How to Buy Pasties on the Internet (Burlesque Costume)
Where to buy excellent nipple pasties? You are probably looking for pasties that can be applied many times, that stand up to use, and, if you want to twirl tassels, have tassels that twirl easily. The ones in sex toy stores or on Alibaba may not be knowledgably constructed with tassel-twirling or sturdiness in mind. Like lacy playsuits, they are great for photo shoots, but don't necessarily function and hold up under performance conditions. You need pasties made by people who know what's involved in a high-perofrmance pastie!
Above: A video of me testing a leopard-print rhinestone pastie I made, to make sure the tassel-twirling attachment is operating smoothly.
I often get asked where to buy pasties, and I always say that the best pastie makers have experience with burlesque. Either they are performers themselves, or they specialize in making costumes for performers. They understand the functions and rigors of performance, and they are inspired by the opportunities of innovative, personalized costuming. If you can get to a burlesque festival or convention, you'll often find pasties for sale by such makers. This is an ideal place to buy them because you can see what they look like in person: their true color, size, sturdiness, and weight. However, you have to wait for these events to come around, and you may want those skull-and-crossbones red and black pasties this month, not six months from now.
The good news is that many of the people who present pasties for sale at festivals also sell them on Etsy, so that's where I'm going to recommend you start shopping. I'm going to choose a few pastie-makers I can personally vouch for, who have made pasties for me or for friends of mine who perform regularly.
Most of these sites are owned by individuals, so their stock varies widely. Reviews can be a huge help, so look at their Etsy account if they have one. Some of them make pasties only to order, some have pasties ready to ship. Their sites will tell you everything you need to know about their ready-to-ship and custom bespoke options, and how to ask them questions. Many of them also sell pastie bases and tassels so you can customize your own!
Canova Studio (Glorious Pasties)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CanovaStudio?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=294308755
Burluxe by Delilah
https://www.etsy.com/market/burluxe_by_delilah
N-Between
Gothfox
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NBetween?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=760980483
Gothfox
Manuge Et Toi
Manuge Et Toi
The Playful Pear
The Playful Pear
Showgirl Sparkle
Showgirl Sparkle
Velvet Jones
https://www.velvetjonesburlesque.com/
You might understand how to buy pasties a little better if you know how they're made, so take a look at this video of Miss Indigo Blue and I discussing the various techniques.
Looking Glass Gems also sells pastie-making kits.
Pastie-Making Kits
Want to see more makers? Interested in the history of pasties? Check out The Pastie Project!
Remember when you look at pastie-makers' sites that many of them are designs created by these makers, not just patterns to rip off. If you want to make something similar, contact them and ask if this is okay. Obviously this does not apply to round solid-rhinestone pasties. Also, if you look at The Burlesque Handbook, you'll find patterns for various shapes and methods of making pasties, as well as instructions on how to create your own shapes (Spoiler: make a round one out of paper, cut a pac-man mouth into it, draw the shape you want on it, cut out on the lines you drew, open it up, and use it as a pattern, mirroring to make left and right versions when necessary. If you want to do it more precisely than that, join Manuge Et Toi's Patreon for a few months and check out her archives of tutorials).
Do you have a favorite pastie-maker? Do you make and sell pasties? Are you a friend of mine who makes pasties that I accidentally overlooked? Feel free to post in the comments!
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