Costuming on a budget
On the weekend I hosted an Instagram Live tutorial talking all things burlesque on a budget. I know a lot of you asked for resources , shopping and tutorials. So I’ve included all my best ideas in the one blog post.
Please feel free to pop any great suppliers or designers that you love or have worked with you - I know I can’t list everyone and there is always someone great I’ve never heard of. So if you are happy to share please do and I will shout them out.
I led the tutorial under four broad themes: budgeting; splurge vs save; making cheap stuff look great and suppliers.
So let’s dive right in.
Budgeting
Don’t tune out. I know this is boring and it’s something that you don’t want to hear. But when I talk about budget, remember that everyone’s idea of a ‘cheap’ or a budget costume is different. It’s different depending on where you are in your career and whether burlesque is a hobby or an income stream for you. My idea of an outfit on the cheap is probably different to Dita Von Teese’s!
There is no hard and fast rule, but if you are planning your costuming there are some principles I try and stick to:
Don’t spend your rent on a costume. Pay your bills and have enough money to live on.
If you are a newcomer to burlesque or it’s more of a hobby (no shade - not everyone needs to make this a full time gig) to you, I wouldn’t recommend spending more on a costume than you would on a shopping spree. Think of your ‘blow’ money - what you could spend on a dinner out, a handbag or a new pair of shoes. I’ve done an earlier post on how you can wisely think about this you might want to check out.
If you newer don’t make the mistake of creating ten new acts and ten cheaper costumes. Save up your ideas and try and work on one or two better quality items. Your money will just stretch that bit further.
If you are more business focused, I recommend thinking about a costume investment as around 20% of your profit stream. This might vary a bit depending on if you profit more from classes, performing, modelling. But if in doubt look at your profit for the year. You will need to ‘bank’ some of it for other items -like paying yourself a wage! - but be able to take some of your profits and put it towards revamping or improving a costume or investing in a new one.
Similarly, think about how much you earn per performance. If you only charge $150 per act, it’s probably going to take you time to make back the investment of a $5 000 costume.
Splurge vs Save
So you have your budget set. Now you have all these ideas out there - what is worth you chucking your hard earned money on?
If in doubt here are my suggestions:
The statement part of the act. If it’s a fan dance spend it on getting a double layered pair of fans. Or get the best you can afford. Or a chair dance - paint your chair beautifully. Or if you are doing a ‘strutt and strip’ style act, it might be the gown or the hat that needs to be the statement piece.
Shoes. You can see my earlier blog piece on buying the right footwear. But if in doubt, a good pair of heels will stand you well.
Corsetry or shapewear: If this makes the act or you have an ‘unusual’ (meaning basically most of us that don’t have a perfect hourglass figure) body shape. it’s worth investing in a foundation garment.
Don’t spend heaps of money on things like stockings, gloves, basic bras or jewellery. You can make an impact still on a budget.
And contentiously I also recommend avoiding the ‘big prop’. Unless you are in the big leagues, my opinion is that you will hardly ever have a stage big enough for them, and you will never make your money back on them.
Making cheaper things look expensive
If you are investing money, you can definitely still be smart by thinking about how to make your costumes look more expensive.
Want a luxe boa on a budget? Try a vegan boa - you can make one yourself and use a wide range of inexpensive fabric to pad it out. Or go for turkey feather but really bulk it out and sew multiple boas together. It’s still cheaper than an ostrich boa.
Bustles: Padd out that ostrich boa with some cheaper turkey boa underneath. You’ll bump up the bustle without the price
Rhinestones: We all love a sparkle, but as the amazing Jezebel Express says - rhinestones don’t equal talent. Why not go for a good quality sequin fabric? People sniff on the sequin, but those jewel and deeper tones still make an impact in a sequin. It’s also a great place to start if you are newer and want to really shine literally.
Stuck on Swarovski? You can use rhinestone appliques and segments of fabric to layer onto your corsets, bras or knickers. And similarly you can save some money buy mixing in either Preciosa crystals or normal flatback rhinestones into a few Swarovski’s.
Suppliers
So let us get to the good stuff! Where do you go for good buys?
Rhinestone and suppliers: I love Aleemah’s Applique and Trim and M& M Dance Supplies
Bras and g strings: If you can’t spend a fortune on a bra or a basic gstring, ASOS often has a good range of the basic triangle bras and three strap g strings. They also don’t have a bad size range.
I also recommend checking out the discount bathers and bikini section. They often have a higher lycra content so they stretch and wear well. You just will need to potentially practice using different rhinestone glue or go with sew on crystals or appliques.
There are also great lingerie brands that carry good size ranges like Playful Promises, Bettie Page Lingerie, Secrets in Lace and Kiss Me Deadly. You can get some great bases there that you can adapt and embellish.
Smaller suppliers: If you have more money to spend (even a tiny bit more!) you can support more independent suppliers like: Daisy Cutter, Ruby Slippers, Fetish Noir, Delilah Burlesque
Feathers: I love Talulah Blue on Etsy for affordable feather fans - if you can deal with a bamboo stave they are super affordable.
These are a lot of my consistent go to brands, but let me know if you have some other favourites.!