Clothing fetish

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Fetish Models at The Los Angeles Fetish Film Festival, Hollywood, CA on April 16, 2011


The clinical definition of a sexual fetish would require that a person be fixated on a specific garment to the extent that it exists as a recurrent (or exclusive) stimulus for sexual gratification.[1][2]

One who exhibits a clothing fetish may be aroused by the sight of a person wearing a particular garment, or by wearing the garment oneself which can be because of the look one achieves by wearing it or the way it feels while it is being worn (and might also get some arousal by seeing somebody in it and imagining how it feels). In later case arousal may originate from the way its fabric feels (see clothing fetish by fabric type) or from the way the garment feels and functions as whole (restrictive clothing being an example).

Others with a clothing fetish may be aroused by the sight of such garments, even without wearing them and in the absence of other person wearing them, and may also derive pleasure from collecting them.

Relative prevalence of garment fetishism[edit]

In order to determine the relative prevalence of different fetishes, researchers at the University of Bologna obtained a sample of at least 5000 individuals worldwide from 381 Internet discussion groups. The relative prevalences were estimated based on (a) the number of groups devoted to a particular fetish, (b) the number of individuals participating in the groups and (c) the number of messages exchanged. The top garment fetish was clothes worn on the legs or buttocks (such as stockings or skirts), followed by footwear, underwear, whole-body wear (such as costumes and coats), and upper-body wear (such as jackets or waistcoats).[3]

By garment type[edit]



Restrictive clothing[edit]




Hobble skirts[edit]

Lingerie Model wearing full-fashioned stockings, with an open-bottom girdle, see-through panties, and high heels.



Stockings and socks[edit]


Like feet and shoes, sock fetishists often require some specific attraction in the object which may include particular styles or knit patterns. People with a fetish for socks may have no special attraction to feet or shoes. Some speculate that the strong attraction some men exhibit to the smell of socks worn by women may be an example of the existence of human pheromones – the hypothesis being that the sweat from women's feet may contain chemical attractants that arouse a male subject and that when a male subject is exposed to the smell of women's feet or footwear at a young age that young man may carry a strong psycho-chemical imprint which motivates his enthusiasm for worn socks or shoes later in life.

Many male sock fetishists are also highly specific regarding the nature of the socks that stimulate them, and this may be a product of exposure to particular types of clothing during the teenage years. This belief is supported by observations that the nature of sock fetishism appears to differentiate according to age brackets and periods of clothing trends. Among men who exhibit an interest in women's socks who were in their early pubescent period during the late 1980s/early 1990s when slouch socks were a popular clothing trend, there is a tendency to exhibit a strong interest in very heavy slouchy socks, whereas younger men with a sock fetish tend to show greater interest in the short ankle-style socks that became popular in later years. There is also a regional trend in sock fetishes, with men who spent their teenage years living in northern climates exhibiting a strong interest in heavy wool socks.




Main article: spandex fetishism


Jackets and coats[edit]

Jacket fetishism is usually associated with the fixation or attraction to padded nylon jackets – though it can also be associated with leather jackets, particularly in association with Bondage (BDSM).[citation needed] In a survey, researchers at the University of Bologna found that 9% of members of online fetish groups were in groups related to upper-body wear such as jackets.[3] Popular jackets among jacket fetishists include the Snorkel Parka, the MA-1 bomber jacket, down jackets with a nylon shell, and pea coats.[citation needed]



Gender-related clothes[edit]

Fetishism may include various garments typically worn by, and associated with persons of a particular gender. For example, this could be a male attraction to women who are wearing skirts, dresses, or blouses. Certain gender-related elements of clothes could be the source of a fetish, include lace, ruffles, floral print, embroidery, back closures, or various colors (such as mauve and pink).


Main article: Uniform fetishism


By fabric type[edit]





The most famous, and one of the earliest depictions of the topic was the semi-autobiographical novel Venus in Furs (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. After the novel's success, Sacher-Masoch apparently decided to take on a fetish sadomasochism-lifestyle.[9] In 1884, he had sent a copy of the novel to Richard von Krafft-Ebing, who gave Sacher-Masoch immortality when, in 1891 he used this ancient Austrian nobility name as an eponym for what today is called bottoming.


Main article: Leather subculture




Woman wearing blue PVC shorts and top

Latex fetish is the fetishistic attraction to latex clothing or garments and sometimes called rubber fetishism as latex is a type of rubber. Latex or rubber fetishists may refer to themselves as "Rubberists". Varieties of latex fetishism include body inflation and attraction to transparent rubber. Latex fetishism includes wearing clothing made from latex, observing it worn by others, and enjoyment of erotic fantasies featuring latex garments, catsuits, hoods, divers or industrial protective clothing. A common latex fetish icon is the dominatrix wearing a skin-tight glossy black latex or PVC catsuit.

PVC fetishism is often closely associated with latex fetishism even though the two materials are very different. PVC fetishism involves an erotic attraction to shiny plastic clothes made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurathane or similar man made materials. PVC may be mistaken for shiny patent leather. PVC fetishism also includes an erotic attraction to clothing such as clear plastic raincoats, slipcovers, custom clothing made out of clear PVC or inflatable items.

Nylon fetishism includes the wearing of shiny raincoats, jackets and trousers. In the case of heterosexuals, special preferences often include nylon clothing items designed for or belonging to the other sex.


Main article: spandex fetishism
Spandex Zentai suit



Full-body suits called zentai entirely immerse the wearer in skin tight fabric. The suits are essentially catsuits with gloves, feet, and a hood. The wearer experiences total enclosure and those who enjoy erotic objectification might make use of the garment's anonymizing aspect. The word zentai means whole body in Japanese.

See also[edit]


  2. ^ de Silva WP (1999). "ABC of sexual health. Sexual variations" (PDF). BMJ 318 (7184): 654–6. doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7184.654. PMC 1115095. PMID 10066212. 
  4. ^ Steele, Valerie (February 8, 2003). The Corset: A Cultural History. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09953-9. 
  5. ^ Kunzle, David (August 1, 2006). Fashion & Fetishism: Corsets, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body-Sculpture. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-3809-9. 
  6. ^ "Custom Hobble Skirts". Retrieved January 9, 2015. 
  9. ^ Written in the flesh: a history of desire. Author: Edward Shorter. Editor: University of Toronto Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8020-3843-3, ISBN 978-0-8020-3843-2