The Way to Lace a Corset

If you wear corsets do you lace them properly? There should be two laces, one reaching from the top of the waist-line, one from the waist line to the bottom. The corset should fit properly and should be laced comfortably, each lace being tied at the waist-line; this prevents either half of the corset opening wider at the expense of the other. Corsets fastened with one lace invariably spread over the hips and contract about the bust, thus ruining the figure. Laces should never be tied above the waist as they wear out the corset if so tied. They should be tied at the waist-line in the back.

-- American Woman, 1890

(Notably, nearly all real modern corsets come laced this way; almost never with the older single-lace method. And note that when I say real corsets, I mean the ones that actually can pull your waist in, not those stretchy costume things.)