Chain Mail Bikini

I should have shared this in the spring, when it was fresh, but at first I was holding out for a photo shoot I had planned in the summer, and then I ended up waiting even longer to get that photoshoot processed, so I could see the results...

The original product photo

It all started a couple of years ago, when I mentioned casually in conversation that I'd always wanted to try wearing a chain mail bikini. The very next Christmas, I got one as a gift! But, since these things are typically designed for women, I knew I would have to make some modifications to it before it would fit my body. So I learned how to make a few basic weaves, and I got to work. The process took a lot of time, and involved considerable trial and error - in the end, I had to remake the damned thing from scratch multiple times!

The first thing I had to do was reduce (upgrade) the back of the bikini bottom to a thong. Sex appeal was only partly my motivation; I needed to harvest a lot of rings to build a pouch in the front. That was very challenging - it was only seeing that somebody else had accomplished a chain mail "jock strap" that convinced me it was possible. Still, I'm not 100% happy with it, but I got it to a point where it's at least passable. I would have loved to have had a professional do it better. But for a complete amateur, it's decent.

Sources of Inspiration

Inspired by a chain mail bikini that somebody else had made, I decided to modify the top as well, to give it more of a triangular "string bikini" sort of look. Most of the finished product utilizes a European 4-in-1 weave, with the "straps" done in Half-Persian 3-in-1 for stability. The "clasps" are constructed from basic keyrings connected by simple lanyard hooks. It's crude, but I think it's effective. (I mean, it won't protect you from a stab wound, but it's sure to dazzle your opponent! -_^).

So, with the thing in a satisfactory level of completion, I grabbed my broadsword (a replica of Ice from Game of Thrones), and did a test shoot out in the backyard. The next step was to haul the thing up to the top of a mountain - to the site of one of my favorite backdrops - to shoot on location. I was expecting a better view, but it turned out to be pretty cloudy that day. In hindsight, the foggy gloom gave it a bit of a moody vibe. I would have taken more pictures, but repeatedly running barefoot over rocks, picking up that heavy sword, and then posing with it in less than 10 seconds... it was challenging, to say the least.