What's a good way to bind? Tips and hints

[Kato_Shiroi]

What if you happen to only be trying to bind DOWN, but not entirely eliminate your breasts?

I'm naturally a C-cup on a fairly slim athletic frame, so I am really large in the breast area. I'm going to cosplay Haruhi Fujioka this year, with her simple little A-cup that is for the most part hidden beneath her blazer. My friend has recommended just wearing two sports bras since it makes her B-cups completely invisible. I really don't want to spend much money on anything I get, since I'm not a crossplayer, and usually do the bigger breasted characters (which are SO hard to find in anime  ) So what would y'all reccomend to make my boobs smaller, without completely making them invisible?

You could try taking them down but that could deform them if not done properly. Another option is to just use ace bandages but don't tighten it all of the way.

Indeed, if not done correctly you can hurt yourself. Haruhi Fujioka's a great character and a good one because you're just after a minimized look. A sports bra is a very good way to do this and not too expensive.  Try some on that have your correct band size but go for a B cup and see how that feels. Make sure you can breathe and move well.
If you want a further reduction you can use the wide ace bandage over the top of it but as stated earler, don't over compress it. I've helped alot of my friends do it this way and with practice it works well.

Ja ne,
Kato

[FilkAeris]

You could try taking them down but that could deform them if not done properly. Another option is to just use ace bandages but don't tighten it all of the way.

Just stepping in here to repeat myself - never, ever tape down your breasts with anything sticky.  It won't necessarily deform them, but it's very easy to cause internal damage, breathing problems, or tear off bits of your own delicate skin.  (I have inadvertently made myself suffer through all of the above, so trust me on this.)

[Titus_Love_Doll]

^ trust her . I use to bind with duck tape over and old sports bra and I ended up passing out becuse they were to tight. Also ace is okay but not always a good choice with people who are bigger then a atlest a B small C. I m a C so i m pretty small. and binding isent a big thing normally a smaller sports bra helps with that becuse its tighter around and snug a good choice for something cheep is useing a back brace.< also ace banage those work really well ^^

[Halycon Galanodel]

 I've been doing ace bandages for the last  two years, I've never had any problems with it  but I'm glad people put up the links for the compression shirts. My only question is that I noticed the size  on the Riddell product was a youth size- is that  as a compensation for the product normally being used by  men?  I'm just worried about getting it too small.

[Blender]

@Halycon
I'm not too sure about Riddell but with Underworks I got a size medium in the tri-top style and I have Bs and it works amazing. I'm sure medium would also work for small Cs. The tri-top costs a little over $30 including shipping.

[majinekochan]

I fully take to heart all the horror stories about losing skin to tape adhesives and not being able to breathe because the tape doesn't give like fabric binding methods. AND I wholy endorse compression shirts.
BUT there is a way to safely bind with tape. First put on your tight sports bra, then cover the entire area where you're putting tape with ATHLETIC FOAM TAPE or UNDERTAPE. This stuff is awesome, it is made to go under your athletic/medical tape so you don't chaffe or remove skin and it only sticks to itself and fabric. And you can find it right next to the athletic tape.
Then you can use athletic/medical fabric tape to bind. BUT make sure not to bind to tight, make sure you can still breathe comfortably.

I did this for a presentation for a theater class where I playing a male character, applied it in the morning before class and wore it all day before taking pictures. I also only had about 2/3 of the tape that I usually use, I like to tape alittle higher up, to smooth out the effect.

seen at: http://wildmage007.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=120#/d1ga1d1

[Kato_Shiroi]

I fully take to heart all the horror stories about losing skin to tape adhesives and not being able to breathe because the tape doesn't give like fabric binding methods. AND I wholy endorse compression shirts.
BUT there is a way to safely bind with tape. First put on your tight sports bra, then cover the entire area where you're putting tape with ATHLETIC FOAM TAPE or UNDERTAPE. This stuff is awesome, it is made to go under your athletic/medical tape so you don't chaffe or remove skin and it only sticks to itself and fabric. And you can find it right next to the athletic tape.
Then you can use athletic/medical fabric tape to bind. BUT make sure not to bind to tight, make sure you can still breathe comfortably.

