I have been into tight clothing since childhood and into Lycra since it was marketed. I have been on the London fetish scene for about ten years or so. I attend fetish clubs with zentai suits that are form fitting round the genitalia. The fetish community named me Lycraman.
I like wearing tight fitting Lycra as casual wear and often wear tight catsuits at weekends. I like the zentai suits from fets-fash (www.fets-fash.org). Coming from Germany there are no problems with customs inspections or duty. Sometimes they auction off suits that have been worn once on ebay and I got a white one just before Easter and put messages in the lycra spandex groups which read:
"Zentai Catsuit in Public: London Easter Saturday 2002"
Here in South East England the weather was very pleasant mid teens Celsius (mid sixties Fahrenheit). Just the weather for the first outdoor Lycra adventures of the year.
Good Friday I was fairly conventional. I put on a marl grey cotton Lycra catsuit with feet but no hands or gloves but it was really super skin tight and walked to my local shopping centre and did a little shopping and had my hair cut. I created a little stir.
The following day I wanted to be a little more adventurous. I had just got a fets-fash full white zentai suit at an ebay auction a few days previously. As some of you will know for fetish clubbing I usually create a unique variation of the zentai style by adding a penile sheath and scrotal sack but did not dare to wear this modification in crowded public places on a Saturday afternoon, although I do risk a quick dash from where I park the car to a fetish club in the late evening. The only modification I made was to cut out eyeholes. Saturday at about noon I tried it on. It fitted fine except that it squashed my nose a little and could have been a bit tighter round the hips and waist. I shall make appropriate modifications later. The size was small female. Whenever I put on Lycra I always wear a condom underneath so that if I get a little excited there are no tell tale spots and irreversible stains!
I tried on a white eye mask on top and mirror sunglasses and a white shoulder length wig. I was pleased with the effect as no one could see my eyes but in daylight I could see perfectly. The mask shielded the sunglasses from the moisture of my breath It was important too me to have good visibility as I wanted to see the traffic when crossing the road and even more importantly to see the reaction of the general public in the streets. To top it off I packed white wings and a halo to get an angel effect.
Often when travelling to London in say a catsuit I drive to a railway station about 15 miles out and let the train take the strain but I was a bit dubious at getting onto public transport fully masked. I pulled down the hood for the journey and drove to Camden Town. I parked at a meter paid for two hours and put up my hood mask and sunglasses and wig. Sadly one of the points of attachment of the elastic straps to my wings had broken so I left the wings and halo in the car I walked round the streets and the market and shops where they sell fetish and unusual clothes and goods.
I created quite a stir. There were one or two jeers but mainly the reaction was positive. "Wow", "That's cool", "You look great", "Where did you get that fantastic outfit", etc. Many tourists asked me to pose for a photo with them. I was on a high. After two hours I had to return to the car, as the meter was about to expire, but repeated the experience in Covent Garden and Soho. As I walked down Old Compton Street it seemed that everyone stopped and clapped.
By now it was getting darker and cooler so I headed back home. I was getting peckish. So, with my hood down but with wig in place I stopped off at MacDonald's by Canary Wharf for a portion of fries. There were one or to jeers when I walked in but standing in the queue the girl behind me could not resist stroking the material covering my arms legs and back but especially my bum asking where I got the fantastic outfit why I was wearing it etc.
There is unfortunately no photographic record of the experience other than in the film of some tourist cameras. Last year I tried to organise a public Lycra walkabout in London at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/european-spandexpo/ but that did not work out as there were only a few interested. If you are interested in joining me on my adventures post a message at that group or this group or email me at lycraman_uk@yahoo.co.uk. If something is arranged then clearly it will have to be subject to confirmation in the light of the weather forecast immediately prior to the outing. It will not be fun if it is cold and/or raining.
There are so many Lycra fetishists out there. Surely at least a few of you who could get to London who would like to participate in Lycra in public. "Lycra fetishists of the world unite- you have nothing to lose but your inhibitions ".
There were two serious responses
to this message. The first was from Dave who posted a message: "You
should have let me know. I would have been your official photographer." and the
second was from Mortice who was a member of the Spandexpo group and who was
very keen on trying a day out in a hooded catsuit.
There were only three involved
but it took several months until we could find a Saturday when all thee were
available and the weather forecast looked reasonably promising in a generally
miserable summer. At last on the 13th
July a window of opportunity arose and we went for it. I wore a
neon green fets-fash suit also from an ebay auction. It was small female and
fitted nicely and snugly. When I tried it on the balls slipped into the left
leg so I put on a pair of thong underpants underneath to hold the genitalia
central but looking at the photographs I see they created a "visible panty
line". I drove to Sevenoaks station and in the car park I put on
Transmuter spiky patent ankle length platform boots. I put on a pair of mirror
ski goggles, which covered the slits that I cut out for the eyes. Goggles tend
to mist up less than glasses. I put on a yellow/green wig to cover the goggle
straps. I cut a slit for my mouth so
that the only parts of me that were exposed were my lips which I tried to cover
with light green lipstick I put on a small black bum bag to carry wallet mobile
phone etc.
