How to wear: nipple tassels

We know you’re scared of nipple tassels. Sure, they look amazing when worn properly, but you couldn’t possibly wear such a thing, right? What if you looked silly? Don’t they hurt? How do you even put them on?

In reality, tassels can look spectacular as part of a lingerie set, will suit a variety of personal styles, and aren’t going to do anything horrible to your tender bits. Once you try them, you might find that they’re the secret sauce you never knew your lingerie drawer needed. If you’ve got a secret hankering to let your burlesque side out, we’re here to hold your hand and guide you through the world of nipple tassels — from where to buy them to how to wear them. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Where to buy nipple tassels
How to attach nipple tassels
What to wear with nipple tassels

Where to buy nipple tassels

There’s a huge range of places to buy tassels from, although many of them are still relatively “underground.” We’ve done the hunting and picked out some of our favourites from the extravagent land of tassels.

First up is a designer favoured by the lovely Immodesty Blaize and countless other burlesque performers: the nipple tassel designer Titmore & Asspley (what a name!). These crystal concoctions (above left) aren’t exactly what you’d expect from nipple tassels — you might have imagined red hearts, but what about skulls, bows, devils and even snowflakes? There’s an option for any personal style – from edgy to girly, flirty to vixen. Titmore’s site is not up and running yet, but you can see their entire collection on MySpace (requires registration, go to pics, prices are listed below). As a hello to Knickers readers, Titmore & Asspley is giving every Knickers reader 10% off any order — just drop designer Sarah a line at titmoreandasspley@hotmail.com.

If you fancy something a little more simple, check out Agent Provocateur’s collections of pasties and tassels – we love this little gold star set and this sugary pink set is just adorable. Coco de Mer also has a lovely black set (pictured above right), and She Said Boutique has a great collection at reasonable prices.

Tassels haven’t quite hit the mainstream yet, so you can find some really unique ones in unexpected places — craft-site Etsy has beautiful orchid pasties, black hearts, and lovely flowers for around $20, all handmade by independent sellers. Even eBay has a outrageous peacock feathers pastie for the more adventurous.

Make your own tassels!
If all those prices still look too dear for you, there’s a great step-by-step guide at Think Pretty showing you how to make your own tassels. For more information, try checking out this thread at the Ministry of Burlesque forum — it’s chock full of detailed instructions on how to have a go at making your own.

How to attach nipple tassels

To attach your tassels, you’ve got two choices: tape or glue.

Attaching with tape
Some tassels you buy will already come with a “pastie,” or a disposable tape for attaching the tassel. Once those run out, however, you can simply use “tit tape” or “boob tape,” or any other double-sided tape. We recommend Hollywood Fashion Tape from the Useful Chick Stuff Company — we tried out a lot of their products at the big show in Paris this year, and unlike a lot of brands capitalizing on this industry, they really go the extra mile to make sure their products are useful for women.

Attaching with glue
If you’re planning on some serious tassel-twirling or are just nervous about the tassels falling off, you might prefer to use glue — there are two common kinds, eyelash glue and a tackier spirit gum (used by costume departments). Spirit gum requires a remover liquid to take off, and you’ll also need to use the remover on the inside of the tassel to keep it from being damaged. Also, either glue could irritate your skin, so definitely test the glue out on a less sensitive part of your body first!

What to wear with nipple tassels

This is all very pretty, you say, but what in the world would i wear nipple tassels with? If you’re like us, you’re probably not very comfortable with the tassel on its own and want a bit more support (not to mention something to cover a bit more skin!). There are two simple solutions: quarter-cup bras, and underbust corsets.

Quarter-cup bras and nipple tassels
Quarter-cup bras only cup the bottom of the breast, but leave the nipple exposed, perfect for a cheeky tassel. Agent Provocatuer takes the prize for this beautiful ribboned “cupless” bra for £75 (pictured above left). It’s the perfect combination of sophisticated and naughty, and we love the whole look.

For even more quarter-cup bras, GlamAm (who ship to the US and UK) has a lovely set from Valisere (warning, photos is not safe for work!), and here’s another from Frankly Darling. US readers, Azaleas also has a quarter-cup bra available in limited sizes for just over 30 bucks! There’s also a $40 demi bra from Duet that we think would probably work as well, and is just so heavenly you should buy it anyway.

If you can’t find a quarter-cup bra in your size, try this bra from Wicked Tickels that comes in S,M, and L. Sure, it won’t be the best fit, but unless you’re planning on having a very naughty secret at work, the bra probably won’t stay on too long anyway.

Underbust corsets and nipple tassels

The other option for wearing nipple tassels is to wear an underbust corset — these corsets nip you at the waist like normal, but stop right below the breasts to allow you to show off your tassels. Underbust corsets can cut off in a straight line right under the bust like this example, but others will curve right around the shape of the breast (pictured above right), giving the tiniest bit more support and creating a very dramatic look. Corsets will naturally be more expensive than a simple bra, but an underbust is surprisingly versatile — you can wear the corset over a blouse , and we reckon it would look amazing over a dress like this.

The best place to find an underbust corset is at British designers Eternal Spirits and Velda Lauder (pictured at top of article), and there’s also a great selection at She Said Boutique. Most of those shops will ship to the US, but American readers should also check out the selection at Absolute Corsets.

Update: If you’re looking for even more things to wear with your tassels, we’ve written a follow-up post with more burlesque-inspired picks.

Phew! Hopefully you’ve found something to suit you in the variety above, but if you haven’t, just leave us a comment with your questions and comments. And if you’re a tassel-wearer yourself, feel free to chime in with some expert advice!