Alice Through The Looking Glass

 

Punishment Dress: More Inspiration Taken from Blushes Reader’s Letters Pages

Hi folks! I'm a little pushed for the time at the moment as I'm struggling to get the new work out there and finished by Christmas and it may well end up published as two distinct volumes, with all the extra work that will entail (three, if one counts the planned illustrated version of one of the books). The rational behind spliting the tale into two distinct books is twofold: One: the total number of pages if presented in one book as it is at the moment would be colossal. Two: the storyline follows two distinct characters, both of whom you have met before, along two very distinct and very separate pathways. These paths only overlap to any extent to a very small degree.

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On the other hand it may be possible to pare away certain areas where the commonality between the two timelines threatens to introduce too much repetitiveness. After all there is a limit to how many times even the most ardent uniform discipline aficionado, for example, would want to read a detailed description of an ultra strict, ultra restrictive, school uniform imposed on a petulant teenager (or is there? you tell me!).

The reason I would like to finish by Christmas is because - to put it bluntly - money is getting a little short this end; I get very little return financially from book sales and the amount that I've taken from my savings this year to support myself has already exceeded that which I had scheduled and is already threatening to eat into the funds that I had earmarked for next year for various projects. In short I shall need to set aside a little time to seek some form of supplementary income: vis-à-vis a job! You can get an idea of how serious the situation has become by the fact that I plan to forego my usual visits to the pub throughout the month of October and to limit my enjoyment to only two or three visits, at the very most, in the month of November (timed to catch the end of the Wetherspoon's beer festival with any luck).

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As a change of subject: The above chatter over the imposition of strict, restrictive uniforms on recalcitrant young ladies brings to mind the notion that in the domestic or private institution scenario the dividing line between such dress discipline and what might be described as punishment dress can easily become blurred - a thought that came to mind when reading through a couple of the scanned reader's letters pages taken from that marvelous publication of the 1980s and early 90s: 'Blushes' in preperation for today's post. So without further ado here's a couple more of the pages sent in courtesy of our kind contributor 'Alan' (I just had to cut out and zoom in on that natty little drawing!). Needless to add that to read, just click on each page to enlarge. See Y'all!

An Apology from the Central Department of Dodgy Links

What can I say? Flushed with the excitement of the moment - and a little too much ale - I neglected to put in the link from the illustration at the top right of my last posting to the artist's site. Suffice it to say that I have now remedied the problem and a click on the aforementioned pic will whizz you straight to his site. As a little compensation, here is an intriguing little number from that great doyen of spanking art, Paula Meadows (Lynne Paula Russel - a link to her site can be found over in the right hand sidebar, listed under 'Useful Resources'). The question is whether or not the young lady's outfit qualifies as a form of specialized punishment dress and thus part and parcel of her discipline. Is it intended to facilitate / augment corporal punishment or humiliate or is it just part of some rather edgy in-vogue fashion and worn by choice. If the latter, then the question becomes; should it be allowed or should the caning be closely followed by her being handed her new school uniform? By the way; for any who might be interested, despite the time of year it is sunny and bright here in London and I'm sitting out working in the garden - I wonder how long this will last? I am going to award myself one more day out in the pub next week, the proviso being that in that day I get the final outstanding part of the new book finished - the section wherein one luckless young thing receives a visit in the institution in which she has become incarcerated from her guardian and that formidable hellion woman's tame lawyer: there are some papers to be signed and the ever-present threat of the cane is there overshadowing events... Yum!

Art, Liberty Bodices, Discipline and Crashes

Hi peoples, init. I know, I know, yet another week gap. But I have been hard at it in the background, bashing away at the new book. There is so much written, one year in, that that I am considering rearranging the work into two distinct volumes – for clarity of storytelling rather than for any financial advantage; I get very little out of this financially anyway. Almost everything is now written to some degree or other, except for a couple of short scenes and one major scene that will likely take me a day. I could of course simplify by leaving out some of the descriptive scene-setting stuff. But as I have said before: the whole aim, when I first set out down this path, was to try and create some form of spanking literature - incorporating discipline / submission, humiliation, petty rules, restrictions and uniforms and multiple other disparate fetishes, as long as they could be fitted within the framework sensibly – having proper scene-setting, character development, dialog and all the rest, set out within some plausible premise, just as one would expect to find within any other genre one might come across on the high-street bookshelves. Wow! What a long sentence! Better wait to get your breath back.

In the interim I came upon a site run by an illustrator with some rather out of the ordinary imagery for the genre. I particularly liked the artist’s rendition of what appears to be a good old-fashioned liberty bodice on the girl in the first drawing (above) - very imaginative if set in the modern period… and a garment you will encounter a character being put in within the new book, as luck would have it. Little details such as the puff-sleeved blouses worn by the girls in the second illustration all add to the atmosphere of restriction and discipline, while the third is just perfect for all those that like the idea of drill impositions (bottom). The artist sells his work commercially - and I don’t ordinarily promote commercial sites outside of the couple that I am an affiliate of - but I urge you too check out his stuff. You can find his work on www.spankingcharm.wordpress.com (click the pic at top left or check out the blog listing in the right hand sidebar).

One other thing that has held me back was that on Monday – a day I had planed to set aside a little time to update the blog, I suffered a major computer crash that resulted in my having to reload Windows from scratch - with all that goes with that!!!! Luckily the book stuff is spread in duplicate between two computers and occasionally backed up on to CD. Also luckily I had backed up a lot of other stuff on to an independent drive on the same computer back in July – but I lost anything I had downloaded to my various illustration and inspirational collections throughout August. The worst hit potentially was the voice recognition software I use, as one has to train it to one’s voice – not too bad, as it only takes around 15 – 20 minutes – and it learns through experience and correction, improving in accuracy as one uses it. This latter aspect at first seemed disastrous, as I had been using it practically none-stop for two years and it had gone from being quite unreliable to being pretty good at interpreting my voice over that time… Then I discovered that I had backed-up its ‘user files’ a few months back and so was able to reinstate its vocabulary to a point when it had already become quite competent. In short I lost around a day and a half in total but am now up and running again – touch wood!!!

