Kitty takes a deep look into the seemingly simple, but unique style of the Psych Ward Lennon Blindfold from the Church of Sinvention
We have gone to great lengths to make sure my slut prison uniform is complete (by “we” I mean that Sir does all that hard work of designing and making it, lol). Since discovering my slut prison fetish we have been having lots of fun to adding more and more layers of bondage and thinking up ways to make Sir’s job just a little easier when he’s handling this rowdy slut. Currently we are up to about 13 pieces of leather gear that I have to get on before slut prison can even begin, but we felt like we were still missing something.. A blindfold!
I have a DSG blindfold, but it’s black and gold so it doesn't match the rest of my brown and white gear. I may not have many rights in slut prison, but I definitely have the right to have matching gear, so Sir did some searching and found the Psych Ward Lennon Blindfold from the Church of Sinvention. I knew right away the institutional style look would be perfect for what we wanted!
All of my slut prison gear is brown and white which gives it an institutional feeling that I’ve always thought was really sexy. I think it's just the general notion that this is standard issued bondage gear for a totally normal situation where you would have a bunch of sluts in jail and need to so some pussy shocking and heavy restraining. Like it's just normal, and nobody is special, and all the girls get the same utilitarian gear is super objectifying and hot to me.
EYE PADS
The Lennon blindfold style has 2 separate eye pads instead of one panel that covers both eyes. It has a very medical/institutional aesthetic that I feel is going to either do it for you or not because its just so distinct.
The pads measure 2 ¼ inches across, and they generously cover the eyes, without feeling or looking too rowdy. I think this size would work on anyone. The pads on this blindfold can slide on the strap and be positioned however you need to get the correct fit.
The leather is a single piece of bridle leather that's thick enough to hold its shape but is still flexible enough to bend with the strap and bend to fit the eyes when the straps are pulled tight.
The product shot in the listing on the Sinvention site only shows the brown/white (medical) color scheme of the eye pads. If you still like the style but that's not your thing, there are quite a few options to choose from: Black, Red, Bright Pink, Lime Green, Orange, Medium Brown, OxBlood, Blue, Lavender Suede, Purple, and Black Patent leather.
It’s also worth noting that the standard strap that comes with the blindfold is going to be black unless you clarify it per the instructions on the listing page that you want white.
STITCHING
The white stitching on the tan colored eye pads contrasts well with the brown and complements the institutional theme nicely. Since there are no product shots, I’m not sure what the stitching color would be on the all black pads or the colored pads. I’d like to think it would be black to match the black stitching of the standard strap, but I’ve seen some crazy things go down with stitching color combos so I would verify that ahead of time if you’re getting anything other than the brown/white color scheme.
The individual stitching on mine is not exactly even (some are closer together than others, and some a little crooked) but its consistent enough that you wouldn't notice if just glancing at it and it definitely does not impact the functionality. This is just the price of admission for having custom hand crafted gear. I’m excessively judgey so I doubt that anyone would notice or care, and it’s unlikely that yours would have the same imperfections. On the up-side I do really like that the point where the stitching overlaps is strategically placed under the strap and out of view, and there aren't any loose ends anywhere. Having that hidden under the strap actually more important to me than how even the stitching is in general because that would be very distracting to see where it overlaps.
LINING
You have 2 choices for the lining: padded glove leather or luxury faux fur. The product shots in the listing don’t actually show what the lining options looks like so that’s a little frustrating. I don't know if the leather padding has any sort of shape or of it just flat, and I’m not sure how thick it is, and can’t speak to it at all. You will be able to see the fur lining on my pics, so hopefully that helps decision making. To be fair, I haven’t scoured the internet for customer photos but I bet there are some out there if you look, and of course you can just contact Sinvention for clarification. They have great customer service!
My blindfold has the faux fur lining. I have a fur fetish so choosing fur over the padded leather option was a pretty easy decision, but in general we like the fur option on blindfolds because its an extra little barrier to make sure no light gets in. For me personally, I find that the fur encourages you to keep your eyes closed because fur in your eyeballs isn’t fun no matter how much of a masochist you are.
