The original vamp

I've been going crazy ordering books from Amazon.com lately. I've discovered that there are so many books out there that I would actually love to read, that I would otherwise never find in the neighborhood bookstore or Barnes and Nobel. I was recently reading a book about the history of Arab dance (belly dance, whatever you want to call it) and Theda Bara was briefly mentioned.

According the this book, she was the original screen Femme Fatale and the studios went out of their way to build an elaborate (if false) myth around her. Her name is an anagram for Arab Death, and the studios claimed that she had been born in the shadows of the pyramids and she bathed in snake blood. They provided for her a Nubian driver, who drove her round Hollywood in a white limo, while she pretended to not speak a word of english. I love it. I now have a date with a friend to bar hop round LA pretending we only speak arabic. It'll be a challenge, especially once we start drinking, to maintain, but damn it! We'll give it our best!

I've had a really great last couple of days. I spent the weekend in Joshua Tree National Park, where The Boyfriend, Jack Runner and I alternately froze our buns off, frolicked under a VERY full moon, got in trouble with the park rangers and got dirty looks from the redneck neighbors. We took a lot of great pictures, which I'll have to share later.

Last night I went to go see Le Serpent Rouge perform at King King in Hollywood. It was really fantastic. There's three girls who do bellydance (of the tribal fusion style) for the show and two bands. It was totally in the vaudevillian style, with quirky humor and sultry sexiness. The crowd was mostly belllydance enthusiasts, quirky and sparkly and sultry in their own right.

Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes and Rachel Brice

Zoe Jakes, my fav outfit of hers

Rachel Brice, Mardi Love and Zoe Jakes

Rachel Brice

Zoe Jakes

The bands that played with them were two old timely Americana groups. The Crow Quill Night Owls played with the girls, and they are what I would chose to have as my soundtrack if I decided to pick up bootlegging.

Crow Quill Night Owls on YouTube

The other group, The Petrojvic Blasting CO. had more touches of Dixie jazz, gypsy and even some mariachi. The totally look like awkward hipsters, and its surprising the amount of power behind their voices when they sing. Check out a vimeo of them here back when it was just two guys.

On a different note, I'm loving Kiss Me Deadly's new ad campaign :)

Lingerie and sweatshops, yay!

I have a serious obsession with lingerie. It is what I do and it is what I dream of. There's some amazing stuff being sold out there, so stay away from Victoria's Secret, and get yourself something scrumptious.

Agent Provocateur is always a favorite. I used to really love their marketing, but it's gotten pretty boring in the last couple of years.

Rawr.......

I really like this collection too. Its so delicate and feminine..... and transparent :)

These are both pretty established companies, though AP is much bigger. I love watching the really new small companies too. Keep an eye on Hopeless Lingerie. They started as a humble Esty shop and have over the last two years gotten international attention, and you can see the brand improvement over such a short period immediately. I am so happy for them.

The owner and designer, Gaby, has a blog of her own. She has been doing a series of posts about the experience of setting up her business. The first in the series was about finding the proper motivation to start a line. There are a lot of misconceptions about starting a clothing line, and her experience has very much paralleled my own. Want to make your life as complicated as possible? Start your own business. I always find it too funny when people I know whom I conceder particularly unmotivated and disorganized tell me they plan to start their own company. I'm sure the appeal is the perceived freedom to  make your own hours and it would seem to be less stressful to be your own boss. People can underestimate how comforting a steady paycheck can be. But on the other hand, the self satisfaction that you've built your business can't be rivaled, and its decidedly not boring.

Hopeless Lingerie

On a different note, I'm bummed I'm missing Le Serpent Rouge bellydance class next Wednsday here in Los Angeles. At least I'll get to see them preform on Tuesday at King King in Hollywood. If you are at all into Tribal Fusion BellyDance, you should come.  Get your tickets here