I'm always bragging about the corset work of Anastasia von Teaserhausen, and with good reason. Anastasia taught a class on corsets through All-Star Burlesque last Saturday. She really knows her stuff when it comes to corset construction. She discussed the differences between fashion corsets and costume corsets, what classifies as a corset and what doesn't, what one should expect from a corset, and how to upgrade fashion corsets so they last longer. It was a wonderful class. When I get a moment, I'm going to upgrade a beautiful corset I purchased from Frederick's of Hollywood that fell apart the first time it was worn.
(If you'd like to contact Anastasia, shoot me a comment. Her website is being revised so I'll help you get in touch with her.)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tassel Twirling Geniuses
In fact, it was so much fun for them that I've been asked back for next year.
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Happy Birthday Suit!
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| "You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'" shot by Dan Hendricks. |
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| We make awesome faces when we Charleston. Photo by Dan Hendricks. |
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| I'm doing the hustle. He's ... nevermind. Photo by Dan Hendricks. |
My birthday show at Monday Night Tease! on February 7th was nothing short of amazing. I'm so grateful to the performers and Lili for joining me on my 1970s induced madness. It was magical.
Here are a few photos of my disco number to "You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'" by Leo Sayer with my disco partner and mate, Mr. Snapper.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
SWBS: Self Promotion/Online Marketing with Red Hot Annie
Red Hot Annie is incredible with promotion. Not a week goes by that I don't see something about her online. I do some promotion, but I'm all about strengthening areas where I'm not terribly strong. Annie's class reinforced some things I'm doing right and gave me areas to improve. Fantastic!
I don't want to give away everything from her class (because you should take it for yourself), but I will tell you a couple things I'm going to do after taking the class. First, I'm going to have my website redesigned so it's easier for me to update. I'm also having my dear friend and professional layout master, Chris Beyond, give the entire thing a facelift. Second, I'm working on some sort of swag to give out at shows and festivals so more people can take a little Snapper home with them. Keep your eyes peeled for awesomeness. :)
I don't want to give away everything from her class (because you should take it for yourself), but I will tell you a couple things I'm going to do after taking the class. First, I'm going to have my website redesigned so it's easier for me to update. I'm also having my dear friend and professional layout master, Chris Beyond, give the entire thing a facelift. Second, I'm working on some sort of swag to give out at shows and festivals so more people can take a little Snapper home with them. Keep your eyes peeled for awesomeness. :)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Creating a Simple Burlesque Costume - Part Two: Selecting Embellishments
I wrote this for a workshop I taught at Theatre Unleashed in 2008 and revised parts of it to post here. Please do not republish without permission, but feel free to link back to this blog entry. I'm sharing this information because I know I have readers who are burlesque pioneers who need a little guidance. These are instructions for making a very simple burlesque costume, and are a good guideline for beginners. :)
The embellishments on your costume are as personal as your color and style choices for your understructure. You can use as much or as little embellishment as you like, knowing that it's only too much if the weight of the embellishments cause the garments to fall off on their own. You can use any combination of fringe, beaded trim, sequins, feathers, fur and tassels. You can also go back later and add more to your costume as time and money allow. (I've been working on the bra for my mega costume for close to a year and have almost finished the last of the hand beading.)
Rhinestones: Rhinestones will probably be the most expensive things on your costume. You can use inexpensive, plastic rhinestones. You can use glass stones that have many facets like Preciosa. You can also opt for Swarovski crystals -- very flashy with more facets than Preciosa at greater expense. There are different sizes and colors of stones. Some dancers choose to purchase a handful of Swarovski crystals and use those on the parts of the costume that catch the most light, filling in with Preciosa and/or plastic stones. It's cheaper to buy any stones by the gross (144 pieces) or 10 gross.
Fringe: Fringe comes in a variety of colors, lengths and styles. A good rule of thumb is the longer the fringe, the more it costs per yard. You'll want fringe on your shimmy belt to emphasize your hip movements. You may decide to put fringe on your panties and bra. You'll need at least one yard of fringe for your shimmy belt, more if you want to put it anywhere else on your costume.
Beaded fringe: This is like fringe with benefits. It's a bit heavier than regular fringe and tends to cost a tad more. Beaded fringe is sold by the yard. It can be used on the shimmy belt, bra and panties. It catches stage light nicely and accentuates your shimmies and shakes. You can find it for as little as $3 a yard. You'll probably want at least one yard of beaded fringe for your shimmy belt because layered fringe looks awesome. You may decide to get two more yards if you want to decorate the leg openings of your panties, and maybe a yard or two for your bra.
