Thursday 27 February 2014

Helsinki Burlesque Festival 2014 starting!

For some lucky ones it already started yesterday with Perle Noir's workshop, but since I was working I'm taking that workshop today! Also dropping a line in order to let you all know I probably won't be writing much until the festival is over, but stay tuned for a report of it all next week!

And thus the fun begins... <3

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Finnish burlesque at the Boylesque Festival Vienna! <3

As some of you know, yesterday was the first day of the Helsinki Burlesque Festival week! We've been waiting for this for a year, but yesterday exceeded even our wildest expectations! And that's because the Finnish burlesque scene received amazing news: my gals Gigi Praline and Lola Vanilla, our gentleman Sir Willy Waterlilly and yours trully have been accepted to perform at the very first Boylesque Festival Vienna! <3 <3 <3
This means Finland will be having an almost unprecedented representation in a international festival, and just so that you can imagine how amazingly kickass this festival is going to be I can tell you that it will be hosted by none other than The World Famous *BOB*, and besides Jacques Patriaque himself (aka the mastermind behind the event) the lineup will include such first class international performers as Tigger!, Russell Bruner, Rubyyy Jones, Conchita Wurst and Tamara Mascara (and who knows who else Jacques is still hiding up his sleeve?)
So if you don't mind, I'll just go continue jumping all around the place in excitement ;-D


Monday 24 February 2014

Fleamarket finds, Vol.2

And it seems it was a specially nice weekend for fleamarket hunting, so here you go round two! I'm only posting the items I bought (except a small arts & crafts turn-of-the-century flowerpot stand I forgot to take pictures of), Lassi found some nice jugend textiles and objects himself. 
We found this objects from a couple of fleamarkets in the countryside, which is where the best fleamarkets usually are but it also means you need a car for it. 

This lovely nurse cap/headpiece cost 1€, but I actually got it for free with the other items I bought. It's so cute! And it will fit perfectly with both my vintage aprons, since even though I'm not sure about how old this cap is the model didn't change so dramatically over the decades. 

(1950?) nurse cap

The other clothing item I found in that fleamarket is a 1920's nightgown, but I'm planning to use this one with a sash and as a summer dress. It's made of linen and it has gorgeous decorative pleats and cross-stitching on the collar and sleeves. I think this one will fit perfectly for the orientalist 1910/1920s look, since it reminds me a bit of antique greek/oriental clothing. And it only cost 10€!

1920's nightgown

I also got some lovely art deco ceramic spice jars, probably 1930s. These are quite often found in fleamarkets around Finland, but the ones with nice jugend or art deco motives are often overpriced. I'm more interested in jugend objects at the moment, but these are so pretty that I couldn't leave without them! They only cost 4€/piece, and even though one was broken and glued back I decided to also take it with me since it was half-price and still in working condition. 

1930's ceramic spice jars

Saturday 22 February 2014

Fleamarket finds, Vol.1

A quick post to show you something that Lassi found for me last Thursday while I was at work! I will probably end up writing many posts about things both Lassi and me find in fleamarkets in the future, so I have decided to start numbering them accordingly.
This is a pair of black leather and suede oxfords found in Radio Kirppis in Tampere, which is one of the fleamarkets we often check. This is a bit of an interesting pair, as the model itself looks like it's from the 1930s-40s, but Lassi believes they were made in the 1950's (and I usually trust him since he's very good at dating). The leather is a bit wrinkly, but nothing that some good Peckard's and a pair of lasts can't fix, and even the laces are original.

lovely use of different materials

Also, since the heels are rather wide and very sturdy, these are just perfect for daily wear! I will probably take them to the cobbler's for half-soles, but otherwise it feels like these babies are going to stay with me for a looong time :-)

side view and sole

Thursday 20 February 2014

Rustiqua at the Tribal Summer Camp 2014! <3


Rustiqua

And registration finally opened for the Tribal Summer Camp 2014! This will be the second edition of this event, which includes a weekend of workshops with amazing Tribal Fusion bellydance teachers, and a gala event that gathers some of the most amazing Tribal Fusion dancers in Europe!

