Fetishistic frocks may have abounded at MTV’s VMAs (Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Pink), but whip cracking wearables aren’t just for the stage. We've been seeing the look everywhere lately.

We’re not even talking about all the gothic clubs, where black everything, corsetry, leather and vinyl are the rule rather than the exception. The cinched look in particular has become a classic accessory, no more unusual than a belt really, and it seems to endure no matter what the current fashion trends may be. And why not? When fitted properly, a corset sucks in the gut, props up the girls and creates a striking hourglass figure, not to mention perfect posture.

Because of its historical past (women were forced to wear them until they were breathless in the Victorian era) some might view it as a sexist accoutrement, but these days, it’s come to mean quite the opposite. A woman in a corset, especially a black one, essentially has “don’t fuck with me” swathed around her torso. The black corset evokes seduction and dominance, which makes it pretty obvious why Aguilera (working a Lady Gaga-meets-Genetorturers look) chose to wear one for her comeback VMA performance… that and maybe a few remaining baby lbs? We prefer her retro tart guise, but Katy Perry's kinda rocking that look now.

Photo from MTV.com

Rihanna has always had a dark side and her racey-lacey number took her vampy aesthetic to the next obvious level. (Britney Spears’ li’l sparkly getups seemed positively meek –if sweet- by comparison, which is exactly what she needed to evoke).

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Photo from MTV.com

At the Playboy Mansion Saturday, Hugh Hefner’s main squeeze Holly Madison rocked a black corset ensemble too, and while there were plenty of ribbons and bows to soften it, it seemed her fashion choice was as much a statement of control as the singing & dancing divas above. We don’t know if rumors of trouble on The Girls Next Door homefront are true, but Holly’s all-black ensemble was a stark contrast to the sweet lil pink panty sets worn by Hef’s other 2 GFs. She looked like the queen bitch. Hot.

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Photo by Lina Lecaro

See more sexy looks in our Nightranger Slideshow this week, with photos from National Lampoon’s party at the Playboy Mansion, plus a slew of pre and post VMA bashes.

Read about the parties we got into and the ones we didn’t here.

Oh, and if you missed it, see last week's slideshow (with more dark and lovely-dressed dames!) here.

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