This is the finished bra. I started off with a strapless padded plunge bra, with one of those clear plastic back straps. I removed the plastic and replaced it with wide black elastic and a sturdy but easy to undo clip. I covered the cups entirely in the red velvet, and added red crystal bra straps. I then embellished by applying black appliqué and red rhinestones in the same way as on the body of the corset. Tonight’s extra addition of the black stones on the corset made me think a few black stones on the bra would be a good idea. So I added a line along the seams I’d sewn into the centre of the cups when I covered them in velvet. I also added a couple in the middle, between the two cups.
The updates to this outfit were very simple, but necessary. The corset needs to be sturdy and in good condition for my next show, otherwise rehearsal would make it fall to bits!
Here’s the corset by Adixxtion Designs. You can see how the exaggerated shape of the boning really gives me a pronounced waist. If you’re not an experienced corset wearer, you might think that this is uncomfortable. In reality, because it’s been made specifically for my body, it’s one of the most comfortable costumes I own and certainly the corset I can wear for the longest time. It’s also a very unique design, with the unusual placement of the suspender straps (four at the front, two at the back) making it extra fun to wear!
Fi applied the black lace applique over the red velvet, to make the corset look more sumptuous. The pasties and merkin I use for this act are made from black lace appliqués with red rhinestones, so I decided to emulate that look by applying stones of my own to the corset, picking out the details in the lace as I like to do in 3 and 4mm red rhinestones. Unfortunately, the initial choreography followed by performance was hard on the delicate velvet, and the seams of the corset started to show signs of wear - especially along the edges of the boning channels. So I have gone back over any weak points with some hand sewing, and reinforced the sewing by applying more rhinestones over the top. To keep the look of contrast, I went for black stones in 5 and 3mm size, in small lines along the first and last couple of inches of the seams by the boning channels. I didn’t want to go along the entire channel, as when the bones deform when the corset is worn, stones tend to shed more easily as pressure is put on them. I think that using hotfix stones along the re-sewn seams will strengthen them further, by helping to stick the fabric together with the glue.
These are the tie-side knickers for the vampiress act, the back view. The front has been covered in red velvet, but the back has been left simple black satin. These red crystal chains were bought as bra straps, and I originally attached one across the front of the knickers in a swag shape. But I didn’t like the bright red of the stones against the deep red of the velvet, and so I’ve swapped the single chain for a double swag across the back
Tonight’s project is my vampiress outfit. The costume for my ‘Vampire’s Metamorphosis’ act is all made from red velvet (shot through with green) and was created for me by Fi of Adixxtion Designs. The dress is based on Valeria Watt’s vamp-tastic getup in ‘Carry On Screaming’, and cut to fit my corseted waist. The corset itself was also made by Fi to my exact specifications, and it gives me a tiny (but comfortable) sharp wasp-waist. She embellished the corset with black lace appliqué. I made the bra and thong myself using offcuts of the red velvet and smaller black appliqués, then applied red rhinestones to the lace and used red rhinestoned chain to create straps and detail. I also rhinestoned a black metal bib necklace to match.
Tonight’s job is to go back over the outfit and make any necessary changes. There are some improvements that need to be made before the vampiress’ next outing …
2 notes
Here’s the finished bra being worn. My usual bad combination of poor quality camera and poor lighting means that you can’t really see much detail here. But the addition of the rhinestones make the set look really cute!
1 note
Since this was my first customisation project for Bea Duboir, I kept it simple and just applied some rhinestones. Black stones on the flock polka dots in the mesh, and red stones along the velvet ribbon trim and bows. The end result was a subtle bit of sparkle which didn’t make the set look too fussy (it had plenty of detail to start off with so adding too much more could have been overwhelming). i did consider swapping the colours over and using black stones on the red trim and red stones on the black polka dots, but the effect of that wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as this way round.
After my last post about my new venture blogging on the Bea Duboir website blog, I posted my first review over there. The first piece I reviewed was the one in this picture: the Naughty Set. It’s a three piece set in black polka dot mesh with red trim. You can see my thoughts on the fit and materials over on the site:
1 note
I’ve got a new little venture on the go. I’m now a guest blogger for Bea Duboir, a new lingerie site with a huge selection of lovely pretty things … which I get to review! Not only that, but I’ll be using some of the pieces as bases for customisation projects, and showing what can be done with a good base piece and a little bit of crafting. As such, my experiments will probably be posted up here, so you lovely readers will be the first to see what’s going on before I post up the final results on the main blog
Here’s a couple of pretty shots to show how the finished ‘Dancing Serpent’ costume all works together. The above picture shows the start of the routine when the full costume is in use, and the lower shows the middle of the act, when the green top layer has been removed. As you can see, it all looks pretty damn good on stage. I decided to leave my hair down and in its natural straight state for this performance, because I liked the swishing as I threw my head around in certain choreographed moves - it felt more sexy and dramatic, which really captures the mood of this act. Had I put it up into a sleek style, as I had originally planned, these big moves wouldn’t have looked as good. However, some of the feedback I got was that something prettier hair-wise, or a headpiece, would work well, thus confirming my initial thoughts. I shall play around with the styling of this act a little more. Although I enjoy the simplicity of it all, if it’s not coming across, then it needs to be changed …
(Source: facebook.com)
Here are the completed shoes for the Dancing Serpent act. Like oh so many burlesquers’ costume pieces, these shoes have a provenance. We’re a thrifty community, and often pass on unwanted or retired pieces to other performers. These gold shoes once belonged to the beautiful Missy Malone. They had no embellishment when I got hold of them though. My favourite style of shoe to dance in is the peep toe stiletto, especially when there is a concealed platform, and I own a great many pairs. The tiny mirror/sequin style effect of this fabric is very similar to that on the shoes I use for Fairytale (although those are a much paler gold colour), and I think the pattern is very reminiscent of snake scales. And so they were the obvious choice for this act. I have embellished them very simply, using glue to attach a row of green strung sequins around the top edge, gluing a piece of gold sequinned appliqué to the front outside edge (with a section curling over the toes, which is a detail I enjoy and which echoes that on the green bra), and sewing a final green beaded tassel to the back of the shoe, which will sway in a snakelike manner as I walk
1 note
Page 1 of 8