April: TPR #4

April: Tightlacing Progress Report #4

I fell off the wagon this April. I could feel myself trailing off. I spent the entire month thinking "I can start up again tomorrow. It's not too late." The problem was/is I always seem to think about what I want to wear, what I wish I was wearing or what I want to accomplish that day while I'm already out the door and either at work or out with no way to run home and grab a corset. For example, I left my corsets at my parents' place and between work and social commitments I ended up sleeping at the BF's for the week .. which means that even when I wanted to and was thinking about it I couldn't wear my corsets. Bad Scarlet!

April Tally:

5th - 10 hours

6th - 6 hours

7th - 40 mins

However, falling off the wagon doesn't mean giving up. It means getting back on. This month I'm moving in with the BF and two room mates which means going home to just one place with all my stuff will lend itself wonderfully to having corsets on hand. There will be no excuse not to put them on in the morning.

 April Stats:

-Longest time corset was worn: 10 hours
(Down two hours from March)

-# days in a row corset was worn: 3 days
(down three days from my current record of 6 in March and January)

-total time spent in corset: 16 hours and 40 mins

(March was 59 hours and 35 mins. Oh, the shame.)

My next big hurdle will be wearing my corset under my clothes. I currently own one sweater that doesn't overheat me with my corset underneath and with summer coming I don't always want to wear my corsets over my dresses ... especially since I currently own two and matching my outfits to them seriously diminishes my wardrobe choices.

But it's May! Which means my outfit conundrums will have to wait for the next Tight Lacing Report. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to read this article written by the Vancouver burlesque star and tightlacer Little Miss Risk. She makes an important distinction between tightlacing and waist training and I've found my own journey to happiness has also been helped by corsets.

Saucily yours,
Miss Scarlet

Subgenres Blogger

Because one blog just wasn't enough ... now I have two!

Or rather, I am now the official blogger for Subgenres Winnipeg. Subgenres is a production company that is making a tv show of all the weird and wonderful sub-culture events that go on in Winnipeg and groups that thrive here. They have a super nifty website at SubgenresWinnipeg.com and one of the links along the top takes you straight to the blog. I've currently posted an Interview with Natasha Wiebe, the creator and (evil) mastermind behind the idea, and my second post is about 38 - the sci-fi play I co-wrote with a wonderful bunch of friends. I'm cross posting it here because I'm very proud of this play and I think you should come catch the performance at Keycon.

38

"The play (38) is being written and developed especially for Keycon and its members. It is a collaborative effort with everyone contributing and adding their special talents to the performance. Not one of us can take sole credit for this production, it is a wonderful process of dynamic writing and creative cooperation." -Subgenres Keycon Radio Play Info Page

I love to write. At heart I consider writing to be my first love. Well, after reading. But the thing about writing is that it's precious and your words are parts of you. You don't want to share them with just anyone, and if you do share them it's usually only after they've been polished and babied and gussied up just right ... Writing a story with a group of people who all have different tastes in genres and styles seemed like an impossible task. And yet ...

38 is a science fiction audio play that was co-written by a group of crazy strangers that got together and just clicked. Natasha Wiebe (Subgenres Creator) came up with the idea of a play written specifically for Keycon and set about assembling our rag-tag team of eccentrics: Mike Major, Anna Hatton Lauder, Tiffany Humble, John Speelman, Ben Jeffers and myself. It's safe to say that none of us knew each other very well. In Ben's case the only person he knew going in was me (he may or may not have had a choice in this decision). So here we all were, in a room full of strangers, preparing to create something that (oh please god, please) wouldn't be horrible. We came at it somewhat like what I imagine a DnD session would be like - the only ones I ever went to were when I was 11 and it was much less of an interactive experience and much more watching the boys argue over who had the cooler weapons.

