Thanks to the gender advisors

[kitchen_kink]

Thanks, everyone, for helping me think better about the whole gender issue wrt my character, Conrade. I went with the facial hair today - played around with spirit gum and crepe hair - and it felt so right. I think it'll look a lot more natural under the stage lighting than the makeup would have.

I got my 5.11 Tactical dress uniform pants the other day, and just wearing them has helped change my carriage considerably. I am considering stuffing my pants, but the pants alone actually are helping me walk right, and I don't think I actually need it. (I have ethereal equipment anyway.;)

Any advice on binding would be appreciated; I got a 6" Ace bandage and that did okay, but I'd still like to make them go kind of out and up, so as to simulate pecs...trouble is, any binding just seems to create a flat uni-boob. Thoughts?

Finally, on the topic, just wanted to share this for anyone who hasn't seen it...oh gods, the hotness.

Comments

[entrope.livejournal.com]

You could use a very very very sturdy and one size too small non-individual-cups sports bra. Neoprene back braces also work well - you should be able to find one at a pharmacy or Skendarian Apothecary. Either of those options would allow for a little more outward squishing than the bandage, sort of like a corset. Undershirts help smooth things out a bit too.

That video always makes me overheat. Excellent choice!

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

oh yes, and ditto what she said about the undershirt. Really, no man is properly dressed without an undershirt anyway.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

Ace bandages SUCK for binding one's chest down. Try Saran Wrap.

No, I'm not kidding.

It will be uncomfortable. You will sweat under it. And you will be flat like a man. If it could make my double-Ds look like pecs, it will work for yours.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

I appreciate the advice, but I'm seconding what DS said below - I've wrapped myself in Saran before as a dress, and it's SWEATY! Also, it makes noise. :) The lights won't be hot, because it's in a cabaret-like setting, very intimate, but I'm pretty sure the sound will be audible.

I'm thinking, since I want to stay on the cheap, of doing a criss-cross wrap with a narrower Ace first, to lift and separate and slightly flatten, then battening the thing down with the wider bandage.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I recommend *against* saran wrap. While it might do the trick aesthetically, it's dangerous. Binding without allowing room to breathe is unhealthy. (as is binding for too many hours a day, but that's another story.) This page might be useful:
http://www.ftmguide.org/binding.html
or this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_binding

Especially because you're going to be on stage and moving around and talking and trying to project, please do not use something that does not stretch (i.e. saran wrap). Best case scenario, you sweat and are very uncomfortable. Worst case scenario, in the excitement of stageyness, you don't get enough oxygen and pass out.

I've used the abdominal brace (about $30 at CVS). It's not ideal for me, and I daresay for you for the same reason: not wide enough. That same thing about 3 inches wider would be ideal, I think. Also, the velcro is *very* hard to get closed with or without help!

I don't own a frog bra, but my housemate does, it seems like just as adequate a solution, plus, unlike the abdo brace, would be a good running bra.

Since you only want the solution for the play, something that would be reuseable seems like a good plan. Binders that are designed as binders (as you'll see from the pages above) can go way expensive.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I was talking about this with new housemate nohesitation just now and he's offered to have a conversation about projecting on stage when bound because that's something he's done, apparently, quite a bit. I'm told there are Things One Should Know (tm) about the breathing bit.

(Oh, and reemphasizes the don't use plastic thing, pointing out that the lights are hot, thereby increasing the probability of fainting...)

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Sweet; thanks. It won't be under hot stage lights; it's down on the floor with teh audience surrounding, and we're using all overhead lanterns and fairy lights. But still - plastic = arg.

I'm thinking of starting by bandaging a criss-cross shape over my shoulders and making a kind of flattening, lifting bra-like thing, then flattening them down further with a second bandage. So far the Ace seems pretty comfy, and hey, it's cheap.

[ashlupa.livejournal.com]

I use a combination of sport tape and duct tape for shaping (with something underneath, for duct tape). It's tricky to learn, but you might experiment with making a wide piece of athletic tape (three pieces wide)--tape from your sternum over the peak of the breast to the center of your back. Another idea is to sit down with some weights and actually use those muscles, if you aren't already--I've seen that make a huge difference in carriage.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

I am doing the weighlifting thing, which yes, helps!

I'm not sure I understand your description without a diagram... :)

Also - I notice you're a Feri, but am not sure who you are! Hello!

[ashlupa.livejournal.com]

I'm Ash, if that helps *g*--student of Storm and Thorn.

I don't have a diagram, but I can try steps. This is one of those things I can do really quickly, but is difficult to explain, and takes a lot of experimentation at first. It's an old costumers' trick (and the reverse is often used by flat-chested Rennies who can't afford an expensive corset, or by men who need to wear something that doesn't allow for stuffing but will conceal tape).

1. Make a nice wide piece of tape by tearing off three or four pieces of the same length (length equal to just under half your chest measurement) and laying them down next to each other (slightly overlapping) so that you wind up with a broad rectangle of tape. If you have large breasts or are leaping about, this can be reinforced with more athletic tape overlapping the seams or with a piece of duct tape (less comfortable and more inclined to show). Repeat so you have two.

2. Look down at your chest. Notice that if you put your hands on each breast and squish (fingertips meeting at your sternum, thumbs pointing at your chin), you get the approximate shape you're looking for (this takes more squishing for some than others).

3. Take one piece of tape. Put one end at your sternum, where your fingertips just were, and run it horizontally across your breast (it should pass over the nipple), under your arm, and secure it in the center of your back. You'll probably have to play with it quite a bit to get the proper shape, and may need supporting pieces of tape above or below depending on your cup size. You may even need to smoosh the breast just a bit towards the center by placing your fingers ~4 inches apart, centered on your sternum and level with the nipple, pinching together, and applying a small piece of tape across both breasts prior to applying the larger piece of tape. Repeat on the opposite side.

This has the effect of spreading the breast outward, creating a flat front and more rectangular shape which simulates developed pectorals. Conversely, taping in the same manner but the opposite direction is a great method for creating breasts.

Duct tape is obviously sturdier, and may be required for anything above a D cup, but is not comfortable and is more likely to show if not done well. I'd use an excess of cloth athletic tape, which also comes off fairly painlessly.

fyi

[artemisedge.livejournal.com]

I totally stole that video. You're right. It's hot. And made me giggle.