Showgirls

The Dames Aflame make many appearances in Vegas-inspired showgirl attire. I've made many sets of showgirl outfits, including headpieces. My first set of outfits was the black and silver set, accented with red. The set consists of 7 sets of embellished bras and belts, along with 4 headpieces. The headpieces, bras and belts are covered in fabric from an outfit I found at the thrift store, then embellished with appliques, beaded fringe, hand beading and hand made fringe. I still have enough fabric to made another couple if I ever needed to. All the outfits are different but coordinate.

Indian Girl Go-Go

The Indian Girl costumes were originally created for the Dames Aflame burlesque show, but eventually used as go-go outfits for other shows. I made three coordinating sets, one main Indian maiden and two back-up dancer outfits. When I was sketching out the idea I looked at a lot of real Indian clothing, as well as interpretations of traditional Indian garb. I settled on using ultra suede in two colors, light blue and burgundy, which I think has a nice effect, with beading in light blue, dark blue, purple, pink and red. I also used silver beads on the fringe, which was not at all fun to string.

Can't forget Cher and her Half-Breed costume:

This is the main dancer outfit. The headdress is a real Indian headpiece that my friend had. I did hand beading on the front, as well as cut the fringe, which I also strung with beads to give it weight for movement.

 

accessories from land and sea

I'm currently working on a set of accessories that have natural elements incorporated in them. This is a shirred collar I made with cheesecloth, ribbon, bugle beads and seashells from my trip to Florida.

Dolls

The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta performs an adult theatrical/puppet show called The Ghastly Dreadfuls during the month of October. The Dames were invited to participate as guest performers. I liked the idea of creepy dolls as a theme and found inspiration in Victorian porcelain dolls.

I think the costumes came out well - they made us look like giant versions of the real thing. They are completely hand sewn, each one comprised of a top, bra, underbust corset, ruffle bottoms, hand-dyed gloves, skirt and headpiece. I dyed many of the materials I used to give them an old, worn look, and also incorporated some vintage materials. The boots are also vintage. I have some detail shots of the costumes that I will post soon.

My friend Beth put together a really great piece of striptease choreography complete with stiff doll-like movements.The costumes are now used in the annual Holiday show the Dames perform in.

Pilot showgirls

Over the past 8 years I was lucky enough to design pieces that were part of a really great burlesque show. It ran monthly for 2 1/2 years, and garnered lots of great reviews and dedicated fans. One of the most memorable acts was a Broadway version King Kong, featuring a stripteasing Kong atop a miniature empire State Building, complete with pilot showgirls carrying bi-planes. Here's the Emprire State Building-inspired costumes.

The cosutmes are hand-sewn and embellished with brass studs and rhinstones. The gloves are hand-dyed and studded also. They are worn with brown vintage style suede pumps.

Documenting my costuming work

So I was a little shocked at how long I have neglected this blog. But I'm back and more committed than ever. Ha.

For this first installment of my costuming work, I'm going back to the very beginning of working with the dance troupe Dames Aflame. I made a set of these bikinis in different colors, all hand dyed and hand sewn. I take custom orders for them too, so just contact me if you'd like to own one. I've made them in pink, purple, yellow, red, white and black and white-jailbird style for a Jailhouse Rock routine. They look great on stage for super go-go dancing action!