I did this for a presentation for a theater class where I playing a male character, applied it in the morning before class and wore it all day before taking pictures. I also only had about 2/3 of the tape that I usually use, I like to tape alittle higher up, to smooth out the effect.

seen at: http://wildmage007.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=120#/d1ga1d1

Indeed that's a superb binding example. Would you mind if I used it in my Crossplay Panel slide show?

Cheers!
Kato

[majinekochan]

Indeed that's a superb binding example. Would you mind if I used it in my Crossplay Panel slide show?

Cheers!
Kato

Sure, I can even bring an example of the foam tape if you'd like, I have a roll that doesn't have enough to do a full wrap.

[Kato_Shiroi]

Indeed that's a superb binding example. Would you mind if I used it in my Crossplay Panel slide show?

Cheers!
Kato

Sure, I can even bring an example of the foam tape if you'd like, I have a roll that doesn't have enough to do a full wrap.

Excellent!, yes that would be great.

[Raven]

Like many others here, I definitely recommend a Compression shirt/vest... they work wonders, and are fairly comfortable ... you don;t even really notice them once they're on.
The First Time I did an binding, I used a sports bra that was too small, then tensor banadages over top, and then finally Hockey Tape over that (I'm a D-cup, so binding can be difficult)... it worked... but my ribs were so incredibly sore afterwards, and it was hard to breath, not to mention it was a pain in the ass to get out off when all was said and done ... and then I discovered Compressions Shirts, and they are seriously awesome and so comfortable, plus they work great!

[shikyo]

This information helps a lot! I have to go from a DD to nothing for one of my cosplays. 

[Ritsu-chan]

This is so helpful thank you everyone :3

[zenneth]

the real question here is--

how do male people bind?? XDDDD

[Ritsu-chan]

urhurhurhur

[Kato_Shiroi]

the real question here is--

how do male people bind?? XDDDD

That also is what we cover in the Crossplay 101 panel. I've been crossplaying female characters for a very long time and my co-panelests have too. We have alot of tips and options for both guy to girl and girl to guy cosplays.
Cheers!
Kato ~ Crossplay Society host

[zenneth]

oh wow i never knew there's such a crossplay society here O___O

i crossplayed once- was forced tho... coz the fact that people just keep on mistakening me as a girl atleast once a week-- that including my friends =.=
that was their justification on me crossplaying

it was kinda fun tho XD
but if i were to crossplay again- i want an all out crossplay not a half assed one like back then

[Ritsu-chan]

Crossplaying as great, I'd almost always rather cosplay a boy now

[zenneth]

crossplaying is fun- its just that there's a gender biased on the eyes of the viewers on that...

they would think that:
girls who crossplay are cool while guys... yeah...

[Ritsu-chan]

I think it's great when a guy crossplays! show confidence and guts you shouldn't let what others think bother, if you want to cross play, do it! :3

[zenneth]

yes, but to play the part is hard XD

[Kato_Shiroi]

I think it's great when a guy crossplays! show confidence and guts you shouldn't let what others think bother, if you want to cross play, do it! :3

Thank you, that's a very nice compliment to crossplayers and very well said. 

yes, but to play the part is hard XD

And that's why I teach a panel. To not only show what can be done but to also see what you can do when you take it seriously and do your best.

Cheers!
Kato

[zenneth]

oh i've seen what they can do XDDD
thus i find it fun to watch crossplayers

hopefully i get the guts to do one again in due time...

[Ritsu-chan]

I  believe in you!

[WorldToast]

Okay, so I've been using ACE bandages to bind, and they haven't worked the best for me. (Probably because I'm a shitty binder.)
I have a bit left in my cosplay budget, and seeing as I've already bought 90% of my materials, it'd probably be fine to use some of it on a compression shirt!
But I'm not sure which one to buy, and I'm sort of a little nervous to buy one ww

I don't know which one to get. I want to go from a C cup to 100% flat.
Which one should I get? What size? Everything's so confusing and asdfghjkl, and advice would just be so appreciated, you have no idea.