I’m pretty serious about fur decisions and it takes a LOT to convince me that faux fur is the answer over natural fur. That considered I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I like the faux fur for this style of blindfold. It’s definitely the right decision, and I wouldn't change it to natural. The faux fur has some added benefits that the natural fur does not. Its thicker and more consistent so it actually adds some padding to the eye pads making it feel nice and comfy when its on super tight. It really molds to the eye shape and keeps everything 100% dark. It’s softer than I imagined it would be and it does a great job keeping all of the light out. When I pull it away from my eyes you can see the exact outline of where my eyes were. I would describe it as thick like shearling but fine like mink, and it doesn't shed. I also love that the fur is trimmed fairly short and at an angle on the sides so it doesn't poke out from under the blindfold no matter how you put it on. Natural fur is definitely not as cooperative in this regard. It’s just not as thick and there’s no guarantee it will lay and feel as nice when cut short. In defense of natural fur I think it feels really great on a full panel blindfold, though.
The fur only comes in black, but I suspect that’s a strategic choice of color is to ensure that if you open your eyes you will only see black. To be honest, when I first got it, I was a little distracted by the stark contrast of colors and kind of wished it was a dark brown or tan just for consistency, but I’ve played with it and looked at it long enough that I like it! I agree that the black fur makes the most sense and I actually wouldn't change it.
As with all blindfolds they are not compatible with fake eyelashes or makeup - so RIP my fancy makeup. It's easy to clean my makeup off of leather, and it doesn’t seem to get on the natural fur at all, but the faux fur picked it up pretty quick and actually required a little cleaning. The good news is that it's easy to clean. I wiped it clean with a damp cloth with some baby soap on it, let it try and it fluffed it back up with no problem.
Even after getting the fur a little wet- the edges stayed nice and flat so whatever glue they use to secure it to the leather before sewing is very durable.
STRAP
The strap that goes through the eye pads and around the head is soft leather that's been folded over and sewn so you get a soft and flexible strap that you don't have to break in.
The thickness of the leather feels slightly thicker than the usual garment leather, but is very soft and flexible. The ¾ inch strap is wide enough, and sturdy enough to give the pads good support. The flexibility lets you pull the strap tight, and it feels super sexy.
I like that the white strap has a bit of natural texture to it that contrasts with the more flat and uniform leather of the eye pads. The texture on the white tends to get dirty pretty easy, but all white leather gets super easy. For me that’s a plus because dirty gear looks well used and that's perfect for slut prison time.
Like I said earlier, the stitching on the strap is white, and I think that's a perfect choice here. The stitches are even and consistent. The end of the strap is rounded and complements the rounded style of the eye pads.
Strap length is nice!! Sir must have ordered a shorter strap because the length is just too perfect and that's the kind of stuff he pays attention to. Length of the strap is another thing I didn't see on the listing. The holes on the strap haven't changed shape or seem to be affected by pulling the strap super tight. You can see the hole kind of stretch, but it goes back to its previous shape easy. Sometimes the flexible garment leather just doesn’t hold up to the rigors of being pulled on all the time, but this leather did great!
The edges on the inside of the strap are glued down really well, and I’m impressed that in some places it lines up so perfectly you can't see there’s a seam at all!
STRAP KEEPERS
There are 2 brown strap keepers that are easy to thread but firm enough to stay in place and hold the slack nicely and I like how it matches the look of the white strap going through the eye pads perfectly. This piece doesn’t have much in the way of hardware just one rivet on the strap, and a roller buckle. The roller buckle lets you easily pull the strap nice and tight.
Neither the strap nor the strap keepers slide or pull on my hair at all.
FUNCTIONALITY
As far as wearability goes, I’m super happy with how well this blindfold keeps the light out! It’s easy to adjust the eye pads on the strap to fit your eyes exactly and it’s 100% effective at keeping the light out.
It’s not as secure as a hood would be, but I don't imagine you would be expecting that. The only way you can get any light in is if you can press the back of your head against something like a wall (just the bed or a pillow doesn't really work), and then you can shift the strap to get some light in, but it takes some effort.
The price matches the quality of the materials and the craftsmanship is outstanding. I think the only negative about this blindfold is just that this particular look is not what everyone wants. I think it's perfect for people who like medical play, and it's definitely perfect for slut prison!
https://www.churchofsinvention.com/bdsm-gear/hoods-and-blindfolds/psych-ward-lennon-blindfold