A Sunny Monday Update (Posted on a Tuesday) and a Bottle-green Gymslip

I am ashamed to say that I spent most of yesterday in a pub. I'd taken my computer with me and decided to do a bit of work on the book before getting round to answer my e-mails. I actually got quite a lot written for the new book but then got sidetracked by a conversation with a fellow regular and it got all a little too late in the day. As you may know if you been following this blog; for one of my characters in the new book she is about to trade in the institution's somewhat idiosyncratic take on the good old-fashioned 1950s or 1960s style school uniform for a pair of ill fitting baggy stripey institutional pyjamas and plastic pants.

As she had been taken straight from the so-called 'schoolroom unit' to the section psychiatrist's consultation room for her customary interview and analysis session this provides a good excuse for a long winded (hopefully not too long) and typically fetishistic discussion of the highly restrictive, juvenile school uniform they have her dressed in.

As she will not be returning to the schoolroom - she is going to be placed in a small secluded room leading straight off of the doctor's consultation room enabling her to have the doctor's full attention 24/7 - she will be required to strip and change into her new and perhaps in some ways even more humiliating garb in situ, thus providing full scope for a detailed description of some of the more devious refinements that have been made to the girl's uniforms.

In addition, she receives a good long hard caning while still in her school uniform by way introducing her to her new regime and to encourage her compliance when told to get changed and to go into the tiny room that is to become her new home. Of course she is reluctant even to get changed in the first place; the pyjamas are so ill fitting that she is going to have to continually employ one hand to hitch up the trousers and it doesn't help that she has been told that the whole point is to help her to "feel more like a mental patient". You can imagine her extreme reluctance when, with her wrists in leather restraint cuffs and gingerly clutching at her baggy pyjama bottoms to stop them from simply dropping around her ankles, she is ordered into a teeny bare room in which the only furnishings are the usual standard hospital bed and a small desk and chair combination - both rather sinisterly equipped with restraints. By this point she has received a second caning for not changing straight away into her new garb and is still wildly weeping when she makes a break for it.

She gets no further than the consultation room door, which is of course locked from the outside. She rushes at the drapes behind the doctor's desk but what she finds there behind the heavy fabric only results in her becoming more frantic. Finally the problem is dealt with in the doctor's own unique inimitable style - but not in the way one might think. Without giving too much away it involves her being taken for a little sojourn beyond the institution's walls and a demonstration of psychology that leaves her docilely shuffling back to her new home with the triumphantly smiling domineering psychiatrist bring up the rear, cane in hand - the girl now knows there had never been any point in her running, but she tried to run and so must be punished in any case.

And there you have it, pretty much. Other than that I also use one of the caning sessions as an excuse for a series of flashbacks to her aunt's home and the uniform that woman made her wear while she lived there, which in turn allows me to introduce some new ideas which to be honest are not entirely 'my bag' but which introduce some interesting discipline possibilities: So we hear about her hot and rather uncomfortably sticky summer dress and the heavy bottle green gaberdine raincoat that she wears at all times when out of the house no matter the weather.

It all leads to a nice little quandary, that one: It turns out that her aunt doesn't actually insist that she wear the thing but she does dictate that if it is to be worn then it must be worn correctly, fully buttoned up, tightly belted and with the hood up. Of course in hot weather this is both impractical and looks somewhat ridiculous, but the only other option is for others to see the uniform that she has on underneath it, the fully buttoned blazer, the long-sleeved school-style summer dress - a design of her aunt's own devising - and beneath that; the full-length thick nylon slip and high-waisted long-legged school knickers.

As it is she finds it bad enough being obliged to remove her raincoat so as to sit in her aunt's car - but that's her aunt's rule and she is a very strict, very overbearing woman. The latter point is very interesting and there is some discussion as to how the girl, once quite outgoing - even outspoken - and spirited came to be so dominated by this woman that she finds herself weighed down by petty rules and restrictions, subject to corporal punishment, taken to see a psychotherapist for a series of conditions, most of which seem to have been fabricated by the woman herself, and finally told, without a by or leave or having any say in the matter whatsoever, that she is to be entered as a volunteer patient in an experimental psychology program. The rest as they say is history and I can't wait to write it!

But for now: The only person who ever speaks to young heroine or as much as acknowledges her existence is the good doctor herself and the only breaks the girl has from the tedium of her isolation are the long hours of psychoanalysis and questioning sessions she spends with the that woman. All the time all she ever hears talked about is her 'mental condition' or her 'psychological state' and if she ever speaks out about any of the ideas the doctor discusses with her or attempts to change the subject then the doctor is not shy of introducing the cane or the strap to the girl's behind. As the weeks turn into months we can only watch as she is gradually ground down by a series of procedures, some quite subtle, others less so, and a regime akin to brainwashing and designed to actually turn her in to a docile mental patient. Cruel, I know but there you have it!
Remember, though: as always this is only part of the story - there's loads more going on behind the scenes for us to learn about. Talking about 'shame clothing' and 'dress discipline' which we were - sort of - how about this little combination I recently came across (See top).

Ideal Homes and Punishment Dress

Thanks go out to 'Orage' for pointing out to me that one of the blogs that I feature in my blog list (see side bar) - namely, 'The Beauty and The Birch' – has posted a most excellent article on punishment-dress taken from an old spanking magazine that I used to read way-back-when, entitled 'Phoenix'. Absolutely classic. I actually have that edition somewhere in the depths of my collection but I hadn't seen it for years, until today. It highlights that other function of punishment dress besides and beyond the humiliation aspect that I usually focus on in my writing – that being the facilitation and augmentation of corporal punishment. Probably the best example of this aspect was the photo set published in Blushes (or was it Whispers) many years ago that involved a reform-school caning applied over skin-tight, thin close-fitting shorts - the intimate fit further benefiting from a cord pulled taut between the girl's bottom cheeks and tied off at the waist band. A saturating deluge of water from a suitably institutional-looking white enamel jug then added that all-important je ne sais quoi. I'm sure most of you know where I'm coming from with this – I have pasted a pic from this set on this blog in the past – but to check out the Phoenix article, click here. I have the full Blushes / Whispers set in my collection and would have chucked in a couple of scanned pics here, but I am in a pub in Palmers Green (North London) using my 'Net book' and don't have access to my full files.

