Product link: Wolf & Whistle Ayla Black Suspender with Harness
If we think back to when we asked, “what is the difference between men’s underwear and men’s lingerie?”, we concluded that the difference is the distinction between form and function. Underwear is function; it is designed to do a job, and aesthetics come second. Lingerie is form; it is designed to be looked at, and felt, and experienced.
Applying that definition for this Wolf & Whistle Ayla Black Suspender with Harness, we see then that this is the ultimate in what lingerie means. Not that it is the ultimate in lingerie, because I’m sure that the likes of La Perla and Bordelle would have something to say about a £20 harness from whatever the equivalent to a high street brand on the Internet is. But harnesses in particular are pure form. They serve no purpose other than to be themselves, be worn, and touched, and looked at.
And let’s not get confused by the name here. When Wolf & Whistle talk about this being a Suspender with Harness, the suspender part is just the bands that go around the thigh. It doesn’t support stockings, it has no clips, and the bands wouldn’t be tight enough to hold up stockings without turning them into a tourniquet. Take a look at the image below; on the left is a suspender harness that has clips for stockings, on the right is a harness without clips. Note that Bluebella don’t describe theirs as a suspender harness the way that Wolf & Whistle do. It’s something that you should keep an eye out for when you’re shopping.
So, what is it?
Honestly, it’s just a mix of straps and hardware that add visual interest to an outfit. Unless you do buy a harness with a specific function, like holding stockings up, it’s just going to adorn and decorate your body. Harnesses that you see on this page from Wolf & Whistle and Bluebella just add a little contemporary edge to your lingerie, a little BDSM-lite sexiness. You can get harnesses of leather and metal studs that take the BDSM angle to absolute extremes, and custom made harnesses. Or you can just fork out £20 for something like this.
How do I wear it?
Well, let me be clear and say this isn’t something you can slide into in three seconds. As you can see from the picture below, it needs some untangling before you can get into it. You have to make sure that you get the front and back sorted, and straighten out all the straps, and make sure you put your feet through the thigh hoops. You’ll need to cut the label off (before you think of complaining, it’s a requirement that labels are on lingerie when it’s sold, but of course you can cut it off) but maybe leave a millimetre or two of label showing, because that’s the only way to tell the front from the back.
I have a waist around 29”-30” depending on how many pies I’ve eaten, and I found that a UK size 10 fit me perfectly. You can adjust the waist, the length of the suspender, and the width of the thigh loops, so there is wiggle room for making it fit.
Once it’s on, you tend not to notice it’s there unless you have overfastened the thigh bands. Keep an eye out for your legs turning blue. Depending on what you’re wearing underneath, it can be difficult to pull down any briefs underneath the harness, so be prepared for that when you go to the loo (if you work in an Amazon warehouse, it’s probably not something you should wear to work).
You can see from the picture below, and on the product page, the effect that is produced when you wear one. Even if I say so myself, it does look great on, and you do get a little buzz from seeing yourself wearing it. As a gateway drug into more advanced harnesses and similar, it most definitely does the job.
The Lowdown
| Diversity and Inclusion | In general, Playful Promises are good on gender and inclusion, and they have models in a variety of sizes, ethnicities and ages across the site. I have highlighted in other PP reviews that they still only use femme models; but for this one, they use a nonbinary model called Jude who has quite a masc presentation. A |
| Sustainability | As per my regular criticism of PP, the website says nothing about the composition of this garment. That really is something they could improve. E |
| Vegan status | We don’t know what it’s made of, but looking at similar products it’s likely to be a polyamide/elastane mix with metal hardware. Frustrating that we don’t know and can only guess. C |
| Rating | I love this. I’m a definite convert to wearing harnesses and trying to find a way to add them to my outfits. They suit my preferred minimalist vibe to a tee. A |
Postgenderific 