By Nina Love
I’ve noticed that fetish fashion tends to be timeless. Let me explain. I’ve been in “the scene” for just about ten years. Fashion – main stream fashion that is – has changed, changed again, and again…and then changed back. Hemlines get shorter and shorter until your skirt is nothing more than a belt. Then, they work their way back down to your ankles. Fetish fashion, however, hasn’t changed much over the last decade. Hemlines and silhouettes don’t change and the materials stay the same. Another thing that has stayed basically the same? My body type. I’m curvy, I’ve always been curvy; I probably always will be curvy.
No matter how many times I try on that short, tight fitting mini skirt, it just still doesn’t look right. And, well, in a community where showing skin is not only accepted, it’s expected, why shouldn’t I strut that mini? Truth be told – it just doesn’t look good. In fact, it takes my naturally curvy figure and turns it into a bag of lumps.
Dressing for your body type isn’t hard; It just takes a bit of homework, a tape measure, a full length mirror and a bit of closet purging. I have one objective when I step into my closet to get ready for a fetish party. That is, I want to come out feeling good about myself. Two things make that possible. When I look in the mirror I need to see: 1) my smooth voluptuous curves – not rolls of fat and; 2) an hourglass silhouette.
Since the beginning of fashion, women have been pursuing the perfect body. The idea of that perfect body changes occasionally, but the timeless affection for hourglass figures seems to have stuck around. That is, after all, the original reason for the corset. But I sometimes feel like we have missed the mark on fetish fashion. Instead of wearing clothing that makes us feel good about ourselves and helps us express our inner perv, we give into perv pressure. We wear what every other kinkster out there is wearing, because – well that is what we are suppose to do. There seems to be some fear that if you are not wearing a skin tight latex dress, a corset or a crinoline skirt you might not be let into the dungeon. I am here to confess to you that if your body type is not made for that latex dress then you look just as silly as the guy wearing the cardigan sweater.
Probably everyone – scratch that, as I have NEVER met anyone who thought they had the perfect body – everyone has some, usually misguided, concern about a specific body part or that their body in general is flawed. And probably everyone thinks that there are other people out there that indeed do have the perfect body. The truth is, most of us have an amazing and beautiful piece of art that we call our body. Another truth is that every woman’s body is different and every woman’s body has flaws and assets.
The key to showing off your work of art, regardless of your size or flaws is to gain a better understanding of your flaws (and assets) and to dress for your body type. There are four basic body types: The pear, the rectangle, the inverted triangle, and the hourglass. Of course there are dozens of sub categories, mostly named after more geometric shapes or fruit – as if a being an apple is better than being a circle or being a strawberry is better than being an inverted triangle. What is really important is that we take a good look at ourselves in the mirror and come to terms with our flaws, admit to our assets and work with our body type.
Next time: The Rectangle.