I have been an avid lover of all things Jaguar for quite some time now. From the Jag Cuffs to the Jag G to the classic Jag Double Strap Harness in black (and then silver when my black one quit,) I'm a big fan. When I saw that the Luxe White Double Strap Harness was up for free review, I jumped at the opportunity to try another incarnation of this lovely line. I'm not much of a collector, but I make an exception for ASLAN. A hundred harnesses is never enough!

All things considered, this is an incredible harness that blows most other brands and designs out of the water. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone if they loved the look of the white and wanted a sturdy, sexy piece of leather. And yet? This luxe harness is actually not as luxe as it's more plainly named counterparts. I own the Luxe White Ankle Cuffs and assumed this harness would be similar. The Ankle Cuffs are buttery, soft and slick, albeit a little bit sweaty after extended wear. This harness came out of its plastic bag packaging surprisingly dry and even brittle compared to my other ASLAN gear. It lacked the luster and the supple give of other pieces in the Jaguar line, and of the Luxe Ankle Cuffs in particular.

I'm absolutely open to the possibility that this particular piece is a fluke, and not representative of this issue as a whole. The packaging was different than what I've seen with other ASLANs; it came in a crimped plastic bag as opposed to the Ziploc-style plastic bags I'm used to. The Ziploc-style bags are often left open, I would think to prevent issues associated with long term storage of leather in plastic bags. I'm wondering if perhaps the packaging was changed to cut down on production costs, or possibly to be more "green". The new bags are thinner and likely use less plastic than the former design. If this is the case, perhaps we'll see in time that the old bags need to make a comeback.

This is still a gorgeous harness, don't get me wrong. It suits petite to medium sized hips - going up to a 42" hip measurement. Curvier ladies should look into the nylon Sedeux Divine Diva (fits up to 82" hips) or the leather ASLAN Minx (fits up to 60" hips). If you do fall into the 42" maximum measurement range, you'll find the Luxe Harness is wonderfully customizable. Each side fastens with a metal roller buckle. Because each side has several inches of notches (and you can always carefully poke a few of your own in,) you end up with quite a lot of room for adjustment. If you are on the leaner side of the size spectrum, you can carefully trim off excess, hanging strap with a pair of sharp butcher scissors. Be sure to use strudy, sharp shears that will make clean cuts; cheap, blunt scissors can create jagged, uneven edges.

At the rear of the Luxe harness are two adjustable straps that give the "dual strap" harness its name. They are adjusted with O-ring buckles, and can be tightened or loosened to your hearts content! I found there was a fair amount of slack left with these, and even more padded booties may be left with a need for some strap trimming. Unlike newer pieces like the Candy Minx, there is no liner or padding near the crotch. Unlike a G-style or lined style, the Luxe Jag leaves you free to be penetrated or manually stimulate yourself during playtime. If you are more interested in the possibility of your harness assisting in holding a dildo or butt plug in during play? A G-style is far more equipped for this challenge!

The front of the harness is a simple, triangular swatch of leather with a hole cut into its center. What is one of my favorite features of the Jag harness is that you have the option of placing the base of the dildo behind the leather front, or mounting it on top. I prefer to pop my dildo onto the front, locking it in with the three straps that fasten with sturdy stud & socket snaps. If the dildo is attached this way, the Luxe Jaguar can accommodate a base of about 3 or so inches before things get crowded. If you insert the dildo from behind the hole, you can have a base of any size without issue. The included rubber O-ring and hole in the leather will accommodate dildos of about a 2" diameter. A larger or smaller O-ring can easily be switched in as needed.

Your Luxe Jaguar Harness should be cleaned like any other finished leather product; if needed, spot clean areas with a damp (not soaking wet cloth) and a bit of gentle hand soap or saddle soap. Massage the soap in with fingers or the cloth, and thoroughly wipe the surface clean of any suds or residue. Allow the leather to fully dry for 24-48 hours (or longer if the air is especially humid) and be certain there is no remaining moisture before storing in a cool, dry place. Leather is the hide of an animal, and like the skin of us people, it can get dried out. If this occurs, a little leather conditioner applied with love will make it look and feel good as new. ASLAN recommends coating the rivets in clean nail polish to protect it from rust. As the nail polish can chip, keep an eye on it and reapply as needed. I always take extra care to dry in the crevices between the leather and rivets, because I have had rusting there when I wasn't careful.

Overall? This is a great harness. I love the look of the clean, stark white leather, which sets off the gold tones in my skin. What I didn't love was that for something called "luxe," it falls far short of luxurious in its feel. I have no doubt that this harness will stand the test of time (and if it doesn't, ASLAN has a lifetime warranty!) However, in the meanwhile, I'm admittedly disappointed by how dry and coarse it feels. I plan to condition it to see if this helps, but I've never had an ASLAN product anything short of buttery smooth straight out of the package. I've been trying to take comparison pictures, but so far my crappy camera isn't capturing the difference. Hopefully, I'll be borrowing a proper camera soon so I can give a visual comparison. The dryness is, in fact, visibly noticeable.

It's not like this leather irritating my skin or anything, but I'm used to feeling spoiled any pampered by this company's material choices. If you love the color and style? Don't hesitate to pick this one up. But, if you, like me, have become a bit ruined by the high quality feel of other ASLAN products? You may just be a bit disappointed by this one.