It's a look...

God bless Lili St. Cyr

"Sex is currency. What's the use of being beautiful if you can't profit from it?"









It is the centenary today of Willis Marie Van Schaack, better known as the legendary Miss Lili St. Cyr, Queen of the Burlesque, the "Anatomic Bomb", and (alongside Miss Gypsy Rose Lee), one of the most famed strippers in history.

The things she could do with a fan!

Lili St. Cyr (3rd June 1918 – 19th January 1999)

This weekend I am mostly dressing casual...

...like birthday girl Miss Lillian Russell!

Yes. Her again.

[Miss Russell] rode a bicycle custom made for her by Tiffany & Co. It was a gold-plated machine that displayed the jeweller’s art at its most opulent and unconventional – the handlebars inlaid with mother-of-pearl and the wheel spokes featuring her initials set in diamonds. She had "a cream serge leg-of-mutton sleeve cycling suit with the skirt shortened by three inches, which caused a sensation and set a trend."

I bet it did.

Get back, JoJo!

Sad news from The Guardian:

Nestled in the heart of Soho in central London sits a small, unimpressive looking venue. Push your way through the double doors beneath a seedy flashing neon sign, however, and you encounter a plush world of opulence, red velvet curtains and Art Deco mirrors.

Until recently, the crowd filling the dance floor was as likely to be clad in baseball caps and chains as burlesque basques and feathers, but Madame Jojo’s - home to some of London’s most diverse nightlife for more than half a century - has now shut down for good.

News that Westminster council had revoked its license this week following an incident outside the club has been greeted with disbelief, both by those who have hosted nights at the venue for years and the many loyal punters who flocked there every week in search of the quirkier side of London’s club scene.

Supporters of Madame Jojo’s say that the closure is part of the council’s drive to gentrify Soho, which is robbing the area of its unique atmosphere and heritage in the process.

The venue, known to many as the home of burlesque and cabaret in Soho, hosted some of the earliest gigs played by bands such as The xx and Anna Calvi, and Lorde played her first UK show there. It was also the focal point of Michael Winterbottom’s 2013 film The Look Of Love, in which Steve Coogan plays Paul Raymond, the Soho porn baron who owned and ran Madame Jojo’s in the 1960s.

Home for many years to quirky club and music nights Tranny Shack (UK), Cabaret Roulette, White Heat, Queerly Out and House of Burlesque, this is yet another sad loss to Soho, formerly the bustling heart of our slowly-but-surely being sanitised capital...

RIP

This weekend, I shall mostly be dressing casual...

...like burlesque queen Miss Naja Karamuru!

Look at us

"Look at us
Do you see us in a burlesque show
Look at us are we in vaudeville
We've tasted every thrill
Every powder every pill
And we're still here."

Marc Almond, Vaudeville And Burlesque