Do the tanks only smooth down the chest and stomach, or do they smooth down the hips and rear too?
If they're long enough to smooth down my hips/butt a bit, that'd be fantastic, since I have the whole breasts-hips-ass-thighs feminine figure. But I'm also 5'8", so even if the tank is long enough to smooth down the hips/rear of some girls might not be long enough for me.

Is Underworks the best option, or are others said to work better?

Uh, sorry for all of the questions. I just want to make sure I buy the right thing, asdfghjkl-

[Kato_Shiroi]

Okay, so I've been using ACE bandages to bind, and they haven't worked the best for me. (Probably because I'm a shitty binder.)
I have a bit left in my cosplay budget, and seeing as I've already bought 90% of my materials, it'd probably be fine to use some of it on a compression shirt!
But I'm not sure which one to buy, and I'm sort of a little nervous to buy one ww

I don't know which one to get. I want to go from a C cup to 100% flat.
Which one should I get? What size? Everything's so confusing and asdfghjkl, and advice would just be so appreciated, you have no idea.

Do the tanks only smooth down the chest and stomach, or do they smooth down the hips and rear too?
If they're long enough to smooth down my hips/butt a bit, that'd be fantastic, since I have the whole breasts-hips-ass-thighs feminine figure. But I'm also 5'8", so even if the tank is long enough to smooth down the hips/rear of some girls might not be long enough for me.

Is Underworks the best option, or are others said to work better?

Uh, sorry for all of the questions. I just want to make sure I buy the right thing, asdfghjkl-

Just want to say that while it's possible to give the illusion of being close to 100% flat in reality its not quite possible which is ok because if you look at guy chests they're not totally flat either so your real goal is to mimic that with a combination of compression shirt and middle padding - shoulder padding to reduce the feminine hip effect.
Underworks is a very good product and alot of my friends with larger chests use them in combination with the ace bandages.

Ja ne,
Kato

[Blender]

Okay, so I've been using ACE bandages to bind, and they haven't worked the best for me. (Probably because I'm a shitty binder.)
I have a bit left in my cosplay budget, and seeing as I've already bought 90% of my materials, it'd probably be fine to use some of it on a compression shirt!
But I'm not sure which one to buy, and I'm sort of a little nervous to buy one ww

I don't know which one to get. I want to go from a C cup to 100% flat.
Which one should I get? What size? Everything's so confusing and asdfghjkl, and advice would just be so appreciated, you have no idea.

Do the tanks only smooth down the chest and stomach, or do they smooth down the hips and rear too?
If they're long enough to smooth down my hips/butt a bit, that'd be fantastic, since I have the whole breasts-hips-ass-thighs feminine figure. But I'm also 5'8", so even if the tank is long enough to smooth down the hips/rear of some girls might not be long enough for me.

Is Underworks the best option, or are others said to work better?

Uh, sorry for all of the questions. I just want to make sure I buy the right thing, asdfghjkl-

The best way to get rid of the hips is to add tummy/middle padding.
And Underworks, in my opinion, is a good investment. They last long and work great. I got the tri-top but I'm sure any of them would be good. On the Underworks website, with each item they have what measurements would work best for what sizes. 

[Kagome219]

When you bought your binders from Underworks, did you get a bigger size than your measurements? I just received my tri-top today and I bought it a size larger and it wouldn't even fit over my shoulders.

[Blender]

When you bought your binders from Underworks, did you get a bigger size than your measurements? I just received my tri-top today and I bought it a size larger and it wouldn't even fit over my shoulders.

I have trouble putting mine on also but it's supposed to be tight. When I get too tired to put it over my shoulders I just slip it around my waist and pull it up.

[EveofAbyss]

Well...never thought I'd find myself here...but yes.

