Kim Kardashian took ‘corset breathing lessons’ to prepare for the 2019 Met Gala

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to extreme beauty routines.

The reality star, 38, had everyone talking with her “dripping wet” Thierry Mugler dress at the 2019 Met Gala, but it was what she was wearing underneath that really pulled the whole look together.

While some speculated that Kardashian went so far as to have a rib removed to create her exaggerated hourglass figure ahead of the “Camp: Notes on Fashion”-themed event, it was actually the product of intense gym sessions six days a week and the work of famed corsetier Mr. Pearl.

Mr. Pearl, who himself has an 18-inch waist after 22 years of slowly tightening his own corset, not only whittled Kardashian’s middle to the point where she couldn’t sit down, he also taught her special breathing techniques to help with the organ-crushing garment.

Kardashian took to Instagram a week after the Met Gala to thank Mugler again for his months of dedication in crafting the look. “7 months in the making and fittings in Montreal, Paris and LA,” she wrote. “Corset breathing lessons from none other than Mr. Pearl.”

The verdict on the painful technique, according to Kardashian: “It was worth it all!!!”