time to buy real latex

finally a british latex company has realised that a weak pound is good for business. its now down to about 1 to 1.44$ unlike earlier in the year when it was 1 to 2 which put me off my trip to London.

their new email notice pronounces a 25% off websale at Libidex.com but for us in North America its even better:

BONANZA FOR CUSTOMERS ABROAD!

If you´re a non-UK customer, you´ll be getting over 40% off our prices compared with this time last year - thanks to the fall in the value of the £ and the sale discount.

For example, our best-selling Matrix Catsuit retails at £245.95. Last December (2007), that was €336.95 or $486.98. Now, with the sale discount and the fall in the exchange rate, you can buy it for just €193.69 or $271.16 - that´s a total discount of around 43%.

So why not take the chance to lighten the financial gloom and invest in a little latex pleasure? There´s never been a better time!

time for those hard core fashionistas to get a real pair of latex leggings imho ;-)

xx

even target sells them

and they are now on sale no less - although the sizing is on the small size due to the age they're selling them too. have a look here as they're only $12.99 or $9.09 for the gold and the silver sold out. if you'll fit them of course.

and if your wondering if its a trend thats running out of steam and is just a passing thing, then visit Shop Style which has 32 pages of how to wear them as suggested / styled by their readers. seems they're becoming the new jeans and can be worn with anything. 

i have also had reports in via chats in second life as well as by email that there is a growing number of expensive designers adding them to their collections. well if they do jeans then why not mock latex leggings?

while it maybe hard to spot latex leggings in the midwest or even in daylight in the larger cities, it seems they're absolutely everywhere in the UK. friends from London and Brighton are constantly seeing them worn in yes - daylight - with an email fresh in yesterdays saying during a 2 hr period in Brighton 5 women were wearing them.

apparently they're in at least 6 shops in 'the north laines' in Brighton in black, silver and gold as well as New Look which is a major fashion chain which is in most decent sized cities. 

you can shop for them online too at here. images of their current selection is bellow where black glossiness or metallics make up the majority of the selection on offer. 

xx

a quick definition and examples

of EGL aka Elegant Gothic Lolita and according to Wiki:

Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) is an off-shoot of Lolita fashion–style clothing popularized by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana. Mana has his own EGL store, Moi-même-Moitié. It has branches in Shinjuku, Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan as well as online through CDJapan.

It is commonly mistaken as the blanket term for Lolita fashion and Gothic Lolita in Western Lolita culture. The name "EGL" applies only to clothes in the Gothic Lolita style, not Lolita fashion in general. The different name reflects the prevalence of white, black, and dark colours in general common to goth fashion.
EGL makes up half of the Moi-même-Moitié fashion lines; the other half being EGA, or Elegant Gothic Aristocrat, which differs from EGL in that it is an androgynous line of fashion that caters to both sexes and is generally considered to be the more mature counterpart.

and Mana of course is in Malice Mizer:



and some examples of Lolita and EGL fashions from their source in this nicely compiled video.

keep an eye peeled on the runways and fashion magazines to see how its already deeply infiltrated western tastes with elements of the style if not outright full copies.

xx

a very bendy barbie

a promo photo for contortionist model Zlata from a pay sections of her webpage. currently she has a Christmas theme with a bendy candy cane. 

you'll need to join to see the rest of the set.

i always wonder about some of these models or performers as they are really talented but remain in their pay-site-ghetto. at least the fashion bloggers manage to get into industry. 

 i'd like to see some of them cross out of the fetish arena and apply their uniqueness to a mainstream film or something and masumi max's extra appearance in XXX no 2 doesn't count either.

xx

tight and shiny: a plan 'B'

a conversation with a friend in secondlife earlier today reminded me of the bookmark for the Fetish Wear site whose PVC catsuits are used extensively in House of Gord videos and photos. 

her problem was one i hope i never succumb too - she breaks out in red spots when wearing latex. she's been following latex styles and imagery since she was young so it must of been utterly heart breaking to react that way when she tried on her first item.

she's now switched to PVC and as she said its not the same as latex. 

i totally agree. 

the quality of PVC is all over the place and and getting a really latex like tight fit seems to be impossible. which is when i remembered the PVC Catsuits to the right. 

