some of the money back”

“What changes and how much money”

David handed her a piece of paper :-

1) Continue wearing tight jodhpurs, high heeled boots and riding corset to the stables, in addition purchase fitted jackets to show off her waist. Corset to be worn 2” larger than her day corset

2) Continue wearing the corset, night gown, peignoir at night, corset to be worn at 3” larger than her day corset.

3) Waist to be 1” smaller for special occasions and evening wear

4) Heels to be 1” higher for special occasions and evening wear

5) The ball dress waist and ballet boots stay as they are and cannot be bought back and must be worn to balls and dances.

Dorothy read and re-read the list and then asked.

“If I agree to this what do I get”

“You get £200 off your outfit”

Dorothy thought about it, she could get rid of these massive breasts, get down off the ballet heels, widen the skirts so that she could walk and let the corset out so that she could breath.

“Let me think about it”

David went downstairs and se reached for her handbag and pulled out the list, updated it to £500 and started thinking

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	36”	+9” to 45”	£10 / inch	90
Waist	28”	-10”to 18”	£10 / inch	100
Hips	37”	+7” to 44”	£10 / inch	70
Hem	36”	-7” to 29”	£10 / inch	70
Hem Length	Knee length	+5”	£10 / inch	50
Heels	4”	3” to 7”	£10 / 1/4 inch	120
				£500

She immediately reduced her bosom and hips to 40”, let her waist out to 20”, and let her hem out to 32”. Next she knocked 2” off her heels and then thought a minute. Then she called out

“David, how much to go back to my natural hair colour.”

There was silence from downstairs for about ten seconds and then answer came,

“£20”

Dorothy thought for another minute and added it to the list. She then added it all up.

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	45”	-5” to 40”	£10 / inch	50
Waist	18”	+2”to 20”	£10 / inch	20
Hips	37”	-5” to 40”	£10 / inch	50
Hem	29”	+3” to 32”	£10 / inch	30
Heels	7”	2” to 5”	£10 / 1/4 inch	80
Hair	Blonde	Natural	£20	20
				£250

Dorothy gulped and realised she had been a bit optimistic. She rethought the list concentrating on things she really had to change so that she could live with the herself and walk through down the street without being embarrassed and eventually came up with :-

Item	Current	Change	Rate	Value
Bosom	45”	-5” to 40”	£10 / inch	50
Waist	18”	+2”to 20”	£10 / inch	20
Hips	37”	-4” to 41”	£10 / inch	40
Hem	29”	+3” to 32”	£10 / inch	30
Heels	7”	2” to 5”	£10 / 1/4 inch	40
Hair	Blonde	Natural	£20	20
				£200

“Yes thought Dorothy I can live with that, with bosom and hips reduced I am sure the dressmaker can cut my suits so that they are not to prominent, I can go back to my old hair colour and not stand out. With heels reduced and the hem increased I will be able to walk again, the waist could be a bit more but I have managed 20” for the last few days.

Dorothy called to David but there was no answer, she was eager to start the new arrangement, let out the corset so she could breath again and get out of the ballet boots so that she could walk again. She struggled to her feet wincing as she put her weight back on her toes. Reaching behind her she struggled to turn against the tightness of the 18” corset and find the bow, which rapidly became a knot. Tutting she called again and still getting no answer, she tottered (hopefully for the last time) across the room and down the stairs, one step at a time. At the bottom David came in the front door carrying some firewood. He immediately stopped and looked her up and down.

“You look wonderful darling”

“Yes well I don’t feel it, so I agree to your offer”

She handed him her amended list. He looked it over and nodded.

“OK, get these heels off me and loosen my corset”

David unlaced the ballet boots and loosened the corset, Dorothy hurried back upstairs and removed the padded bra and girdle, found the smaller version and inflating them first, put them, even at 20” bending down to put the girdle was an awful strain, but Dorothy was so relieved that she ignored it. She put on the red suit and struggled to put on the 5” heels on her own, but she managed.

Dorothy then went down stairs and immediately got on the phone to book a hair appointment and a visit to the dressmakers, she was so much happier, now that she was able to breath and free of the ballet boots. While she was phoning David opened the post.

“Look dear, one invitation to dinner at the Pattersons and tickets for the County Ball and the Conservative Dinner Dance.”