August is a special month for me. It is a month where creativity explodes and styling is put into over time. The more creative and avant garde, the better! August is the month when I make my annual trip to the middle of the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada for the Burning Man festival. Burning Man in short, is a massive art festival/ social experiment in the middle of the barren desert that focuses on self reliance and self expression. The festival showcases all things extreme… the art, the people, the FASHION! No dress code, no rules, the fashion is created from the creative minds of the participants and their passions.
You can truly wear WHATEVER your heart desires in a judgement free zone. Judgement is out the door in a place where everyone looks so different and there is no “norm.” If you feel comfortable and happy wearing a potato sack, a ball gown or a speedo and a cape, then you are encouraged to do what YOU want to do and wear what YOU want to wear. Black Rock City is a society filled with citizens and participants wearing what they want to wear and not having to conform to social norms and rules of socially acceptable fashion.
Black Rock City (the name of makeshift city that is the Burning Man festival), where the fashion is one of my favorite elements of the festival. Click to see it bigger.
I have a particular love for burlesque fashion and retro pin up styling. Burning Man allows me to take my love of burlesque costuming and be able to strut my stuff in it, all day and all night. Dressing in burlesque makes me feel good. I feel sexy, I feel beautiful, and all around I just feel so womanly. I can’t exactly throw on a pair of fishnets, booty shorts and a corset and go to class in it, in the default world. Thus, my love for a more “costumey” wardrobe flourishes this time of year.
We had a “red night” in my camp this past year so I took the opportunity to break out my fabulous red satin corset and pull it all together for probably one of my best burn outfits yet!
My devil horned fascinator was a gift I received from my friend Candace for my birthday and the corset I found on eBay. In fact, I think 75% of my ensemble came from eBay from my dreads… to my boots!
The corset is a cheapy, made with plastic boning, so it has lost a lot of its shape over time, however a cheap corset is the way to go when you’re taking it to the harsh, dusty elements of the Black Rock desert! The “bustle” on my bottom is merely a yard of red sparkly fabric that I just safety pinned to the back of my ruffled booty shorts.
And let me just tell you about these boots. These AMAZING boots have made it to the playa THREE times (heading for a forth in a few weeks!) and been on my feet to countless clubs, festivals, dance parties and social day events. I found these beauties on eBay years ago for a mere twenty bucks and they were brand new!!! Yes that’s right, $20!!!! They are branded Hot Topic, and these boots were easily $80 in the store. I absolutely LOVE these boots and would easily name them the greatest pair of boots I have ever owned, which is difficult to say, due to a lot of really cool boots in my life. I love these boots SO much, that I went on another search for a back up pair. After only a few months of looking, sure enough I came across another pair on eBay, brand new and in my exact size. I paid a little more for the second pair at around 50, but sooo sooooooo worth it! I haven’t unwrapped them from their tissue paper housings yet. They just sit in a box in my closet waiting for their day to take on a lead role in my life: Rebecca’s bad ass, all terrain, ground stomping, ass kicking, platform boots.
Two of my camp mates looking equally as impressive in their black and red ensembles. This photo really captures the beauty and fun of fashion at Burning Man. We all have very different looks and styles, yet we all fit one theme and look incredible! Everyone in the whole camp looked so awesome on our “red night.”
This outfit was hands down one of the funnest ensembles I’ve thrown together at the Burn. I felt it truly matched my personality with it’s glitzy glamor, the feminine sex appeal and with that touch of “edgy, bad girl.” If I could dress to my personality regularly, you’d see a lot of this look. I’m definitely going to shoot for more burlesque styling at the upcoming burn since I enjoyed it so much last year. 
On an end note, red is totally my color.
Who doesn’t love mint? The texture, the taste, the color? Mint is all around fabulous and a fantastic color for any skin tone. I recently bought this dress off the 50% off rack at Blink in Downtown Disney.The perfect dress, in the perfect color to go with my perfect little 1950′s beaded cap.
On this day, I ventured to the mall with my girlfriend to do a little shopping. Of course I get a lot of blank stares from most people, but it’s always worth it when I see little girls faces light up, their eyes widen and I hear “Mommy, mommy, look at the beautiful lady.” And as the mom whisks her off the other direction, without even turning around, the little girl’s head is turned all the way around watching me as long as she can. It means a lot to me because, I was SO that little girl when I was young… being mesmerized by glamorous women as they walked by. I hope that every one of those little girls grows up to love and live their own fashion fantasies and maybe even have a blog to go with it!
Shoes: Guess
