BURLESQUE COSTUMING (FOR B*TCHES WHO DON’T SEW)

Burlesque is an art form that notoriously attracts creative, crafty and costume-focused showponies! But for every person who thrills at inventing jaw-dropping new costuming effect or lovingly hand-crafts each prop, there’s another person sitting on their living room floor, asking “Do you think I can just hot-glue this?”

If you’re the latter, this is the class for you! It IS possible to create incredible costumes without having extensive sewing skills or spending thousands on custom-made items. You just need a little knowledge and a few strategies.

We’ll discuss how to:

• Source pre-made clothing items and customize them to create a cohesive and unique look.

• Translate your costume brainstorms into an actionable “todo” list, complete with budgets

• Improve the look of your existing costumes on a limited budget

• Decide when you can “just glue it” and learn when very, very simple hand sewing might be required.

• Choose how to create costuming reveals that add interest and “wow”

• Answer the age-old question “Should I try to dye this or not?”

• Decide when outsourcing is required… and discuss how to speak to costume designers and crafty friends so that you can communicate your vision and set expectations about outcomes for best possible results.

Jezebel will talk about her process for making some of her existing costumes, and students will leave class with new costuming strategies that will help them feel excited and empowered to build new looks without learning how to sew from scratch!

This class will be taught live on Zoom on JUNE 14, 2026 from 12-2pm PDT (3-5pm EDT), and a recording of the class will be made available to students for 6 months after the class ends (until January 2027)!