Vintage Fetish

Vintage fetish is the erotic attraction to imagery, objects and lingerie / clothing from a different era. For the fetishist, the Victorian period is particularly rich in its collection of traditional, restrictive, underwear like whalebone corsets, ruffled petticoats and bloomers but any historical period that has its own specific type of intimate clothing can have the identical effect.

The history of lingerie gives this fetish a variety of individual eras to draw from and the enthusiast tends not to choose those that provide too much nudity. Instead, those times when women were obliged to cover up their charms provide the greatest appeal. Similarly, it is not the ease with which these clothes can be removed that provides the real imaginative thrill but the direct opposite.

With the explosion of pin-up imagery during, and after, the second world war, the idea of 1950′s American “cheesecake” photography became significant for anyone growing up at that time. As a result, the appeal of bullet bras, seamed stockings and suspenders cannot be underestimated. Recently, with the higher profile and importance of Bettie Page, the burlesque stylings of Dita Von teese and the emphasis on retro underwear on modern lingerie collections-the power of this fetish has never been greater.

Vintage Striptease

I bought this vintage dress because it seemed so innocent. It was almost the thing a puritan might wear to church. That thought passed through my mind when I chose it to wear to the Fashion and Fetish show at The Brandery in Barcelona. When I was waiting for my connection at the metro I was suddenly aware of the lingerie I was wearing beneath it. It would be so easy for a gust of wind to reveal to other commuters just what lay underneath the puritan...

I’m a tea fetishist. That doesn’t really mean that I get turned on by drinking tea or that was what I used to think. I was born in the U.K. and tea was never seen as being sexy. My idea of tea fetishism is based on the rituals around drinking it in public and the tense formality of tea-time. All of the habits associated with this strange custom, like poking your little finger out when you raise the cup to your lips, turn me on in different...

When I think about wearing retro lingerie, I always remember the pain it gives you just to get the right look. Dressing for a retro lingerie shoot takes up more time than any other. This is especially true if there’s a corset involved. I have to remind myself to attach my favourite six-strap suspender belt to my stockings before the corset is laced up because it’s almost impossible to do it afterwards. I always have a few problems with fitting...

A while ago, I wouldn’t have been seen dead wearing a pair of high-waisted panties. They were so old fashioned and unpopular that I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to own a pair. Now though, retro underwear is so in demand, particularly 1950s bullet – bras, corsets and stockings, that I really felt the lack of a well fitting pair of black, high-waisted, panties. After I found a pair and tried them on for the first time I discovered, very...

When I was trying to find my ideal suspender belt, I discovered-very quickly-that it was a much more difficult task than I had imagined. All of the ones that I looked at first were vulgar, unflattering and ordinary. I wanted something that wasn’t going to date or go out of fashion and I realised that with retro fetish lingerie you really can’t go wrong. I found my perfect suspender belt: Its vintage, six-strap, design was sophisticated,...