Bondage Trivia

I thought it might be fun to come up with random bits of bondage trivia... every day objects/activities/social customs which enabled persons to experience a bit of bondage (past or present), with the hopes it might spark some creative ideas for those looking for new experiences.


During Victorian times, fashion dictated one wear opera gloves with their evening gown (gloves extending past the elbow in length), in order to maintain proper decorum. The sight of a naked arm/wrist was believed to be too arousing for public viewing...

The ideal lady's gloved hand, created a gentle "cupped" appearance, regardless of how much the woman in question wished to flatten her palm. To achieve this look, women often wore kidskin leather gloves ½ - 1 full size smaller than their actual needed size; the process of drawing on one's gloves involved the accessory being powdered, then tugged, pulled and stretched up the arm, as the lady's hand and wrist were forced into a space too small for them (which created the aforementioned "gracefully cupped" appearance)- this sometimes could take more than an hour to accomplish. Once a lady was gloved for the evening, they were not removed, as the process of taking off one's gloves was often as difficult as the process of pulling them on, which (of course) would disrupt the entire evening's schedule. While dining, a lady would unbutton three or four pearl buttons at the wrist (usually ont he the hand used to hold the fork), pull her fingers out, and tuck the "hand" of the glove back upon itself (into the arm of the glove) to keep it out of the way while she dined. Afterwards, the lady would be assisted by a chambermaid, to insert her hand back into it's elegant leather bondage for the rest of the evening.

The experiece of wearing fine leather opera gloves is... interesting. When "properly fitted" (too small), it hampers one's ability to effectively use one's hands, on top of robbing one of the sense of touch. Another intersting thing about "glove bondage" is that (particularly in winter), it isn't really something the general public would notice, which would allow one to go about daily life whilst secretly bound.

One of the earliest institutions in every New England community was a pair of stocks. The first public building was a meeting-house, but often before any house of God was builded, the devil got his restraining engine. It was a true English punishment, and to a degree, a Scotch; and was of most ancient date. In the Cambridge Trinity College Psalter, an illuminated manuscript illustrating the manners of the twelfth century, may be seen the quaint pictures of two men sitting in the stocks, while two others flout them. So essential to due order and government were the stocks that every village had them.

from: http://www.getchwood.com/punishments/curious/chapter-3.html

CutieMouse said:

I thought it might be fun to come up with random bits of bondage trivia... every day objects/activities/social customs which enabled persons to experience a bit of bondage (past or present), with the hopes it might spark some creative ideas for those looking for new experiences.

***​

During Victorian times, fashion dictated one wear opera gloves with their evening gown (gloves extending past the elbow in length), in order to maintain proper decorum. The sight of a naked arm/wrist was believed to be too arousing for public viewing...

The ideal lady's gloved hand, created a gentle "cupped" appearance, regardless of how much the woman in question wished to flatten her palm. To achieve this look, women often wore kidskin leather gloves ½ - 1 full size smaller than their actual needed size; the process of drawing on one's gloves involved the accessory being powdered, then tugged, pulled and stretched up the arm, as the lady's hand and wrist were forced into a space too small for them (which created the aforementioned "gracefully cupped" appearance)- this sometimes could take more than an hour to accomplish. Once a lady was gloved for the evening, they were not removed, as the process of taking off one's gloves was often as difficult as the process of pulling them on, which (of course) would disrupt the entire evening's schedule. While dining, a lady would unbutton three or four pearl buttons at the wrist (usually ont he the hand used to hold the fork), pull her fingers out, and tuck the "hand" of the glove back upon itself (into the arm of the glove) to keep it out of the way while she dined. Afterwards, the lady would be assisted by a chambermaid, to insert her hand back into it's elegant leather bondage for the rest of the evening.

The experience of wearing fine leather opera gloves is... interesting. When "properly fitted" (too small), it hampers one's ability to effectively use one's hands, on top of robbing one of the sense of touch. Another interesting thing about "glove bondage" is that (particularly in winter), it isn't really something the general public would notice, which would allow one to go about daily life whilst secretly bound.

