The pink costume was commissioned by a Toronto burlesque performer, and it took me over 160 hours of work to build it. The skirt is of pale pink peau de soie, with a darker pink lining, and is covered in 36 feet of 12-ply ostrich feather boa. This costume glitters with all the fire of over 40,000 Swarovski crystal rhinestones (in shades of pink and red), which I applied, one by one.
I made the turquoise costume for myself. The outer gown is of sequinned chiffon, with accents of turquoise marabou and ostrich feather boas. I originally made it for a drag queen revue, in which I was the token Victor-Victoria.
The under-costume began with a "Chelsea" corset and matching ruffle bra, from Versatile Fashions. The colour wasn't as vivid as I wanted, so I used several fabric dye markers to darken & intensify the colour. The original pale aqua colour is still visible in the second row of ruffles on the bra. I used Preciosa crystal rhinestones in Blue Zircon AB on the bra, corset, pasties, and hair ornament. I covered the shoes in 26 gross (3,744) of Crystal AB rhinestones, and I even scattered a few over the tights.