We knew three things:
-The play was science fiction
-it involved a salvage operation
and
-we had to perform it at Keycon

And then something crazy wonderful happened: This room full of strangers clicked. We took turns being loud and boisterous, gave thoughtful critiques and suggestions to each idea and laughed in unison at the witty (crude)  humour that sprang to life between us. And that first meeting wasn't a fluke. Since then we've been meeting almost once a week to hash out script changes, plot movements, sound effects, dialogue. When we can't meet we've been spamming our Facebook group chat with new ideas, progress updates and inside jokes. We've even got our own little forum for links, photos, documents and general mayhem.

This play writing experiment has been the best group project I have ever been a part of. I've had so much fun  honing my character, suggesting lines and laughing at the craftily worded come backs that go slinging around our writing group. This play will be performed in a dark room with the occasional computerized sound effect but mostly just our voice. We wanted to bring back the feeling of the good, old fashioned radio plays of yore when you could lie in your bed in the dark listening to voices coming from a box and let your imagination take you miles and miles away ...

You should check us out:

38 debuting it's first and possibly only live performance at Keycon, Radisson Hotel on May 18th at 11 pm.

Check out the Crew of the Salvage ship here!

Saucily yours,
Miss Scarlet

Dem Resolutions

By now I'm sure people are either congratulating themselves on not making any New Years Resolutions or quietly not saying anything if the subject comes up to avoid having to admit that January might have been a good start but everything went downhill, fast.

 
The thing with resolutions is that you have to check in often and keep trying. So here's my check in: 

Resolution #1 - Get Healthy

This was your stereotypical "work out, eat healthy, lose weight" goal. So how's it going? Umm ... that's a good question. I feel like I've taken some steps forward and then taken a few steps back. This year I have:

-Signed up for hot yoga (love it!)
-Signed up for pole dancing (the aches! so worth it)
-Started making super healthy fruit and flax seed smoothies with almond milk

The Good: The smoothies have really helped me keep up with eating enough fruit and veggies. I usually have one apple and several servings of veggies throughout the day for an average serving of 1:3. Thanks to the smoothies it's now 3:3. I am definitely going to work on upping that serving ratio but I do have to give myself credit for the improvements so far. Also, as I usually do not eat breakfast EVER this smoothie is really easy on my stomach. Weight loss guides always advise eating breakfast as it kick starts your body's metabolism so Victory point number one!

The Bad: I haven't been cooking for myself at all. Well, not counting Ramen noodles. I eat a lot of Ramen noodles. I've been so busy running around lately that food has slipped to the bottom of my priority list. I'm looking forward to moving out though because then I'll be in charge of cooking and grocery shopping for myself. Meal planning here I come! So far the scale hasn't budged at all but I am feeling better on the inside which is it's own incentive. On the bright side I've fallen in love with allrecipes.com which is a veritable found of good advice and tried and true recipes.

The Ugly: My thermos containers have mysteriously disappeared which means it's been impossible for me to bring tea to work. I find that I desperately need caffeine in the morning and have developed a really gross habit of consuming an energy drink between 10 am and noon. I don't even like energy drinks. Solution: Next paycheque I'm buying a new thermos.

 Resolution #2 - Write

I'm doing really well with this one, guys! Have you seen this blog? It's not only been frequent updates but they've been fairly steady too. Last year there was one month where I posted 11 articles, but then didn't have much to say for the following three months. So far Meg's system of three posts a month has been great. I don't keep myself to a super strict schedule (she often waits until midnight on the dot on the 5th, 15th or 25th to post her articles) but I've been doing roughly one article at the beginning, middle and end of the month. I find that with this schedule I'm really excited about blogging as it's not a chore when I've got extra posts lined up in the archives.