I don't need to bind my chest, but I do need to bind my gut. I have looked through Underworks, and they seem to have some nice waist-pieces (I can't wear a shirt because the costume has an open chest but the waist is covered, so I just need to bind up my gut). Other than Underworks, anyone have suggestions for a male binding this other abdominal region?

Thanks in advance. ^_^

[Blender]

Well...never thought I'd find myself here...but yes.

I don't need to bind my chest, but I do need to bind my gut. I have looked through Underworks, and they seem to have some nice waist-pieces (I can't wear a shirt because the costume has an open chest but the waist is covered, so I just need to bind up my gut). Other than Underworks, anyone have suggestions for a male binding this other abdominal region?

Thanks in advance. ^_^

You could try a waist-trimmer.

[Kagome219]

When you bought your binders from Underworks, did you get a bigger size than your measurements? I just received my tri-top today and I bought it a size larger and it wouldn't even fit over my shoulders.

I have trouble putting mine on also but it's supposed to be tight. When I get too tired to put it over my shoulders I just slip it around my waist and pull it up.

I understand it's supposed to be tight, but there's certainly a problem if it won't even fit over my shoulders... I tried stepping into it, but it won't fit over my hips. /sigh

[majinekochan]

Well...never thought I'd find myself here...but yes.

I don't need to bind my chest, but I do need to bind my gut. I have looked through Underworks, and they seem to have some nice waist-pieces (I can't wear a shirt because the costume has an open chest but the waist is covered, so I just need to bind up my gut). Other than Underworks, anyone have suggestions for a male binding this other abdominal region?

Thanks in advance. ^_^

yeah I would suggest a back brace, like people wear when weight lifting. Some of us ladies use them to bind our chests, but they are made to bind the gut/midriff region.

[EveofAbyss]

Awesome. Thank you very much, you two. ^_^

[WorldToast]

I bought the medium Tri-Top from Underworks.
I'm really crossing my fingers here. I get sort of jittery over the dumbest stuff.
I'll post pictures after it comes in the mail, in case anyone wants to see the results.

[mellonemrys]

Anyone know if sports bra plus ace bandage work as well and stay put?

I use a sports bra with ace bandages and then a compression shirt over top. I have a few ace bandages that are wider, and in my experience you need to keep the pressure even when you wrap, and keep the bandages as flat as possible. It can be really useful to have someone else help you do this the first few times.

I tend to wrap from my collar bone down to my stomach, as well as over each shoulder to even out the stress being put on my chest. This also helps keep the bandages in place. I fasten them with normal safety pins, and usually everything stays in place for most of the day. I've slept with my binding like this before and only had to adjust a bit afterwards. Mostly wrapping like this is stressful on my shoulder blades after long periods of time. If you are going to bind this way, you need to try it out a few times around the house so you can find the most comfortable way to wrap for you.

I'm a D cup, and I've managed fairly good results with this method. But it does take some getting used to and practice.

[Nando-KiT]

ths is embarresing for me... i have a hell alot of trouble binding, im fairly good at. i have a waist trimmer and sports bra. but if theres anything else that will help bring.... the double of the 4th letter of the alphabet down more please help!

[Kato_Shiroi]

ths is embarresing for me... i have a hell alot of trouble binding, im fairly good at. i have a waist trimmer and sports bra. but if theres anything else that will help bring.... the double of the 4th letter of the alphabet down more please help!

Sounds like you're doing the right things. Remember tho that guys are not washboard flat (unless child like/very young) They have pecs so you only need to reduce the curves and minimize as much as possible.
With that said depending on how large you are there will only be so much you can do before you hurt yourself and we all want to avoid that. So just remember, overall shape for guy characters is wider shoulders, narrow hips and muscular chest for in shape characters.
Minimizing you curves will be enough to be convincing.

Oh and our Crossplay 101+ panel is on for Sunday at 12:30 I believe. We have lots of tip that might help too.