The guest stars/teachers this year are the Eslovakian troupe Rustiqua, which is one of the most respected European Tribal Fusion troupes due to its quality and very innovative choreographies. You can't even imagine how excited I am about being able to study with them! <3

As I said the registration has just opened, and you better be fast because the early-bird prices last until the end of March and the first spots have started to sell already! You can find more info about it in the facebook event page. And If you need some eye candy to convince yourself, have a look at Rustiqua's performance at last year's Tribal Fest 2013 below:

Monday 17 February 2014

Gibson Girl outfit

So here goes one of the edwardian outfits I wore to Vapriikki Vintage a couple of weeks ago! I really enjoyed wearing this, since most of the items are original edwardian pieces and they are all full of lovely details.
The full outfit consisted of: a gorgeous white muslin shirt, a black woolen skirt, brass pendant, brown boots and cotton socks. 

picture by Lassi

The muslin shirt is one of the last original edwardian pieces I've bought, and it's already one of my favourites! Just look at that collar, it goes almost half-way up the neck, and then folds down gracefully in two lapels. The whole shirt has some delicate and simple decoration, and the muslin is an absolutely lovely material to wear, so light and soft! I got this delicious piece from the Swedish shop Tidens Melody (from which I also got a few other pieces you may be seeing in the near future! ;-) ).
The skirt is an Etsy find, and it's in absolutely perfect condition (I guess this piece is late 1910's). Made in black wool, it has some gorgeous art deco details on the waist. I've had this skirt for over a year now, but the waist was a bit too big so I haven't been able to wear it comfortably until I decided to make it smaller (no fabric cut in the process!). 
The pendant is also an Etsy find, and even though it's not an original piece it has been hand crafted by a very talented Polish jewelsmith after an original piece. The pendant came without any chains attached to it, so I used my imagination when it came to deciding how to "finish" the piece in order to be able to wear it. 

a better look at the shirt's and skirt's details
pictures by Lassi

The boots are one of my treasures. They were originally edwardian ice-skating boots, but when Lassi found them in Ebay someone had already removed the blades, so after the cobbler placed new half-soles on them they got a new life as winter boots. And let me tell you, they are the best andmost comfortable pair of winter boots I've ever had! They hug the ankle like a glove, and even though you can't really wear very thick socks with them my feet have never felt cold in them. The colour is also quite rare (most surviving boots from this period tend to be black), since it's a gorgeous and rich shade of reddish brown (foxy!).
And last but not least, the cotton Atlas socks I had bought the previous day at the Vintage Market in action!

right: you can even see a couple of "cuts" from their
previous life as skating boots!

Sunday 16 February 2014

Gig at Kirjaclub with Kitty Litter!

I had such a blast last night! (even literally, if you ask me) I absolutely adore performing with my dear Dizzy Daisies, but Sandy was performing at Kustom Kulture in Kaapelitehdas and Gigi was having a well deserved short holyday in Stockholm, so I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with my dear Kitty Litter. We were booked to perform at a place called Kirjaclub (bookclub), and it was the first time I've performed in which we weren't allowed to take the bras off! The audience was anyway absolutely lovely, and the organizers treated us like queens :-)

gorgeous Kitty Litter and the lovechild of a geisha and
a flamenco dancer about to hit the stage :-D

Because of not being able to take the bra off I was a bit limited with the choice of acts to perform (a couple of them are all about the twirling in the end, or at least something about the tassels/pasties is vital to the story), so I decided to perform my Geisha act (which I hadn't performed in a year and a half) and my Mata Hari act. I usually do full Geisha makeup and hair for the first one, but because we had a pretty fast change I opted for a lighter version of it, and my usual 1920's fingerwaves. 
I was going through my Mata Hari act and feeling specially energetic and strong about the way I was moving on stage last night, when I suddenly realized I was in mid-air with my legs trying to go in one direction and the body on the other one! That was of course followed by an epic landing on my left knee and forearm, but thanks to the adrenaline boost I managed to finish the act. Well, I guess I can now say I have also slipped and fell on stage! :-D

absolutely delicious food on the left, and my knee and
a bag of ice on the right :-D

After that we were treated to white wine, sparkly and some delicious food, which we enjoyed backstage while I applied some ice to my nicely swollen knee. I nevertheless was stubborn enough to go check our gorgeous and very talented gals Sandy Jungle, Bettie Blackheart, Kiki Hawaiji, Tinker Bell, Cherry Turbo-Cherry Dee and Vera de Vil, who were performing a late night show at Kustom Kulture Show. There was a lot of new/revamped acts, and it was the perfect way to finish such a fun day! Now looking forward to the Helsinki Burlesque Festival in two weeks...

