Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Saturday night at the Vermont Burlesque Festival, Ray Gunn dropped by my room to borrow a needle and thread for a costume repair and managed to sweet-talk me into doing it for him. It took me no time at all. It’s not for nothing that I’m known as The Fastest Needle in the East (also The Martha Stewart of Burlesque), but part of the reason I was able to reattach the snap so quickly was that I use this trick:

1. Cut a long length of thread and double it.
2. Now thread the needle with the doubled thread.
You now have 4 strands of thread in your needle.
3. Knot all the ends together.

Thus you can make 4 stitches with one pass. And the thread won’t slip out of the needle. I’ve got to give credit to Schwartz, who worked on our costumes for The Rhinestone Revue last year for teaching me this tip. It’s ever so helpful when sewing on snaps, buttons and other fasteners.

M2

Published in: on 31 January 2014 at 10:11 am  Leave a Comment  
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No Worries!

Dear Constant Reader,

Thanks for all the interesting suggestions for how to solve my costume issues.

After discussing it with Scratch, we decided that I had to respect the integrity of the act and the Legend who inspired it. The plan was to perform without a single change to my costume or choreography other than making sure there was $50 in my purse backstage to promptly pay the fine if my bare backside was deemed in violation of the ordinances.

Happily, the festival was able to clarify the actual current reality, as opposed to the out-of-date and poorly written ordinance, and it is unlikely that anyone will be in violation in the course of a normal burlesque act.

Well, thank goodness! But getting busted would have made a good story.

M2

Published in: on 23 January 2014 at 2:10 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Creative Problem Solving

Dear Constant Reader,

The Vermont Burlesque Festival is almost upon us and I am so excited to be performing my tribute to April March on Friday night.

However, this morning we received a copy of the City of South Burlington Public Indecency Ordinance which states that “public nudity” is “a public nuisance” and that “‘Nudity’ shall mean the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering…”

I end in a g-string. With a less than full opaque covering on my buttocks. If it was almost any other act, I’d just suck it up and switch to full-coverage panties. But it’s not.

I’ve got less than 2 days to figure this out.

Thoughts, O Constant Reader?

Puzzled,
M2

Published in: on 22 January 2014 at 12:34 pm  Leave a Comment  

Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday and we’re on the verge of a storm here in New England. Of course, the Boston Babydolls will still be presenting Brrrlesque at Laugh Boston tonight and Brigitte and I are still planning to warm up the audience of Bettie Page Reveals All at the Coolidge Corner Theatre tomorrow at midnight.

Here’s your tip!

Give your bras a break!

Avoid wearing the same bra two days in a row. Like any vacation, the day off gives an opportunity to relax and rest and ultimately be happier. The fabric gets a chance to dry out from contact with your skin (especially if your bra has padding. I won’t tell.). The elastic can contract fully after being under tension for most of a day. Just simply rotating through your bras can prolong their fit and life.

Obviously, I’m talking about everyday bras here. Show bras are a different story, since we’re not wearing them for hours and hours on end (usually). Still, air your bras out after each show.

M2

Published in: on 13 December 2013 at 1:46 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! This week’s tip was inspired by recent personal experience.

Don’t bobble your buttons; make your removes a snap!

Cute, no?

I love a good button tease. Slowly slipping a little button out of its snug hole, gliding the fingers down to the next one, all the while eyes are on the audience… Lovely.

However, if those buttons are devilish, don’t fumble around. Replace them with snaps. Well, don’t *replace* the buttons, because they are a lovely detail and make your garment look finished. Hide the snaps under them. This will mean that your garment now opens the opposite way, so be aware of that.

And don’t forget my previous tip about positioning snaps!

I was rehearsing an act for the Halloween show at the Landsdowne Pub on Tuesday which involves a prim blouse with a ton of buttons down the front in sets of three. Here’s the catch: only the middle button of the three is a fastener. It was making me crazy trying to unfasten the correct button smoothly and without looking. Snaps it is!

But to make the blouse look right, I couldn’t just sew snaps under the buttons, because of those decorative buttons flanking each buttonhole. I had to remove the “real” button and sew it on top of the buttonhole between the other two and then sew on the snaps. I think it came out pretty well.

Here it is being modeled by My Little Friend. I don’t think it’s obvious that those buttons are now faux. Decide for yourself when you see it in action on Tuesday night.

M2

Published in: on 25 October 2013 at 10:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,

As we get closer to Halloween, here’s a tip that’s applicable all year ’round, but especially now.

Consider very strongly before investing in an all-black costume.

We all love black. It’s sexy, slimming, and mysterious. However, details and contrast are often lost. Backdrops in venues are frequently black, making you vanish into the curtain. Also, because there’s low contrast, your gloved hand is going to be invisible against your gown, making your come hither gestures also invisible.

Here’s an illustration:
champagne on ice
Can you see my black stocking against the black curtains in the background? Yeah, me neither.

Combine black with accent colors and your costume will be more versatile and visible.

M2

Published in: on 18 October 2013 at 10:31 am  Leave a Comment  
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More Costuming

Dear Constant Reader,

I spent part of yesterday turning this:

into another costume piece for The Wrathskellar.

