Costume Works in Progress

It's been a while since my last post, I've been busy!

I've taken on a few costume commissions for burlesque dancers.

Here's one that I finished in November for Luna Landing! It's a circus playsuit, based on a vintage photograph of a circus performer, for her Pink Elephant number. She made the elephant and the olive headpiece herself, clever lady!

 

Currently I have four more commissions in progress including these two:

Morticia Addams in progress for Miss Alex Kennedy. Morticia is one of my favorite characters so this is exciting. Also, the costume is being constructed in such a way that it can be peeled off in layers during a tango dance with Gomez!

This is from my first fitting with Baby Le'Strange for her Spider-Woman costume. It's my first bodysuit, and I don't work with this material very often. The big challenge was creating the pattern with all of the different color cut-outs. Since this bodysuit is meant to come part in pieces I combined patterns for a swimsuit, a bodysuit and leggings. It took a long time to draw up and cutting into the fabric was daunting but it's turning out fabulous!

Something old, something new…Lacey's wedding

Busy busy busy bee, sewing constantly this month!

In addition to several costume commissions I was hard at work on some very personal projects for my dear friend's wedding.

Lacey is one of the most considerate, thoughtful people that I know. We were in a burlesque troupe together for years, so we've become sisters of a sort. I love to give gifts to show people that I appreciate them, and for someone who you know will appreciate the effort, it's even more fun.
And Lacey truly deserves heartfelt gifts.

First of all she asked me to make headpieces for herself to wear during the reception, and one for each of us bridesmaids:

 Stephanie Kaloi Photography

 Stephanie Kaloi Photography

 Stephanie Kaloi Photography

 Stephanie Kaloi Photography

It was such an incredible wedding full of personal touches. The bride and groom had couple's portrait drawn by their favorite tattoo artist and made into temporary tattoos. The bride's brother designed all of the printed goods, like invitations. Our friend made Lacey a little coat to go over her dress when she was outside. The groom's aunt and cousin played music during the ceremony. Another friend made a light up heart for their back-drop, and a close friend married them. The result was one of the most beautiful productions I've ever been a part of.

As I mentioned before, Lacey and I were in a burlesque troupe together for years. We traveled the Pacific NW and grew very close. Here's our troupe a couple of years back:

This was taken by Kaylin Idora shortly after Lacey got engaged. It's our troupe version of the wedding photographer classic, "Look at the Ring!"

As our troupe gift to her, from her burlesque sisters, we made Lacey a special quilt. We asked every member to contribute any scrap material from their burlesque costumes over the years, within a certain color range, and we sewed the pieces together to make her a lap quilt!

It was the first quilt I've ever made and I am so grateful for my partners, Charlotte Treuse and Nina Nightshade for being such talented seamstresses! 

 Stephanie Kaloi Photography

Photo by Peter Carlson

 She absolutely loved it, and we accomplished our goal - to make her cry. 

 This is her reaction when we told her what the scraps had come from. Thank you Stephanie, for capturing the moment.

 Success!

My Poster for Metalesque!

I am really happy with the way that this turned out. I wanted it to have the feel of a love letter to metal, in all it's sleaze, cheeze and debauchery, like an album cover or some 70's teenage fan art. I hand painted the elements with gauche then composed them digitally.

I am co-hosting this show with the always fabulous Vera Mysteria of Sign of the Beast Burlesque, who is the co-creator Black Lodge Burlesque, a show I am also a part of. I am making at least one insane new costume for this show and it is going to be loads of fun!

The Girl on the Swing

Revisiting Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge reminded me of a life goal of mine, to be partially employed as a girl on a swing.
Nicole Kidman spends a lot of time on swings in this movie:

This is, of course, inspired by actual cabaret shows and trapeze artists, but the symbolism is appropriate in this film.
The girl on the swing is the untouchable object of desire, flying high above the audience's heads. It's an elite post but it's also a lonely one. She is isolated from her peers, and society, in her position as the coveted sexual object, a pretty pet.

Backstage at the Latin Quarter by Gordon Parks, Life Magazine (1958)

Erte

So it's a bit sad, but nonetheless it's an image that has a powerful hold on our collective consciousness, bridging the trapeze and the even more depressing, but fetishized, woman in a (bird) cage. The image of the bird cage is an interesting one, but I wouldn't want to be stuck inside.
But then I hate seeing birds in cages.

Josephine Baker in Zou Zou, 1934

Louise Brooks, “Prix de Beauté” 1930

Louise again

60's Go-Go Dancers in a cage 

Then there's Dita...

And Catherine D'Lish...to name a few modern performers that embrace the cage.

Making Miss Pacman

Some inspiration on the hottest bitch in the arcade:

Out on the town.

I have only a few weeks to get my Ms. Pacman number costumed, sound mixed, choreographed, and rehearsed! The girls of Rose City Shimmy have stepped up to be my ghosts!

Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde!

I have been planning this number for months and this show, with it's retro video game theme, was perfect. I had thought that I would start this in the beginning of summer but the funds didn't come through. Finally, armed with a stack of coupons I was able to procure a pile of mattress foam, yards of colored satin and these:

I'll let you guess what these are for...

I've looked up a lot of Pacman costumes online and there are some very clever ones but none exactly like what I had in mind. 

This is closest to the shape that I'm going for.

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Most tend to be of the side view which makes sense because this is how she looks in the game, but...

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...I want to be this version. There's something so much more comical to me about her human face and sexy legs on that giant puffball.

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This is a pretty ambitious project and time is running out. This will be a great challenge in foam construction. I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous that my concept will fail miserably. Wish me luck!

