I'd been happy with the shape of hips that my "Veronica" gave me, but somehow felt that there was still something not quite right. My waist was still too wide. I'd heard about waist cinchers and corsets and so I looked at a few on the Web to see what they could do. After looking at the various types, I was sure that the addition of a corset to my wardrobe would enhance my ability to emulate a more curvaceous female figure. 
I asked around and was directed to Jurnecka Creations in Oakland, California, in my local area. So I eMailed them, telling them I was a M to F cross-dresser and asking if they could help. I got a nice reply from Sheri Jurnecka, telling me she had made custom corsets for a number of cross-dressers, and would be happy to see what she could do. She asked me to fill out the measurements page on her
Website, and eMail them back to her. This would give her an idea of what was required. After taking a look at the measurements I sent her, she replied that she was sure she could make me something I would be happy with. 
The next step was to send her a deposit and arrange for a personal fitting. (She will make corsets purely based on the measurements you send her, but if at all possible I would definitely recommend going for a personal fitting. Sheri will sew a muslin “template” that will allow her to make fine (or not so fine) adjustments when you try it on at her place of business. I was pretty careful with my measurements, but there were still about half-a-dozen adjustments she had to make before it met with her satisfaction. One of the final things she does is to see how tight you would like it to go. I originally had asked for 28” around my female waist, but when she tried the muslin template on me, she suggested going another inch, down to 27”. Vanity certainly didn’t let me argue with that! 
The final decision was type of material and colour. My reason for getting the corset was purely practical, I wasn’t interested in showing it off as outer-ware. So I chose a strong, plain fabric as close to my skin tone (when sun-tanned) as she had available.

When the corset arrived I was very eager to try it on and see how much of a difference it made. It came pre-laced, and, as you can see from the photo, is quite complicated. The draw part of the corset lace is in the middle – which makes sense, but I’d got the shoe-lace method in my head and was expecting it to be at the top. The extra rectangular piece gets inserted between the lace and the small of your back. The front of the corset opens in order to put it on, and is secured by small metal catches, five in my case. 
Sheri had told me it would take a little practice to put the corset on by myself, but it could be done. I think manual dexterity was more the required skill, not to mention the ability to overcome the lateral inversion caused by the mirror when trying to work behind your own back. But I persevered and on the first try was able to get the back edges reasonably parallel, despite being about 2” apart. It wasn’t until about the third or fourth time that I was able to get the corset closed all the way. It’s a lengthy process, and would be so much easier if someone else could help you. 
The other thing that was a surprise to me – but shouldn’t have been, was how constricted I felt. I was only able to take shallow breaths at first, and that was a little disconcerting. But after a while it became easier to breathe, and I could relax more. 
So, how did it look? Well, I was very pleased with the results. The corset really did give me a much more pronounced “hour-glass” figure. I found it also helped with my posture, keeping my back straight and preventing me from hunching over. There was also an additional benefit I wasn’t expecting, but more on that later. Here are a few photos that show the results...

Front View showing 5 catches	Side view Showing nice indent at the back & flat stomach	The final result with both Corset and Veronica.

I was delighted with the look in the short red dress, and I think this is as close as I'll be able to get to a good female curvature. As for the added benefit? If you look at the middle photo, you'll see that, by pulling up the flesh and then 'trapping' it with the corset, it really emphasizes the way my breast curves. I would probably classify that as an "A" cup. I didn't realize I had that much "spare" flesh in that area.…