Yesterday I attended the 'Ideal Home Exhibition' in Earls Court, London – the (only) highlight of which was a demonstration of 3D television. It was apparently the 102nd such exhibition, which led me to wonder what innovations would have been on offer in the first few, a golden era when the concept of 'labor-saving devices' probably included girls in service, maids and the like – I shall have to investigate.

Since posting this (last night) I have come across the photo I spoke of above (see above left - obviously). I have the rest of the set in a magazine somewhere - I'll dig it out, scan and post it up if there is sufficient interest. Otherwise I shall be getting on with writing the new volume.

Gym Suits, Punishment PT (see lower down entry) and an Update (see top of entry)

Hi folks I'm back on the air again. I performed the necessary transplant two nights ago - in fact just a few hours after posting up my last entry - and and I'm glad to be able to report that the replacement power unit is performing well and that no damage had occurred to any other part of the computer. I should qualify the latter, however, by saying that where I mention 'damage' I am referring to hardware damage and although MS Windows XP did not fret too much over having been 'unexpectedly shut down' - it is much better than earlier versions of MS Windows in that respect - it did completely mess up the way that I had my pair of monitors configured and also the way that the icons and folders etc were organised across the desktop. In addition the BIOS had reverted to its default settings; before the problem I had the CPU overclocked by around 30%. These are minor considerations of course. I'm grateful nothing worse had occurred and as for the latter clock speed issue; that the weight, for now it is not that important. For the culprit, see the above picture. No, the power unit case wasn't blown apart, I merely dismantled it to look for reassuring evidence that it was indeed the cause (or at least a symptom) - and found it in the form of signs of burning around the base of the two capacitors in the foreground (the contents of one of which had been distributed around the inside of the case in the form of a finely-powdered fallout) and charring to the circuit board in the centre, which admittedly cannot be seen from the photograph (below, left).

Yesterday was largely swallowed up by gym work, my driving lesson and family obligations although I did fit in three coffee bar breaks through the day during which a managed a little work on my 'netbook' computer. The day before, the day after the repair, after ascertaining that all was now running correctly I dealt with the issue regarding my printer/ scanner which had been ongoing since the problem I encountered earlier in the year with one of the computer's cooling fans (or drooling fans, as my voice recognition software package would have it; ha ha!). That particular incident also involved MS Windows being unexpectedly shut down (several times) and as the aforementioned peripheral had not been switched on at the time I hadn't suspected any hardware complication. And so it turned out; simply reloading the 'drivers' solved the problem. So there you have it -In short; I am now fully operational again, in all respects.

Gym Suits, Punishment PT and Restrictive School Uniforms

Today I expect to mostly spend, after posting up this update, catching up on dictating the body of hand written work that has built up although a part of me wants to get back to the scanning project I had running in the background. Part of the reason for this is that the day before yesterday, the day after the repair, I spent a little time poking, prodding and probing around some of the more obscure nooks and crannies of the Internet looking for inspiration for a piece involving punishment PT (or enforced physical exercise, or whatever) that I am working on for the new book and of course Janus magazine famously published a nice little series dealing with just that, back in the 80s as well as one or two other photo series that ran along similar lines (such as one involving ballerinas in training I seem to remember). I realise that by now many of these pictures may be available elsewhere on the net but as I haven't come across many myself and as I hope to elicit inspiration and ideas from those that read this blog, I am keen to get a few pics pasted up. As regards my writing, though, I have been (and am) looking for ideas as an alternative to the well worn and hackneyed leotard or the concept of naked PE - the latter, as appealing as it might be, I don't think fits in with the spirit of the series story arc. Consequently I'm looking for the unusual and as always I have been pillaging from the past. One thing I've come up with is the concept of the 'gym suit'; I just think that it fits in nicely with the idea of anachronistic and extraordinarily restrictive school uniforms, petty stipulations, 'no talking' rules and all the rest. One has to take into account that, unlike previous periods in history, the modern miss is not universally that reluctant to disrobe to a lesser or greater degree and that exposure, in itself, is no longer necessarily that shaming. One also has to take into account that in such an institution as laid out in INSTITUTIONALISED volume 1 and INSTITUTIONALISED volume 2 or indeed in any situation in which the young lady concerned is effectively isolated from her peers - perhaps subject to home-schooling with private tutors and the like and either alone or with others being similarly trained - the usual conventions of society as regards dress need no longer apply. One can fully exercise one's imagination; and the more unusual the outcome the better as regards the effects on the young lady or ladies.

If one takes the gym suit (above right) as it stands as being just a basic template, then one can start to visualise the effects of incorporating certain features and choice of fabrics. For example, even as it stands, although it is true that the bottom is well covered, the bloomer-style legs allow scope for leaving the back of the thighs available, allowing the young woman to be encouraged in her exertions by the application of the palm of the hand or the riding crop. Then there is possibly a humiliating element already inherent in the design of the garment in that it has a passing resemblance to a childish romper suit and perhaps more could be made of this aspect - for example as it stands is plenty of room to allow for the inclusion of a diaper and plastic pants beneath - although personally I would concentrate on enhancing the snugness of fit. Finally although, as admitted, the buttocks are modestly covered and therefore protected to some degree, this protection could be ameliorated to some degree by an imaginative choice of fabric or a tweaking of the design while still maintaining that element of modesty that, juxtaposed with the situation within which the garment is worn, ironically adds to the element of humiliation.

Well, there you have it, the bare bones of an idea. Now, anyone out there suitably inspired to flesh out those bones? Or do you envisage your young ladies bending and jumping and sweating in sheer close fitting leotards or as naked as the day they were born? Don't be shy in letting me know your thoughts, ideas and criticisms; it is what this blog is supposed all about.