I went into Sevenoaks station and
took train to London Bridge then Northern Line to Euston where I met Mortice at
a pre-arranged meeting point at Euston Station. Mortice was not yet as brave as
me and did not travel up in Zentai catsuit but had one in his rucksack. Dave
arrived a little later as he came by car and got delayed by traffic. We went to
Camden Town by Tube and had a sandwich and a drink.
Mortice got changed in the toilet
of a Burger place. He emerged in a pink zebra catsuit from Bruce and Valerie (www.spandexwear.com). This does
not have a back zip but a zip on the inside of the legs meeting at the crotch.
He only had holes for his eyes, which for some of the time he covered with
mirrored sunglasses. It was a bit of a shame that he was encumbered with a
rucksack. He also had raised boots going to mid calf. I put my bum bag into his
rucksack, which did not add to the weight of his bag, but enabled me to show
that my suit was of one piece without anything round the waist. It is always a
liberating experience to go in public just covered by a thin membrane of lycra
it was even more liberating to be accompanied by Mortice wearing a zentai
catsuit as well.
It was a glorious summer
afternoon. Almost as soon as Mortice emerged as a zebra we were people wanted
to have their photo taken with us. It obviously takes some courage for people
to ask two very strangely clothed individuals if they could pose for a photo,
but once people saw that we were willing to be photographed they asked: "Can we
have a photo with you too please". We were photographed with a variety of
different people. The young and trendy seemed to have fewer inhibitions but
there was also an older Chinese gentleman who was standing watching intrigued
and cautiously approached us. I smiled and beckoned him over to join us and he
was delighted that his wife could take his photo with us.
There was one thing that we
noticed. Nearly all the people who asked for a photo did not have British
accents. Of course this is in part explained by the fact that if you are a
tourist from overseas you are likely to have a camera with you and if you live a
twenty minute bus ride from Camden and only come to stroll around the market
you will not take your camera but what about those who come from outside London
for the day or weekend do they not have cameras?
Is there still a residue of British reserve and shyness?
As we passed some shops we were
invited in. Mortice saw a nice pair of platform boots and the sales assistant
gave him the price without batting an eyelid. We crossed the Canal and wandered
round the canal bank and moved on to the Stables Market area. At the entrance
to "Cyberdog", two pretty girls were so pleased to see us that they embraced us
immediately.
We went back to Camden Town
Station and took the tube to Leicester Square. It was now mid-afternoon. The
reaction was somewhat less positive than in Camden. Two young lads unzipped my
back zip while we were waiting at outside the tube station. This is in contrast
to my previous experience in this part of town. The only explanation that I can
give was that my previous experience was early evening rather than mid
afternoon and the more liberated people do not go to Soho until early evening.
We went through China Town to Old
Compton Street and by this time Mortice was getting rather hot. The zebra went
to the toilet and metamorphosed into a young man with close-cropped hair an
orange shirt and tight Lycra shorts but still wearing the same boots.
We walked back to Leicester
Square station. I walked on past Trafalgar Square and as soon as I got to the
National Gallery the reaction became more positive. Is it because there were
more non-English tourists? I walked down to the Thames over the new Hungerford
footbridge and along the South Bank to the London Eye and to Waterloo Station.
At entrance to station I unzipped my mask and tucked it into my neck and put my
wig and goggles into a plastic bag, which I scrunched up into my bum bag. I
bought another light snack, which I ate on the train back to Sevenoaks.
We were very lucky that Dave took
the photographs to record these events. He is obviously an excellent
photographer and his 3.3 megapixel Casio camera was exactly the right
equipment for the occasion. It was compact so he could carry it round without
burdening himself and he could take a picture quickly whenever the opportunity
arose. To my mind the biggest advantage of his equipment was the 340 Mb
micro-drive. This enabled him to take 125 photos and he could shoot away
something which no one could afford to take and develop more than 3 rolls of 35
mm film. The only problem is that of the 125 photos there were at least 120
that were excellent
If any of those who read this
account and want to try Lycra in public for themselves would like to contact me
with a view for arranging an outing or for general advice or encouragement,
please do so. My email address is
lycraman_uk@yahoo.co.uk.
Also see my Yahoo profile:
http://uk.profiles.yahoo.com/lycraman_uk
And my lycra factsheet:
http://www.whatsyours.com/fetishes/lycra.htm.