Friday 14 February 2014

Edwardian inspired repro hat

This is a small project I made to complement the turn-of-the-century walking suit I was wearing at Fintage's fashion show in Vapriikki last Sunday. The suit's jacket has rather wide mutton sleeves, so it needed a wide-ish brim hat to go with it. As many of you probably know, findind an edwardian hat is rather difficult, so I decided to try to customize a repro one out of some other hat. 

inspiration

I have noticed I have difficulties finding hats that fit (even modern ones), so my best hope was to find one made of felt, which can if needed be made larger to fit me. Lassi found this 1950's vintage zorro-style felt hat from a thrift store called Fida, and it instantly felt like a good candidate. The poor hat was never top quality to begin with, and the felt was a bit broken in some places, so it actually felt like a good idea to recycle it. 
I also used some scrap fabric pieces from the local fabric store Eurokangas, one cotton velvet and two different kinds of silk satin in different shades of brown. I must say I'm absolutely in love with the darker shade of brown satin! The weaving is crazy tight (it's actually entirely made of just emerald green and beige threads, but you would never believe it until you actually cut the fabric), and the texture is absolutely delightful. On top of that, I also got to use one of the vintage milliner feathers Lassi found in our latest fleamarket trip to Urjala. 

the hat still had the shop's original tag from the 1950's!

The first thing the hat needed was of course to be made a bit bigger, which is usually rather easy if you have the right tools. Unluckily enough I don't, but my dear friend Tiitta Räsänen works at the Opera House in Helsinki and got it stretched for me <3
The next thing that needed to be done was shaping the hat into a bit more of an edwardian shape. My main concern was making the hat wider, because the original hat was longer than wider, and I wanted it to have a rounder brim. Again, I lacked the right tools for it, but I decided to try to use some water and an iron, and this is what I came up with. In the begining I was planning to hide the folded edges of the brim at the front/back of the hat, but after having a look at it I decided I actually quite liked them and decided to keep them. 

hat after shaping with the iron

As I already mentioned the hat wasn't in a prime condition, so I decided to add some wire to the brim's edge to make it sturdier. I didn't have milliner's wire at home, but I did have some wire leftovers from some other crafts I've worked on in the past, so I decided to use that. The felt being rather frail though, I opted to secure the wire to the brim by using some leftover satin ribbon I had at home. It started to feel like a new hat even before I was done with securing the wire!

gotta love using crafting leftovers! <3

So far I had basically just molded the hat into the right shape, and made it sturdy enough for wearing. The next step was to actually start making it look pretty! I started by adding the cotton velvet fabric on top, and trying to make it nicely wrinkly in order to hide the uneven surface I got from shaping the hat with an iron, it quite worked! And then added the nice dark brown silk satin underneath, trying to also wrinkle it nicely to fit the period's style. 

ready for decoration!

At this point all I had left what the "fun" part, a.k.a. decorating! I did some research looking at hat catalogues and ads from that period, and came up with the conclusion that it was all about: feathers, big ribbons and flowers. In the begining I was planning to use a combination of all three of them, but unluckily enough I didn't manage to find appropiate flowers in Helsinki (the colour you need is never in season! :-D ), so I decided to stick to the big bow and feathers. For the bow I used mostly the beige silk satin (which is in truth less pink than it looks like on the pictures), whith small details in the dark brown silk satin. I had mixed feelings about whether I should iron the silk before doing this or not, and in the end I decided not to, since edwardian hats I've seen always look a bit shabby and wrinkly. Still not sure about it though, I might still iron it at some point. 

hat with finished ribbon

The last missing details were adding a brown cotton trim to the edge of the brim and adding the feathers, for which I used one of the vintage black feathers that had a nice curvy shape, and one big fluffy brown ostrich feather I had left from the feathers I ordered for my upcoming burlesque act (more on that some other time!). The outcome was a nice discreet hat (for edwardian standards, I didn't want to go too over-the-top with this one) that seemed to fit the outfit it was meant for quite nicely. I will add a picture of the full outfit as soon as Atelieri O. Haapala publish the pictures they took during the event, but until then here you go a few pictures of the outcome:

thanks to Lassi for the pictures!

Thursday 13 February 2014

Paper fan rehearsing

I haven't touched these in about a year and a half! Which is when I performed my "Fuyu Momiji" act last time. I don't usually perform this one often because of how long it takes to do the makeup change if I'm performing more than one act, but now I realize I've missed it! The costume could also use some major upgrading, but I'll have to leave that for later on...

