Passion For Fashion

Burlesque is a form of theatre entertainment from the early twentieth century that has made a come back in recent times. It usually consisted of comedy, performance art and adult entertainment often performed by ladies. Women would wear extravagant outfits made up of corsets, stockings and nipple tassels and acts would be made up of strip teases, stand up comedy and more extreme acts like fire breathing.

The meaning behind burlesque is an interesting one as it means in an upside down style. The performers were given the freedom to push social boundaries and make new styles so the term is quite fitting.

In the beginning burlesque came out of music hall shows from the nineteenth century. It came about as a form of working class comedy that would poke fun and provide social commentary against the upper classes. A vast amount of this humor was considered lowbrow and vulgar to many which eventually led to the inclusion of strip teases and circus acts such as contortionists.

Lots of now infamous comedians and actors were inspired or had their roots in the genre. Everyone from Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope and Abbot and Costello have their roots in burlesque and even Charlie Chaplin was a fan.

Fast forward to the nineteen nineties and burlesque had risen out of the ashes once more. Neo burlesque acts began emerging in New York and Los Angeles with acts like Dita Von Teese becoming notorious for their take on their genre. Most of these acts focused on the clothing, wearing either a corset or waist cincher along with seamed stockings and suspenders. Later performers like the Pussy Cat Dolls donned similar lingerie and performed songs in a provocative manner but didn?t have the same sort of attitude of the genre.