5 Rope Harnesses to Spice Up Your Halloween Outfit

While Valentine’s Day may be for the lovers and, sure, Easter is all about bunnies, there’s no kinkier holiday than Halloween. Think about it… It’s a day dedicated to wearing your scariest (and – let’s be real – sluttiest) looks, losing your inhibitions and taking on an alter ago. Exploring taboos and playing with fear, anticipation, darkness and discomfort? All encouraged! Like, say, a party at your local BDSM dungeon, Halloween is a natural playground for exploring fantasies, identities and experiences that aren’t as easily embraced the rest of the year – and you get to dress up doing it.

Halloween is a natural playground for exploring fantasies, identities and experiences that aren’t as easily embraced the rest of the year – and you get to dress up doing it.

Our tip for making this spooky season your kinkiest yet? Just add rope! From an improvisational spiderweb pattern that’ll put your shibari skills to the test to nautical naughtiness in the form of a mermaid-inspired tie, these five shibari harnesses are wearable, sustainable, and just about the knottiest way to spice up your Halloween outfit…

Half-Mermaid

Mermaid tail, saucy secretary hobble skirt or something else entirely? Get inspired with Lief and Icky’s Half-Mermaid leg tie, a lower body harness option that leaves your upper body free and your lower body distinctly not free. So, it may not be the best option for house-to-house trick or treating (not even if the person being tied really likes a challenge), but it’s perfect for haunting a laidback autumnal gathering, comfortable enough for prolonged wear and – if you follow Lief and Icky’s step-by-step tutorial – snug enough to stay put all night. And if you’re looking for your mermaid to take flight, there’s a tutorial for advanced practitioners that explores where to load the harness for suspensions and how to get it off the ground.

Kinoko’s Web Harness

Exercise (or is that exorcise) your bondage skills with Hajime Kinoko’s iconic Web Harness. Much like an actual spider’s web, no two times tying this striking harness will ever yield the same result – it’s intuitive, detail-oriented and <cue spooky music> only for the bravest of riggers. In this class, Kinoko offers invaluable advice for controlling your rope tension, creating areas of visual contrast, and avoiding vulnerable spots that might cause unnecessary discomfort for the person being tied. Sure, it might be the fiddliest costume at your next Halloween event, but it’ll also be the coolest. Go the Kinoko route and opt for colorful rope for extra ‘wow’ factor.

Neko Harness

Trick or treat? Opt for the Neko Harness this Halloween and you might just get both… The Neko Harness is a type of hishi tie, meaning the tie is structured around a diamond-shape pattern. Wear over your clothing for an aesthetic arms-free harness that’s beginner-friendly and easily incorporates rope into any costume… Or wear under your clothing and discover why this tie, as taught by Tamandua, was made for sensation play. Think cleverly placed frictions in sensitive pressure points and optional crotch rope for a spicy undercover secret that will make even the most innocent spooky season get-up sinfully exciting underneath…

Butterfly Harness

Gorgone’s Butterfly Harness is the most watched, most loved rope bondage tutorial on Shibari Study, and for good reason. This arms-free harness was created to be both comfortable and versatile enough for any occasion. Need an upper body tie that can be loaded from the front, back or sides for sustainable suspensions? The Butterfly Harness. Searching for a stylish harness suitable for shibari self-tying? The Butterfly Harness (there’s even a Self-Tied Butterfly tutorial). And what about something wearable for Halloween that looks good, feels great and adds a touch of kink to any outfit? You guessed it… The Butterfly Harness.

Kinoko’s Curvy Hip Tie

Sexy? Yes! Practical? Maybe not, but since when has that ever stopped anyone on Halloween? This wickedly squishy, delightfully daring hip harness is everything you need to put the ‘boo’ in ‘booty’ for a bondage-inspired dress-up (or dress down) look. While getting the tension just right is essential to nail the eye-catching and characteristic curves of this tie, it’s still totally suitable for (motivated) beginners and can even be self-tied. Plus, if you’re after more thrills than just accentuating your bottom’s best assets, let’s just say there are some extra stimulating options for where you place that final knot, if you dare…