Costume building

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Michelle

I’m looking for inspiration for my next set of Burning Man outfits.

Lately, I’ve been inspired by tie-dye, bright colors, butterflies, stars, pineapples, the color white and costumes.

We’ve established my peacock and butterfly outfits already:

Although, I am skeptical that I will wear the matching wigs on account of the playa being too dry and hot for me to actually get my hair up in a wig cap without dying of heatstroke first.

I also have a St. Pauli Girl costume which I will wear because my friend and I are hosting Oktoberfest at the No Drama Bar again this year.

Imagine ice cold brew on the playa. . .

Ah, so refreshing!

I’ve been looking at white simply because of “White Wednesdays” and also because there’s a “white” party on the playa that I’d like to attend.

My previous white dress has seen better days and needs replacing:

Although I can’t bear to get rid of it because that dress has been a good luck charm for me.

Wink, wink!

It’s so hot during the days at Burning Man that I’m really working on MINIMAL outfits to wear – short shorts, camis, sleeveless bodysuits, short cotton dresses and rompers.

Yes, I may ACTUALLY slip into a romper.

I also need to do something about a tutu.

Burning Man pretty much destroys everything you bring there and my tutus have seen better days.

So once again, I’m going into costume building mode where I look for inspiration online then build a costume around what inspires me.

Lucky me!

Pasties and Age Limits

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Michelle

I’ve been shopping for Burning Man.

Again.

It’s seriously a never-ending saga with me.

And it’s all because I love make believe.

Costuming.

Putting together outfits for a special event.

The thing about Burning Man is that it can get hot.

Real hot.

Especially during the day.

So I’ve been looking into buying lingerie to wear as clothing.

Give me a teddy and some cut off jean shorts and color me happy.

The problem is (or maybe it’s not a problem at all given my exhibitionist proclivities) my nipples show through the thin lace fabric.

Hmmm.

What’s a gal to do when she has nipples showing through her teddy at Burning Man.

Nothing (technically)!

It’s all a-ok.

But for someone who doesn’t want to have her nipples stared at the obvious solution is pasties.

Pasties are basically a sticker that you put over your nipples to cover them up but still reveal your beautiful breasts.

In my lifetime I have bought half a dozen pairs of pasties and I’ve worn them exactly ZERO times.

It’s because as much as I want to look sexy, I’m not quite confident enough to pull them off.

I remind myself I’ve nursed 3 babies.

And I’m 45 years old.

Pasties are for 20-something year olds who have yet to ravage their bodies through bearing children.

Don’t pasties come with an age limit?

Sort of like those rides at the amusement park. . .

Your breasts must be THIS PERKY to wear these pasties.

Or some such nonsense.

It’s only because walking around topless in the heat at Burning Man sounds so liberating that I’m even CONSIDERING buying them again.

Maybe I’ll buy pasties, maybe I won’t.

Ultimately, I have to wear what I’m comfortable in and it seems I’m not quite ready to go there yet.

But hey, if I do?

You’ll see it here on unblunder first!

Superheroes and Supervillains

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Michelle

I’m working on a new costume.

This time, it’s for a Village meeting in July.

The party theme is Superheroes and Supervillains.

I first checked out SUPERVILLAIN costumes:

Like Emma Frost, who only resembles me in that she is blond with big boobs.

But crafting that costume seemed a little complicated

And honestly, I don’t have the balls to wear something that skimpy.

So I kept looking.

Personally, I love She-Ra, Princess of Power.

But since she is neither a Marvel or a DC comic book character, I scrapped my plans to do her.

Finally, I settled on a costume.

Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow.

There’s a few reasons why.

#1 – I bear a slight resemblance to Scarlett Johansson.

#2 – I’ve always wanted to be a redhead.

#3 – Black Widow KICKS ASS in Avengers!

Luckily, I found a company that makes cosplay costumes and they agreed to work on mine.

So come July, I’ll be slipping my body into a black bodysuit and transforming into Black Widow.

Riiiiiiight after I encase my body in full length head-to-toe SPANX.

Thank you very much!

Flashback unSCruz 2017 – The Wedding

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Michelle

My wedding – February 2, 1996

If you ask me what are the top 5 weddings I’ve attended, the unSCruz wedding would have to be at the top of my list, just under my own wedding.

I got so emotional as I watched the father-of-the-bride walk his daughter down the rose lined aisle.

It was a beautiful ceremony and one that was infused with the flavor of the couple getting married.

The bride wore horns.

The groom wore a crown.

They were perfectly matched and watching them share their love with their family and friends, one couldn’t help but be moved by the total and utter devotion they showed each other.

It was truly a sight to see.

Of course, the family and friends of the bride and groom were equally festive for the nuptials.

I saw belly dancers, fairies, steampunk outfits, wedding dresses, Greek goddesses, peacocks, saris, you name it – it was out there on display.

Everywhere you turned there was something to look at.

The wedding was a melting pot of styles and flavors.

So beautiful.

The Swede saved me a spot up front by the bride and groom so I got to hear the exchange of vows and watch the handfasting up close.

They promised to love one another til the end of time.

What else is there?