'That' Thorn Sketch – A Case for Analysis, a Thousand Tales Woven Within

This must be about the only blog that has not wished its readership a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, as is traditional this time of the year! My apologies; I had intended to do so from the hotel in which I spent the Christmas holidays (of which, more next time), down there in Rye – a medieval town situated in east Sussex – but was unable to get convenient access to the Internet, and in any case came under not unsubstantial pressure from the 'little lady' to pay more attention to her needs and pay less to my 'ridiculous hobbies'...Well, I never! So, retrospectively, may I wish you all, where ever you might be and whatever your faith, a very happy Christmas and Good luck for the New Year. Talking of which; due to the upcoming New Year celebrations and various family commitments, my next update will probably not be until January 4^th 2010, after which I expect there to be a couple of days when I shall be silent, during which I shall be undertaking repairs to my main desk computer, before embarking on a whole series of projects that I have planed for the upcoming year and which include more frequent and regular updates to the blog and its eventual expansion into a full-blown web site.

Now to a bit of news and a little inspiration that came to me in the pub having earlier been perusing an old back-up DVD of my scans and web download collection on a friends computer. The artworks presented above left and right – both scanned some time ago from an old magazine, I forget which - could so easily fit with certain aspects of the story arc depicted in the upcoming 'in-between' volume or indeed the planed story line of INSTITUTIONALISED volume 3. Both perfectly encapsulate that essential spirit I am striving for, but not necessarily overtly spotlighted; just as the real 'meat' of a tale is often best written 'between the lines' so the inspiration here lies in all the little details that at first go unnoticed, yet between them voice the narrative without further need for elaboration.

Taking into account what I have just said above, it is the illustration presented here - below and to the right - that caught my attention and that I would urge you to focus your attention on. Drawn by one of my favorite artists, Thorn, it is also one of my favorite images (or rather it has been – I somehow lost track of it in recent years; I think I downloaded it some ten years ago!) and one of the most inspirational illustrations, in terms of developing the ideas behind my writing, that I have ever come across.

As I said above in connection with the other two images;
The real interest is not so much the rather attractive young lady, her pert breasts, nor the cane-lines running across that ripe, full backside of hers. Rather the tale resides in what has been left unsaid, hinted at by all those little details residing in the background. If it has a title, I don't know it, nor do I know exactly what the artist's intentions are in terms of what he is striving to depict here, the scenario he has in mind – nor would I want to know (so if you definitively know, don't tell me – though I'd love to know your interpretation). The full interpretation is left open to the mind of the viewer – and therein lies the excitement and its enduring interest for me.

All I know about this guy is that he is an absolute master of depicting the infliction of cruel and imaginative humiliation. In particular he is a virtuoso of capturing the emotional effect of that humiliation in the unhappy faces of his succulent young subjects. What I would give to have him collaborate on one of my books! Each of his illustrations is a story in itself and if a picture might paint a thousand words – as someone once said – than surely this particular illustration outweighs that estimation tenfold; he has surpassed himself here! This image I think I downloaded around ten years ago or more and it has never been far from the roots of my imagination since. Why? Well, the magic so far as I am concerned is all in the unanswered questions it poses – there is just so much here to ponder that is left open to interpretation.

For a start; there is nothing about the background that necessarily sets the scene in any restrictive manner – it is not a schoolroom, reformatory, convent or any other obviously institutional setting, nor would it seem to be a domestic environment. The scene seems set in some sort of shop - yet even this is not necessarily set in stone. The male could be a shop assistant or - if an exclusive bespoke establishment, as one might imagine – perhaps the owner. But what type of emporium might this be? In the background one can see a pair of half-torso manikins – one proudly displaying what would appear to be a revealing corset of fetishistic restrictiveness and the other demonstrating what looks to be a locking chastity belt.

The girl - surely too young and sheltered in upbringing to be so worldly-wise as to yet know of such things – is being laced into a cruelly-constricting waist-cincher and one is left wondering whether which, if any, of those background items is to follow. And she is plump enough to give creative scope to the corsetier's art; which is an important point here. She has obviously recently felt the kiss of a supple cane across her plump buttocks; indeed, a suspect implement lies discarded in the foreground, along with what one assumes to be her discarded and, notably very ordinary, 'girl next door' underwear. Did she initially object to being fitted with that cincher, or perhaps to disrobing in front of the elderly chap - and if so, was he the author of those throbbing swollen wheals (I for one would like to think so). If I was to be critical at this point, it would be to say that I would have liked to have seen some evidence of previous sessions with the cane; perhaps some faint, fading marks or even something suggestive of permanent marking – something that the girl is only too well aware she will carry through life - that might go beyond her undoubtedly chaste natural shyness in explaining her extreme reluctance to disrobe.

Another question arises as to exactly what the girl's relationship is to the seated older woman smugly looking on. Once again uncertainty abounds and the imagination is left to run wild. Is she the girl's legal guardian, stepmother, privately employed schoolteacher under who's thrall the girl has somehow fallen or a governess charged with curbing a perceived over-exuberant and rebellious spirit and given cart blanch.

And what are we to make of the proprietorial manner in which that woman is apparently regarding her charge's intimate triangle? Is she considering the purchase of a chastity belt – is that what is coming next? Perhaps similar to that on show, yet the spring-steel waist-band locking in the center of the small of the back and to be worn over the top of that waist cinches thus negating tampering on more than one level at once. Then those breast, though youthfully-pert already, might yet benefit from even greater uplift – perhaps some sort of under-wired support lifting the girl's bust clear of her chest and thrusting those attributes generously forward as if offered up for display yet leaving the front uncovered, 'for hygienic reasons'. Is that woman considering one of the very many restrictive corsets or corseletes on offer for the girl to wear over the cincher? if so, might it not incorporate, for the sake of good deportment you understand, a suitably stiffened back-board to keep her back good and straight. Perhaps such a garment might incorporate an adjustable strap running across the shoulder blades and linking the broad shoulder-straps that might be tensioned to further perfect the girl's deportment. Of course the side effects of this - forcing a posture be adopted with shoulders pulled well back, chest thrust forward and buttocks invitingly rounded and thrust out to the rear – are unlikely to exactly detract from her charges attractiveness. Deportment might be paramount and thus exemplified by these measures, yet to the unenlightened , uninitiated, observer the conclusion is hard to avoid that the effect is to present a wanton offering up of everything that goes to represent the girl's femininity in a manner that it is only right that she should find most shameful.

But what else might that woman have in mind for her charge – for example, what of that pile of the girl's discarded clothing that lies crumpled in the foreground, surely she is not going to be allowed to redress and leave with such disheveled vestments over her new and undoubtedly expensive foundation wear?...