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Ohh Miss Cutey for one with a self confessed hand fetish ( moi ) , the glove topic is alluring. In my early 20's it wasn't that rare to wear either elbow or opera length gloves at least once a week . I loved the ritual of doing up the tiny buttons ( unless they were prone to popping....usually around the fleshy part of the inside thumb) , I did not however enjoy the lack of sensation in my hands. I am rather tactile and felt like I was being deprived of a sensation I truly enjoyed. Then I was gifted a pair of kid leather gloves. Ohh yum . Still took some adjustment to get them on however in the longer term they stretched just slightly enough to become like a second skin. My partner at the time also wore leather gloves , his were of a sturdier grade of leather .......oh my. Think this is moving into my fetish zone yet ? BINGO. You know what goes really well with gloves on men ..........belts :chuckles:

Getting back on topic in regards to the diversity of the idea.......... I was looking at a magazine last night and happened across these beautiful byzantine style gold wrist cuffs by a Company called Vedura. I was thinking they would make a charming alternative to a collar. Naturally I had redesigned them in entirety to my own imaginative standards. Locked onto the wrist with perhaps some heavy filigree engraving regards as to a Dominant's intials ( not unlike signet rings ) perhaps some symbolism that would remain veiled in it's actual pedigree by the providence of self knowledge only a couple can share. Seeeeeeeee how carried away I was getting. I just looked , I cannot find an example online of the one I viewed. Linked below is another from the same Company that gives an example of quality. The design and jewels are too ostentatious for my tastes, well maybe if it was diamonds only .......:chuckles: Noooooooo joking really , I would prefer the diamonds on the inside where no one else could see them. I will have more to 'offer' on this topic later when I have recovered my mind from whence it is currently distracted. Color me bad .

Verdura .....see bracelets

Mmmmmmm... you mentioned both the 12th century and an illuminated manuscript....

*quietly sits in a little mini-kink happy spot for a few minutes*

@}-}rebecca---- said:

Ohh Miss Cutey for one with a self confessed hand fetish ( moi ) , the glove topic is alluring.

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...I must admit, when picking through gloves this afternoon, I kept the best ones for myself (black cotton wristlets with bronze buttons, white cotton gauntlet length with appliques, a pair of opera gloves from the 60s (knit; 1 size too small), the mid-forearm length black leather lined in silk, and the dove gray suede with black topstitching... the kidskin opera gloves (2 pair) have to go, as they are nowhere NEAR even close to pretending to fit my hands.

*sigh* I have "artist's hands" (well, my grandmother said I had "Good practical worker's hands", but *I* still think of them as artist's hands ), which means my glove size is 7½ - 8, as my fingers are annoyingly long...

In the 1830's, the corset was thought of as a medical necessity. It was believed that a woman was very fragile, and needed assistance from some form of stay to hold her up. Even girls as young as three or four, and probably directed by the best motives, were laced up into bodices.

Gradually these garments were lengthened and tightened. By the time they were teenagers, the girls were unable to sit or stand for any length of time without the aid of a heavy canvas corset reinforced with whale bone or steel. The corset deformed the internal organs making it impossible to draw deep breath, in or out of a corset. Because of this, Victorian women were always fainting and getting the vapors.

Women were thought of as the weaker sex, therefore their minds and bodies were weak. So the corset was deemed morally and medically necessary. Tight lacing was considered virtuous - a loose corset was probably a sign of a loose woman. To keep her innocence and virtuosity, a lady had to be chaperoned everywhere she went. She could not read or see any plays lest it excite her imagination. Even Shakespeare was thought unsuitable for ladies. A woman needed to protect herself from lustful men (and her own morality) by wearing heavily reinforced layers of clothing and tight corsets that made getting undressed a long and difficult task.

Working-class women (except when dressed for special occasions) did not go through the discomfort of wearing tightly laced corsets. They wore looser corsets and simpler clothes, with less weight. The higher up in class a lady was, the more confining her clothes were. This was because they didn't need the freedom to do household chores. Paid servants took care of such cumbersome matters.

Thanks to contributor Anders Dinsen for the following extract:

(He wrote this referring to Valerie Steele's book "Fashion and Eroticism, Ideals of Feminine Beauty from the Victorian Era to the Jazz Age". Oxford University Press, 1985.)

The corset is an interesting garment, which to most people in our modern world seems a very strange piece of underwear. We have all heard about the times when women were encased in long stiff corsets, reduced to nothing but objects of beauty, unable to perform any task. This is, however, only a part of the historical facts about that time - and about corsets.

When talking corsetry, the most interesting period of fashion is the period from 1820 to about 1910. But the corset is much older than that. In Europe, it has been in general use as an undergarment since the middle ages, but it probably dates several thousands of years back. The corset has at all times been used for shaping the body, most often for compressing the waist, but sometimes for raising the bust.

The most widespread use of corsets was in the 19th century. Contrary to common belief, almost all women of every class wore corsets in those times. Fashion was formed by the upper class, so they were the primary users of the 'fashion devices' like corsets and the crinoline, but the working classes followed the trends of fashion to as high a degree as possible. For example, the Courtaulds Company instructed its workers in 1860, that: "The present ugly fashion of hoops or crinolines ... is ... quite unfitted for the work of our factories. ... We now request our hands at all factories to leave hoop and crinolines at home." [Steele, p. 75].

