Nothing Makes Your Night Like Jazz, Murder & Mayhem

Alright, so it's been a while, but here's the recap of Drawn and Plastered's Mysterious Murder of Jazz Baby McGee!

Last October Drawn and Plastered put on a night of mystery, murder and intrigue! They had a live jazz band which really brought the classiness of the whole endeavor up a few notches. I don't think anything can quite top live jazz. After a set the mystery started with my routine. It was a bit unusual in that the venue (at the University of Manitoba) didn't allow nudity to the point where even pasties were prohibited. That was incredibly strange given that they were informed there was going to be a burlesque routine - and inconvenient as they didn't tell us until a week before the show! That was definitely one of the biggest routine changes I've made to date. I got around it by putting a bathrobe over my dress and putting my clothes on, as if the audience was watching me in my dressing room. I was especially nervous because front and centre was a table of two elderly ladies and their gentleman escort. 

The routine ended with a pause, a waver and then a faint! But really, why describe it when I could show you?

The Mysterious Murder of Jazz Baby McGee from Tim Der on Vimeo.

And so the evening began! The usual frozen montages of the models were interspersed with video clips to introduce the suspects. There was also another set done by the band where Jazz Baby, in ghost form, got to wander the audience and demand to know who-dunnit. I got a few laughs: the little old ladies stopped me and said they'd just loved my performance (phew) and I met the parents of Jazz Baby's jealous lover who said "It's AJ of course. We know our son - it's something he would do." Turns out, it was the jealous bartender all along! The evening came to a close with a video of the Bartender's subsequent arrest and confession. The audience had previously written down who they thought had done it on slips paper. The slips were drawn for prizes - but only the members who guessed correctly were eligible to claim the prize!

This was a fantastically interactive event and the best one to date. 

To see so many more amazing pictures click here and browse through Drawn & Plastered's Facebook albums "Attendee Pieces 3" and "The Mysterious Murder of Jazzbaby McGee".

Saucily yours,

Miss Scarlet

Art Modelling

A couple years ago I decided to go out on a limb and try to get over my body shyness in a rather extreme way. Art modelling! The WAG is always looking for models for their life drawing classes. I was nervous as all heck! But I wanted to model so I took the plunge. The signing up was relatively painless. I walked into the art space, spoke to the receptionist, she gave me a couple forms to fill out and voila. I got a call the next week. Oh boy - what had I gotten myself into?

I arrived fifteen minutes early to talk to the instructor. He walked me through the set up of the class - ten one minute poses, a couple of five minute poses, a couple of ten minute ones. One fifteen minute pose and then break. The second half of the class was one solid pose for an hour. And yes, I was nude. Yes, all the artists were old dudes. Yes, it was freaking cold. But the instructor said "you're nervous for the first fifteen seconds and after that you start to think about how boring your pose is, or if your arm is falling asleep." And that's absolutely true.

The whole experience was a roller coaster of nerves, boredom and an adrenaline rush that really did serve to boost my confidence. I received a couple of sketches that were and were not me. My dog later ate them but canines have no appreciation of art. The Instructor also mentioned that a lot of the models have mentioned being or wanting to be burlesque performers. I guess we're all just nudists at heart.

Not from the WAG but an artists rendition all the same (c)David Oro

I've signed on to do a few more art modelling sessions this spring ... partly because it's a second job and partly because I want to feel like I'm doing something to benefit the artistic community this grey, icky February. I'm modelling for a figure drawing class for a grades 11 and 12 students at the WAG. The funniest thing was walking in a seeing that they were all asians.... so tiny. They looked like they were 13, max.

This class was different in that I had to hold one pose for two hours. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to do that but you never know until you try. The class was for two hours and I amazed myself by not taking a break until an hour and fifteen mins had gone by. A quick two minute stretch got the blood flowing back into my feet and hands and worked out the crimps in my back and neck. Then back to sitting. I took a five min bathroom break with twenty mins to go. The last ten mins were brutal because I knew I was going to be able to move soon so it was difficult to zone out and be still.

Immortalized as a penny dreadful cover by (c)Kenneth Porhownik

The studio sits the model under a giant lamp so that artists can pick up the details of light and shadow. It's really warm, but only where it touches you. The rest of the studio isn't heated for naked people. The result was I was sweating profusely but only my upper body was overly warm. My hands and feet had gone numb from the cold.

It's that same initial "Oh my god everyone is going to be judging me, I'm unattractive why am I doing this - did I remember to shave this morning???" After two minutes of quiet sketching with the instructor going from pupil to pupil and using technical jargon about charcoal and shading sitting nude in a room full of strangers becomes somehow ... mundane. It's a nice way to meditate really. I'm usually to jittery or busy to sit still.

If I were a doll.

And afterwards seeing their works is really cool. They somehow are me but look nothing like me: I've become a kind of mythical art figure on canvas while the real me gratefully puts on clothes and walks back out to the sounds of traffic, the slush on the sidewalk and a quiet joy of being hyper aware of my body and the luxury of moving.

Stay saucy,
Miss Scarlet

Scarlet's Compendium of Corseting Information

Scarlet's Compendium of Corseting Information

A compilation of sage advice culled from all sorts of musty corners of the internet.

Meg, a bad influence for sure, was my first up close and in person example of a tightlacer. In such a small citytown as Winnipeg I'm amazed there's even one person doing it. But I'm super grateful to have her around to talk to. She is chalk full of advice, resources, encouragement and always available to gush with about amazing corsets seen anywhere and everywhere. She writes a blog called Skirting The Issue which I highly recommend everyone read. The link I've given takes you to a page with all of her corset related articles but there are tons more write ups on retro fashion, vintage makeup and hair tips, Winnipeg happenings, feminism, product reviews and more. Here's a list of some of her great corseting articles:

How To Corset - A Step By Step Guide
My Difficulty As A Tightlacer
More Corset Questions And Troubleshooting
Telling The Difference Between a Proper Corset and a Fake One

Lingerie Addict is another blog I've fallen in love with in the past little while. It's devoted to knickers, bras, garters, stockings, girdles and all other delightful undergarments. Treacle, the author, as well as some fabulous guest authors have great insight and experience when it comes to corsets:

 4 Myths About Tightlacing 

What Everybody Should Know About The Difference Between Fake Corsets & Real Corsets

51 Places To Buy Your Next Corset

What (You Didn't Know) To Look For In A Corset: 5 Myths Debunked

Corseting For Your Needs, Part I: How To Choose The Right Corset For Any Occasion

Corseting For Your Needs, Part II: How To Choose The Right Corset For Your Body

Solo Corset Fun: How To Lace Yourself Up

Fran Blanche, of Contour Corsets, is not only a dedicated tightlacer but makes corsets as well! Her entire website is worth looking through but these two links here will take you to her main pages and you can (and should!) browse through the articles she has posted there. Fran's article on her 'Cycle Method' is particularly enlightening; it seems like common sense but it's nice to know that there are other people out there wearing corsets the same way you are. Make sure to give that article a read!

ContourCorsets.com
Fran's Tightlacing Tips and Techniques

And last but not least, any website selling corsets will have at least the basics in history and how-to-wear guidelines. My two corsets came from TimelessTrends.com and I would very much recommend them for anyone interested in purchasing their first corset. Now that I'm wearing mine more often I'm looking at getting my next one from somewhere else, most likely custom made to my specific proportions. And what gorgeous proportions they are. *wink*

Orchard Corset Blog - How to Break in Your Corset

Saucily yours,
Miss Scarlet