Burlesque

[DosViolines]

I don't know if it's much of a "fashion trend" but it's definitely a trend. Here are some articles I've scanned:

Elle, august 2005


Allure. august 2005




Vanity Fair, september 2005

 

[Lena]

what does burlesque means?
i think its only a kind of entertainment.. like in theater

 

[Jadee]

^Hope this helps

urbandictionnary.org 1. burlesque
A variety show that uses comedians, ecdysiasts, and musicians. The ecdysiasts (READ: strippers) often required to sing and dance while removing their clothes in a seductive manner. There is usualy a master of ceremonies betwixt acts.
Burlesque shows are precursors to vaudeville. Vaudville is the precursor to the American musical. Burlesque is the "grandfather" of the American musical!

 

[Spacemiu]

I think it's deffinetly having a 'moment'. I don't know if its influencing fashion much, ecxept for may be a few lingere designers. Liz Goldwyn just did a documentary on it called Pretty Things.

 

[Kimkhuu]

I am running away if this is becoming a trend..... Like Spacemiu said it's probably just having its moment....... I think lots of designers are much too conservative to feature such radical shows... ....and seriously, it wouldn't really sell much....

Perhaps Heatherette could be doing it, as always.... B)

 

[stylishmoi]

I think burlesque is a realy great way of expressing your sexuality, less of a fashion trend, but like you say still a trend.
Think Agent Provocateur, jewelled nipple tassles and frilly knickers, makes me blush but love it all the same!
Jo

 

[jennifer~]

STRIPPER GLAM
The golden age of burlesque is laid bare in an alluring new study

"Academia was always more glamorous to me than movies", says Liz Goldwyn, author of Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens and the granddaughter of Hollywood mogul Samuel Goldwyn. "I knew that if I was going to write a book, it would have to be a 10-year project in order for it to be taken seriously."
True to her word, almost 10 years after discovering her first burlesque costume in a Manhattan flea market, she has produced a book and a film on the forgotten world of the dancers who dominated city nightlife before World War II. Goldwyn, 30, an avid collector of vintage clothing and jewellery, became fascinated with the dancers while she was helping to found the Sotheby's fashion department as a precocious 17-year-old. She realised that not even the Met had a collection of these intricately designed clothes. "Burlesque dancers had been completely neglected by history," she recalls. Goldwyn felt that they needed to have their stories told. And what stories.
After she had spent years gaining their trust, the dancers slowly let her into their lives and their scrapbooks. She met Betty Rowland, "The Ball of Fire", who was the inspiration for the Thirties film of the same name, and Zorita, "The Lady and her Snakes", who had an act which included two boa constrictors. Goldwyn also recounts the stories of June St Clair - good Catholic girl by day, burlesque dancer by night - who remained a virgin at 35; and the infamous Gypsy Rose Lee, who performed a reverse strip and called herself the "intellectual" burlesque queen.
In addition to the book and documentary, Goldwyn also has her own jewellery collection, which sells at Barney's, Kaviar & Kind and Colette. At the Serpentine this summer she was wearing an obsidian arrowhead from a Sioux reservation, circa 1910. When I remarked how much I liked it, she said: "It's a one-of-a-kind piece; I'm very protective of my jewellery - I only lent it out once, to my friend Chloe [Sevigny], because she treats jewellery really well." From burlesque memories to Indian arrowheads, Liz Goldwyn clearly has an instinct for preserving the treasures of generations past. Daisy Prince

British Vogue, November 2006

 

[Estella*]

^you beat me to it
there's an article on liz goldwyn in the current issue of lula as well.

 

[Jadee]

Thanks for the article. I'd like to see a Burlesque show. I'm sure there's more to Burlesque than Dita Von Teese and she's the one everyone refers too when you talk of the genre.

I think she's just a glorified stripper and I'd like to know more about Burlesque comedians and musicians. I'm not interested but the strippers.

 

[Estella*]

i think it's definititely an aesthetique that is prevalent in performing arts right now, mixed with weimar/berlin cabaret influences...
i think of sarah sophie flicker and the citizens band, too...

 

[rayder]

my be this well help with the burlesque style

Dita von Teese

Pin up girl
As last season's strong Hitchcock Heroine look gives way to a softer silhouette for spring, you could be forgiven for rueing its demise. However, the hourglass figure and retro chic live to see another season in the guise of the New Burlesque revival. Chiefly based on Dita Von Teese's saucy act, the New Burlesque is more elegant showgirl than the bawdy stripper of yore.

Elegantly waisted
Burlesque is a show, so make your outfit perform with glamorous details and tongue in chic accessories - this is not the time for low maintenance. Burlesque is about celebrating the contours of the body, so is perfect for curvaceous, womanly figures. Dita Von Teese is a fan of designers like Galliano and Westwood, whose seductively strapless gowns suggest old '30s and '40s Hollywood. For day it's about corsets (at Zara and River Island) and ultra-fitted tops with waist-emphasising pencil or '50s skirts, or tailored high-waisted shorts, always with heels. Jeans? Forget it, this is a season for skirts and dresses, there's no place for denim or utilitywear in a showgirl's boudoir.


