Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

When I teach I often talk about how burlesque striptease turns up everywhere in popular culture, and how when I was a kid I would get excited whenever I saw a hint of it. Commercials are no exception. Here, a few commercials of my youth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjqkddFrY8Q Jill St John stripping out of a tiger outfit in The Oscar , 1966. Above: Another image posted in an effort to get you to visit Cool Cinema Trash .

Ann-Margret doing some fierce boa work in The Swinger . Above: Image from coolcinematrash.com.

If you've spent any time around me when I'm discussing my influences, you'll have heard me talk about just how much I love the aesthetic of the 1960s. Click any of the images below for lots more 60s fun. Think about Natalie Wood in Gypsy--1962. It's not meant to be set in the 60s, but that is definitely 60s hair. Click the image above to see a fabulous site dedicated to Gypsy. See the original trailer on imdb . Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's--1961. The original movie trailer. Ursula Andress in Casino Royale, 1967 Casino Royale movie trailer Daliah Lavi in The Silencers, 1967 The Silencers movie trailer Ann Margaret in the Pleasure Seeker, 1964 Ann Margret in the film. Most of the Sonny Lester music on Striptease Classics was released (though not written) in the 1960s. Whatever year it was intended to evoke, David Rose's "The Stripper" was released in 1962, the year I was born. The 60s may not have been the golden ...

While there is no doubt that the first half of the 20th century was the golden age of striptease burlesque, and that's the era I have the deepest appreciation for, I have a sneaky little passion for the late 1960s. It could be because that's about the time I was old enough to perceive glamour and aspire to it. I had an amazing Barbie doll--a Stacie, actually--that looked like Marilyn Monroe with quite the bouff. One of the movies that influenced my taste in glamourous women was the 1967 version of Casino Royale , for instance. Natalie Wood with what I consider a small but significant bouff: Ann-Margret, always a worthy idol, in "The Swinger": One of my all-time favorites (sadly, not embeddable, but not to be missed, and yes I've ordered a boa like that and a wig like that, I'm such a drag queen): The Silencers For more on the style my next number will be tributing, visit this amazing site: Beauty and the Bouffant A little style from flickr.com; ...