the hoods look really good too. considering how much bending and restraints are applied to them if you've even ever caught a teeniest glimpse at one of those NSFW videos then you'll more inclined to buy one if your in a similar unfortunate position. 

another thought came to mind that it was actually the latex itself??? if i had a couple of reactions from the chinese made catsuit which i put down to a heat rash then maybe someone more sensitive skin could react much more. 

maybe the same problem i read about of 1,000 people suffer horrific burns from 'toxic' leather sofas ?

can't say for sure but i did suggest it too her as one possibility as well as an allergic reaction to something in the talc or lube she used. to test both those ideas as well as the latex source i suggested she order something from Latex Essence in the uk as they will chlorinated your own latex or sell you clothes prechlorinated.

i'll keep you all posted as how it turns out and maybe by then i'll have my complentary pair of latex leggings from Latex Essence once the photoshoots been done in early Feb (last time i had an update from the photographer as the model is away in Brazil).

xx

an important public service warning

brussel sprouts on christmas day and latex do not mix well...

and several days on they're still causing the occasional ballooning.

i'll leave that all to your imagination. ;-)

xx

filmed just right

i was poking around from link to link on youtube last week and found this lovely short teaser from Latex Culture which prompted me to visit their homepage. they certainly know how to light latex so it has a perfect shine too and aren't afraid to use cutting and close-ups in their videos unlike some others i've peeked at.


yes it is a pay site which is fine and i really have no urge to subscribe too such things, though i did quite like their imagery and also their downloadable video clip which covers a range of latex fetishism including a vacume bed being used.

the original video clip from youtube is bellow and there's a few more in the series i believe. much much more are available when you subscribe of course.

xx

vintage inflation fetishist

well not really. its actually a PR series of photo's that appeared in LIFE magazine with the company who developed it coming up with the clever idea that it would be a great way to pack meat.

and what better way to hold the readers attention with demonstration using a lovely constantly smiling girl. or maybe she just liked being sealed so tightly in latex?





the last image in the series is the balloons being made or tested. not sure which but adding it too the sequence opens it up to a larger and kinkier story line. more so with the 50's vintage styled photography which reminds me of countless bad science fiction films on cable.


feel free to suggest some in the comments ;-)

xx

my ideal winter jacket

i have taken to ferreting around on ebay in England due to the pound taking a royal bashing from the strong dollar (still not sure why its so strong) and then pop over to look at ebay france and germany. all have their different selections of shoes, boots, latex and other clothes. a report on my french ebay conclusions in a later entry i the next few days.

now the Balenciaga coat is way past my budget unless i somehow get one made 'sort of like it' from a friendly designer. then i have to think that i looks like a summer coat or maybe fall/spring with something underneath it making it totally useless for the weather and the several feet of snow we currently have.

then i spotted this somewhere on ebay. might of been UK or France and came to the idea - why not something exactly like this but in latex? it could be white, black, a metallic or dark pewter.


it would keep you very toasty and warm and at the same time be uber shiny and rounded.

i know there are pvc like puffa jackets for sale - although they all seem somewhat square in style from my quick looks. so one of these with a latex exterior would be great.

another very seasonal coat would be a find from germany. the clear pvc has a certain 60's retro futurism and a perfect way to show off a latex catsuit.

xx

immortalised...

well i now have a new string to my bow and its still on subject surprisingly.

i'm now a comic book character in Drake's ongoing Medusariffic Magazine and make a brief appearance in the latest issue no 25. go to his site to download the issue as well as all the other ones he's done to date.



for people who know me in Second Life, they'll recognize my look, although i am paler as more doll like in second life and well with smaller breasts. how the story will develop i'm not sure, but plan on making several suggestions in his ever expanding universe.

knowing me i'll be spending considerable time in a window display as well i do in second life too...

xx

so....

the mask is an interesting design though imho opinion as a style spotter i don't think it works with the zentai suit or her body shape at all. she's just too darn tall and model like. a mannequin like one would work better i think.



now that you've watched it i'll make another point which i've been relentlessly harping on about over past years posts. she's gorgeous so why on earth does she want to look less attractive with the doll mask?

before you all start in the comments - i know i know its a pay site where taste and creativity are sometimes (being very generous as its the holiday season) is somewhat hard to find...

