New Betty LaBamba Latex Gear: Zip-Back Pencil Skirt

Introducing the Latex Basics Zip-Back Pencil Skirt by Betty LaBamba. This pencil skirt is crafted from sturdy 0.45/0.50mm gauge latex rubber sheeting and features a separating zipper closure in the back. (Yup, it zips apart for easier dressing.) Not only that, you can unzip it partially from the bottom up for easier walking, which comes in handy when you have to run after somebody to give 'em the beat down. The zipper itself is fully re-enforced and has a flap (or fly) behind it to prevent your flesh from getting caught in the zipper teeth. Available in sizes 2 thru 14. See the size chart here, and the color chart here.

Price: $150.00

Available base colors: black, metallic bronze, semi-trans black.

Available trim colors: black, white, semi-trans black.

Zipper available in black or white.

Email: bettylabamba[at]bettylabamba[dot]com to order.

Jennifer Lopez in Latex?

...not really, but it's close enough.

Found! in the Fashion Rocks supplement that came in the mail with my September issue of Vogue and Elle magazine: Jennifer Lopez, aka J-Lo, in a Dolce & Gabbana metal padlock corset and OMO Norma Kamali black leggings. The photo shoot details page in back of the magazine stated that the leggings are PVC. Too bad.

More Leggings and Other Things

Found! in the September '07 issue of US Vogue magazine: random rubber headgear and something like resembles rubber leggings. The photos reproduced below are part of the same spread as the first two in my last post.

In both photos, you can see some type of red latex rubber hat thingamajig placed under the real hats. Don't go crazy looking for these hats on Madison Avenue; my guess is that the stylist cut up a sheet of 0.45mm or 0.55mm red latex and artfully arranged the pieces under the model's hats. Stylists--good stylists at any rate--do that kind of thing when it's time to add extra oomph to the clothing.

The "lipstick-red" leggings are by OMO Norma Kamali, who's known for her fetish-friendly PVC and spandex leg wear. The blurb doesn't say what kind of material the leggings are made out of, but they sure do look like latex. It's hard to tell from just a picture because PVC and certain types of shiny spandex sometimes photograph like latex.

In the second picture, the red gloves certainly shine like latex, but judging from the thumb seam, I think they are patent leather. Neither the maker nor the material is indicated anywhere in the magazine.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Rubber Box Fashion For Your Next Rubber Box Social

Found! in the '07 September issue of US Vogue magazine: a $858 boxy rubber shift dress I can't afford. The designer is Marni, who also did this jacket I wrote about in June. (I'm not linking to the Marni website because the site having major issues with my browser.)


The photo caption says the following:


BOLT FROM THE BLUE Beaver-fur mittens, a laminated rubber dress, and killer platform peep-toes create an electrifying ensemble; the cerulean stockings add even more voltage. Marni ebony dress [$858], mittens, and stilettos, Marni, NYC. Wolford tights.

And here's another rubber piece from Marni, this time an "onyx" rubber skirt at a mere $486. (Still complaining about the cost of rubber clothing, eh?) Vogue's fantastic caption writer tells us that "natural or synthetic--whatever the fabric, the more tactile, the better." I agree!

Let's come back to the first dress, since it's also featured in the Fashion Rocks supplement that came with the Vogue in a very oi! oi! old skool punk rock spread. This makes me wanna break out some Exploited and talk about the good old days.

Also note that the model in the striped mohair sweater/pull-over is wearing black latex leggings. So what's up with all the latex leggings in the fashion magazines? I could put it into some type of socio-economic-post-feminist-ersatz-intellectual context, but I don't wear a bow tie and sandals on a daily basis--and I like to think my readers can smell bullshit from a mile away. Here's my verdict: they're trendy and they look fucking cool with almost everything.

Dishwashing Glove Gardening + Caucasian China Feti-chic

Found! in the September 2007 issue of US Vogue magazine are two ads I think you will find interesting. Click on the pictures to full their full size.