More ideas next time, but in the meantime – what do you think?

Another Janus Reader's Letters Scan

I hadn't really planned to post an update today, but having harbored a suspicion that the opportunity might arise I took the precaution of emailing myself one of my more recent scans from my desk computer before leaving home yesterday. Right now I am in a coffee bar in Muswell Hill, North London and quite close to Alexandra Palace which I will be visiting tomorrow at some point in order to look around the antiques fair being held there (I collect American Depression Glass, you see - quite apt you might think, considering that I suffer from depression). I have a couple of hours free which I intend to dedicate - once I have completed this - to working on the new volume. I am presently working on a piece provisionally entitled 'The Spiral Stair' which revolves around (revolves around - spiral staircase - get it? Ha, Ha,Ha!) a woman 's visit to a the not-so-humble abode of a certain clergyman in order to get some idea of the workings of his charity offering shelter to young women thought in danger of falling into moral peril. Later i have to go off and earn a crust doing a little paid work - oh well!

Meanwhile, I thought many of you might appreciate this scan taken from the reader's letters pages of a 1980s Janus magazine. It is another example of how that mag so often helped formulate and develop my interests and the direction of my writing. Bear in mind as you read through it, though, that I was never very happy with the idea of the involvement of parents (at least genuine biological parents - by proxy seems fine) or other blood relatives then or now. In my mind's eye I would change the circumstances to involve step-relatives of various flavors - or later and better still, as my ideas developed and I became more widely read - a court appointed legal guardian or strict governess in the employ of a grasping stepmother.

Some Uniform Musings

Obviously I have carried out a fair amount of research for my books over the years (well I hope it's obvious!). Quite a lot I knew already, having studied a little psychology in my time but the descriptions of the uniforms you will have encountered if you have read my stuff - not the school uniforms, those ideas developed through the pages of Janus et al - came together through the serendipitous combination of some research I carried out in the mid 1990s for my present partner - a fashion journalist - who was putting together a book on women's workwear at the time (I kid you not! … it didn’t get finished though) and the ideas of my ex-wife as regards a young lady we had staying with us for a time, way back in the 1980s (of which more another time but suffice it to say that it involved at one point a friend of my wife's, who had worked for Marks & Spencer's years before, bringing round one of her old uniform dresses for the girl to work in around the house – see pic but imagine the addition of a plastic belt and it being worn over a corsellete and full slip by a generously-breasted slightly over-plump late-teen).

It has really been the advent of my blog, though, that has been the stimulus for my expanding my research - and what a goldmine there is out there these days. And it is a seam that I have added to myself in some small way, by, for example, scanning and making available through various sources - including some I have posted here in my PicasWeb albums (see sidebar) - the historic workwear and uniform catalogues, drawings and photographs that were generously sent me by various manufacturers, companies and shops, many of whom are now sadly defunct.

On a slightly different tack, like many of you (as I understand it, from the feedback I get) I find ideas about reluctant exposure somewhat exciting - and always have, harking back to the Janus days. And on the right girl, perhaps one coming from a sheltered and pampered background, the mini kilt, socks, perhaps form fitting white blouse worn over a quarter cup platform bra - that sort of thing - I could see working quite well. But where the problem lies, to my mind, is embodied in those comments one reads about the “young madams of today”. That is where that whole approach falls down, in my eyes at least.

Yes, there was a time when it was a thrill to read that a girl might have her hem shortened as a punishment, to read that she has “the shortest skirt in the school”, that sort of thing. But as time has worn on that approach to a lesser and lesser extent seems to hold water. And as my imagination has been expanding, straining to incorporate more and more disparate ideas that I have picked up over time, even that school girl aspect in itself has become somewhat stifling and something of a straitjacket, unless it should be some private little school vouchsafed and hidden from prying eyes behind high walls.

The everyday world of a contemporary girl, some busty late teenage six-former, attending a conventional school, travelling by public transport and surrounded by her peers, is far too limiting a stage. It is a world that I think one needs to start by removing her from in the first instance. Whether she be removed to some purpose-constructed institution or whether she be isolated in some manner within the home, perhaps restricted to a very limited circle of acquaintances, it is the isolation in itself - and the freedom from interference which that ensures - that gives full rein to the disciplinarian’s imagination.

As for the young lady’s uniform; as I think I said before, my inclination is to head in the opposite direction to most writers, to go back in time, dredging up the spirit-stifling styles of yesteryear - albeit with a little embellishment and imagination – and apply them to the young miss of today (or the fairly recent past). For example I can well imagine how certain types of restrictive foundation wear could be incorporated beneath a more conventional - for its period - school uniform. The idea of the carefully-tailored, form-fitting blouse enhanced by a severely reduced waist and unnaturally elevated bustline thrusting out into the front of the open-sided bib-like bodice of a pleated-skirted gymslip - that in all other respects is an embodiment of modesty and youthful innocence – is an exciting one indeed. In a nutshell I guess the idea could be distilled as: a ridiculously childish, modest (in its way) and highly restrictive mode of dress juxtaposed with an exaggerated maturity of figure.

Actually what led me to board this train of though today was coming across this delightful little gymslip, above right. Okay so bottle-green may not be that unusual in the greater scheme of things, but is so refreshing to see something outside of the usual navy blue and demonstrating that for the young lady undergoing scholarly discipline at home or detained in some small, discreet and secure private establishment, our pallet need not be so restricted – as I have said before. Click here to read. I couldn't resist seeing how it would look on the older teenager, perhaps worn over a bottle-green and white candy striped blouse and with a suitable school tie. Okay I'll agree that it's not that well executed (I'm still on a learning curve with this photo-shop thingy - and it's been done in a hurry, I'm a little short of time today) and the 'blouse' is actually the top half of a school summer dress, but you can get the idea - see on left. I would imagine the blouse to have long sleeves terminating in stiff buttoned cuffs - while retaining the puffed shoulders of that dress of course - and while the Peter Pan collar is suitably juvenile, I can equally well imagine that a stiff high-buttoning collar might be thought to have the greater disciplinary aspect.

