“In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”

-Mean Girls (I know, I can’t believe I’m quoting that movie again)

The girls, plus one guy who got dragged in

When a friend told me that she was hosting a burlesque-inspired birthday party a couple of weeks to go, needless to say, I was excited. I love costume parties, and I love Moulin Rouge and Dita von Teese. Plus, the party was going to be at Izumi, the sake bar at Burgos Circle (it has a pole on the second floor), so my pole dance friends and I could do some spins and stunts in between drinks.

Ready for some action!

But enough about pole dancing. It’s the costumes I’m interested in.

When Mich, the birthday celebrant, told us that it was going to be a costume thing, I warned her that she had better be serious, because I took my costumes seriously. She replied, “Kelan ba tayo nag-biruan tungkol sa costume?” (I love my friends).

So we all started hunting down the perfect burlesque outfit. On Facebook, we shared great finds (“Cheap-ass, but nice corset tops at YRYS,” one dutifully reported) and offered to share accessories. I hit SM on the day of the party and found nice elbow-length satin gloves and a faux pearl necklace—hey, it’s a costume party; I’m allowed to go over the top. Mich had told us to wear shorts for some pole dancing if possible, so I just dug out my shortest pair of black shorts from Zara (not very Dita von Teese, but ah well) and paired them with a Victoria’s Secret candy corset. A couple of others wore feather boas, and there were plenty of fishnet stockings to go ’round.

No burlesque outfit is complete without a headdress of some sort, and I had the perfect one from The Royalty Shop. Lots of girls in the room also had cute fascinators (that’s what you call ‘em headpieces), mostly with black flowers, feathers, and ribbons. A couple had fishnet veils on them. A word of advice: if you want to wear veils, get them out of the way for pictures with flash photography, because your face won’t be seen.

Pretty and white

The Royalty Shop’s bridal veil headpiece was cute, but I wanted a pop of color, so I added pink fabric roses, which I also got from SM.

The guy in the middle is pole dance master, Ed Aniel

Here’s a similar look we did before for the Inquirer, for a prom beauty editorial:

Wish I had the guts to do this at my prom

So what was your favorite costume party look?