Another crazy awesome project I've been a part of this year has been 38. 38 is a science fiction audio play that was co-written by a group of crazy strangers that got together and just clicked. I've had so much fun honing my character, suggesting lines and laughing at the craftily worded come backs that go slinging around our writing group. This play will be performed in a dark room with the occasional computerized sound effect but mostly just our voice. We wanted to bring back the feeling of the good, old fashioned radio plays of yore when you could lie in your bed in the dark listening to voices coming from a box and let your imagination take you miles and miles away ... We will be performing our radio play at this years Keycon on Saturday, May 26th at 11 pm. If you can't come check us out (which you totally should) then I'm pretty sure we'll have a recording floating around somewhere. I'll try to get my hands on it and post it here for your aural pleasures.

As for that novel ... I'm still brainstorming. But it's coming, slowly, I can feel it.

Resolution #3 - Tightlacing

I've been kicking ass and taking in inches. See: Tightlacing Progress Report (TPR) #1, TPR #2 & TPR #3.

 
Resolution #4 - Grow Up

I'm moving out! I'm so excited. We found a wonderful two story house for rent which was not only bigger than the apartments we were looking at in our price range but also in a better neighborhood with grocery stores, bus routes and beautiful, beautiful trees. The fact that it's only two black away from my parents place means I won't have to hire a fleet of moving vans to move my stuff. ;-)

Resolution #5- More Burlesque!

I'm really pleased with the way 2012 is unfolding. I've got wonderful plans a'brewin' and I'm surrounding by creative and talented people brainstorming with me

So far there have been some really great events: Check out my upcoming posts on The Shamrock Shaker and Rockabetty's Sinphony of 50's Fashion. I've also got some photo shoot posts that I'm excited to share and a graduation party burlesque show in the works!

The verdict? I've kept 4 out of 5 Resolutions nicely and I haven't given up on those leafy greens yet. I hope your own resolutions have been going well, for those who made them! Let's keep at it!

Stay Saucy,

Miss Scarlet

Modelling - How to Pose for Beginners

Today's article is a cross post from the ultra lovely Ava Strange (avastrange.com). It seemed particularly fitting as I've been doing more modelling lately and people have been asking me for tips and how I started. I could tell you, or you could read this wonderful article written by a much more experienced model. Without further ado:

Modelling For Beginners - How To Pose

By Ava Strange

I’m not a model, but I’ve been modeling as a hobby for about four years. I’ve done photoshoots, live art modeling, fashion shows, and even a bit of TV. It’s not something I take super seriously, but it can be really fun and it’s a great way to help either new photographers who need to practice certain techniques or expand their portfolios, or experienced photographers break away from the daily grind and try something new. So I thought since I’ve done this for a while and there are always people interested in doing it, I would write a quick guide, to be used either for beginner models or just people who want to fuck around with a camera on Saturday. This is not intended to be advice for professional models. They’re working on totally another level. But if you want to try this out as hobby, this might help you out.

-One first important note: SHOW UP. Models are notoriously unreliable, and this is not just rude, but a huge waste of time and probably money for everyone else involved. I have a zero tolerance policy on shoots that I’m involved in behind the camera. If you don’t at least take it seriously enough to respect other people, don’t bother. You won’t last long.

 Photo by T.J. Pendragon

-RELAX! Being stiff is the biggest thing that will hold you back. Seriously, you NEED to relax. A lot.

-Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot. In truth, a fraction of your photos will be usable. That’s not because you’re not good at it, it’s just true for everyone who’s not a pro. Out of the 10 pictures you might see in an album, often over 300 were actually taken. This means that many of them are unusable anyway, and not being afraid to “go there” is what’s going to result in magic on those few good ones. Otherwise, the whole thing can fall flat.

    

 

                      OMG HEEEEELP! Seriously, it was so hard to get out of this thing. Photo by Jenna Lee

-Use a prop. The biggest challenge is when you’re just standing in front of a backdrop. You wonder WTF are you supposed to do? Having a prop gives you something to interact with, something to do with your arms, and helps you a lot for ideas. My favorite thing so far has been a hoola hoop, but you could use anything, including a wall. When you’re totally stuck, use your own body!

 -Don’t forget your neck.