A compelling question is of course, how tightly were the corsets laced? There are many reports of waists between 18 and 14 inches - even 12 inch waists are mentioned. [Steele, p. 163] However, it is believed that most accounts of these very small waists represent fantasies. Measurements of corsets in museum collections indicate that most corsets of the period 1860 to 1910 measured from 20 to 22 inches. Furthermore, those sizes do not indicate how tightly the corsets were laced. They could easily have been laced out by several inches, and probably were, because it was prestigious to buy small corsets.

So ordinary corsets were not so tight after all, and contrary to common belief, the construction of the corset with the metal busk for front closure and the lacing in the back, enabled the bearer to lace herself in. She did not need a maid or husband to help her.

Severe tight-lacing was practiced, and some corsetieres specialized in cultivating very small waists. Some men developed a fetish for small waists, a fetish which was regarded as quite acceptable. Small waists and the corset probably played about the same role as full breasts and the Wonder bra play today.

http://www.victoriaspast.com/DressingRoom/corsethistory.htm

CutieMouse said:

...I must admit, when picking through gloves this afternoon, I kept the best ones for myself (black cotton wristlets with bronze buttons, white cotton gauntlet length with appliques, a pair of opera gloves from the 60s (knit; 1 size too small), the mid-forearm length black leather lined in silk, and the dove gray suede with black topstitching... the kidskin opera gloves (2 pair) have to go, as they are nowhere NEAR even close to pretending to fit my hands.

*sigh* I have "artist's hands" (well, my grandmother said I had "Good practical worker's hands", but *I* still think of them as artist's hands ), which means my glove size is 7½ - 8, as my fingers are annoyingly long...

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Wearing white gloves just screams masochist.

Just saying..... :smiles:

I wouldn't make it out the dressing room with white gloves pristine, whoaaaa there goes my mind again with another idea..... oh my. Pleased to hear you are investing in yourself with some glove therapy. I am not expecting to be knighted or presented at Court in the near future, my long glove wearing days are past. They also look rather obtuse I imagine with sarong .The kid leather however ........

@}-}rebecca---- said:

Wearing white gloves just screams masochist.

Just saying..... :smiles:

I wouldn't make it out the dressing room with white gloves pristine, whoaaaa there goes my mind again with another idea..... oh my. Pleased to hear you are investing in yourself with some glove therapy. I am not expecting to be knighted or presented at Court in the near future, my long glove wearing days are past. They also look rather obtuse I imagine with sarong .The kid leather however ........

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I'm allergic to white - it breaks out in spots whenever I wear it.

graceanne said:

In the 1830's, the corset was thought of as a medical necessity. It was believed that a woman was very fragile, and needed assistance from some form of stay to hold her up. Even girls as young as three or four, and probably directed by the best motives, were laced up into bodices.
http://www.victoriaspast.com/DressingRoom/corsethistory.htm

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Ohh good Lawd Miss Gracie just broke out the corsetry.
:watches Cutey hyperventilate:

@}-}rebecca---- said:

Ohh good Lawd Miss Gracie just broke out the corsetry.
:watches Cutey hyperventilate:

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And the clothing. If the clothes they wore during those times weren't bondage I don't know what was.

touche...

graceann I wear vintage corsets at times and let me tell you breathing is not always an option if you get strung in too tightly.

d

graceanne said:

And the clothing. If the clothes they wore during those times weren't bondage I don't know what was.

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Blushing Bottom said:

touche...

graceann I wear vintage corsets at times and let me tell you breathing is not always an option if you get strung in too tightly.

d

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A lot of people now-days wear corsets, and I think tha'ts fine and cool. The crime was in putting small children in corsets until it deformed their bodies. One of the main reasons so many upper-class women died in child birth of that time was because of corsets.

Y'all do realize that the benifit of not being able to breathe deeply whilst corsetted, is that it messes with one's blood oxygen levels, right?

Gasping (because one is umm... stimulated), causes the diaphram to push up, but there isn't really anywhere to go like there is when one isn't corsetted. So if one is properly laced, one never recovers from the first gasp... it's like being trapped in a perpetual yawn. The more you try to regain your breath, the harder it is to regain your breath. If the ummm... stimulation continues while the ability to breathe deeply is thus compromised, the disruption to the blood oxygen levels only increases.

To be blunt, when one is properly corsetted, then slowly tormented to the point of climax, by the time the climax occurs, one tends to be in a biological state (due to the blood oxygen imbalance) which makes the climax nearly impossible to *stop*.

Never knock the blessed hug, of a properly laced corset...

