Neglected Project: Burlesque Costume

Okay, I realized why I procrastinate so much. I’m afraid that what I want to accomplish fails… for instance. I put this off for so long because I had severe doubts in my ability to pull off making a costume for burlesque because the only things I’ve ever made in the clothing department of art were based on someone else’s pattern or idea. This top alone was a lot of trial and error and I’m afraid it resulted in more error than I would like. It looks pretty good, I’d say, but as far as the functionality goes it could have been better. The blue fabric is connected to the bra with snaps so that, in theory, I could easily take them off and use the fabric as a prop. “Easily” being the key word here…the snaps are made to keep clothes on…not take them off with any particular grace. So we’ll see, I’ll have to try working some of the stick out of the snaps, maybe a drop of oil will help…maybe it won’t. There’s a high probability of failure in this endeavor, it’s probable that I’ll make a fool of myself on stage in front of friends, family and strangers… but I’m going to follow through. At least I’ve learned a lot through all of this…

The Bottom is a similarly styled boy-short panty that will have a detachable pleated skirt covering the back (more snaps!!!) Hopefully tonight I’ll get the rest of the skirt done, attached to the bottoms and get around to making the teal chiffon draped dress that will cover me for the first minute or so of the song…I have a lot to do, little time to do it…and I still don’t know what I’m doing for choreography… >.<

Hopefully no one that’s reading this is offended by the idea of burlesque or me posting pictures of a bra that I’ve stylized and manipulated to be a bit more glamorous. I know this blog is G rated so maybe this is inappropriate. For me, Burlesque is empowering, theatrical, comical and beautiful, it helps me keep in touch with being feminine and reminds me to lighten up. Don’t knock it until you do a little research and see a couple of shows. The Minneapolis Burlesque community is wonderful and I love taking classes with Ophelia and Lili’s Academy. All kinds of good times.

Addendum: the Mannequin modeling my creation is yet another neglected project…perhaps you’ll be seeing more of her as I get the gumption to return to her. But for now, you just get a preview.