Dear Constant Reader,
Heavily embellished costumes should be stored flat.
If you put them on a hanger, the weight of the beads, rhinestones, &c may stretch the garment out of shape. If you need to fold them for storage, pad the creases with acid-free tissue paper.
Dear Constant Reader,
Although “my little friend” is usually what Betty Blaize calls me (she *is* 8 inches taller than I am), in this case I mean something the same size I am: my dress form. Scratch gave it to me for my birthday this year and it’s been a delight. I used to have an old, clunky mannequin that was probably 3rd hand and very hard to adjust. My new one (no name, but I’ll take suggestions) is set to be exactly Mina-sized.
Here she is modeling my Catherine D’Lish costume:
This is the costume Catherine D’Lish used to use for her spiderweb act. I bought it from her on eBay, but had to make some modifications. I’m a pretty small person, but she’s tiny! Hence, the strip of red velvet down the front of the skirt. I’m still rhinestoning it. You can’t tell, but I also hemmed the scarf.
The Burleque-O-Matic gown:
I made this for the act we performed at the Rhinestone Revue on Friday night of the Expo this year. I needed something I could both put on and take off quickly that was over-the-top glamourous. You might remember me writing about it here. I’m quite pleased with how it came out, considering how little time I had to make it.
The Ridiculous Confection:
I didn’t make this. Scratch found it for me on our last summer tour. He’s got a great eye for fabulous clothing.
I’ll be wearing The Ridiculous Confection in our new touring show A (Re)Movable Feast. If you’d like to help get us on the road, consider pledging to our Kickstarter campaign. We’ve got some nifty gifts if you do!
Dear Constant Reader,
You know I love burlesque and burlesque history. You may also know that I love costumes and I’m pretty good at making them too. You may not know that I have always wanted to work in a museum. It’s true. I even went to school for Museum Studies. Recently, Scratch allowed me to indulge in my passion for all these things by setting up an exhibit of burlesque costumes at The West End Museum here in Boston.
The folks at Pin Curl Magazine were good enough to do a little feature on the exhibit.
If you want to see the costumes for yourself, they’ll be at The West End Museum until May 12. On May 11th at 7pm there will be a closing reception, which is free. I’ll be there and I’m happy to give you a guided tour of the exhibit.
Dear Constant Reader,
Count out your rhinestones before you start your project and split them up by garment area.
That way you won’t go overboard on one bra cup and have only a dozen remaining for the other.
Dear Constant Reader,
Replace standard garment zippers with jacket zippers — the kind with the big, chunky, plastic teeth. They’re not as pretty or subtle, but less likely to get stuck or break. And they do less damage to your skin than metal zippers, just in case you zip yourself (ouch!).
Dear Constant Reader,
Vote for the Boston Babydolls!
The Boston Babydolls are working on a brand new act that we are going to show for the very first time at The Rhinestone Revue on Friday, April 6th. I need a smashing gown, but none of the ones I already had fit the bill. We tried a couple at rehearsal on Wednesday, but no dice.
In a fit of bravado, I decided to make a new one. Before rehearsal on Sunday. Scratch often calls me the Fastest Needle in the East, so why not test the veracity of that title once again? He thought it was a bad idea, so of course I had to run with the plan.
I had a pattern I wanted to use, but the last time I tried it, the bodice gaped badly. Fortunately I have a new dressmaker’s mannequin to help with fitting.
Friday night, I cut the bodice lining and started altering it. Saturday I bought my fabric, cut everything out, and started sewing everything. Eventually I broke 4 needles sewing the skirt together, quit and went to sleep. Sunday there was more bodice fitting, zipper setting, and the creation of a wearable garment. A pretty nice one, if unfinished.
Because I was both arrogant and under the gun, I started on the hem treatment. What I really needed to do was set it all aside, take some time to think, and go to rehearsal with a partially done, but wearable dress. What I ended up doing was cursing a lot and making some really dumb decisions.
At rehearsal, my dress was duly admired and I was given some good suggestions for fixing the hem treatment and some additional improvements.
What am I doing today? Ripping off the hem treatment. What will I be doing before Wednesday? Fixing my dumb mistakes. When do you get to see the dress? April 6th.
Dear Constant Reader,
Vote for the Boston Babydolls!
For my birthday, Scratch got me a brand-new dress form, which you can see here, graced with my latest creation (a 1914 blouse, just lacking the buttons and buttonholes).
For a long time I had been working with an old clunky mannequin that was very hard to adjust. It was only really good for keeping costumes in progress off the ground and for displaying them at the Expo. The new one is set to my measurements and height, so I can actually do fittings and hemming with easy.
Expect a lot more to be coming out of my sewing room!
Dear Constant Reader,
A little while ago I talked about costumes for The Wrathskellar. Betty Blaize, as I pointed out, had made 2 new costumes for herself. And because I think you deserve a treat, here they are:
This costume was made for an act we called “The Tango of Death”. The bra and unseen hip belt are made from sari fabric, decorated with red crystals and red Egyptian glass fringe. The jacket and skirt are created from sequined fabric and trimmed with red feathers. Her matching headpiece was designed so that she could more easily balance a sword on her head.
If you saw The Wrathskellar, this was the costume for the number with all the hands (if you didn’t, boy, did you miss out…). Some of the design influences here were steampunk (the jacket) and Indian dance (the skirt). Betty had to be careful in designing this outfit since some elements were going to be removed by others and she was going to be dancing quite vigorously, albeit in a small space. Just imaging how all that fringe flew when Betty executed her trademark shimmies… And some of the large beads actually flew off!
Until next time, dear reader.
Dear Constant Reader,
There are many elements important to our shows and just one of them is costumes. However, costumes are my favorite part, so that’s what I’m going to write about today.
Madame Burlesque was incredibly challenging when it came to costumes; almost everything was made new for that show. The costumes were elaborate and plentiful. Fortunately, we had costumers on the crew, but everyone had to pitch in at least a little.
For The Wrathskellar we had the luxury of re-using some of the costumes that were made last year. The wenches, Hans, Bücher, and The Lost Girl were able to take their costumes straight out of the closet. Most of my costumes were from my collection, so I was available to work for others.
Most of my time was spent making a corset for The Broad. I love corsetry — when it’s completed. I curse a lot when I’m constructing it. : ) And I made her some pasties. And a few other things for her and for The Innocent.
Devora Darling has proven to be a champ at decorating bras, so she took over the under-needs of a group number, with Betty Blaize handling the outer garments and pasties (the most disturbing pasties ever).
Betty is an amazing costumer and, besides the work she did for others, she made two entirely new costumes for herself, in a very short amount of time. Do note that a burlesque costume has multiple layers and in many cases, the inside has to look as good as the outside. When you come see the show (and you should — don’t take my word for it) take a good look at her stunning costumes.
P.S. Just a reminder… We’ve been nominated for “Best Burlesque” by the Weekly Dig. Please vote for us!
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 