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Steel boned corsets are capable of pulling your waist in by 4-5" in relative comfort but it is not mandatory to wear them this tightly.
A steel boned corset that is sized as "28" corset (if you have a 32-33" waist)" will go no smaller than 28" when the back of the corset is fully closed. All garments in this category have 6" modesty panels.

When wearing your corset it is perfectly natural to have the back open, the modesty panel will cover your exposed back (if desired) underneath the criss cross lacing. So in actual fact a 28" corset with the lacing at the back fully opened will be loose on a 33" waist. From this point you can tension the corset across the desired regions according to comfort or control.