This is an area that to my mind has always been sadly neglected in the literature. Dress discipline, to many writers of the spanking / discipline genre, usually comes down to blatant, exhibitionist exposure, featuring over-short skirts and the like, or of course the obligatory school uniform. But the exposure thing has become somewhat blunted in light of the permissive atmosphere of today's world. School uniforms, although making something of a comeback in recent years in schools are not particularly restrictive nor detailed or strict enough in their modern incarnation - and in any case unless the young Lady in question possesses a particularly overtly mature figure or in some other way is clearly not of an age commensurate with attending school or wearing a school uniform then I think that the element of humiliation has been largely lost.

It is not the concept of school uniform per se that is at fault here but rather the fault lies in its implementation. If the girl is now more suited for university or the workplace - i.e. she is no longer need be kept on at school for legal reasons - but it is nevertheless desired that her education should continue at home, or at least that standards of academic discipline should be maintained, then, although in theory a school-type uniform would be suitably apt, there is no need to bow to the liberal and permissive standards of the day. Freed of the restrictions of any particular institution, there is no longer need to visit the local school outfitters or local department store.

Not that I would condone a visit to any of the purveyors of so-called 'adult' school uniforms that one now comes across on the 'Web' either. This is where the writing of the contributor known as ‘Judith's aunt’ comes across as so interesting - there seems little of commercial origin in her Judith's wardrobe and the overall image she must present (one that sadly we can only imagine) owes much to the lifting of that limitation. For the latest comments as regards that particular young lady click here to read.

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There are plenty of dress and sewing patterns available from those bygone days, when standards were not so lackadaisical - see left - that may serve as a good template. Obviously styled for the young, with the services of a good dressmaker or seamstress (and everybody is looking for work these days) scaling up to adult sizing is a simple matter. The style on the right of the pair would make a particularly good starting point for a uniform for a young lady in her late teens or even early twenties and with a little imagination lavished on detail and embellishment a nice bespoke and well tailored little ensemble could soon be put together - one that would deter even the most rebellious teenager from wandering far outside of the confines of the home.

And that is something that I would recommend to Judith's aunt, the employment of a professional seamstress. That point about imagination, though, is crucial to the final outcome in my mind. For instance, once freed of the above-mentioned restrictions then why stick to the usual conventions at all. For example, does one have to restrict oneself to the usual pallet of navy-blue, bottle-green, slate-grey, maroon and the rest. An interesting result can be concocted by switching to soft pastels, powder pink and baby blues, but retaining the all-important school uniform styling in all other respects. Or perhaps, in place of a cardigan or blazer why not a cape - here I envisage something not unlike the district nurse’s cape of old - gabardine, fastening at the neck and open at the front and perhaps of waist length for indoor wear but always keeping ready a knee-length sibling for wear out of doors. Perhaps this latter variant, if buttoning down the front, might allow her to cover that hated uniform when outside - a privilege that must be earned and maintained by her total submission and obedience throughout the sojourn - but itself having features that make clear that it is indeed a part of a uniform of some sort. Perhaps it might sport a duplicate of the school badge that graces the gymslip she wears beneath and be edged with a ribbon trim that matches the striped ribbon bows she wears in her pigtailed hair. And on her head; at home the traditional straw boater or a bonnet in the school uniform colour, depending on taste, but outside and once dressed in her cape then perhaps a nice little pillbox hat of a colour to match the cape would be more suitable.

Then to go with that rigid discipline of dress we must have a similarly rigid discipline of behaviour. Perhaps marching drill as has been suggested by others, perhaps many hours spent nose pressed to the wall in the corner with hands-on head or sitting at a cramped desk writing lines and learning mindless childish nursery rhymes. Of course PE (physical education) sessions are a must; for which you cannot beat the traditional school leotard - it doesn't have to be black, it would be equally suitable in the overall school colour chosen for the rest of her uniform, perhaps bottle green or royal blue – or why not a pastel shade, if one has chosen to go in that direction, and why not augmented with a suitably embarrassing little tutu, come to that?

The cut and styling is another matter and here, using the traditional school leotard as a template, one can let one's imagination fly. For example, in one of his novels, Madame Vorge's Finishing School I think it was, Victor Bruno outlines an enticing sounding style; high-sided at the hips and narrowing down to little more than a fingers width or so at the rear seam, the latter pulled in tight so as to leave the buttocks free to bounce and be available for the urging of the instructor’s malacca cane or leather strap as required. Can you imagine the effect of a largish spherical wooden or plastic bead threaded on that cord-like back-seam so as to be position over her anus, as she bends and jumps in obedience to the instructor's whistle or barked command.

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But even if one opts for full coverage of the buttocks the fitting can be so arranged as to make that coverage embarrassingly close, both at the front and the rear, and of course the back of the thighs are still available for the attention of the cane crop or pony whip or whatever. Then we can begin to play with ideas as regards the fabric, and all sorts of possibilities take flight, such as the incorporation of a gusset panel formed from a soft, semi-transparent polythene in an otherwise unremarkable and traditional, if rather snugly fitting, black nylon or Lycra (by far the more preferable fabric) school leotard. From a personal choice I would prefer to retain a traditional look as far as the outside of the garment is concerned but that still leaves open the possibility of having the garment lined with some other material or fabric - the possibilities for the young lady’s torment are endless. Actually the cover of Janus 93 – featured elsewhere on this site - had a nice little ensemble pictured – click here to view.

Then to control her I would like to see employed someone of the stamp of the traditional Victorian governess but very much a woman of today, a domineering figure, perhaps possessing a knowledge of manipulative psychological skills and able to bring the young lady to tears with a few well chosen words and to heel with the kiss of leather across bared buttocks. Such a woman I definitely see as being always in uniform herself and of a design intended to bolster her authority in the eyes of her charge. Here I would suggest something based on the navy blue matron’s uniforms of the 1960s, tightly belted waist with an ornate silver clasp and a strap or tawse hanging from a belt clip at her side. “Discipline depends upon the authority to compel and to restrain. This authority may, at times, have to be enforced by corrective measures, but the surest way to command total compliance is to maintain a constant discipline that allows for no exceptions or excuses and that varies only to reward exceptionally good behaviour or to punish disobedience”. I'm not sure where that came from but it's apt nevertheless as is the observation that "even a plain-faced nurse in uniform has an advantage over a handsome unprofessional woman". How true!

