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I have finally finished most of this act after beginning it last January. Last year I really wanted a swing to fly across the stage. I created a costume based of a rockettes costume. Although it was a neat idea, the costume was hurried and poorly made. It was also very unflattering in pictures. I decided to change the bra an underwear and have a matching upholstered swing.My honey helped me get the furniture nails just right. I also added a little something to the bottom by cutting out felt and gluing it right to the fabric. Because the stage is so high, when I swing out you can see the underneath side very easily. Someday I might rhinestone it!I also hand made the bra and underwear for this costume. I was trying to submit the video for a deadline of a festival and my rhinestones did not come in till after. Here is a picture of the lingerie with rhinestones. The pasties are also now super sparkly as well! Recently I performed with Orchestra L'Pow. I will have performance pictures in my costume soon!

Snowflake for the Holidays

I should have really been on top of it. I mean my name is Holly Dai so shouldn't I have a solid holiday burlesque number? Well inspiration didn't hit me until 4 days before my show. If I wanted to be a snowflake I had better get started!I started by the inspiration of a headpiece. I took apart an old vegas style headdress that was falling apart. All of the fabric easily tore off and gave me a really nice easy base to work with. A few sequence and holiday trims later.....The headdress was turning out nicely, I used a ton of stiff material, wire, and a good drawing hand to finish the layout of the snowflake. I found the perfect dress the same day I knew I wanted to be a snowflake. It was a 80s dress with an ugly skirt. I cut off the skirt and covered the black accents with blue sequenced trim, it already had the rhinestones in the middle of the bow.The problem was that once I cut off the skirt, my bottom would be exposed prematurely. Luckily my roommate had decided to be the white queen from Alice in Wonderland this past Halloween but the 80s wedding dress she bought was too long to walk around in. She cut off most of the train which left me with some ruffly fabric with preexisting appliques. I sewed it up and added snaps to the corset to create the perfect removable bustle.
Almost done! I added glitter and blue trim around the headdress and all I needed was to reuse some undergarments from another act and voila! I had the perfect Vegas snowflake costume for the season.

Rebuilding involves Loot

Greeeat I wrote a whole post and tried to post in on Sew Retro on accident, therefore deleting all of my work. Oops. Let's try this again. I haven't written in a bit mostly because I have been overwhelmed and without a camera. Hello iPhone! I decided that many of my burlesque outfits need a major up in quality. I will have to share the "Padam" costume when I get my next chance but for now I started to fix my Tom Waits act to "Temptation." Here is my costume with a corset I got from ebay. It has terrible acrylic rhinestones and is very recognizable as a inexpensive boudoir item. I took all of the cheap rhinestones off and put on some czech crystals that are blue zircon. I also added some blue panels to add accents. I think I might have to add more all around the corset but there is much more to be added to the costume. I am going to make new beaded tassels, add more tulle to the tutu (not pictured), and fix the falling apart matching panties.

Today my room mate and I also went to Gem Faire at the Portland Convention Center. I wish I had thought to take pictures but I forgot to be a good blogger with so much bling. There were so many $1 strands of beads and tubes that were perfect for beaded tassels and fringe. I can't wait to make more hair creations and hangy bits from my costumes. Here is some of the loot!

Burlesque Tuesdays

Where have I been? OOOoh that's a good question. Last week was a little too busy to post. I graduated college and had finals as well as did a lot of traveling. Sooo back to the regularly scheduled programing. Here is some costuming I made for a Lady Gaga burlesque tribute. I sewed and dyed the bottom half of the costume. Very fifth element n'est pas?

Burlesque Tuesdays

Since this is vintage or sew....(so), I wanted to start out my first Burlesque Tuesdays with costuming I have sewn or created myself. I propose that soon I will stop talking about myself and focus on my inspirations from other wonderful performers.


The original group of “Rockettes” made there ways to the “Big Apple” New York City to open Radio City Music Hall in 1932. In 1936, the troupe won the grand prize at the “Paris Exposition de Dance”. Pictured is a original Rockettes Candy Cane outfit worn by the 1930’s Rockettes.

My version was very quick and dirty. I needed a holiday inspired outfit in less than 2 days so I whipped this together. I made the hat and altered the clothing with a lot of sewing. The bra we hot glued with sequence and the had made with covered cardboard and scraps. This soon will need a revamp to make it look more flattering, but I think it was still very fun. Photos were shot by Danger Ninja and POC Photo.

The Promised Projects

I know it is a lot for one day but it hasn't been brewing for one day only. These are the pattens and projects I must complete before buying fabric, patterns, or materials for something else. I must commit. I feel like things get very pretty and I get distracted.

First up Vogue Pattern V1078. This beautiful dress require 7 yards of fabric! Luckily I am blessed with an amazing student who provided me with the perfect exact shade and stretch. I am almost done cutting out each piece only one more to go but it is a big one. After that there is a lot of gathering and sewing to be done. I will have this one done before June possibly for Vegas.

What I love about this pattern is the 30s-ish glamorous back. The only thing I am not fond of is the strapping in the front but we will see how it will turn out.


Next up we have this amazing jumper/dress. It looks great for the summer time with an easy wrap around skirt. Challenges for this dress is that it is not in my size. I need to make a muslin mock up before trying to cut up material to ensure the right fit.

I think I am going to try to find a vintage bed sheet to make this dress out of. I wish I had the same fabric as my blog background but alas I have not found it yet.







Finally the last project I am working on is trashy prom dress inspired. I found this dress at the local mall for $500. Those rhinestones aren't that nice dear! I started drawing up my own pattern and mock up. I think it looks like a good start. I need to buy some boning and experiment with the skirt and I should be ready to roll.