Don't try this at home: The 16 inch waist

Kelly Lee Dekay is many things. A designer; a model; a ‘glamour advocate’ and a dedicated tight lacer.

What does that mean? Well, every day Kelly wears a corset so tight, for so long, that she now has a real life, honest to goodness 16-inch waist.

The New York based polymath’s curves are so cartoonish, she has come to be know as a ‘real life Jessica Rabbit’.

Don’t believe us? Check out her Instagram feed:

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“Growing up I just loved the exaggeration of styles and the beautiful costumes that comic book characters would wear and that led to the aesthetic that led to tight-lacing… I understand their measurements can’t ever possibly be achieved because they would break but I think it’s interesting how fabric and thread can just easily manipulate the body to do such an extreme silhouette,” Kelly told The Mirror.

Kelly is so dedicated to tight lacing, she’s even hiked while wearing a corset. “That’s very dangerous,” she admits.

“The corset can be restrictive when going up the stairs. You can’t carry too many heavy things because you could hurt yourself.”

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Surprisingly, the one place she won’t wear her corset is the one place other people  – including celebrities like Jessica Alba and Kim Kardashian – have started to: The gym. “I don’t go to the gym in a corset – that’s really dangerous because I do weight lifting,” she says.

One side effect Kelly doesn’t mention is what wearing a corset all the time does to your bladder control. When we spoke to  Australian GP, Dr Joo-Inn Chew about tight lacing, we were told:

“I’m concerned about the health risks of waist training, for prolonged periods especially. Corsets only allow shallow breathing, which can lead to hyperventilation, dizziness and fainting. They compress the stomach and intestines, which could cause gastro-oesophageal reflux and constipation. If worn longer term they could weaken core muscles, leading to back pain and pelvic floor weakness. If laced too tight they could even crack ribs or bruise skin or internal organs.”

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In order for tight-lacing to work, it’s proponents suggest you wear a corset for eight hours a day, but some devotees wear them around the clock, even sleeping in their corsets.

It’s not exactly our cup of tea, but if Kelly Lee Dekay likes it, then that’s fine for her.

“People say that it looks unnatural, but I have big bright blue hair – what part of me screams I want to be like everybody else?”

Would you ever wear a corset? What do you think of women who do?