Mademoiselle Dolly

The photoset I am sharing with you today will hopefully be the first edition in a series that I shot with DWS Photography.  I had a wonderful time working on this beautiful set.  The lingerie featured was created by me with exception of the beautiful Victorian style corset from Louise Black.  This underbust corset is one of my favourite pieces and I am glad to have these wonderful photos to show it off.  Enjoy this small set and hopefully there will be more to come….

Dolly Munroe

Dolly Munroe

Dolly Munroe

Dolly Monroe A-Go-Go

This Go-Go inspired photoset was shot by the lovely Tyrone Islington.  I had a really fun time with this shoot, which took place in my apartment and features some of my favourite classic cult movie posters.  This costume is from a duet burlesque act that I perform with Betty Quirk inspired by the Russ Meyer film Faster Pussycat Kill Kill so I was happy to shoot it in from of my poster for the film.  Enjoy!

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Two Little Gold Diggers

This year’s Girlesque Expo in Toronto was an especially monumental one for me as it was the debut of a brand new act from myself and Betty Quirk.  It is hard for me to even put into words that joy that I felt finally bringing this act to life.  It has been a dream of ours for sometime to take the Little Rock number from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and put our own burlesque twist on it.  The scene, which has a very silly theme about finding a man with money, also showcases a genuine bond between two girlfriends who are navigating the world of men and relationships.  Betty and I enjoyed playing up both this friendship aspect as well as the silliness of the number and concluded with a whole lot of booty shaking.  We also took on the task of recreating the costumes from the film and creating our own fun undergarments.   It was a very successful show for us and we are very thankful to have such awesome photos from Photolena of our performance as well as a video from Candid Dragon Fire Productions which is at the bottom of this post.

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Happy Valentines Day

Love is in the air today and one lady I love dearly is Zilly Lilly!  This gorgeous red head is not only a phenomenal dancer and burlesque babe, she is also a wonderful, smart and funny lady and friend.  I was very lucky to have Zilly join me in a saucy photoshoot earlier this year and Valentines day seemed the perfect day to post a little teaser from our shoot.  Enjoy Zilly Lilly and I in the first image of our series Behind the Burlesque Curtain.

Photo by Lick My Lens Cap.

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Gypsy Rose LD

I had the absolute pleasure of starting my year by creating what might be my favourite costume to date!  The effervescent Laura Desiree came to me with the idea of celebrating her heritage and creating a new costume and act inspired by her recent European tour.  We chose a rich colour pallet of deep reds, purples and bright gold for this look and completely decked out each piece in jewels and beaded fringe.  Her undergarments have rows of coin fringe as if her loot is hidden beneath her outer layers.  The headpiece was her crown of roses complete with a long flowing veil.  Laura was a mystical wonder at this year’s Girlesque Expo in her gypsy ensemble.

Photos by Photolena, Chris Hutcheson, MOPO, Rawesome, and Ruth Gillson.

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2014: Reflecting on a Fabulous Year!

It’s hard to believe 2014 is finally coming to a close.  This year has been so full of joy and success, good times and great friends.  I have a new job which I love so much and is the start of a wonderful career.  I have the most amazing group of friends a girl could ever ask for, not to mention the cutest kitten on the planet.  And I’ve been able to express my creativity through so many amazing fashion photo shoots and design projects.  I performed in an international burlesque festival, got a giant mermaid tattoo, met two of my idols (Yaya Han and Tess Munster) and I even started this blog.   I can’t believe what a lucky girl I am and I feel so incredibly thankful to have had all these experiences.

So here we go.  This is my year in photos; memories from most of the big events, photo shoots, friends, lots and lots of friends and the most fabulous fashions.  Thank you for following my blog and I wish the happiest New Year to you all!

