get your fetish on
by dyson bezel on jun 2, 2004, 01:08
pic: inner sanctum
fetishism has been a hot topic for psychoanalysts since the seventeenth century. freud took an interest in the 1920's claiming that it had something to do with 'the missing maternal phallus", although i'm not entirely sure i follow his argument. marx gets a look in and for some it represents a response to the forces of capitalism. but whatever, the fetish party scene is alive and kicking in most urban cities on the globe.
well, kiss my whip
and that's exactly what we had in mind when mrs and i accepted the invitation to attend club wicked's inner sanctum party. we had some debate as to whether we should go with friends or just as a couple, this being our first venture. we went with the latter to not feel compromised but it might have been better if we had gone as a group. not that we didn't have an interesting time.
after discovering that mrs has a thing for a bit of bondage and spanking it seemed that this would be a memorable evening. an evening that would not be possible without the appropriate attire, of course. for me there lay the problem. what was my fetish?
i wasn't sure whether this was something you needed to know before or after you attended one of these parties. what if you were going on spec, just to see if something floated your boat? i found it a conundrum whilst mrs seemed to know exactly what she wanted to wear (or not). i couldn't see myself in rubber, wearing a nappy or a gimp mask or even pulling mrs around on a chain. i certainly didn't see myself as the 'sub' to her 'dom' and let her know if she tried anything on with her whip i'd have to give her a good slap. whey hey!
dressing for the fetish scene is not cheap and the true aficionados do it in style. several alternative fashion houses now compete on the international catwalks with the designer labels that they influence. thierry mugler, versace, marc jacobs, jean-paul gaultier have all borrowed from the fetish scene. inner sanctum, house of harlot and fairy gothmother are just a few of the hot design houses servicing the fetish fashionista's. whether you're feeling p.v.c. or not it's worth taking a look at their creations to understand how developed the fetish world has become.
insufficiently funded for the high end designer gear we opted for a more mid-range shopping experience at harmony's store in london and what an experience it was. i had arrived at the shop ahead of mrs and so had already picked out a bondage top that i thought would get me past the fetish style police. when mrs showed up we surveyed the impressive range of products, accessories and garments that support this lifestyle. whips to cat suits to nipple teasers to strap ons to chains it seems that all tastes are catered for.
pic: inner sanctum
mrs was into the tight corset and batty rider theme which, naturally, seemed spot on to me. i helped her get in and out of outfits in the changing rooms. to be honest there were a few items that we couldn't work out how to put on, but nevertheless she settled on a very sexy combo plus stockings and a whip. come the night of the party some of the practicalities of getting from home to club and back in this attire began to dawn on me, after-all we didn't live in notting hill. we drove to the club rather than brave the mini-cab lottery but that proved eventful as the bondage straps on my shirt kept getting caught up on the hand break, gear stick and indicator. not sure how i would have been able to explain myself should i crash the car although, no doubt, the upstanding members of the judiciary would understand.
club wicked is a pretty massive space based under the arches around london bridge and in the winter, when we attended, a big place to heat up. given the, flesh is best, nature of the attending patrons a chilly environment is, as any man who has jumped into cold water can tell you, a potential nightmare. although it does give the female attendance something to perk up about. this was a real problem early on in the evening as party people huddled around a portable gas fire in one of the clubs cavernous vaults. i felt sorry for the guy almost wearing the cock ring.
i still wasn't sure of what my fetish was and it occurred to me that what i was wearing would easily pass for 70's style punk of a mclaren & westwood flavour whilst mrs was straight-up bashment or dancehall. context, it would seem, has a lot to do with what constitutes fetish but for many there's far more to it than simply dressing up. as the place warmed up so did the party people.
it's hard to know whether people are acting scenes or genuinely feeling empowered to meet a need not generally recognised. there are guy's that like to dress like babies, women that love to dominate, foot worshipers, sugar plum fairies and cross dressers. there are cages, benches and racks upon which to occupy your partner or yourself subject to who wears the pants. there's a couples room which sounded promising but it was mainly girls giving their partners blow jobs. one guy was even chatting to his mate while his women was doing the linda lovelace. mrs said she was cold so wasn't really up for it despite getting off to a good start and chatting up a single blonde female but alas the moment passed.
'fetish' is a collective noun for a very broad range of alternative lifestyles and this presents quite a challenge for clubs wanting to host generic 'fetish' events appealing to a wide range of punters. it's not p.c. to comment on ages, looks and fetish type but i'm not sure why being into girls in pvc batty riders means you'll also be into a large middle aged man dressed as a garden gnome. this party had everything and there were definitely times when i felt i was in a marilyn manson video with a cast of extra's supplied by the jim rose circus.
it's mostly a friendly crowd at club wicked and some amazing looking people, there's a strong sexual theme but it's not exclusively about sex, for some it is a way of liberating themselves from the everyday. a couple approached mrs and i with a view to a foursome and although she was gorgeous he wasn't so mrs wasn't having any.
i'm still not sure what my fetish is but i must say that i do like my wife's new gear. ooo err!
