Some pics from waaaaayy back...most are wearing tights (I think)
Vintage 'showgirls'.
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AFAIK, at that time the fishnets were made by wrapping rubber threads in nylon. So the tights were pretty much tight 😉
Nice phrase: "They [illustrations] proved one thing... Our American "Femme Mimics", no matter how "beautiful", can claim no monopoly on beauty."
Quote:at that time the fishnets were made by wrapping rubber threads in nylon. I never knew that, wow. I'll look at those pics of Marilyn and Jane Russell in a different light now 😉 I was having a free read of a book called 'Showgirls' at the bookshop a while ago and there was a chapter about a 1930's drag stripper high-wire act. That's, er, novel... The site I found those pics at it claimed several of the men featured started their careers in traditional, supposedly 'all-girl' showgirl troupes, I'll try to find it again. Of course, there are persistent rumours that many of the apparently female dancers in modern-day Las Vegas chorus lines are in fact men. Edit, by the power of Google, the tranny tight-rope walking stripper did indeed start off in an 'all-girl' act... Quote:Barbette was an American female impersonator, high wire performer and trapeze artist born in Texas on December 19, 1899. Barbette attained great popularity throughout the United States but his greatest fame came in Europe and especially Paris, in the 1920s and 1930s. Barbette began performing as an aerialist at around the age of 14 as one-half of a circus act called The Alfaretta Sisters. After a few years of circus work, Barbette went solo and adopted his exotic-sounding pseudonym. He performed in full drag, revealing himself as male only at the end of his act. Following a career-ending illness or injury, Barbette returned to Texas but continued to work as a consultant for motion pictures and training and choreographing aerial acts for a number of circuses. After years of dealing with chronic pain, Barbette committed suicide on August 5, 1973. 
A few more...
...and from the decade taste forgot,  
Looks like "TV" shows were more popular 60-70 years ago 😉
Ignoring the anonymous performers (of which there were very many, pretty obviously) these performers all date from the earlier two thirds of the last century, AFAIK:
Adrian Ames Chris Ames Skip Arnold Babe Baker Revue Barbette Phil Black Francis Blair Bothwell Browne Laverne Cummings Francis David Carroll Davis Bobby DeCastro Storme DeLavarie Frank Doran Nicki Gallucci Gita Gitmore Jackie Gordon Niki Gordon Walter Hart Vernon Hoff Jackie Jackson Bobbie Janson Tiffany Jones Bobbie LaMarr Gene LaMarr Lestra La Monte Leon LaVerde Harvey Lee Ray Leen Li-Kar Johnny Mangum Kenneth Marlowe Niles Marsh Tobi Marsh Jackie Maye Toni Midnite Olympia Elton Paris Lucian Phelps Jackie Phillips Frankie Quinn Mickey Ray Francis Renault Freddy Renault Ricky Renee Billy Richards Pudgy Roberts Titanic Rogers Robbie Ross Francis Russell Kitt Russell Jimmy Slater Jackie Starr Jesse St John Titanic Jerry Vaughn Dorian Wayne Art West Arica Wild I only posted the ones in tights and/or leotards though. It was interesting how many claimed to have very ordinary or indeed rather dangerous hobbies... 'nothing odd about us, Oh no Sir...'
For what period of time? What countries?
(06 Apr 2011, 10:17 )Like Ra Wrote: AFAIK, at that time the fishnets were made by wrapping rubber threads in nylon. So the tights were pretty much tight 😉 I worked on stage and in theatres of the era. Those fishnet tights of the 1950s were indeed really snug on the girls ... so much so that the girls' legs are resembled waffle irons unless they wore a pair of sheer or even cotton tights underneath. For an hour or so onstage they might wear the fishnets alone, but for longer times like and all-way show, they would declare the fishnets caused downright agony. At first, there were only very long fishnet stockings, which were not really very snug fitting. At first, the girls wore their fishnet stockings using very narrow garter belts, but when the fishnet tights came along, they became more and more snug. Particularly after Lycra because the fabric of choice after 1958, fishnet theatrical tights because VERY tight to wear indeed. Makers of the tights were Triumph, Capezio and of course, Danskin. The heaviest Lycra-elasticized fishnet tights were made with 65% Lycra elastic. That's as much elastic as the most elastic Playtex Lycra girdles from the Playtex "I Can Believe It's a Girdle" series of girdles. Imagine wearing theatrical tights as heavy and tight as a Playtex girdle!
Just found these, there's not much variation in Manel Dalgó's act, usually a strip to a thong leotard and danskins followed by the splits but I like it...
[video=youtube] Source: http://youtu.be/6_LKXPmG-Rc [/video] 
[video=youtube] Source: http://youtu.be/AN8pTZVrNIk [/video] 
[video=youtube] Source: http://youtu.be/FD5B0TnMiRQ [/video] |
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