Louise Black is the new Black



       A few weeks ago I did a post mentioning Steampunk, an aesthetic combining Victorian, Edwardian, goth, burlesque, fetish, punk, the 1920’s and the Old West – actually, just ask yourself “Would Tim Burton dig it?” and if he would, it’s likely to be Steampunk. The most immediate example I can think of might be Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane in Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” in his 1899 clothing sometimes accessorized with bizarre and fascinating detection devices he’s made himself (Steampunk also involves a lot of DIY and blending high tech with turn-of-the-18th-century style).
       Steampunk has become a fascination of mine and while casting about for Steampunk fashion photos I came across this spectacular corset which I think epitomizes the genre. Corsetry is a staple of the look and this piece is the most inventive example of that most alluring weapon in the fashion arsenal. It reminds me of something the macabre and elegant Edward Gorey might draw and while the skeletal image framed on the corset (a genuine Victorian lithograph) might seem to some to be a little dark I think it’s also an symbol of that Steampunk characteristic of stripping things down to the bare bones and elegantly repackaging. 
       So I’m blown away by this piece and realize the creator is none other than Louise Black, recently of Project Runway fame (check out her audition tape and interview here; I love that Delia Deiez from Beetlejuice is one of her inspirations). Louise’s 1920’s/noir style and pinpoint attention to detail made her strong and unique viewpoint one of the best parts of the season. You can see more of her on Etsy (where she lists several ways to keep up with her) and more views of that corset here; (photograph by John Ledeaux; modeled by Nixon Suicide.) Her Etsy page she’s no longer (or very, very rarely) taking orders for custom corsets, evidently due to huge order volume (no surprise there) but it’s great to know where to find her. Sometimes you’re just jonesing for that a Morticia-meets-Theda-Bara-meets –Dita-Von-Teese sensibility all tied up with laces and since that’s every day for me I’m happy I’ve found her. Good Luck, Louise!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Day at the Races

Image
       So - has anything especially fast, slow, theatrical, queeny, nostalgic, crowd-pleasing, hot, aerodynamic, silly or record-breaking ever happened in your bed? I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say it has. So the difference between you and this event is that your spectacle (probably) didn’t happen in front of a mob of drunks on as glorious an April day as you could order out of a goddamn Hallmark calendar.       This was the scene at the    Fairvilla Megastore   Conch Republic Red Ribbon Bed Race  down Duval Street in Key West, a benefit for AIDS Help, which took place this past Saturday. More than 20 businesses participated in this charity goodf allism, racing real beds which must be a certain size, have a mattress, four wheels that touch the ground, four runners pushing and be manned or womaned by one person.             Once you get past the rules the cool thing is outfitting your bed for maximum creativity – there was a coffin bed and a bong bed, and pirate
Read more

Say Ahhhhh: Drive-Thru Pap Smears in the COVID era

Image
        Listening to my friends talk about the COVID-19 test I thought it was going to feel like getting a lobotomy.      “They stick a swab so far up your nose, I felt like it was going into the back of my eye,” one said, but when free drive-through testing was offered in my little Florida beach town I went. I can pinch a penny until Lincoln starts crying and if something is free, I’m going to get one, even if it means being skewered like a corn dog.  The test was mildly irritating. You tilt your head back and they do, indeed, poke a swab up your snoot farther than you’d expect it to go. It felt like I’d been bike riding and got ladybug stuck up my nose, a sensation which lasted about 45 minutes after the actual sticking. It wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, but I’d anticipated getting my eyeballs yoinked out through my nostrils.  Anything else was emotional found money. What left a more lasting impression than the test was the joy of drive-through medical service. Si
Read more

Buy my book: Crazy Little Thing: How Love and Sex Drive Us Mad

Image
       Carl von Cosel installed a phone in his dead wife's tomb so they could chat - he eventually just took her home.      Burt and Linda Pugach married after he did a prison sentence for sending thugs to 'scare' her and they blinded her with acid.     Love makes us all feel insane. If it hasn't knocked you on your ass you haven't been in it.       I wrote Crazy Little Thing: Why Love and Sex Drive Us Mad several years ago because I wanted to understand why romantic problems had such a stranglehold on me and how people's greatest happiness, the thing we all want, could lead to them killing each other. It was published by Viva Editions just before the explosion of true crime shows like Wives with Knives and Who the Bleep Did I Marry?      My hope for the book has always been that the interviews with everyone from psychologists to felons would help people understand themselves but also that it would be a good enough read to take them out  of themselves, which is
Read more