Wednesday 12 February 2014

On the way to work...

I do a lot of work as an art model, which usually involves commuting all over the area, since art schools are scattered around. My usual furthest commute is to a school named Pekka Halosen Akatemia, after the Finnish turn-of-the-century painter and artist Pekka Halonen. This school happens to be in the middle of nowhere between two towns: Tuusula and Järvenpää. The commute here is rather troublesome, it involves either an hour or more by bus, or some 25mins by train plus 25mins more walking (which is what I usually chose), and I still have mixed feelings about it. Nevertheless the walk from the train station to the school is often quite rewarding, as one gets to experience the beauty of Finnish nature throughout the seasons and in different weathers.
Today was definitely one of those days! Even though the snow in Helsinki has been melting for the last couple of days due to the temperatures going above zero, here in the outskirts the scenery is still white and crisp, and today specially mysterious since a thick mantle of fog covers it all. Definitely a view to enjoy and to remind us of how insignificant we are as compared to the greatness of nature <3

walk in the countryside on the way to work

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Vapriikki Vintage finds: day 2

Second day at Vapriikki Vintage! Unfortunately enough (or fortunately enough for my wallet) I didn't have much time to look around the vintage market this day. Both Fintage's fashion show and the Helsinki Traditional Jazz Dance group's performance and lesson were happening on this day, which meant I spent part of the morning rehearsing and doing both my and Malin Grahn's hair and makeup, and part of the afternoon getting ready for the fashion show. Nevertheless, I did find a couple of gorgeous pieces of textile by Tampella!

above: damask weaving
bellow: Tampella damask tablecloth
pictures from www.tampere.fi

Oy Tampella Ab was a factory that made of Tampere one of the most important industrial cities in Finland, and operated from 1856 until 1991. Although it produced a huge amount of different products (mostly industrial machinery), I'm going to write a bit about one of their most famous textiles: the damask. 
The damask is a textile of a single colour, with reversible patterns that are created by weaving threads in different directions. 
Tampella started to produce damask textiles in the 1890 decade, and designers created the different models, which were tipycally produced during a few decades. Famous designers such as Siri Brunou, Louis Sparre and Aili Rancken created some of these pieces. 

my gorgeous finds! <3

The first piece I spotted on the first day already, but since I didn't have cash with me in that moment the lovely seller said she would keep it for me. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, how could I not! It was designed in the year 1907 and the motif is indeed as jugend and arts & crafts as it gets! This piece was meant as a guest towel, and the gorgeous jugend motif covers both ends. I actually even noticed, while googling for this article, that a piece just like this one is actually kept in the Tampere Museum :-)

designer: Aili Rancken
model: Fantasia
number: 253
produced: 1907-1974

The second piece cought my eye on Sunday morning when I went to pay for and pick up the previous piece, partly due to its gorgeous shade of blue. This also makes me think that this tablecloth was probably produced in the 1950 decade, since until then white damasks were the most common, but the motif started to be produced already in the year 1930 and its peacocks are a clear reminiscent of the edwardian orientalism. 

model: Riikinkukko (peacock)
number: 633
produced: 1930-1953?

Sunday 9 February 2014

Vapriikki Vintage finds: day 1

First day at my favourite winter vintage event! And as always, plenty of things to drool at :-)
I'm trying to be a good girl this year and not buy too much, but I found some things that have been on my "wishlist" for a while now, so those were a must! Plus we are usually also taking care of Fintage's table at the vintage market during the event, and on Sunday organizing a fashion show with Fintage's members and vintage clothes, so luckily I didn't get to spend too much time shopping. 

One of the things I'm going nutts about lately is vintage men's clothing! I think it looks extremely elegant and sharp, but finding a good fit for someone as tall and curvy as me is really difficult! I did find a bunch of small items though: a 1910's white tie (which I had been missing for for my "The Chap" burlesque act, thank you Lassi for finding it!), a detachable front and absolutely GORGEOUS detachable collar (both around 1930's) and a couple of ties (probably late 1920's).

soooo in love with the collar! <3

The next thing I bought had been in my "wishlist" forever! I present you my "new" edwardian granny boots, black with the upper part in black suede! I have actually had a bit of an uncommon luck with these kind of boots, since the ones I've been finding so far have been white and brown, which are usually much harder to find. The black ones have thus been missing from my collection, but not anymore!

absolutely gorgeous label in the inside,
made in Rauma (Finland)!

