littlemure submitted to bikiniarmorbattledamage:
I was on a search for chain mail references when I stumbled upon this rather baffling image. A bit more digging led me to this page, full of all kinds of weird and worrisome painted on battle garb.
I’m not even sure how to tag this, my mind is just spinning over how on earth she managed to get this kit on in the first place.
[snipped]
Oh god this bothers me so much I went into the other room and took a bunch of pictures of an actual chainmaille shirt just to compare how it hangs. I even added a leather waist cincher over the top I just happened to have laying around (it’s intended for a completely different costume, I can’t imagine many things more horrifyingly uncomfortable than encouraging a bunch of steel links to imbed themselves in your flesh).
I mean the interesting part is that, to an extent, chainmaille gets the closest to boob sock territory in real life I’ve seen because the material is so heavy it pulls itself down. It’s also so heavy it’s gunna flatten most boobs out, and push them to the side. It does not have the ability to suck itself up and under the bottom of the breast, and it certainly wouldn’t naturally wedge itself into butt crevices.
Thank you so much for providing such useful photo reference!
Let’s just add that if a person is planning to do anything more than modeling (like, I dunno, fighting?) while wearing chainmail on their bare skin… they might need to reconsider. There’s a reason gambeson is a thing.
Still, even if we suspended our belief enough to accept chainmail worn without padding, THAT is how it would look like, not this or this (NSFW).
~Ozzie
Even actual porn doesn’t bother with spandex chainmail because it turns out, most people have a pretty good idea what’s under the chainmail and there is nothing that warrants the ridiculous process of trying to make it skin tight without killing the wearer.
– wincenworks
Why Wonder Woman Deserves More
Help me out here guys….
Okay, I may not be a huge comic book buff (yet still a huge fan!), but I’m willing to learn if there’s something I’m missing. I’ve always loved the idea of Wonder Woman – a powerful female warrioress from Ancient Greece/Amazonian culture (iirc), a Xena-like character who fights for virtue, honor, truth, all those good things. She plays with the big boys, and not only keeps up, but shows them how it’s done.
If that’s so, then…whywhyWHY is she most always shown in a skintight, strapless, pantsless, thong/swimming suit/flimsy piece of spandex???? I know she’s pretty indestructible, but do you know how HARD it is to fight in a leather corset, where there’s no straps to keep that gigantic chest in place?
It makes me VERY sad that such a famous, prominent figure of feminine power is mostly seen as a sex icon, mostly featured in sexy/escher-esque poses, wearing “clothing” that looks like it was sprayed on or hanging on with a wing and a prayer (and maybe ample amounts of superglue?), or any variation thereof? I say ‘mostly’, because I have seen some versions where she’s more practical, with pants, real armor, heck I’ll even settle for the Greek/Xena-style skirt in some versions. Bravo to those people for giving our poor warrioress some semblance of dignity.
If I understand correctly, like in the Xena universe, that is the ‘style’ of the era, the leather skirt with the bodice and shoulder armor, reminiscent of Romans and Greeks from Sparta, etc. Well okay then, give WW an outfit that actually looks/works like real armor from that period, instead of the spandex thong/corset she’s most often depicted in. Also, iirc, maybe she doesn’t wear full armor because that’s the ‘Amazon way’, IE: she’s so OP that she doesn’t need full covering. But give her SOMETHING that isn’t so obviously designed to sell sex first, and practicality last!
Spandex may be all the rage for comic books (and it’s probably easier to draw), but I’d like to direct your attention to some of these wonderful blogs for many, many more reasons why our beloved Wonder Woman deserves more than a minimal-coverage, maximum-bust corset (and why practical armor can be even more BA and gorgeous):
- http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/
- http://repair-her-armor.tumblr.com/
- http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/
- http://bikiniarmorbattledamage.tumblr.com/
- http://thehawkeyeinitiative.com/
Unless there is a practical, logical reason why WW is nearly always shown in the aforementioned ILLOGICAL ways, let’s face it: Sex sells, and too many people are buying. And that is no excuse, because women like myself want to see our gender treated with more dignity, respect, and understanding than what is given. You know what, I’ll bet Superman is chivalrous. And so is Wonder Woman.
I challenge any WW artist to design her with something more akin to Lady Sif (from the movie version), instead of just going with the flow.
TL;DR – Wonder Woman is too freaking amazing to be treated as a sex icon. She deserves a whole heck of a lot more from us, her fans. She deserves something befitting who she is, and what she represents.
My post isn’t intended to insult anyone, I know we all have different ideas and viewpoints. I’m just expressing my own views and frustrations with society :/
/end rant (btw, I have no problem with the comic book world; check my blogs, I’m a huge nerd! But I do have a problem with how prevalent the sex industry is, especially in my fandoms! Move over boys, girls are nerds too!)
Bolding mine. I share this sentiment.
We had posts regarding both on how questionable Wonder Woman’s strapless cleavage cut is and the rare (official!) alternative designs that are more practical and/or pay tribute to ancient Greek aesthetic, unlike the iconic outfit everyone remembers most.
~Ozzie
I really find it baffling that after sixty-four years and countless re-boots, re-designs, re-imaginings for different mediums, etc. DC Comics keeps coming back to basically her original costume but with no skirt:
Epic creativity.
– wincenworks
