Miss Mina Murray

Dear Constant Reader,

I am so sorry not to be keeping up with actual content here. Between a lovely trip to sunny Mexico (you may all be jealous now) and then falling ill (now you may be smug), I’ve not…

Dear Constant Reader,

When buying bras for burlesque performance, it’s helpful to wear pasties, particularly the pasties you’re planning to wear for the number, in the dressing room. They could change how the bra fits and you can see if…

Dear Constant Reader,

When removing a pair of something, take off the second item in a different way from the first. Surprise the audience.

Dear Constant Reader,

If you could only read one book on this history of burlesque, this is the one I’d recommend.

Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show by Rachel Shteir (2004).

Ms. Shteir looks at the entire history…

Dear Constant Reader,

Please join the literary ladies of Naked Girls Reading Boston for a little holiday cheer!

On December 17th NGR Boston takes over the intimate confines of Outpost 186 for an evening of holiday cheer with a reading…

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s tip comes from legendary coach, Vince Lombardi.

Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

Now, Coach Lombardi was talking about football, but it certainly applies to burlesque (and lots of other stuff too)…

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Wednesday and that means a book review!

Candy Barr: The Small-Town Texas Runaway Who Became a Darling of the Mob and the Queen of Las Vegas Burlesque by Ted Schwarz (2008).

Candy Barr’s story is not…

Dear Constant Reader,

Last year there was this movie called “Burlesque”. We all knew it was going to have nothing to do with the kind of burlesque that we did and Scratch decided a little public education was necessary.

The…

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s tip comes from Betty Blaize.

You can’t overestimate the impact of an eyelash curler for making your eyes look bigger. When the lash is framing your eye, not covering your eye, the impact is enormous.

Dear Constant Reader,

The Boston Babydolls won the 2011 Dig This Award for “Best Lowbrow/Burlesque”! It wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Thank you all for voting!

We’re never complaisant about these things — who knows which way voting…

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s book has a lot of information on one of my favorite topics — costumes!

Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens by Liz Goldwyn (2006).

After making her documentary, also called Pretty Things…

Dear Constant Reader,

A little while ago I talked about costumes for The Wrathskellar. Betty Blaize, as I pointed out, had made 2 new costumes for herself. And because I think you deserve a treat, here they are:

This…