And when I thought that I was already done for the day, I still got a couple of nice items! The tap pants (1920's underwear) I got from another member of Fintage and happened to be a perfect fit! And the cotton stocking from Atlas were something I've been needing for a while, and will be wearing for today's fashion show with my edwardian outfit. These socks have been produced in the same way since the 1930's, but the model actually works pretty nicely as edwardian underwear as well. 

tap pants and atlas stockings (with matching
thread for fixing included)

I did have a couple of nice outfits this day, but the always amazing Atelieri O. Haapala from Helsinki were taking cabinet pictures in Vapriikki this day, so I'll wait to show you until I get the nicer pictures!

Day 2 next...

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Jazz History Through Times & hairstyling

Today and tomorrow in Kulttuurikeskus in Espoo! This is a very special event organized by Clyde Wilder (New York, USA), Malin Grahn and the Helsinki Traditional Jazz Dance Company, that presents the story of the slaves of West Africa in their journey to the States and the dances that developed influenced by the culture they brought with them. You will be treated to a wide collection of different dances and styles, including African mask dances, charleston, lindy hop and blues. Check the facebook event page for more info!


Both Clyde and Malin have plenty of years of experience in the field, having studied in the States from the very sources, and having also researched these dances and the culture related to them in depth. Malin teaches in a few places in Helsinki, and they will both be performing together with Malin's students. 

left: the girls at the HBF13, picture by Atelieri O. Haapala
costuming by Anni Laanti and Fiona Timantti
right: Malin Grahn and Clyde Wilder, picture by Nuppu Linnavuori,
dress by Anni Laanti

I first met Malin about a year ago at the Vapriikki Vintage event in Tampere (which is happening this weekend!), when I styled her hair and that of three of her students that were teaching and performing charleston in that event. Since then I have had the pleasure of helping her with hairstyling a few times, and I will be doing so again today and tomorrow, together with my dear friend the modist and stylist Fiona Timantti (who is also one of the dancers). 

left: 1920's style hair at Vapriikki Vintage 2013
right: 1930's style hair for Malin, dress by Anni
Laanti and makeup by Miia Magia





Tuesday 4 February 2014

London Burlesque Festival lineups announced!

I can now announce that I'll have the honour of performing at the Red Carpet Rollout showcase within the London Burlesque Festival, which happens to be the opening gala! I must say it's as exciting as scary, but luckily I'll be sharing the stage with my dear Natsumi Scarlet and Pepper Potemkin and many other amazing performers <3

The festival is indeed over a week long and unluckily enough I won't be able to stay in London for the whole of it, but I'm ecstatic about being able to attend the Twisted Cabaret showcase on Sunday 18.5, where my dear Sir Willy Waterlily (definitely one of my most favourite burlesque performers EVER, so happy to represent Finland in London together! <3), Natsumi Scarlet and Lou Safire will be performing!

Which reminds me, tickets still have early bird prices, so go ahead and click on the links above if you want to get yours on time! :-) 


Monday 3 February 2014

1920's inspired tomboy with breeches

Outfit post! First try at wearing my "new" pair of breeches <3
I bought these breeches last autumn in a charity shop called UFF in Helsinki with the idea of selling them to some gentleman, but I tried them on at home and they were a perfect fit so I couldn't help keeping them for myself! One of the biggest problems with breeches though is that you need a pair of pretty high boots to wear with them, and let's just say high boots aren't the easiest thing to find when you are 180cm tall :-)
Luckily enough Lassi found the perfect solution for it, which was using puttees. Puttees are long strips of fabric that can be rolled around the legs, and they're the perfect substitute for high boots! (plus I think they look great) Lassi also managed to find these being sold in Varusteleka, which is a wonderful shop in Helsinki that sells army clothes and equipment, and usually has extremely good quality items for a very economic price (plus a lot of the army clothing is still made with the same shape/cut as it was 80 years ago!)