The first one is an ad for tarynrose.com that pictures a woman in evening wear pretending to do gardening while wearing--stay with me now--fuchsia rubber dishwashing gloves! It doesn't make much sense, but the photo looks very adorable and very elegant. Wouldn't it be a scream if all the starlet "it" girls began wearing brightly colored dishwashing gloves with their borrowed couture on the red carpet?




Next is an ad with a Blade Runner by way of Kill Bill theme for the RAZR cell phone . I think it says "RAZR 2" or "RAZR Z" on the bottom--the font's too screwed up for me to read. (Frankly, I don't give a crap what it says. Some of the buttons on my old RAZR phone started falling off, and I had to put scotch tape on the keypad to save them.) Too bad the outfit is not rubber; it's made out of some kind of PVC fabric. I can't tell exactly what material the accessories are made out of.

Back to School Blues

It's nearing September, and we all know what that means: back to school time. You probably have kids that have to go back (kicking and screaming 'cuz summer fun time's over), or you're the one going back (kicking and screaming 'cuz you don't know how the fuck you're gonna pay off those student loans). The weather is getting colder, the sky is getting darker earlier, and you could have sworn you heard God laughing at you.

The approaching fall is not all that bad, however, considering now's the time of year when all the major US fashion mags put out their fall "biggest issue ever" editions. Ah, 5 lbs and 700+ pages of chic lumpen capitalism! The mailman hates me; I subscribe to all of them--Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, W. I've already "read" through the first 5lbs. Now I just have 15 more pounds of glossy perfume-drenched paper to wade through, mentally and physically . (Is there a patron saint of paper cuts I could pray to?) The good news is that I already found 5 pictures worth scanning and posting for my rubbery fashion conscious readers.

An another note, R.I.P. to Phil Rizzuto, Brooke Astor, Leona Helmsley, and Merv Griffin.

Brazil: Steampunk Lumpen Totalitarian Bureaucratic Nightmare

Suspicion breeds confidence. --Brazil

What do ducts run amok, terrorist bombings, retro-futuristic steampunk imagery, lumpen totalitarian bureaucracy and Robert DeNiro have in common? The movie Brazil of course! Jonathan Pryce stars in this black comedy directed by Terry Gilliam (one of the guys from Monty Python) . Besides Robert DeNiro it also features Michael Palin (another Monty Python guy). The movie's from 1985, so you can be sure it does not have that perfectly bland digital commercial patina you see in every movie made nowadays.

The sets and costumes are absolutely amazing-- too amazing even for a government mule to scoff at. And yes, there is some random rubber content in the movie, though much of can be easily missed. Keep an eye out for the evil cops in gas masks and some random guy breathing into a rubber bag at what looks like a phone booth.

Semi-Transparent Smoke VS Semi-Transparent Black

4D Rubber makes the Semi-Trans Smoke, officially termed Semi-Trans Grey, which I previously wrote about here. The Semi-Trans Black is made by Radical Rubber, the new latex kid on the block.

So what's the difference between them? I took pictures. Look.

I'm guessing both companies use some kind of black pigment for both. One's a hell of a lot greener than the other, obviously. However, S.T. Black does have a slight greenish hue, though on the whole it appears very brownish under most lighting conditions. This reminds me of one time in high school art class when I was mixing black and white paint together. You would think I would get gray paint out of the mix, but no....I got some fucked up chartreuse green. It may have been because of my Alice in Wonderland luck or because of the excellent fine arts department at my ol' high school where the track coach was also the art teacher. He was a real character, as are all high school teachers, and had no artistic ability or critical eye. His only direction to us art students was "You should put some more glue on this" or "Let me put some glue on that." On second thought, maybe I actually did learn something from that class. Excuse me while I go put some glue on some latex.

S.T. Smoke and S.T. Black photographed over a white background:

S.T. Smoke and S.T. Black over my arm: