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Friday Follies: Wrong and Right

DapperQ #9, Alison Graham. Hello, papi!

Is it just me or is Wellington currently suffering from a wrong-eyebrow epidemic?  I’m not very happy after my brows got overdone recently – save yourselves from my fate with  some advice.

Poppy King’s No.7 budget lipsticks: I have tried them and come to the conclusion that they are lipsticks for people who don’t usually wear lipstick. More like a moistening gloss with some color. So if you are looking for a lipstick that won’t overwhelm your visage, give these a try. I picked up a few ($10 each!) but I’ll be saving them for softer summer looks.

Turns out three or four of my friends are also redheads courtesy of henna. They’ve all got it down, but for novices, Things You Should Know Before Using Henna is very useful.

After all that wrongness, here’s a treat that’s so very right: The 100 Most Stylish DapperQs for 2014. You may never wear a skirt again.

Ladypockets is …. I think this is parody of those shrill celebrity-focused “GET THE LOOK” features? But I find myself wanting to pick up those hints for great lipsticks as worn by Hillary Clinton and Mary Beard’s “Let It Go” hair. Until I can decide, I’ll be hiding my mediocre brows behind some Joan Didon glasses, and reading the Ladypockets’ creator’s essay The World Doesn’t Need Any More Costume Designers. She is from Philadelphia, and is one more reason I love my Philly.

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Travel: New York, Briefly

Going to America, New York feels…somewhat mandatory. At least, it is if your father and brother live there. I stayed for four days and spent most of the time catching up with people. “New York is one of the most uncomfortable environments there is,” says my Brooklyn-based brother. “You can get away with anything as long as you don’t get in anyone else’s way.” It was frantic and crowded and sweaty and dirty and exciting and full of wonderful, high-energy people.

Lovely Lolitas in NYCIn Bryant Park, meeting up with a friend, we ran into a fashion shoot and a separate Lolita meetup. By the carousel, of course!

Their "Ho Ho" cakeBryant Park cafe cake. Very dark and rich.

NY-EmpireState

I stayed very close to here for three nights. Had some fabulous food in neighboring Koreatown.

Mi abuela Isabel NemirovskyRediscovered at my dad’s place, this photo of my Argentinian grandmother, aged 22 here.

Mister Showbiz courtesy of Juleskill via Creative CommonsIt’s not a New York trip without a dose of burlesque or cabaret. And I got mine from Mister Showbiz himself, Murray Hill! I saw him perform on May 18th, at Galapagos Art Space, with my “show date” being Judith of Unseen Censer. Such a pleasure to see the emceeing master at work. The show was flawless, too – unlike my excited, shaky photography. So this far better image is via Creative Commons, so you too can feel the love.

A word about New York shopping. It’s easy to get overloaded, jaded, bewildered, and overspent very quickly. If you have a strong interest in music, or crafts, or graphic novels, or some other highly specific hobby or subculture, you may get more pleasure out of spending money on the specialized items for these that you can find in NYC than on the chimera of “New York style.” But many visitors to New York are convinced the chimera is out there…

I find my best New York fashion return-on-investment comes from cosmetics. It is worth it to pick your favorite cosmetic counter and get some refreshing tutorials along with your purchases. My favorite is the boutique brand Paula Dorf, and their Henri Bendel counter is staffed by makeup sorcerers.  I went to them and said, “My eyebrows – can you help?” They did.

Clothes were more hit and miss – I’m not the only one to find this season of clothing rather meh. Macy’s on Herald Square was vast and confusing. I preferred the cleaner, more tranquil, and better curated Lord and Taylor at 38th Street – their sale racks had some bargains that matched items I was seeking.

New Yorkers look like everyone and wear everything – the full cross-section of humanity, not the tooth-bleached actors in Manolos we get in the media. That said, this spring, the New York fashionistas got a memo that said “Wear a very, very simple black dress. And beige shoes, and a bag of an entirely different color. Top it off with a clunker of a necklace or a bracelet, but NOT both.”

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Out in the Square 2013, Post II: So Fabulous

More irresistible images from queer pride in Wellington!

Oh hi, we're going ahead and starting the future.

Right to left: vendors for the day included designer Suzanne Tamaki, artist Angela Wells, steampunk demoiselle. What the future looks like!

The chocolate ones were seriously fantastic

Magnificently delicious cupcakes by Cakes by Esme – click on the link to get these in the Wellington area.

Is it lovey dovey stuff? Or do you need a bit of rough?

A beloved Wellington queer treat was back – the Lessie Lollies! Homemade Butch Brittle is my favorite.

Love you, Laquisha!

Dreamy drag emcee Laquisha Redfern introduced the Rainbow Burlesque Troupe.

Pretty in peach!

This vision of style urged me to pull back with the camera. “I want the crowd. I WANT THE CROWD!!!” Rest assured: the crowd wants YOU.

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Out in the Square 2013, Post I: Burlesque and Retro

Photo post – the Rainbow Troupe’s second performance, and some burlesque and retro style, all at Wellington’s 2013 Out in the Square GLBQT pride day.

Just a hunka' hunka' burnin' love

Miss Honey Suckle as lady Elvis rocked our socks and shook her famous “assels”.

Note the incredible wind bowing down the trees.

Sharing a kiss behind the balloon bunches, right before letting them fly to the skies! Cleverly, they’re in the reverse rainbow order of the backdrop behind them, so they stand out brilliantly.

The butches ranged from boyishly cute to serious swagger!

This year we had both femme beauties and butchy babes for a lighthearted burlesque vision of the 1950s as they should have been.

Yes, I coordinated/produced the Rainbow Troupe again for 2013, with serious production support from Winnie Chester. And what a troupe it was: Salacious Sugar, The Velvet Whip, Atomic Ruby, Miss La Belle, Flic Caracou, Ula Vulk, The Deity Dollicious, and The Purple Rose were our living rainbow, and we had a guest appearance from lady Elvis brought to us by Miss Honey Suckle. More than a few people came by Civic Square especially to see the performance. Thanks to the whole Out in the Square team for making it go like buttah!

And now for some additional glimpses of burlesque and retro style from this fabulous afternoon of fabulosity:

Can I be her when I grow up?

This is my favorite picture of the entire day – a perfect lady. Like the background says, “LOVE!”

Red gold and green!

This stunning burlesque chanteuse shared the stage with us. We’ll be seeing more of her in Wellington!

Not only are they so cute, they're color coordinated

Young volunteers mixing up vintage plus. They were staffing one of several vintage clothing booths – some real bargains out there.

Love the bowler

Edgy burlesque performer Candy Thorne livens up a windy Wellington day.

Bow chicka bow bow!

Miss La Belle, burlesque star and teacher, relaxing after her first performance of the year.

Look out for Post #2 with more great style and atmosphere shots!