Dress you up
The key to New Burlesque dressing is having several elements to an outfit. Think maximalism not minimalism - the idea is to have lots of things to take off. Gloves, stockings, belts and hats all lend themselves to this theatrical form of striptease. Stephen Jones is the king of the cocktail hat, but similar net-veiled pillboxes can be found at Topshop or vintage stores like Cornucopia. Feathers are another great prop, whether trimming an Anna Molinari corset or a 30s-style Cherry Chau hair comb.

Damaris knickers

And what of shoes? Of course the heels have to be high but make sure they're easy-access - fiddly straps are banned. This season's patent peep toe is a must-have, especially in lollipop brights as at Miu Miu, while Christian Louboutin's patent version with red polka dot bow have just the right mix of camp and vamp. For that all-important nipped in waist, this spring's wide belt is every girl's essential accessory. If you can't stretch to Fendi's iconic giant-buckle B belt, go for high-shine at Oasis or black elastic at TopShop.

Keep it brief
Of course, what you wear underneath is equally as important as what you wear on top. The spirit of burlesque was alive and high-kicking at Agent Provocateur's spring-summer show, all feathers, cocktail hats and corsets. Emulate the look with rich colours, luxe fabrics and theatrical flourishes. Damaris is the go-to label for ultra-lavish knickers with huge satin bows to tease and entice, while bras should be structured, an excuse to bypass the soft and flimsy for the plunge and underwired variety. For glamorous-but-vampy, animal-print always hits the spot, and D & G does the best in leopard-spot scanties. Lace and chiffon are the classy alternative, so for a final flourish, top your lace Aubade bustier with a marobou-edge chiffon robe from Madame V.

 

[Whitelinen]

Thanks for the article. I'd like to see a Burlesque show. I'm sure there's more to Burlesque than Dita Von Teese and she's the one everyone refers too when you talk of the genre.

I think she's just a glorified stripper and I'd like to know more about Burlesque comedians and musicians. I'm not interested but the strippers.

Indeed. I'd be interested in learning more about this.

As a trend...I believe, like it's been said, that it is having it's moment. But then, the gothic trend is on the rise / has been on the rise...and if everything gothic is hip, then why not burlesque? Let me explain; burlesque in itself has nothing to do with gothic style / aesthetics, but I have noticed that it has gained a lot of popularity amongst goths et al. If this gothic trend stays around for some more time, maybe burlesque will become a trend...but maybe this is too far-fetched.

And as for my personal opinion, I do not know if I like burlesque. Maybe as entertainment, and if I'd know more of it, but as a style, especially a modernized version of it, doesn't bring very positive images to my mind. I can see this done very trashily.

 

[Lena]

brulesque queen Dita will appear at moulin rouge and
moulen rouge extravaganza will be at some vogue (us ?) cover

i should have kept the link...

great trendspotting, you guys are real good at detecting trends

 

[taperjeangirl]

brulesque queen Dita will appear at moulin rouge and
moulen rouge extravaganza will be at some vogue (us ?) cover

i should have kept the link...

great trendspotting, you guys are real good at detecting trends

Do you know when she will be at the Moulin Rouge?

 

[jun3machina]

i would call it more of a pin-up girl trend, rather than burlesque. the outfits being worn for the most part are vintage inspired, betty page garb and pin-up girl fashion from the 1930's-1950's. the burlesque part of it is just what seems to be worn underneath, or on barely clad singers in their music videos (like the new christina aguilera one).....i dont think the trend is a 'burlesque' one, but a vintage inspired one prefering the time period when burlesque and pin-up girls were prominant.

 

[libby_bee]

And this style is always popular, so I'm not sure why people think it's a "new trend"

 

[drusilla]

I agree the actual trend is more pin-up, which I am a fan of. I know people are sick to death of retro, but whatever, I'm still a sucker

 

[jun3machina]

im personally a huge fan of retro, but i find it a very high maintanence look....

 

[softgrey]

Burlesque


we've got Dita von Teese...
the BOX (featuring burlesque performances nightly)
-one of the most trendy and hard to get into spots in NYC
and now burlesque has finally hit Paris...
this trend has been bubbling up quietly, but it seems like it has hit it's peak now...


Gentry Lane
May 14th, 2008 - Paris



Designer, Gentry de Paris


What's hot right now:
The Good: Burlesque has finally made it to France. It's no small feat in a country that really doesn't have a sense of kitsch or many fond memories of the 1940s and 1950s. But because my brand is associated with classic vintage glamour, it made more sense to organize burlesque shows in an elegant supper-club style than to spend my entire marketing budget on a 10-minute catwalk show that only a handful of buyers and journalist will bother to see.

The first Gentry de Paris Supper Club & Burlesque Revue of the series (scheduled to run through the end of the year) was a standing room-only hit. Paris hasn't seen anything like these beautiful dancing pin-up girls since Josephine Baker and Mistinguett.

jcreport.com

 

[Elegance.Is.Refusal.]

burlesque has hit i never really thought much about it. that whole rockabilly 50's pin up look really is everywhere.

even here in Newcastle we have our own burlesque troupe

they might not be dita or immodesty blaize but it shows this trend is getting about.

all images from jeepers peepers myspace http://www.myspace.com/thejeeperspeepersclub