Skinny

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Michelle

I am trying to get ready for Burning Man.

Now that I’ve done it a few years in a row, that means organizing my gear and buying new outfits.

Guess which one is my favorite thing to do?

Buy outfits, of course!

I live on etsy when I’m planning my wardrobe for Burning Man.

You just can’t beat etsy when it comes to rave/dystopian/tribal clothes and accessories.

This year I’m having trouble though.

I’m losing weight.

And it’s really hard to predict what size I will be when Burning Man comes around.

Do you see my dilemma?

I REALLY want to shop but my hands are tied.

I’m guessing the weight is going to come off slowly so I’m only buying clothes one size smaller than I am right now.

Instead of buying an XL, I’m getting the L.

But Burning Man is 7 months from now and that is a long time to diet (my program runs 18 months).

And HOPEFULLY I’ll be MUCH smaller than I am now.

There are worse things in the world than having to resize your clothes because you’re SKINNIER!

Star Wars Movie Whores

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Michelle

Who doesn’t LOVE Star Wars?!

The minute those first few notes of the Rebel theme play, I’m giddy with excitement and get whisked away to another galaxy.

I’m not sure there’s any other movie that does that for me.

So I’m incredibly happy to be going with a group of friends to watch Star Wars The Last Jedi.

Costumes are a MUST and so instead of wearing my usual – the white Princess Leia costume I have with the brown cinnamon bun hairstyle, I’m going as Chewbacca!

Yes, everyone’s favorite furry sidekick.

As it turns out, you can buy a Chewbacca onesie and I’m thinking it’s a pretty simple solution to what could be a complicated and expensive costume.

Initially, I wanted to go as Rey.

As cool as Rey is, there are a lot of layers to her costume. And I’m not sure I could pull it off properly.

Hence, Chewbacca.

Also?

The theater we are seeing the movie in has luxury reclining seats.

Something rather like a nice, soft, bed.

I figure showing up in my PJs will be PERFECT for the occasion.

They’ll never get me to leave!

Costume SEASON!

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Michelle

I do declare that costume season has begun!

And look how excited I am about it. . .

First, I get to dress up in my Thanksgiving Pilgrim costume and crawl through the streets of Mountain View imbibing questionable amounts of alcoholic beverages.

Then I get to wear my Santa Con Santa outfit for the South Bay Santa Con!

Ditto with the street crawling and questionable amounts of alcoholic beverages.

Finally, there’s STAR WARS!

Yes folks, I’m going to see Star Wars IN COSTUME.

Princess Leia, to be exact.

Last time I wore the outfit I got stopped and people asked to take pictures with me.

It was quite fun!

And of course, Bay Boy’s birthday party is coming up and that’s always a good opportunity to get creative and wear something outrageous.

Can’t wait for the festivities to begin!

Outfit Inspiration

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Michelle

I’m adding two new outfits to the Burning Man repertoire – a rainbow body suit with fence net stockings and a glorious multicolored caftan with a gorgeous gold bikini.

I can’t tell you how much I LOVE the rainbow bodysuit.

I already wore it at unSCruz, although I wore it with the wrong kind of stockings.

The caftan and bikini I also adore and I take them with me to all my Burning Man trips, in the hopes of wearing them.

Yet they’ve never been worn.

Time to retire a few outdated outfits, too.

The only one I’m tempted to hold on to is the green nuclear absinthe fairy costume, which was my FAVORITE outfit for SoulFire Precompression in June of 2015. That neon green hair is THE BOMB and fluoresces under blacklight.

Everything else stays the same, which makes it easy for me to create my Inventory Binder – cut, copy, paste.

I’m tempted, between now and the Burn – less than 100 days away now – to work on one new costume.

We’ll just have to see what inspiration strikes me.

Save

How to be a respectable old bore. . .

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Michelle

michelle A friend posted a link to an article titled “15 Things no Grown Woman Should Have in her Closet.”

Or as I like to put it, “How to become a sensible old bore.”

Here are the 15 things the article says don’t belong in a closet:

Old bridesmaid dresses.
Old Halloween costumes.
Truly, madly painful heels.
Anything stained or holey.
Bras that could double as a slingshot.
Panties that could double as dental floss.
Leggings that are now practically sheer.
Bodycon dresses.
Ill-fitting suits.
Guilty impulse buys.
Comically low-rise jeans.
Velour tracksuits.
Festival wear.
Old Greek-life function T-shirts.
“Skinny clothes.”

I break virtually every one of these rules – with the exception of #1 (because I was never a bridesmaid), #4 (because I throw that shit OUT), and #14 (because I was never in the Greek system).

I firmly believe in the importance of keeping things that make you feel good, regardless if they pinch your toes, are out-of-fashion, or are just a little too sheer to be worn anywhere but to bed.

That said, I also believe in the value of wearing costumes.

There’s a reason Halloween is such a favorite holiday for so many people.

And as a burner, I attend many dress up functions where I get to wear my costumes for other people to see.

They’re also nice for ROLE PLAY, just sayin’.

In any case, throw out your old bills.

Keep your old costumes.

Live a little.

Plenty of time to be a respectable old bore later. . .

Save