* Versatile '50s inspired Merry Widow Basque

* Removable bra straps: wear strapless under strapless dresses or with straps when you want a little more support

* 6 detachable suspenders: wear with or without stockings

* Internal elastic waist tape to add definition to your waistline

* Hook and eye fastening at front makes this Merry Widow easy to put on alone

* Spiral steel boning used throughout

It wasn't until the 1950s that bare shoulders were fashionable. This decade saw strapless dresses, spaghetti strap dresses and halter neck dresses all become fashionable. Great news for those who could afford couture (which incorporated inbuilt corsetry) or the young and flat chested, but what about the rest of us?

The Merry Widow was the answer. This garment was designed to cinch your waist, support your breasts and hold up your stockings while remaining invisible under the new necklines.

Inspired by the original Merry Widows of the 1950s our Lulu Noir basque is packed full of vintage features, from the red elastic waist tape, to the cathedral boning in the cups.

Our Lulu Noir Merry Widow is sized by bra size.

Bra sizes roughly co-ordinate with the following dress sizes:

32" - WKD dress size 10

34" - WKD dress size 12

36" - WKD dress size 14

38" - WKD dress size 16

If your bra size does not match your body size you might like to experiment a little and delve into the mysterious world of bra cup grading.

A bra cup size 38B will be the same as a 36C, 34D, 32DD. Hence if you are normally a bra size 34D but a small dress size 10 you might want to try the 32DD corselette which will have the same cup size as a 34D, but will be smaller around the body.

This grading works across all bra sizes so:

Cup size 32F = 34E, 36DD, 38D, and so on.