The result was thus:

Ta da! My hooping outfit. It will look much better in action. My Little Friend is good for most fitting work, but she’s not great for display. For one thing, her boobs don’t push up like the bra wants them to. And, at the moment, everything is just pinned to her. I’ll actually need some snaps & hooks, since I’m not so keen on straight pins in my flesh.

I’m going to have to take a hiatus from the Fit & Flair project, which is a shame because it is so close to finished. At the left, you can see the neck facing sewn on, but not yet turned to the inside and tacked down. That’s since been done. And the sleeves are hemmed (by hand, of course). Technically all that’s left to do is hem the skirt. The dress wants to hang for a little before measuring the hem, but given my schedule, I think it’s going to hang for a good long while before I get to it.

But that wouldn’t make a very finished outfit. I want to make a wide belt. I have the fabric, but I haven’t found a buckle I like yet. Also, I think it really wants a crinoline.

Here’s the dress in its almost finished state.

I think it will be staying this way until at least October…

M2

Published in: on 27 August 2013 at 10:11 am  Leave a Comment  
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Costuming The Wrathskellar

Dear Constant Reader,

Work on The Wrathskellar is in full swing. Yes, we’re actually calling it The W. R. Athskellar Cavalcade of Curiosities this year, but The Wrathskellar is so much faster to write.

The main thing we Babydolls are concentrating on right now are our choreographies and that means we need to know what our costumes are. Part of rehearsal last night was spent rummaging through our costume collection to choose pieces and figure out what needs to be created. One of the challenges for this show is that it’s entirely in greyscale. All costumes have to be black, white, shades of grey, or silver.

We’ve got a few pictures up in this Facebook album: W. R. Ehearsal, Aug 25. We’re planning to be better about documenting some of our rehearsal/backstage process.

I’m making both of my costumes. This weekend was spent buying most of the fabric and starting construction. This is going to be the top for my hooping act.

The main fabric is black with silver embroidery, cutwork, and rhinestones. Note the cool selvedge treatment. The white satin is for the lining and will show through the cut-outs. I discovered *after* I sewed the whole thing that only one of the selvedges had rhinestones on it. Oh no, I have to add more rhinestones!

Today I make the skirt and maybe tomorrow you’ll even get a peek at the whole thing together.

M2

Published in: on 26 August 2013 at 11:50 am  Leave a Comment  
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Last Ohio Burlesque Festival Note

Dear Constant Reader,

I realized I talked a lot about our new costumes for the act we brought to The Ohio Burlesque Festival and only teased you about showing pictures someday. That day is now.

Thanks to Eric Paul Owens for taking these shots.
Ohio Burlesque Festival 2013 - EPO
The opening. The camera has caught me just as I’ve turned (see how my skirt is still swirling) and am in the process of getting into the same pose as the other 3. The round things we’re holding which are covered in a curly fake fur are the “poodle paddles”. Similarly, we’re wearing “poodle hats”.

Ohio Burlesque Festival 2013 5 - EPO
And here you can see the black & white/white & black bras on Stella and Devora. In another few seconds, you would have seen that Betty and I had the same configuration.

We’re planning to do the act again at “Boston Loves Dixie!” on the 31st, so you can see us in all our black & white, poodle glory!

M2

Published in: on 13 August 2013 at 11:54 am  Leave a Comment  
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Getting Ready

Dear Constant Reader,

On Thursday we hop in the trusty Babydollmobile and head West to the Ohio Burlesque Festival. We’re presenting a practically new number. It has the same concept and music as one we did in V for Vixen, but the costumes, choreography, and number of dancers is totally different.

We’ve got a black & white theme for the costumes. Betty & Stella have dresses that are black with white polka dots while Devora and mine are white with black polka dots. Our belts are of the contrasting fabric.

So the plans was that we’d have similarly contrasting bras. One cup would be covered with white fabric and the other side with black. And which cups would depend on who was wearing them. And then the black side would get a white strap and the band would be white and vice versa for the other side

We decided on white bras because we could turn white fabric black more easily that the reverse (with a Sharpie, if necessary. I share our glamourous costuming secrets!) We’re lucky enough to have an odd-lots store nearby where we can get bras inexpensively. Unfortunately Stella is a size that’s hard-to-find and we couldn’t find a bra in that same style the rest of us were using and the one that was picked out for her was unflattering and fit poorly.

On the drive to Johnstown I covered bras for me and D.D. while Betty did her own. Friday Scratch bought a number of bras for Stella to try — all of them black. I realized 3 white bras and 1 black bra would make us crazy, so we ran out and bought a black bra for Betty.

Saturday, I covered the new bra for Betty and on Sunday, Stella picked the glass slipper of a bra and Betty covered it right at rehearsal. Then we all attached trim to the bras. Well, Devora is sewing Stella’s.

The bras still need some rhinestones, but they’re looking pretty good. We were able to do the black/white contrasting straps (yay for removable bra straps!), but we’ve (temporarily?) punted the contrasting bands. We haven’t been able to come up with a way to do it that would be both quick and easy and probably be able to be done in a car.

If I’d been clever, I would have taken pictures, but you can wait for the results from Cleveland, right?

M2

P.S. We’ll be appearing at the opening of the Carrie Nation Cocktail Club tonight!

Published in: on 29 July 2013 at 11:23 am  Leave a Comment  
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