Latex clothing
Latex clothing is made from latex rubber, either molded or tailored from latex sheeting.
It is used in many types of clothing. Rubber has traditionally been used in protective clothing, including gas masks and Wellington boots. Rubber is now generally being replaced in these application by plastics. Mackintoshes have traditionally been made from rubberized cloth.
Latex rubber as a clothing material is common in fetish fashion and among BDSM practitioners, and is often seen worn at fetish clubs. Latex is sometimes also used by couturiers for its dramatic appearance. Worn on the body it tends to be skin-tight, producing a "second skin" effect. It is also a lot more shiny than the more matte rubber. There are several magazines dedicated to the use and wearing of it.
Tailored latex
Tailored latex clothing is made from latex sheets, which are manufactured with a strict thickness tolerance. Therefore, the latex sheets produced have a greater uniformity than molded latex in thickness and overall quality.
The .02" (.4 mm) gauge is considered standard thickness for latex clothing. Even though standard tailored latex thickness is thinner than the standard molded latex, the former will usually be more resistant to tearing than molded latex since the garment creation process is different, the stress points on the garment have seams (multiple latex layers, which are glued), and therefore, the fit and resistance are different.
Tailored latex clothing is made like traditional clothing; patterns are used on latex sheets to cut the garment. But unlike regular clothing, the latex pieces are glued together instead of being sewn. However, some tailored latex garments are sewn as well as being glued. As the garment is actually tailored, it is generally a better shape to fit well on the wearer's body than molded latex.
The making of tailored latex clothing is labor intensive, so is normally more expensive than its molded latex equivalent.
Molded latex
Main article: Molded latex
molded latex clothing is made from shaped molds that are dipped into a liquid latex tank. The garment's thickness is influenced by several factors like the amount of time the latex stays on the mold, the ambient temperature and humidity during fabrication. The thickness variance is thus greater with molded latex than tailored latex. Therefore, in descriptions of molded latex garments, the latex thickness given is an average since the thickness uniformity throughout the garment can vary. However, the standard thickness of molded latex is greater than that of tailored latex. The whole garment (on a mold) is dipped into the latex and is therefore a one-piece item with no seams, unlike tailored garments created from several pieces glued together.
In general, one-piece molded garments are less well-adjusted to the shape of the body than their tailored counterparts. However, since latex is a material that will easily mold to the body, it can still achieve a tailored look and fit.
The making of molded latex clothing is less labor intensive and, therefore, is normally less expensive than tailored latex clothing.
Toys, gloves, and most fetish wear (e.g., briefs with built-in anal plug) are generally made from molded latex.
See also
External links
- Making Latex Clothing Latex Kitty teach you how to make latex clothing from A to Z.
- MJ Trends has some basic but excellent tutorial videos on how to join pieces of latex with either a basic or curved seam here. They also sell latex sheeting and adhesive.
- Station Alt for Latex Rubber sheeting by the meter, From IRELAND.
- The forums at Rubberist.net have excellent information on creating all manner of rubber garments. Direct link to the proper forum here.
More information can be found at Latexwiki:Latex clothing
| Articles related to Latex | |
|---|---|
| Latex • Glued latex • Latex allergy • Latex care • Molded latex • Sheet latex | |
| Latex clothing • Latex fetish • Rubber fetishism • Rubber and PVC Fetishism • Rubber allergy • Vacuum bed | |
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