xx

i was too busy with work ...

that i missed my 3rd year anniversary which was on December the 18th.

musing on how far i've come in early january along with a new list of resolutions which will take me deeper in to latex.

xx

the Balenciaga coat

was in all the fashion magazines over the past year and i keep wondering why-o-why does it take a serious designer to make something really innovative with latex? (which then ironically get splattered all over the mainstream fashion press and media) is it the costs and time? or at a consumer level there's just not enough of a demand?

it's very sculptural and in some very obvious ways insect like which reminds me of some of the illustrations at the Fetish Dreams site. maybe thats where top end designers go for inspiration? who knows?

images were found at the Kinky Gerlinky Forum as posted by Carlo. there's also a link to a megaupload stored video so you can download that too.

i wonder if there will be cheaper PVC knock offs made or will i just need to add it to my ever growing list of things to buy when i win the lottery. 

xx

there has to be a story here

so feel free to write something up and email it and i'll make a new entry for it.

sorry for the lack up updates. i keep researching, bookmarking and then uploading a lot of the details for various new entries but works been coming and going so much i can't concentrate purely on this.

normal transmissions hope to return tomorrow

xx

a uk yahoo group

i was looking around other peoples collections of yahoo groups when i joined Grouply last week and spotted this image.

its from a UK only group on latex dolling and the image i thought was just entrancing. besides saving it, i forgot which group it came from and failed to bookmark it. i think in part as it was because it wouldn't accept non-uk users.

is anyone a member? if so can you send in any more information and complement the owner on the image. i'll update this entry accordingly.

xx

how to wash a catsuit

what i found so far...

i still really like the idea of a pair of very high lucite heels to with my mannequin neck entry catsuit from Fantastic Rubber. the heels i had found on an earlier entry this week i've yet to find out where they came from.

so here's what hours of googling and ebay searches have found.


seems i managed to miss their window of fashionable-ness and they're back to being hard to find. yes there are some remains from previous seasons though the sizing and heel height are all wrong.


its interesting imho that the very high end of shoe designs pull elements from the sluttier end of the pole dance shoe collections and with a dash of finesse, a fine eye, better materials and styling make something thats tent to twenty times the cost and actually sought after.
oh well. i'll keep looking as i can't resort to custom made shoes till i win a lottery.

xx

old doll head

as spotted on concious objects livejournal.

the special effects company makes a range of masks and this fits in well with the recent film The Strangers. if you own an EGL dress then your well on your way to make your own horror film.


you can seem more images and actually buy one here. there's also a video clip of it being worn.

i have emailed them and heard back. they said they can make any mask you like. with Doc Vanderlay missing in action there's no chance for more masks from him. sad as his anime and doll like Paris Hilton masks here looked really promising. if anyone has had recent dealings with him can you please email me?

personally i think Composite Effects Doll Head is a great horror mask, though totally not anything i'd wear. which for me is part of the problem with a lot of the female masks. what is the actual point of looking less attractive with the mask? my consideration given the money would be have one made that was a perfect match to my second life persona or have a new one cast from my real face and then just have it tweaked ever so slightly so its me as a mannequin.

i'll add it to my 'when i win the lottery' list which actually is a good idea for another entry ;-)

xx

floaty bubbles

i used to do this in second life thanks to a bubble obsessed friend who still had a rare magical staff that could make bubbles which you could either be trapped in or intentionally climb into to float away...

it sounds weird but it was a great way to see second life - just floating around.



i wonder if the commercial makers got their idea from there?

xx

so inspired

i was looking around Dov Sherman's Deviant Art Page in hope that he had done some more illustrations - sadly no - then i started to dig through his collection of picks from other artists.

a couple of images he had chosen fitted well together as a progression of a kinky narrative and i started to conjure up a short story in my head. ...one of course i'd very much like to be a part of as well as a dedication to someone i know.

i've not written it yet as work has been manic again with the lead up to christmas. the foundation is there with these two images. so it will come soon and you will see it here first.

xx

anyone seen these shoes?

they're on a pay website Nadia Heels which is related to her shoe store. and yes i did email her and all i had was a bounce.


