Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

I learned to sew in high school and I think anyone, whether or not they really want to make clothes, can benefit from basic sewing skills; but I learned to sew spandex and sequins and fringe in the late 1980s, when I was making costumes for strip joint feature dancers while my knee was too messed up for me to work as a dancer. Since every outfit was unique, and I was presented with unusual challenges like making a breakaway astronaut costume or a light-up skirt or gloves with wings attached, I learned to experiment. I learned that if you keep an open mind, you can make anything happen. Also, the dancers wanted their costumes to come off in interesting and unexpected ways; they didn't want to just take off clothes, they wanted special costumes that were more memorable, and inventive breakaways that made audience members gasp with delight. So basically, I learned by doing things I didn't know how to do until I did them successfully! But the basic sewing skills I learned in basic ...

There were several gorgeous costumes which had been worn by burlesque legends on display at the Burlesque Bazaar that was part of the weekend's events. Here are a few snaps! If you click on any of these pictures, you'll be taken to my flickr photostream where there are several more shots and more details. Blaze Starr's Gown Kiva's Beaded Bra Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of The New York School of Burlesque , for burlesquedaily.blogspot.com .

Costuming plays a unique theatrical role in burlesque. It establishes the character and tone of a piece, but even more interesting to me is that the manner of its removal can dictate the entire choreography of a number. Elements that almost instantly call burlesque to mind, such as feather boas, opera length gloves, and of course pasties, combine in a way to make burlesque costuming distinctive and irresistible to fans of glamour. If you go to Atomic Todd in Las Vegas, you can see many of the amazing costumes from burlesque's golden era, collected by Dixie Evans. Many burlesque performers really raise the bar when it comes to costuming. Dirty Martini works closely with David Quinn ; Bambi the Mermaid and Bunny Love , among others, have elaborate costumes made by Garo Sparo . Although few of my costumes are very elaborate, I make most of them myself--probably the only aspect of costuming on which I raise the bar is in making tails, but I have yet to cover one with rhinestones. ...