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Meryle Trouble and Dolly Monroe as Jamie and Cersei Lannister. Photo by If You Fall Photography.
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Meryle Trouble, Betty Quirk, Sevvy Skellington and Dolly Monroe preparing for our burlesque photo shoot with Hailey Freisen.
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Me and Irene of “Petite Plus, Meow!” being models at the Dragon’s Den audition for Your Big Sister’s Closet.
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Betty Quirk, Laura Desiree and Dolly Monroe shimmying at “Dances the Cramps Taught Us”.
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Me getting tattooed by Suspira.
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My beautiful mermaid tattoo from Suspiria.
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Sam and I celebrating our birthdays together at the Science Centre.
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My most famous photo of the year (and of all time) from If You Fall Photography.
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Posing with my lovely friends Betty Quirk, Sevvy Skellington, Zilly Lilly, and Leelando Calrissian at the Nerdlesque Festival in New York City!
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My favourite photo from my collaborations with the outstanding photographer Dana Brushette.
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Meeting my model inspiration Tess Munster!
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I took the Iron Throne with help from Betty, Brittany and Sam!
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My naughty Betty Page tribute photo shoot with If You Fall Photography.
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Hanging out with designer Allie of Amplify Apparel and my awesome friends Leeland and Bri!
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My first photo collaboration with Geoff Larkin.
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Mermaid Pride at the Pride Parade with Meryle and Brittany.
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Leeland and I being cute at Atomic Lollipop.
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That one time my face was all over the TTC for the Taste of the Danforth Festival.
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More fun photos with Geoff Larkin.
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Silly friends Leeland and Sevvy at Fan Expo.
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Meeting the cosplay Queen Yaya Han!
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My first official Burlesque poster for the Garters of the Galaxy show.
The Gorgeous Dolly Monroe shows her flair with a Gloomth Clothing dress!!
Modelling for Gloomth Clothing with photographer Tyrone Islington.
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Working hard at my cosmetics day job/taking selfies at work.
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Bringing my favourite Fairy Tale to life in this Red Riding Hood photo shoot with Geoff Larkin.
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Filming the Brick Wall Sessions videos with Betty Quirk.
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Possibly my favourite photo of myself of all time from Geoff Larkin.
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My Bent Beauty Supremes, Betty, Sevvy, Brittany and Trevor!
The Glamorous duo of Dolly Monroe and Laura Palmer of Betty Monroe Designs!
Best friend photo shoot with Betty Quirk, by Tyrone Islington.
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I had to end with this photo of some of my most favourite people! Sam, Delicia, Betty, Scarlett, Taylor, Brittany, Sevvy, and Leelando!

Space Girl Aviva the Mirage

The most recent burlesque costume I completed was a fabulous sci-fi inspired retro space girl look for the beautiful Aviva the Mirage.  This look consisted of a cone bra with a large standing collar, tearaway short shorts, and g-string that attached with elastic to a choker.  I had a lot of fun creating this look and was heavily inspired by my one of my all-time favourite films, Barbarella. Enjoy Aviva, the space girl, Mirage in these photos from Ruth Gillson and Chris Hutcheson, as well as some of my inspiration pictures!

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Madame Dolly

Today I bring you my favourite photo set to date that I have shot with Geoff Larkin.  With a look inspired by Amy Adams in American Hustle, we made use of the dramatic lighting in the bathroom at the loft in which we shoot.  I love the plunging neckline with loose cleavage that Amy has in the film and was very influenced by that classic 1970s look.  The results are sultry, sensual and seductive with cigar in hand.  I hope you enjoy Madame Dolly’s mirrored gaze.

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Laura Desiree at Girlesque 2014

Early in 2014 I was working tirelessly on one of the biggest costume commissions I have ever had. My muse, Miss Laura Desiree requested a new costume for the Girlesque Festival in Toronto. Working with her dance partner, Sexy Mark Brown, Laura wanted an outfit that had three changeable bottoms to reflect the three types of dance they were performing.  First a knee-length circle skirt for a romantic slow dance, then a pair of short shorts for their tap number, finally a long chiffon skirt for their ballroom waltz.  I also made a bustier to go with all three looks that was heavily embellished with lace, beading and swarovski crystals.  I absolutely love how these garments turned out and Laura looks absolutely lovely flowing through this dance.  Please check out the video below for the full routine.

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Metallic Muse

Just a couple pics today from my most recent collaboration with Geoff Larkin.  I whipped up this cute little metallic dress a couple of weeks ago for an event.   The fabric, which is appropriately called Oil Slick, is so fun I had to make myself a little something with it.  Enjoy!

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