Hm. Makes me wonder if that's why I like breath play so much.

The four-in-hand necktie (as distinct from the four-in-hand knot) was fashionable in Great Britain in the 1850s. Early neckties were simple, rectangular cloth strips cut on the square, with square ends. The term "four-in-hand" originally described a carriage with four horses and a driver; later, it also was the name of a London gentlemen's club. Some etymologic reports are that carriage drivers knotted their reins with a four-in-hand knot (see below), whilst others claim the carriage drivers wore their scarves knotted 'four-in-hand', but, most likely, members of the club began wearing their neckties so knotted, thus making it fashionable. In the latter half of the 19th century, the four-in-hand knot and the four-in-hand necktie were synonymous. As fashion changed from stiff shirt collars to soft, turned-down collars, the four-in-hand necktie knot gained popularity; its sartorial dominance rendered the term "four-in-hand" redundant usage, shortened "long tie" and "tie".



Opponents of necktie wearing have cited risks associated with the wearing of neckties as an argument for discontinuing the practice. These risks have primarily involved entanglement, infection, and vascular constriction. The risk of entanglement is generally well understood by people working around machinery or in situations where person-to-person confrontation may occur (e.g., police and prison personnel, and in certain medical fields).[2] The answer is generally to avoid wearing ties, or use the clip-on variety which detach from the wearer when grabbed.

The risk of vascular constriction, in cases where ties are worn with over-tight collars, has been noted. Studies have shown an increase in intra-ocular pressure in these cases which can worsen the condition of people with already weakened retinas.[3] People with glaucoma should exercise special care. In all cases sensible precautions can mitigate these risks; the danger lies in lack of awareness of the risks. Paramedics performing basic life support remove the tie from a victim as one of the very first steps when a victim is unconscious or has difficulty breathing to ensure it does not compromise the airway.

CutieMouse said:

To be blunt, when one is properly corsetted, then slowly tormented to the point of climax, by the time the climax occurs, one tends to be in a biological state (due to the blood oxygen imbalance) which makes the climax nearly impossible to *stop*.

Never knock the blessed hug, of a properly laced corset...

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I don't mean to interrupt this very ladylike conversation but....SHUT THE FUCK UP! Really? I'll refrain from posting the dancing banana and just say, my my, must look into this a little further.

intothewoods said:

I don't mean to interrupt this very ladylike conversation but....SHUT THE FUCK UP! Really? I'll refrain from posting the dancing banana and just say, my my, must look into this a little further.

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*screams of laughter*

As to the gloves, I bought these adorable ivory wrist length gloves several months back, with a pearl button. I'm not sure what the fabric is. Seems sturdier than cotton, but not leather. I have yet to wear them. I'm afraid to get them dirty!

CutieMouse said:

To be blunt, when one is properly corsetted, then slowly tormented to the point of climax, by the time the climax occurs, one tends to be in a biological state (due to the blood oxygen imbalance) which makes the climax nearly impossible to *stop*.

Never knock the blessed hug, of a properly laced corset...

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note - the above, in general, applies only to those with internal plumbing. Those with external plumbing eventually run dry.

still-in-all well worth the effort

Shankara20 said:

note - the above, in general, applies only to those with internal plumbing. Those with external plumbing eventually run dry.

still-in-all well worth the effort

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[hijack]Psssst...sorry for the hijack, but y'all are pretty much the lingerie people on this board...So, whadya think about the trend of wearing a cute slip that's a little longer than your dress, and letting it peak out? Super cute? Or, dude, your underwear is showing? [/end hijack]

intothewoods said:

[hijack]Psssst...sorry for the hijack, but y'all are pretty much the lingerie people on this board...So, whadya think about the trend of wearing a cute slip that's a little longer than your dress, and letting it peak out? Super cute? Or, dude, your underwear is showing? [/end hijack]

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once in a while I have something else that peaks out from my slip,
but that is a matter for another thread

intothewoods said:

[hijack]Psssst...sorry for the hijack, but y'all are pretty much the lingerie people on this board...So, whadya think about the trend of wearing a cute slip that's a little longer than your dress, and letting it peak out? Super cute? Or, dude, your underwear is showing? [/end hijack]

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I have a worse habit of wearing lingerie as dresses and camisoles, that aren't supposed to be dresses or camisoles, so I'm probably not the best one to ask.

I am torn on the dubject, though... the prim and proper part of me gets horrified at the idea of my slip intentionally showing, while the scattered, damnit this is too cute to hide part of me doesn't care. LOL

Shankara20 said:

once in a while I have something else that peaks out from my slip,
but that is a matter for another thread

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Bad Papa Shank!