Breeches sadly aren't used very often anymore, so it is sometimes difficult to figure out how to make the whole outfit work. I have lately also been extremely inspired by women that used men's clothing, from the end of the nineteenth century up to the begining of WWII. For this particular outfit, I decided to use flappers and tomboy's of the 1920's as inspiration. 

inspiration! <3

As I explained in the begining I put this outfit together in a bit of a rush and only as a test, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome! None of the items I'm wearing is from the 20's, but I think the overall look works. I'm wearing: 
- breeches from the Finnish army, "new" (not sure how new, but they can be considered repros) from a second hand store called UFF
- puttees from Varusteleka
- 1910's skating boots, from ebay (absolutely the BEST pair of winter boots I've ever had, and they're drop-dead gorgeous!)
- shirt probably from the 50's, from a theatre fleamarket
- knit, new from a charity shop called Fida
- beret, new from the Red Cross' charity shop
- overcoat from the 50's, a bit too big for me but that makes it look a bit more manly (and the colour works perfectly with the military theme)

pictures by Lassi Patokorpi



Sunday 2 February 2014

Queer much?

And soooo excited to announce I'll be joining the linup of the craziest party in Helsinki this spring! You'll be able to see drag queens, burlesque and a rollercoaster of gender bender fun! Stay tuned for more info, and check the event's facebook page! <3

Bettie Page Reveals All

Friday was a really exciting day for the Finnish burlesque community, since the premier of the documentary "Bettie Page Reveals All" was having its premier in Finland! It was screened on both Friday and Saturday during the DocPoint documentary festival, and both the director Mark Mori and producer Thorpe Mori flew all the way to Finland for this occasion. Last December I took part in an event to help promote the documentary festival, in which I had to dress up as Bettie Page and chat with people in the audience about the film. It was fun! But I was definitely shocked when I was later on asked if I would like to present the director and producer, and conduct the Q&A section after the screenings. I must confess I almost said no (that's how scared I am about talking in front of a crowd!) but in the end decided that having the honour of participating in such a unique event was definitely worth it!

with director Mark Mori, during the Q&A
picture by Rita Miklan

Both the director and producer were really happy about having the Finnish Burlesque community attend the event, and they decided to have a picture taken with the ladies! I'm afraid I don't have the picture myself since it's in their camera, but here goes one taken during the Q&A. 

picture by Rita Miklan

If you missed the movie while it was being screened in Helsinki, or if you live outside the Helsinki area, do not hesitate to go and watch it when you have the chance! You rarely get to watch a documentary in which the main character herself is the narrator, and of course you'll have the chance of glimpsing into the heart of the original pin-up girl, and one of the most influential pop icons of our era! 

(And I'll use the chance to again thank people in DocPoint for this opportunity with all my heart!)

Oh, and about the dress I'm wearing! I was silly enough not to take more pictures with it (too nervous before the screening, and too blissful afterwards), but here you go a couple of pictures of it! I found this evening gown in the latest fleamarket of the Swedish Theatre of Helsinki and I'm absolutely in love with it <3
I believe this to be 40's, and some of you may know I'm usually not very crazy about that era, but this one is a heartbreaker! This dress screams "space age" and is made of a very thick and sturdy fabric in a blueish shade of grey, and it's full of gorgeous details! An absolute deco beauty :-)

front, detail of the bow and back of the dress
I apologise for the bad quality pictures!

New Burlesque season officially open!

It was so nice to finally get to perform again after the Xmas break! We had a rather special private show with Thee Dizzy Daisies yesterday, we performed our latest group act Aurora Borealis (the first time with the three of us instead of two since we premiered it in the Suomi Burleski Gaala last October) for the birthday of a friend of Gigi, and our audience consisted of only two people! :-D
But you rarely get such a crazy audience and I have to say that it was a great pleasure to perform for them since they were screaming already before it started! 

We were getting ready before they arrived, when I suddenly noticed something was sticking out of my costume: a pin in a rather "sensitive" area! I have been wearing this costume a few times already and this was the first time I notice it, so I guess I should be glad I noticed it before I hurt myself :-D

the dangers of burlesque!

Happy girls with the headpieces that amazing Finnish Milliner Fiona Timantti made for our Aurora Borealis act <3

the gals <3
picture stolen from Sandy

And home early after the show! It was pretty cold in Helsinki yesterday (well, only -8C, but very windy!) so it was funny to put all the crazy layers of clothing back on after the show, and with all the makeup still on! Definitely not used to wearing makeup on weekdays...
(and in case you had never seen me with the hair "undone" and you were wondering, it's actually waist long)

my current favourite winter hat!
yellow <3