Sequins: Sequins have worked best for me when they were in strands and I used them to cover up edges. I've stopped using sequins for the most part since I focus on event costumes and use more rhinestones. It's too easy to lose a sequin from a strand and too difficult to replace that single sequin. Strands have been easier for me to manipulate than single sequins.
Other embellishments: You can use any other embellishments you want on your costume. I used multicolor ric-rac on top of the ribbon top of some beaded fringe and it looked amazing. I used sequined fur trim on another costume and it looked quite fabulous. You might use complementary colors of cheaper trim to make your costume look even more smashing. One of the great things about a one-stop craft and fabric store is taking several trims and layering them on the counter before making your final selections for cutting and purchasing.
If you're playing along at home as I post, you have a few days to start collecting embellishments for your costume. In the last part of the series, I'll give you some hints on how to put everything together.
The embellishments on your costume are as personal as your color and style choices for your understructure. You can use as much or as little embellishment as you like, knowing that it's only too much if the weight of the embellishments cause the garments to fall off on their own. You can use any combination of fringe, beaded trim, sequins, feathers, fur and tassels. You can also go back later and add more to your costume as time and money allow. (I've been working on the bra for my mega costume for close to a year and have almost finished the last of the hand beading.)
Rhinestones: Rhinestones will probably be the most expensive things on your costume. You can use inexpensive, plastic rhinestones. You can use glass stones that have many facets like Preciosa. You can also opt for Swarovski crystals -- very flashy with more facets than Preciosa at greater expense. There are different sizes and colors of stones. Some dancers choose to purchase a handful of Swarovski crystals and use those on the parts of the costume that catch the most light, filling in with Preciosa and/or plastic stones. It's cheaper to buy any stones by the gross (144 pieces) or 10 gross.
Fringe: Fringe comes in a variety of colors, lengths and styles. A good rule of thumb is the longer the fringe, the more it costs per yard. You'll want fringe on your shimmy belt to emphasize your hip movements. You may decide to put fringe on your panties and bra. You'll need at least one yard of fringe for your shimmy belt, more if you want to put it anywhere else on your costume.
Beaded fringe: This is like fringe with benefits. It's a bit heavier than regular fringe and tends to cost a tad more. Beaded fringe is sold by the yard. It can be used on the shimmy belt, bra and panties. It catches stage light nicely and accentuates your shimmies and shakes. You can find it for as little as $3 a yard. You'll probably want at least one yard of beaded fringe for your shimmy belt because layered fringe looks awesome. You may decide to get two more yards if you want to decorate the leg openings of your panties, and maybe a yard or two for your bra.
Sequins: Sequins have worked best for me when they were in strands and I used them to cover up edges. I've stopped using sequins for the most part since I focus on event costumes and use more rhinestones. It's too easy to lose a sequin from a strand and too difficult to replace that single sequin. Strands have been easier for me to manipulate than single sequins.
Other embellishments: You can use any other embellishments you want on your costume. I used multicolor ric-rac on top of the ribbon top of some beaded fringe and it looked amazing. I used sequined fur trim on another costume and it looked quite fabulous. You might use complementary colors of cheaper trim to make your costume look even more smashing. One of the great things about a one-stop craft and fabric store is taking several trims and layering them on the counter before making your final selections for cutting and purchasing.
If you're playing along at home as I post, you have a few days to start collecting embellishments for your costume. In the last part of the series, I'll give you some hints on how to put everything together.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
SWBS: Vintage Hairstyling & Burlesque Makeup Basics with Red Hot Annie
I've always done a workman-like job on my own hair and makeup. I spent a semester in college studying stage makeup and picked up other bits and pieces along the way. I was spoiled in Texas with someone else doing my hair and makeup for most of my appearances.
I used to purchase expensive makeup but my application wasn't nearly as good as that of a MUA. I learned why in Red Hot Annie's class yesterday. The basics she covered will revolutionize how I do my makeup. I know what products I need in my makeup kit, what brushes are best for which application, what my face needs to look ideally roportioned, and how and where to explore color.
The class was packed with information so we didn't spend as much time on hair as we did makeup. I did learn the right way to curl hair and how to use pin curls as a basis for other styles. Annie used me as the demo student, and my hair and makeup both lasted from the morning class through the evening show.
Annie is very knowledgeable and very chill. I highly recommend this class.
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