[Titus_Love_Doll]

I made my binder! I just made it and it works well i used a streachy material and made a shirt that was smaller then my ownsize works wonders

[Kagome219]

ths is embarresing for me... i have a hell alot of trouble binding, im fairly good at. i have a waist trimmer and sports bra. but if theres anything else that will help bring.... the double of the 4th letter of the alphabet down more please help!

Sounds like you're doing the right things. Remember tho that guys are not washboard flat (unless child like/very young) They have pecs so you only need to reduce the curves and minimize as much as possible.
With that said depending on how large you are there will only be so much you can do before you hurt yourself and we all want to avoid that. So just remember, overall shape for guy characters is wider shoulders, narrow hips and muscular chest for in shape characters.
Minimizing you curves will be enough to be convincing.

Oh and our Crossplay 101+ panel is on for Sunday at 12:30 I believe. We have lots of tip that might help too.

These are great tips. I'll be attending the panel for sure!

[Kato_Shiroi]

These are great tips. I'll be attending the panel for sure!

Excellent! See ya there, and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions ne 

[Ritsu-chan]

I might come, i'm curious!

[Kato_Shiroi]

I might come, i'm curious!

Excellent, Our panel is for the curious as well as the experienced.

[Nando-KiT]

i dont know if this would be off topic or not, kinda find it funny. me and Zoki wen to sears to find waist sinchers. we were there for like an hour and and half seeing if they would work. they have some pretty good ones down there that are great. the highest price i saw was just around 20 $ or so. and they worked pretty well. but the half hour we spent trying to put them was just funny .

[majinekochan]

i dont know if this would be off topic or not, kinda find it funny. me and Zoki wen to sears to find waist sinchers. we were there for like an hour and and half seeing if they would work. they have some pretty good ones down there that are great. the highest price i saw was just around 20 $ or so. and they worked pretty well. but the half hour we spent trying to put them was just funny .

I did the same thing at Walmart...my advice is look in other department...the back braces in the 1st aid dept were $5-$10 more than the ones in the workout and hardware departments.

[CLAP_attack]

SO , i think i'm going to buy a compression shirt from underworks since its the only thing I can afford. ;;
D: I'm a 40 D and want something simple to do the job . D;

[Runa]

^ Like I said, try a compression shirt. There's people with G cups who have become almost totally flat.

You're KIDDING.... I've found it nearly impossible to make myself "Flat". .... I'll have to look into one of those.  Where does it push all the tissue? I suppose it'll totally squish me and make me look barrel chested. (Yeah, try making a  G-flat.... all you get is an F#... bad pun, but yeah....)

[Kato_Shiroi]

^ Like I said, try a compression shirt. There's people with G cups who have become almost totally flat.

You're KIDDING.... I've found it nearly impossible to make myself "Flat". .... I'll have to look into one of those.  Where does it push all the tissue? I suppose it'll totally squish me and make me look barrel chested. (Yeah, try making a  G-flat.... all you get is an F#... bad pun, but yeah....)

Indeed you're correct, It's a matter of physics. The larger you are the harder it will be to emulate the male chest, but as I've said earlier in this post and in my panel, Men Are Not FLAT Either. Adolescent children are but not mature adults.
So, it's a matter of taking what you have and copying the character you want to become. My friend is a G cup and we are able to use a combination of binding methods and padding to make her look like a quite convincing soldier (she's also tall which helps alot)

So yes it is possible to be convincing as a man and no you will never be completely flat but men aren't either.

Cheers,
Kato

[TheVampireLeigh]

In my experience, (I bind every day I'm a transman) I use back braces around my chest. Works well!

[Ritsu-chan]

The panel was so fabulous and you guys looked amazing!! OwO <3

[Kato_Shiroi]

The panel was so fabulous and you guys looked amazing!! OwO <3

Arigatoo Gozaimasu! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. We were all sorry that the slide show went wonky and promise to have that fixed for future panels.
We also have been working on our website (www.crossplaysociety.org) to add content and help us improve the panel presentation too.

So Thank you to everyone who attended! We had alot of fun and hope you all got something out of it.

Cheers!
Kato
Crossplay Society Chairperson