MAKING MS. PACMAN! I tried to take photos as I made progress. I had no pattern to work from, just an idea of what *might* work. There was a lot of experimenting, a lot of things that had to be changed as I went along, but that is how most burlesque costumes go. They are unlike Halloween costumes, theater or film costumes in that they have to be removed in a way that is not only pleasing to the audience but works with the choreography, the theme, and of course, the rhythm of the song.  * I started with a few sheets of foam that were intended as mattress pads.  * In order to create a round shape I cut them into strips and glued the edges together loosely so they would hinge, tapering the tops until I had finally worked it into a shape that was not only rounded but large enough for me to fit inside. * Once I had this shape I marked the face. I needed eye holes and a mouth hole because in the number I eat fruits and a pretzel. Then I cut arm holes (which had to be moved later and never really allowed me a whole lot of movement. I might have to make them larger but then my skin would be visible underneath....hmmmm) * Then I cut the whole shape in half and stretched this yellow velvet over it. I needed something stretchy and I wanted texture that would catch the light. Also I thought the velvet had a nice Muppety quality. Fabrics For Less in Portland is an invaluable resource for cheap fabric! Once everything was glued on I used the excess foam to pad the inside of the costume so that it would hold it's shape and keep my head centered so that I could see out the eye holes on stage. Then I used snaps and Velcro on the edges to hold the two halves together so that they could pop apart for the final reveal! Remember how the Pacs die, sort of withering like a peeled banana? * Next I wanted to make the eyes look like hers but still be able to see out of them. I got a great suggestion from a friend who's a puppeteer. I hot-glued colored thule to a wire frame in the shape of the eye socket so that I could set the whole thing in the hole with more glue. Not pictured: I added glittery black lashes cut out of vinyl and used puff paint (still useful even though the 80's are over!) to line the eyes.  * Then came the fun part - accessorizing. Of course I needed a giant pink bow! And the burlesque staple, glitter lips! Not pictured: A sequin mole! I also used my own cream blush to give her rosy cheeks. * Ghost time! Fabrics For Less has TONS of cheap satin in all different colors. Using the umbrella hats as a guide I made a simple pattern and cut and sewed and resewed, and fixed and fussed until they were close enough! I used colored thule again on the eyes but no wire. Inside I sewed a little pocket under a slit so that the ghosts could carry fruit and use their hands when needed. Check out the finished costume below! Cutting out the ghosts in shape A little good luck present from my dude, the world's best gift giver! And here's the final product in action at Geeklesque: Power's Up!

KISS QUE C'EST BURLESQUE

KISS QUE C'EST BURLESQUE 
2007 / SAN FRANCISCO

When our troupe first formed no one wanted to make their own costumes but me. I had been collecting sparkly thrift store gems for a while, eagerly awaiting a purpose. I gleefully set to work for our first photo shoot, tearing up gaudy prom dresses and old lady's cocktail blouses, reconfiguring them into bustles and bustiers. Our palette was black and gold, and each outfit represented our characters. (L->R) Pin Key Lee was a Marilyn-esque showgirl with a circus twist. She made the lock because she wanted to do a Houdini strip. April was a trained belly dancer with a cha cha influence. (You can't see the skirt in this picture but it turned out very cute.) Becca was our gender-bending acrobat in a tuxedo one-piece. I was a voodoo vamp. Miss Mae Western was a sassy pistol slinger from down Mexico way. I've come a long way. These days I would never put someone in a crinoline or a Frederick's bustier, but we were baby burlesquers and I love looking back on our homespun glamour.

Princess Peach Reworked

Years ago when I first started performing in San Francisco I had the idea to do a Mario Bros number where I would play Princess Peach. I was so excited about it that I bought a red wig, crown and blue rhinestone necklace immediately. I was on the right track because that same week I found the most hideous pink princess dress at Thrift Town. (It's much more challenging to find outrageous clothes at thrift stores in Portland. There's more sequins in the SFcast-offs.) The label said it was from Guam and I'm sure it was intended as a tween pageant dress. It was incredible - fake flowers spraying off the puffed shoulders...it resembled that miserable prom dress that Molly Ringwald makes in Pretty in Pink. 

This is the adorable vintage dress that she's given.

And this is the freakish Franken-dress she creates. 

(Side note: as baffling as her ultimate creation is that scene was one of the most influential in my young life! Why is this sewing montage not on Youtube?!?! I think they meant for it to feel like Cinderella, but it's more Frankenstein.) 
Anyways, as soon as I saw that pink monstrosity my eyes lit up, and just then a nosy stranger said, "That's the ugliest dress I've ever seen, what on earth are you going to do with it?" Undeterred, I happily claimed my prize. 
There is something especially satisfying about finding one of fashion's sequined misjudgements and transforming it into something stage worthy. 
Well, then I moved to Portland and the dress sat in my closet until someone told me that some other performers had a Mario Bros number. Instead of stuffing the idea I asked them if they wanted to add a Princess Peach to the mix, and they did! It worked out perfectly because I am taller than both of them just like in the game, ha! 
I pulled out the old dress and ripped it apart. I made a new bodice from a Princess dress pattern and used the ruffled skirt and puffed sleeves from the old dress. The sleeves pull off, then the bodice, then the skirt to reveal a gold coin bikini. And when I shimmy coins pop out!

Here is the original monstrosity.  Those sleeves...

Here is the full beast. That skirt...

Princess Peach Tear-Away Burlesque Costume!

It was a childhood dream come true, Pretty in Pink and Cinderella all at once. 

Here's another inspiring sewing scene :