As for all that attention to tailoring and styling and the retention of a professional seamstress - it's yet another move away from the conventional. The bib fronted gymslip I think is a must, even if it is realised in a soft powder blue or pastel pink but there is no need to stick with the traditional look of the box pleated or knife pleated skirt for example. There was a certain argument for the skirt being properly tailored in the way that a sophisticated adult's skirt might be, panelled and closely fitted around the hips and bottom and perhaps falling to an inch or so above the knees in the outdoor version. Similarly the bodice should be open-sided and well fitted, darted were necessary to accommodate the breasts. The idea is to present her feminine curves as evidence that she cannot flinch from; that she should be like her peers, that she sees in an out of the boutiques and fashion emporium, that she should be as free-spirited as they are, have boyfriends, go on to university, but instead she is controlled, docile, walking hand-in-hand with her mistress, head bowed and cheeks burning – the finished and perfected outcome of untold hours of repeated impositions, drills, the cane and the strap.

A Site to Vistit and Some (Adult) School Uniform Musings

Hi folks. I've just spent far too long rummaging through another one of those sites / blogs that somehow I have managed to overlook. Called Vintage Spanking Pictures it is chock-full of exactly that, many I have not seen before, and has been around since January 2006. I found plenty to inspire my future writing efforts and one or two that I think the woman who wrote in some time ago as regards her niece Judith's discipline should take a look at. In particular mind has been taken by the concept of spanking knickers or bloomers that handily open at the rear based on those old-fashioned 'draws' - see photo and click either photo above to visit the site (or check out the blog listing in the sidebar). While on the subject of web sites - while proofreading / embellishing volume 2 and simultaneously researching for the follow-up volume 3 (which is already partially written and involves a return to good old fashion Victorian discipline at the hands of a strict disciplinarian governess and her nursing assistant / children's nanny companion in what could be thought of as 'total immersion') I have had reason to visit many school uniform sites and I have to say that as regards the present time you folk in the United States seem to have the monopoly in inspiring designs. Much of the styling coming out of this stateside resurgence in school uniforms has far more in common with the traditional English private boarding school uniforms of the past that anything to be found in real British schools today - at least as far as the older pupil is concerned. Many of the designs I came across would make a great starting point for anyone charged with devising a suitable form of uniform to bolster and support a strict domestic, or other, disciplinary regime - or for the purpose of shame clothing come to that; or indeed both (for one can coexist quite comfortably with the other).

I was particularly taken with this blouse, or more to the point the detail piping around the arms and collar - the latter, although a little thing, adds markedly to that critical 'uniform' feel. In its present form I imagine it as a jumping off point, in the early stages of the imposition of a new disciplinary regime, perhaps introduced in the early summer so that the coming of winter provides excuse for stricter dress restrictions, the young lady having by that time become somewhat acclimatised to the idea of having to wear a school uniform about the place. The next couple of steps or so I have to confess I haven't yet stumbled upon commercially and at present seem to exist only in my imagination - although with a good seamstress under one's wing implementation would be simple enough. First would be the provision of a long-sleeved version, then it being worn with a proper striped school tie of a suitable colour. Then would come a modification to the collar, it would button higher, be stiffened and starched, have a wider spread.

In their turn, the cuffs would mutate from the conventional single button fastening to the far deeper and more tiresome three-in line-button fastening beloved of Victorian stylists - and of course be suitably stiffened. Depending on one's budget and the young lady's figure (and self-image) quite some benefit could be obtained by having it made-to-measure, incorporating judicious pin-tucking and darting where required to achieve the required closeness of fit whereby the eye is naturally drawn to the mature out-swelling of the bosom and so better appreciates the contrast with the childishly puffed shoulders. An additional detail were considering would be having a school badge and perhaps her name embroidered over one breast.

Similarly, where possible, the skirt, gymslip (jumper, if you will) or dress should conform as closely as possible to her curves while incorporating all those deliciously childish little details that her master, mistress or governess or nurse or whatever might care to choose. The dress (or jumper) I came upon described as a 'charm school dress' - and charming it undoubtedly is. The buttoning at the front is a nice, tiresomely fiddly, little detail. But even more tiresome, and even more fiddly - almost certainly requiring assistance in dressing if properly implemented - would be to have it fastening by way of buttoning of the shoulder straps themselves, three buttons in a line across at each shoulder and positioned some three inches or so down the back. The skirt as it stands at the moment has a far too free and easy look about it and although, like the blouse, as it is it makes a starting off point for a young lady being entered into the initial stages of a strict disciplinary regime. In the later stages I would suggest that one might head in one of two directions; either the skirt should remain at knee-length, as it is in the picture, but be dramatically tailored and taken in to pencil-skirt dimensions - resulting, along with suitably restrictive corsetry worn beneath and with her feet squeezed into tiny high heeled Victorian button-fastening ankle boots - a pleasantly feminine, if tiresome for the girl, tiny-stepped, hip-swinging gait.

Alternatively one might be tempted to go for a more traditional approach with a sun ray burst of sharp knife-pleats. If she is kept in school bloomers or directoire knickers - and she should be, the styles of today are most unsuitable for the teenager under such a regime - one might consider a suitable length for the hem being that just sufficient as to cover the broad elasticated leg cuffs of her knickers, at mid-thigh preferably, when standing. If properly chosen and / or designed, she should have little enthusiasm for allowing her underwear to go 'on show' in any case - but of course the strap or the cane should be waiting for those little moment of carelessness, no matter how brief, that are certain to occur. A similar rationale may be applied to the choice of fabric for her skirt, dress, gymslip or whatever - of a plain school colour and weighty, being fully lined even though destined to be worn over a blouse, full-length slip and corsellete, there is benefit to be gained from the choice of a crease-prone fabric. These considerations can be extended to the question of whether or not socks should be worn or stockings (never pantyhose under any circumstances).

