Lovely Latex

Attempting to do a bit of a "today I'm wearing" every day this week, or at least for a couple of days. Not a particularly special outfit today - all high street apart from my Miistas and Very leather shorts, and in fact mainly from the place-beginning-with-P-that-shall-not-be-mentioned. But I've been hankering after a pair of latex hold-ups for a while, except I wasn't so keen on the sweaty, sticky properties of the material, not to mention the intense care procedure, so my friend Dawn of Tokyo Royale (I'm in Afflecks Palace here, the home of the Japanese-inspired boutique) got me some latex-look stockings as a post-birthday present, which are much, much easier to wear! I'll be wearing these with big boots or flat brogues, and maybe a tea dress to create a contrast.

I've long been a lover of the aesthetics of latex clothing (though the feat of actually wearing it is a whole different matter..!). The more conventional the look seems at first, the better; the mixture of the usually overly sexualised material combined with prim daywear is the perfect juxtaposition. Plus, it's mega-fashionable at the moment, with Marc Jacobs using latex for entire garments at Louis Vuitton, and again using the rubber in his autumn/winter namesake collection for oversized pailettes.

Louis Vuitton & Marc Jacobs AW11 (both images courtesy of style.com)

I was handed a flyer for the William Wilde collection at Honour which is well worth checking out if you're a fan of fashion latex (rather than fetish style). By far my favourite is this orange column dress; reminiscent of Raf Simons' for Jil Sander spring/summer 2011 collection. Stick a skater skirt over the top as a peplum and you have a real fashion forward look.

If you're wanting something a little more theatrical, check out the new Femme-A-Licious collection at Westward Bound. This Libertine Latex Top is deep red, with statement collar and a pretty peplum. Wear with a high-waist pencil skirt, perfect for the Vuitton-led Night Porter trend.

I hope today's sojourn into sedition has provided you with a little inspiration; with a fetish finish, you can easily whip together an outfit that will make anyone hot under the collar.