-Make small movements. If you’re new to posing and the idea overwhelms you, moving one body part at a time will not only make things more simple, but give the photographer a lot of variety, and time to see what they might like you to do.

-Point your toes. All the time. Even when you’re standing (heels count).
Foot fetishists gave me my start on Deviant Art.

-Communicate with the photographer. Tell them any ideas or concerns you may have and they’ll work with you while directing you. Directing isn’t them telling you what to do, it’s a conversation and a collaboration. Help them help you.

-If your pose feels physically weird, uncomfortable, or painful, it often means it looks awesome. Sometimes even your damn eyeballs will hurt.

   

Photo by Kathy Cruz (Glam Chix Artistry), makeup artist and other model is Elliot James

-If you feel mentally weird, uncomfortable, or painful, you need to stop.

-Whatever you’re doing, do it more. Subtlety isn’t usually the camera’s friend (though it can be).

-Be versatile. Don’t do the same damn style with the same damn pose with the same damn face all the time. That shit is boring. Nobody wants to shoot something they could have photocopied from another shoot you did.

Me? Do edgy and boyish? NE-I mean, YES! The red nail polish makes this a little less believable. Photo by Shawn Fillion

-Check out what other people are doing for inspiration.

-Keep in mind that a photo is not 3D. The closer something is to the camera the bigger it looks. It seems obvious but the impact is huge. I have this picture where my foot looks freakin enormous because of its proximity to the camera.
See?
 

See? I’m a monster!! Photo by Chris Wilkinson

-When you’re smiling, have the shot taken while you’re exhaling. It forces you to relax so it looks more natural. Just like when you get a piercing!

-If you have a blinking problem, close your eyes and open them on the count of three. The shot should be taken immediately after.
This is my favorite picture in the world right now.

-DON’T FEEL BAD ABOUT YOURSELF!! Professional models are beautiful, but they’re only one kind of beautiful. Be a role model to people who look like you.

Dat ass.

Miss Mumford's Marvelous Mummy Unwrapping!

A mummy unwrapping, straight from the Victorian parlour of Miss Mumford herself! I am so excited to play a part in this delightful Fringe production as the 'Tableau Artist' amongst a truly phenomenal cast.

Go to Miss Mumford's Marvelous Mummy Unwrapping for more information.

Saucily yours,

Miss Scarlet

March TPR #3

Tightlacing Progress Report #3 - March.

I realized when the end of February rolled around and I took stock of my corseting habits that I seem to start really strong in the beginning of the month, forget about wearing it midway through and then remember at the end of the month that this is a thing I'm supposed to be doing and try to get a few more days worth of wearing my corsets in. So this month I'm officially initiating a Mid-Month Check In. Which is really just a fancy smancy way of saying that on the 15th I'm going to tally up my hours so far so that I can re-motivate myself to wear my corset throughout the month, not just in the beginning and end.

This month I'm kicking ass when it comes to hours as well as firsts. I slept in my corset for the first time. It took me a couple hours to fall asleep and I kept waking up everytime I'd go to roll over and suddenly realize I was bound where my pajamas are usually quite loose. But I was very excited to have accomplished my first night.

I wore my corset to work for the first time! I've gotten a few quizzical looks - especially when I'm in the bathroom adjusting my laces, but so far no one has said anything. I've been wearing sweaters that belt in the front so the corset is partially covered or long sleeved t-like sweaters that cover my corsets completely. My work is kept fairly cold (I think they want us to generate our own heat by working faster) so the extra layers have felt really comfortable.

I also learned the hard way why people advise you not to drink pop or anything carbonated while wearing a corset. I hit an afternoon slump so I bought myself a coke but after drinking only half of it I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to relieve the pressure in my stomach by burping as quietly as I could. Talk about embarrassing. Having gone without pop for a full week now I find that the compression of the corset causes me to burp a lot more than usual anyways, even if I'm only drinking water.