There is obviously much to be said in favour in keeping the young filly bare legged, especially if short skirted - there is the benefit of the rapid access to the back of the thighs, if nothing else, for the palm of the hand or the tawse (allowing a closer psychological relationship to be formed between the behaviour to be eradicated and punishment). If under male supervision - if perhaps she is to be trained to reconsider her sexuality - then the temptation might be to say that if bare legged she might be made more vulnerable when bent across his desk or over the back of her own chair.

But even if suspended over her knickers - an approach that of course requires her to have two unfasten and refasten her suspenders at each toilet visit and thus reinforces that all-important sense of being under control -it should still be possible to roll down the waistband of her knickers far enough at least to give access to her behind. If those old-fashioned back-opening 'draws', or a modern equivalent, were to be worn then it would be a simple enough task acquire intimate access to her person - whether it be to take pleasure from the plump ripe peach of her backside or more conventionally. She can simply be required to unfasten the back of those school 'draws', and bend over the back of her chair with her hands on its seat - the cane left casually lying before her eyes should she hesitate or get thought to disobedience. Once 'used' in that manner she can be sharply told to pull up and refasten tightly her knickers and retake her place at her desk - any unsightly stains arising can be washed out by hand by the girl herself later, a delightfully galling task. The incorporation of a rubber knicker liner, of course, would take care of such considerations - but then consideration must be given to any unpleasantness arising should it be required to 'use' her subsequently throughout the day. A couple of hours or so of her sitting stickily in a combination of her sweat and result of his pent-up pleasure at her cramped desk on a hot summer's afternoon in old-fashioned full school uniform and in a stuffy little attic room made up as classroom could make for some modicum of unpleasantness the next time she is bent across the master's desk. Imagining such a uniform filled out with the burgeoning plump curves of late teenage and enforced with the threat of the cane or strap - both frequently applied in any case - one can easily imagine the effect in curbing a young lady's spirit.
Similar considerations might even apply if under female supervision. She might easily be required to stand alongside her governess's chair, with legs spread, hands on head with fingertips touching and elbows smartly out to the sides, or remain bent across her nurse's lap after the hairbrush has been liberally applied to her bare chubby buttocks while skilled and knowledgeable fingers idly toy and take intimate liberties, drawing soft sighs between heartbroken sobs, before being sent back, unfulfilled hot eyed and damp, to her little desk or to stand rubbery-legged with nose pressed to the wall, in the corner. A suitable pair of school knickers fitted with a plastic lining and absorbent pad or towel can be seen to the right - an ideal solution for both scenarios, moping up sweat and all manner of secret unspeakable messes while the humid airtight plastic environment ensures everything remains just damp enough still act as a constant humiliating reminder of her helpless exploitation.
Either way, I have no doubt that stockings would be best. Old-fashioned opera-length lyle stockings, over-warm and scratchy, in black or better still a suitable school colour such as bottle green or navy blue. And held up all round by broad elastic suspenders, short and taut and pressing into the thighs and having uncomfortable metal clips that dig into the flesh where her weight spreads across the tiny, hard, child-sized wooden school chair that she is obliged to sit upon for the majority of her day - when not corner standing, performing punishment P.E. in her skintight leotard or being drilled, marching on the spot or up and down the staircase with a heavily weighted backpack.

If some sort of domestic training is to be incorporated in her regime then, rather than provide her with the excuse to change out of her school uniform, a suitable overall should be provided and worn over the full uniform (other than her blazer or cape - if such outer garments are worn) no matter how warm the weather, or how stuffy the room might become. To be honest this observation simply came to me because I happened across this picture of an overall on an auction site - at first I considered it as a starting point for a school summer dress but it would be fine in its original function, albeit if dyed to a suitable school colour - and better still if it was available with long sleeves and buttoned cuffs. The sober frumpiness of the thing and the modestly high buttoning neck would contrast nicely with rationale behind the girl's wearing of it and the intentions of her master or mistress.
Getting back to my book, just for a moment: it has burgeoned to an incredible 260-odd pages. The trouble with that is; LULU, the self-publishing site that I use, charges more as the page number increases and if I am not careful the thing will end up costing too much to actually sell any copies at all. I'm not sure how many people have found the glossary helpful or even looked at it in INSTITUTIONALISED volume 1 so I am considering taking that out of volumes 2 and 3 - any opinions? I'm all so seriously considering splitting into two books - it'll take a little extra work but perhaps a week or so no more. Once again, anyone out there have any opinions? Please let me know. The next blog entry will likely be the forth and last instalment of the contributor's experiences of aversion and harassment therapy that I have been serialising...any thoughts?

An Essential Blog and a Teaser

First the teaser: A nice enough pic I'm sure you'll agree. But where does bridal-wear fit within the framework of a culture essentially revolving around the exploitative discipline and control of sensitive and vulnerable young ladies and all that comes with it - petty rules, and restrictions, humiliating and tedious impositions, humbling, embarrassing and degrading uniforms and the rest?

Well I'm afraid, for the answer to that one you are going to have to wait for the next posting - if institutional humiliation is your thing, you wont be disappointed! But then again, this charming little offering on the right lower down (from little brides) may give a clue of the potential.

Now for the latest Blog I've come across: I had to do a little research today - just to check one or two things that I have incorporated into INSTITUTIONALISED volume 2 (that's what proof reading is all about - yes, I'm at that stage now). As so often proves the case, I got a little side-tracked (but only briefly; I'm being kind of strict on myself at present). Anyway, to cut a long story short, I have just added a new blog to the blog list (see side bar) - very much corporal punishment / discipline orientated. There's a hell of a lot to explore and it makes a good jumping-off point for those wishing to venture further afield - it holds what is perhaps the most comprehensive collection of links I have, to date, come across. Actually this is all a little embarrassing, that I managed to overlook it for so long - not only has it been around since 2006 (at least) the owner had featured my book, INSTITUIONALISED vol 1, along with a kindly flattering comment , way back last December. Quite a showcase he gave it too - featuring both the front and back covers as well as the blurb that goes with it. (Click here to view the page) (click here to go to the home page) - it is called Paolo in Dublin, by the way.

You might also like to explore the bondage art of Ciro Coco (An artist I was recently tipped off about by a correspondent, just click to go to his work hosted on a commercial site - let me know if you find other sources of his work, because I would like to see more).