15% off sale at FRENZY!

as a thank you for making 100 sales, FRENZY! is having its first sale! simply enter the coupon code "FRENZYFIRST" at checkout and you will receive 15% off your entire purchase!

i could really use some extra dollars these days, so go crazy :)

thanks for all your support since opening the shop!!

old-timey burlesque love (warning: partial yet tasteful nudity!)

knowing my love for all things old-timey, risque and on the fringe of society, it should come as no surprise that i have a sincere appreciation for vintage pinup and burlesque. i love the fact that they were doing such a controversial thing at a time when mainstream culture was ambivalent to such casual attitudes about sexuality. to me, that's what made it so exciting then and not so much now. i will never claim to be an expert on the subject, OR even very knowledgeable, but i do love to learn about it and enjoy it a great deal. just like discovering great old music i never knew existed, i feel like the history of burlesque is an untapped resource that i have yet to fully explore.

this isn't a subject i broach very often, lest i be lumped in with the "burlesque revival" crowd that often seems silly to me. i'm sure i'm going to catch some flak for this, but i would like to warn anyone who might be offended right now that there is no need for that because i am not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. no offense if this is your thing, because it certainly isn't everyone i'm referring to, but a majority of what is now being presented in the name of "burlesque" seems trite and trashy to me -- which is a shame, because it could be so well done when done right. i hate that it has now become an avenue for insecure girls to say, "i have so much more confidence now thanks to burlesque!" when really they are mixing up "self-esteem" with "attention from sleazy guys because you took your clothes off." but i digress.

perhaps you remember a blog entry i did a few years ago about the older woman i worked with who had a secret past as a burlesque star. i haven't talked to her much since leaving that job, but i still think about her often and am dying to see the scrapbooks she kept from her days in the circuit.

the reason i brought up this subject was because i got something cool in the mail today. it's an original vintage photo of burlesque star/model/performer lynne o'neill. she was known as "the original garter girl" because of the way she incorporated throwing her garters out to the audience during her stage shows. the photo is censored because i may be in mixed company here on blogland, but the real deal is the real deal!



i found it to be a pretty neat piece of history (plus i'm obsessed with old photographs) and it was even better because it was very fairly priced for an item that isn't all that common in the marketplace (that being authentic artifacts from big names in burlesque's heyday). i can't wait to frame it and hang it up.

wanting to know just how i came across such a good deal, i began searching around to find out what i could about the sale where this particular photo came from and i learned that lynne o'neill died in 2010 and there was a huge estate sale to liquidate all her possessions. what a dream to have been able to attend that estate sale! here is one of the articles i found online talking about the estate sale and some of the items that were for sale.

i recently had a conversation about burlesque with my friend bryan where he shared one of his favorites, an often overlooked performer from right here in youngstown, ohio that went by the name zorita. her signature act was a snake dance she did with her two boas, "oscar" and "elmer." personally i think the best part about her was the hot lily munster 'do she had going on (waaay before it was cool!)



as for pinup art, my favorite artist has always been gil elvgren. here are a few of my ultimate faves.







feel free to share your opinions on the subjects discussed here, because it seems everyone has one!

buggin out

josh and i have been talking lately and came to the conclusion that we really need to cut back on our spending habits and start saving a bit better. this is especially hard for me, because if i go too long without a junkin fix i start to get the jitters like i drank sixty pots of coffee. i gots it baaad, and its a hard habit to break. i'm sure some of you junk hoarders out there can relate.

but before we started curbing our junk trips i managed to score these sweet record compilations all in one place. sure i paid more than i wanted to on a junking adventure, but do i regret it in retrospect? NOT ONE BIT!















so what does all this mumbo jumbo mean? well, chances are you can expect less cool stuff being posted and more of us acting like mature adults. YUCKY!!!!! i'm blowing raspberries as i type.

busy miss lizzie

PHEW! things have been crazy 'round hotel hot trash lately. today we'll welcome house guests #7, 8 and 9 all within the past week! they don't call this hotel hot trash for nuthin. maybe, baby from washington, d.c. was here last week to play on hot trash and we hung out and ate pizza til thursday. this weekend the memphis morticians pajama partied it up (for real, von erickson had the best orange halloween pajama pants you've ever seen!) and we took them to our favorite diner in the morning before they left to head back to new york. tonite the overnight lows from jackson, mississippi will be playing live on hot trash (tune in if you are around tonite from 11pm-1am est! at www.wcsb.org)







last week i also got my first tattoo in years. welcome to my life, #17! its been a long time coming and it turned out pretty sweet.








 

obsessed? who, me? naaaaaaaah.