i'm not too keen on the wood effect or the large base, though the over all idea and style of a clear wedge heel i'm definately in love with. there's not too much of a step between this and the the boots warn by Posh thats been all over the glossy gossip mags, the net and the fetish sites.

xx

now in high resolution

i found a msg about this on one of the doll related yahoo groups. seems someone has uploaded a much better version of Kerli's - Walking On Air which i had written about earlier. its totally doll centric and a must see.

you can see it in the UK here but will be stuck with normal mushy youtube resolution if your anywhere else. and do remember you can save it in either flash or high res MP4 with keep vid.

xx

one and a quarter million

hits now on this blog since the counter was installed. yeah me! time for a celabratory double chocolate cake.

and its closing on my 3rd year anniversary too which is any day now. so thats two cakes?!! or maybe just more and more latex ... ;-)

xx

fall latex legging round up

and that was last fall - not the coming one.

maybe i should do one for the spring...

xx

a uk ebayer with a great selection

one of those questions i get emailed regularly by people wanting to start off with something in latex is what to get and where to get it?

i generally warn them off molded items unless is something basic like gloves or a skirt. then the Q arises of where? ebay is a great source as its an international market place and with the dollar very strong against the pound you can get a really good deal.

one ebay store that has a quality range of clothes is Yap 295 - from basic stockings to full catsuits with a few items in between.

i've not ordered from them yet but they have good feedback and the catsuits start at £99 if its your size. so that's about 150$.

another trick i've found when wanting to get something for the best price on ebay is to use bid groups at Auction Sniper. essentially you make all the snipes as normal of the same product be it a catsuit or a digital camera. then you move them into a bid group and when you win the item at the right price the remainder of the snipes are cleared.

happy bidding.

xx

pre-trend spotting of latex leggings

as found on The X File of Yulya X’s Fashion World.

the shoot was entitled “High Voltage” by Photographer Craig McDean as shown in W Magazine August 2002.


the shots are nice and clean but very basic. almost student-ish in their styling. though if memory serve this isn't the only time Craig McDean has favoured latex in his shoots. can anyone confirm this?

xx

inflated latex

i found this very short clip when i was randomly following through links in youtube last week - while attempting to avoid work (don't we all?).



i have tried a vacuum bed once and loved it. it was like i was meant to be in it, the latex so so tight it feezes you like a statue. like a doll in packaging.

so wonder what a inflatable something would be like to wear? there's definitely a resonance for me with my balloon fetish which is really one of the key starting points to where i am now.

xx

all the top designers daaahhhling...

are now making super high heels. these YSL pair were found on ebay and still way to expensive for me.

xx

plastic shoes to rubber dresses

simple gorgeous latex dress created by Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch who also designs for plastic shoe maker Melissa.

not sure where the image is from but it does illustrate that latex doesn't need to be super tight catsuits all the time.

xx

color coded high heels

another female pop band from the uk, another fashion trend jumped on and pushed with a catchy tune.

here it's very high heels and solid colored tights.

xx

the mannequin vibe...

has returned in a big way for me now. 

it started a week or so ago in a shopping mall where i was utterly entranced by a set of them in their chic fashions and timeless life. then as mentioned in an earlier post, i managed to d/l the episode of how to they make mannequins. i skimmed through it to get the idea and then it struck me that i could pull frames from the show and make my own little fetish story from it. my mind started racing in part as the hands are not fiberglass but the same plastic as plastic pipes. all it needs is some heat to shape it.

then an email came in this morning from a regular silent contributor from the UK with two links. Six mannequin heads on ebay in australia no less and a collectable still photo of Kim Novak posed as a mannequin.

anyone know the film this is from? is it the twilight zone episode perhaps?

then another email Arseniy with two links to taszjekt's photo's on deviant art. the first one is bellow. do have a look at the 2nd and the rest of his work.


