My story

Hey, I'm still Petra from Hungary, now 21 years of age, majoring in English Studies and minoring in Editorial Skills at uni, sewing on an amateur level, and dabbling in some writing, too.


Why did I start this again now?

Well, the thing is, after a 3-year hiatus, I just got a new brace. As you can see in the new pictures, this one's a bit different from the previous one, which I stopped wearing in 2015. It's still a Chêneau corset, but it's not designed for 23-hour wear. It isn't in its final form yet; after a one-month trial period, it'll be refitted to its final purpose. This purpose of which I'll have to figure out myself meanwhile.

In the conservative therapy for scoliosis, corsets are used (in combination with specialized physical exercise) to lower the seriousness of the deformation. This only works as long as the patient is still growing, as long as their bones can still be molded into a healthier shape. As you can figure out, at 21, this isn't the case anymore. So why do I have a corset now, you may ask? It's kind of a symptomatic treatment. The curvature and the rotation in my spine are both in the lower back area, and being a student and an office worker, sitting puts a huge strain on that stretch of vertebrae. So, to put it plainly, my back hurts as hell. This new brace, while being less restrictive and less aggressively shaping, and of course combined with regular exercise, helps to support the problematic areas. This is also why its shape might change in the close future; I need to figure out when it can help the most, when I need to wear it and when it's unnecessary, so the corset-maker can adjust it to those specifics.

Getting to this point wasn't easy though. I've known for a while that I'll need a new brace, but there was a teeny-tiny problem in the way: these corsets can only tolerate ±2-3 kg of weight change while keeping their utility. And meanwhile I managed to acquire some thyroid problems, which at first made me gain a whopping 25 kg in 1,5 years (ruining some joints in the process), then caused considerable weight fluctuation. So, when I talked to the corset-maker, he told me clear and plain: I had to figure out my weight before he do anything for me. I had to know whether I would be able to lose some of it (should do), would be prone to gaining more (definitely shouldn't do), or simply maintain it at its current level. This resulted in me starting the struggle of visiting doctor after doctor, but in the end, it turned out that the best I could do without laying off my thyroid medication was staying at my current weight. With this information, I could finally see the corset-maker again, and start the process of tailoring another brace to my significantly changed body.

So, that's where we at right now; a few more weeks to try out the best way of wearing my "armour", and then possibly a lifetime of back support.

But, hey, life is as good as you make it :)

Below you can find the story of my first ever corset.


I've always been mocked by my family for my slant shoulders. Despite that, doctors and school nurses couldn't see anything strange with my back on the annual examinations. Until the autumn of 2012.

The new school doctor finally realised that there's something wrong and sent me to the orthopaedy. I went there in January, and the specialist there told me that I not only have scoliosis, but also an abnormal twist in my spine. She told me to immediately get an X-ray of my back and that I'll have to wear a corset.

At first, I thought of a fabric one, like the one women wore a few decades ago. But when I got curious and searched for it on the Net, I had to realise it's not like that at all. This thing, called Chêneau corset is the worst thing you can imagine to wear as a teenage girl. It's a big, ugly, plastic stuff and you have to wear at least one layer of clothes under it. I even had a boyfriend and I wasn't sure what he'll say to that. I didn't want to wear it, but I knew that if I were stubborn about it, it'd be even worse later and that I'd regret not doing everything I can for my health. So I said 'okay, let's do it', and started wearing it.

This is the corset specially made for me

My hatred for the idea of bearing that brace on me wasn't the only one or even the biggest trouble. The other problem was that I got it in June, and while most people have 3 weeks to get used to the corset, I had only 4 days. After that I had my first flight, my first trip outside Middle-Europe, across the ocean. It wasn't easy. With my fear of height and being afraid of big amounts of water, and mostly, wearing the corset while sitting for 8 hours, and not even being able to sleep it through, cause I couldn't find a comfortable position.

It was worth it, though. I spent my best summer out in Rhinebeck, NY in a summer camp called Camp Rising Sun. There were 60 teenage girls from all around the world and we became real sisters during that 2 months. Even though I had (probably) Lyme disease and I had to do everything in the brace, and the one thing I surely can't say about camp is that it was boring. We were running around whole day being productive and stuff.

So yes, when I came back, I knew that my life has changed. Not just because I've met lots of new friends in the US. Not just because we made it through the whole summer with my darling without meeting. But also because I've grown to be proud of the corset. I was proud of that I was able to do almost anything I wanted in it. I was proud of that I didn't take it off every single time I felt like it (which meant all the time). This way I could make a great progress in my recovery.

It made my life harder, but I could find the beauty in it. I also tried being fashionable in it. It was hard in the beginning, but the people around me seemed to like the way I dress. I don't try to hide the corset under huge T-shirts or sweaters. It's a part of me now, so it has to be something that people see. And I hope that those people will not just see something ugly, but something that can be as fashionable as any other accessory.