Time for the tally! Hours this month:

March 4th - 6h 15 mins

March 5th - 10 hours

March 6th - 7 1/2 hours

March 7th - 1h 20 mins

March 8th - 12 hours

March 9th - 8 1/2 hours

March 11th - 2 hours

March 13th - 8 hours

March 23rd - 4 hours

My goal for April is to be more uniform/standard when it comes to hours wearing my corsets. For example, instead of wearing it 12 hours one day and 2 hours the next I'd like to try for a solid 8 hours every day. There's still that ten day gap in the middle of the month where I fell off the corset bandwagon but checking in at the fifteenth did have me wearing my corset for longer duration into the month. I'm going to keep working to shorten any gaps there are, not only days worn but in space at the back.

March Stats:

-Longest time corset was worn: 12 hours 

(up from 7 and a half hours in February)

-# days in a row corset was worn: 6

(up from 0 days in a row in February and the same as January)

-total time spent in corset: 59 hours and 35 mins

(Up from 16 hours and 20 mins in February!)

Stay Saucy,

Miss Scarlet

February: TPR #2

I shorted Tightlacing Progress Report to TPR #2 : How's that for a snappy title?

I originally ordered two corsets about a year and a half ago from Timeless Trends. They're a great boutique that sells off the rack corsets for really decent prices. I'd been wearing them as decoration on and off since then. Last September I put my mind to it and wore my corset every day for two weeks. I found that I forgot about it after half an hour but became hyper aware of it around hour two. At first a couple hours made my back ache a little bit - not enough to be concerned about but it was definitely a relief to get out of it and slouch. But at the end of week two I wore my corset for a whole eight hours on a Saturday! I was really surprised to realize that when I took it off it not only didn't hurt at all but I could have worn it for a few hours more. The feeling was akin to taking my bra off at the end of the day - sometimes it's a huge relief and sometimes the difference is negligible.

I'd like to mention that the reason I could wear these corsets as both decoration and for tightlacing is because they're made with real steel boning, so they're strong enough to resist the pressure put on them as the corset is tightened. The Bones of a Corset --> rods of steel placed around the corset so that your body molds to the corsets' shape and not the other way around. I can hardly imagine they used to be made with whale bones!

Now for the check-in.

1st - 2 hrs 20 mins

3rd - 2 hrs

5th - 4 hrs 15 mins

6th - 45 mins

8th - 7 hrs 30 mins!!

28th - 4 hrs 15 mins

Ohhhhh god ... I slept in my corset for the first time this month. Feb. 8th, 11 pm to 6:30 am. I woke up with a killer stomach ache! I didn't sleep very well ... I kept waking up in the middle of the night and tossing and turning in between. However I did pull in 7 1/2 hours which is fab. I'm hoping this sleeping with it on thing gets easier quickly because it's a lot more convenient than trying to hide my corset at work or squirming in the uncomfortable work chairs. It's hard enough to sit right in those things in the first place.

February Stats:

-Longest time corset was worn: 7 1/2 hours 

(up from 1 hour and 40 mins in January)

-# days in a row corset was worn: 0 - I was super sporadic this month

(down from 6 days in a row in January)

-total time spent in corset: 16 hours and 20 mins

(Up from 5 1/2 hours in January!)

One of the funniest parts of this journey has been the realization that I prefer to read and write about corsets and tightlacing while I'm wearing a corset. Maybe because I'm quite literally bound to it? This amuses me. Besides always looking for more engaging sites on the interwebs I've also been reading "Corsets: A Modern Guide"by Velda Lauder. It's interesting but not very in depth and I'm curious as to where the author found some of her information from. The highlight is that there is a gorgeous picture every other page and they range from corset fetish models to burlesque performers, fashion catwalks, historical paintings and figures as well as famous corset wearing celebrities. These pictures are serving as fuel to up my corset wearing hours for March. :)

Stay Saucy,
Miss Scarlet