" Jane had found a book on the proper way to string a corset, and the gist of it was this: tighten it until you could barely breathe. Then you were halfway there. Since she was dressing herself, she tied two ends to a bedpost and walked forward to tighten it. But then the bedpost broke, and when the neighbor came over to see what the ruckus was, Jane implored her to tighten the corset for her.
Her neighbor acquiesced and then left her with this piece of advice: "Friends don't let friends corset alone. "

― Cynthia Hand , My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies, #2)