Latex and fetish fabrics have a "bad" or "naughty" or "hardcore" connotation associated with them.  When the lay person things about leather or latex clothing they probably imagine a dark basement dungeon where a serious looking dominatrix punishes a client wearing shiny thigh high patent leather boots and a tight latex minidress with spikes and chains.

However, fetish fashions don't have to be about domination, power, and giving off a "tough" vibe.  They can be soft and gentle, sensual instead of pornographic, loving instead of dominating.  Stereotypes were made to be broken.

One of the many ways to give a softer look to fetish fashions is through the use of color - instead of the typical black, red, and white power colors, we can use pastel pink, blue, yellow and softer pallettes.

The design of the garmet can also greatly change the feeling and look that the garmet conveys.  One of my favorite designs is the ruffle.  Large ruffles at the bottom of knee skirts, small ruffles on panties or at the collar of a latex v-neck shirt.  Ruffles at the wristband of a pair of vinyl gloves - there are so many uses and they all lead to a look of softness, elegance, sensuality.

There are some very creative people within the Cosplay scene.  For those of you who are not familiar with what it is - cosplay is a word that stands for 'costume play'.  It originated in Japan with people who were really into video games and fantasy anime.

These people would create costumes like their favorite characters and then dress up and go to designated meeting places where they could talk and admire each others work.  I have seen some excellent costumes and ensembles that Cosplers have put together from both latex and pvc fabric.

Unfortunately, blogs aren't really the place to showcase tons of images, but I will show a few of my most recent favorites.  BTW - growing up I was a huge fan of GI Joe, so the COBRA outfit is especially dear to me :)

More to come on North American Cosplay and how you can get more info.