Smooth and plastic part 1 by ~taszjekt on deviantART

his full collection is at his deviant art collection is here.

and it could be possible to feel like a mannequin according to recent research;

Volunteers experienced the body-swap illusion by receiving simultaneous visual and motor input from another’s body. In one experiment, each participant stood across from a male mannequin, and in another experiment volunteers faced a female experimenter. A headset covering participants’ eyes displayed a three-dimensional view of the other’s visual perspective, transmitted from a small video camera positioned on the mannequin’s or the woman’s head.

in the mannequin situation, an experimenter simultaneously touched the participant’s belly and the mannequin’s belly with separate probes. So the volunteer felt a poking in the abdomen but saw the poking happen as if he or she were the mannequin. In the real-person situation, participant and experimenter shook hands. Thus, while volunteers felt the sensation of hand shaking, it appeared to them that they were shaking their own hand. After 10 to 12 seconds of abdominal touch or hand-shaking, male and female participants spontaneously had the experience of looking out from the body of the male mannequin or the female experimenter. They literally felt that they were in the mannequin’s body getting poked or had embodied the female experimenter and were shaking their own hands.

the full article is here.

xx

latex vs mock

i'll have to admit that my cellphone does have a built in camera although its a pretty crappy one at that. it says its 4 million pixels and maybe it is after some sort of internal enhancement. its good enough for reminder shots of this and that but not for my self portrait which i have till Dec 31st to do if i'm to keep this years new years resolution. (stops rambles here)

so here's the admittedly very crappy shot of my real latex thin black latex tights made by Libidex on the left next to my Macy's inexpensive (still on sale for $21) mock latex leggings.


both look much better on and i did use photoshop to set the white levels so the deep blue cast on the Macy's pair is accurate i think. you can also see in the enlarged photo that the texturing of the fabric shows up in the Macy's while there's no texture to the Libidex tights. they're also not polished and have been chlorinated.

really, from a purely walking along the road and seeing someone wearing something you like - its really hard to tell unless your a designer or an obsessive.

it also shows how the bootleggers can get away with it - you really need to be up close to see the difference in the quality of the materials used and the finishing touches.

of course wearing real latex vs 'latex like' is well no contest as one is just shiny and the other... has already consumed and converted me....

xx

tall leather...

i found these when randomly searching for high heels on ebay last week. i love them!

its interesting imho anyway that you can get super kinky high heeled shoes and boots at either the mass marker 'pleaser' or 'elite' shoes made in China or the super expensive Channel or Gucci brands. not much middle ground at all sadly.

so just why is that?

xx

large scale latex manufacturing

it had to happen some day and the stakes are raised when modern digital pattern cutting machines are brought to bear.



xx

must visit - the bootlovers blog

i've been meaning to make an entry about the Boot Lovers Blog since i stumbled across it a few months ago. like a lot of entries, i assemble the research, upload the images, make some notes and then something else gets done first which slides the earlier entries further into the past.

The Boot Lovers Blog is a companion blog too - unsurprisingly - Boot Loves Magazine which is up to a stunning 64 digital issues. the blog is updated pretty regularly with a combination of great fashion scans as well as shoots and information on the new issues of said magazine.



new issue has a spread on latex fetish goddess Jean Bardot and 60's boots. have a look at Boot Loves Magazine as there's both preview images and video.

the woman who runs the blog has a great eye for fashion spreads in european magazines and seems to be buying all the issues i can't afford. the results are posted on the blog.



there's also some interesting insights on her obsession with boots with her entry They never DID fit me right anyway... and highlights a curious dilemma Booted Up: Why are there so many single and female boot fetishists?.

so go over and explore the blog; there's more than just pretty pictures of gorgeous boots.

xx

wendy's shiny skirt

well not hers yet as far i know, though it was posted posted on her her blog here. lots of chatter in the comments about it too.

the LNA latex skirt was originally from Shop Bop and when i originally saw the entry on it, the skirt was totally sold out. guess thats the power of fashion bloggers for you.

now there's some available in medium if you want to get one. price is $66 and like the latex like leggings its best to mix and match them.

there's some debate about them over at The Fashion Police and the results are generally for it. looks like the fashionistas are for black and shiny.

you can also buy one at still available at eLuxury and Singer22 which illustrates my own observation that if something fetishy is framed in a haute couture or stylish way its much more acceptable to mass market.

is this where the latex designers are falling down and being over run by mock latex wannabes???

unsurprisingly K+T famous for their overpriced leggings are also doing a very similar skirt and why not they have the material already.

if your in the UK you can get them at Bunny Hug and on the same page check out all the different latex like leggings out there if you want to go the faux route.

xx