12/16/12 update: While production continues, we will have to reconstruct our workshop floor, and so will be open by appointment only from Chrsistmas day through the New Year holiday.
With my birthday falling on Halloween, of course I had made a spectacular outfit (orange and black latex with appliquéd bats and a fabulous latex pumpkin hat), and great plans for the evening. Those plans did not include huddling in the dark under blankets with 6 cats to keep me warm; toasting my birthday with warm champagne; nor trying hard not to think about the flood in my lower-level workshop.
Sandy left nearly a foot of water in my workshop and we’ve spent the last week (without electricity until this weekend) scrubbing the place down and pulling up linoleum floor tiles.
Fortunately we prepared for the worst by moving all latex and accessories upstairs to the boutique before Sandy arrived.All of our stock and materials are pristine, and we are ready to hit the ground running as the basement shop dries out! Still…
I Need Your Help!
Please contribute to the The Baroness latex storm relief fund, by buying some latex! You can look good while doing good by buying Baroness latex NOW. Treat yourself (or shop early for holiday gifts) with a 20% discount!
The boutique is located at 530 East 13th street, between Avenues A & B, and we are open 1-7 Monday through Saturday and 1-9 on Thursday. Please excuse any mess when you stop by—a lot of our supplies are still upstairs in the boutique.
If you can’t afford to buy, please help by spreading the word to your friends and mentioning this sale everywhere you can, online and off.
Thank you all in advance! And my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all those who have already given their support by helping at the shop, buying latex, and reaching out with concern!
I hope all of you are well and if you were in the storm’s path, that you are on your way back to pre-storm living conditions!
With Halloween (my birthday) rapidly approaching, extravagant costumes and the juxtaposition of slippery latex and colorful feathers have become my current obsessions. Even the shop cats are sporting boas!
While on the subject of Halloween and latex costumes, the time is rapidly approaching, so if you have some fabulous idea you want created in latex, come to me soon so we can do our best work.
And speaking of Halloween (my birthday), I’ll be celebrating a little early (Saturday, Oct 27) at Sir William Welles’ party, Chronologie, at Lillies, 249 West 49th Street, NYC, dressed in latex, naturally.
Lillies’ is a fabulous bar/ restaurant with an amazingly ornate interior carried from an abandoned church in Ireland, and Sir Williams’ fabulously-attired guests nicely complement the interior design. There is no cover charge.
New photos
Besides a gallery of “Flights of Fancy” mentioned above, we’ve added photos of the gorgeous Lady Wednesday to our online catalog, some featuring our brand new color, “blue ice”, available for a limited time only.
“In The Media” includes a W Magazine photo featuring a Baroness latex top; Fingerless gloves and rubber Stirrup Hose in the September issue of InSTyle magazine, and two stunning music videos (Adeline’s “Let Me Go” and Kelly Padrick’s “Clear”) that feature Baroness latex outfits.
And the Customer Photos section includes several new submissions, including a hot party photo from a customer in Japan.
During the dog days of summer we’ve been busy with some fabulous custom creations for Labor Day’s Montreal Fetish Weekend. My #1 favorite is a latex Cruella Deville ensemble (the shop has feathers flying and cats chasing them!), to be accompanied by a masculine dalmatian.
Friday, August 10th, NYC: I, along with an assortment of fiendish fetishists, are celebrating and performing at Evolve Lounge for John Ed’s birthday Fetish Ball, brought to you by Tranny Strip. I’ll be going on around 1am, but we’ll be playing throughout the night and I hope you’ll join us! 10-4am. Evolve Lounge is located at 221 East 58th street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Our new opera mitts and stirrup hose are featured in September’s issue of In Style Magazine, and I was just interviewed for Relapse Magazine for an article that comes out the first week of September.
I have been the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Miss Rubber World competition since its inception 6 years ago, and each year it gets better. For those unfamiliar with the contest, it takes place in New York City and is open to all female-identifying rubberists over the age of 21. There are not more than 10 contestants (this year there were 9), each vying for prizes from fetish designers world-wide. This year’s grand prize value came to $15,125.
Miss Rubber World MC
This year the festivities kicked off with the Shiny party hosted by Latex Nemesis, which took place in a small club with lots of lube!
By tradition I host an intimate meet-and-greet/ lubricated shopping cocktail party at my boutique for the judges, contestants, attendees, and latex lovers, with champagne, socializing, and shopping, helping those who haven’t yet the perfect outfit to get fitted out at a discount.
This is one of our busiest times of year, as we are commissioned for fabulous custom ensembles for both attendees (who know to dress to impress) and contestants, who not only must outdo themselves with each of their 3 costume changes but also the others vying for the title.
It’s an intimate gathering. This year, judge and Miss Rubber World 2008 winner Jean Bardot, Lovely Latex designer Brigitte More from Holland, international fetish models, Ophelia Overdose, fetish magazine tycoon Erik Von Gutenberg, contestants, friends and fellow fetishists all attended.
Judges at the 2012 Miss Rubber World Competition
The biggest improvement to Miss Rubber World this year was the location, moving from a club to the Affina Hotel in midtown. This change provided out-of-town attendees a central location, and created spontaneous before and after parties in guest suites. It also meant that there was light, and for the first time one could look across the room and actually see (in their correct color and fine detail ) the well-appointed crowd. And there was more entertainment: six latex designers (including The Baroness) presented short fashion shows during the breaks, so there was always something to hold your attention. This was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see samples from designers around the globe each presenting our unique view and style back to back. There was Lovely Latex from Holland, Latex Nemesis from New Jersey, , me ( The Baroness) and Klawtex representing New York, Dawnamatrix from Boston, and Vital Vein came from Arizona.
Lady Wednesday in transparent dress leads Glenar in inflatable straight jacket
For my presentation the goal was to showcase the variety of both our designs and of our customers. The show included off-the-rack, custom, and bizarre bondage pieces, and featured men as well as women, along with a few T-girls! We opened with cosplay super heros Captain America and Silk Spector, then did some latex time travel with a shiny dandy in frockcoat, asscot, and top hat, accompanied by two ornately dressed Neo Victorian/steampunk ladies of the court. (I love in the videos how their floor-length latex gowns and trains move as they strut the catwalk!) Next up, a dramatic black and white polka dot ensemble from our Sophisti-cat line, cinched tightly with our new black and white striped waist cincher, followed by two T- girls in brilliant yellow, hot pink, and amethyst wearing halters and ruffled knickers from our sizzling Chiquita line. For the finale our model wore a transparent Myrna Loy gown (originally made for Lady Gaga’s infamous egg-encased entrance to last years Grammys) along with a matching Victorian collar (featured in her “Born this way” video) leading a gentleman encased in our “classic” transparent inflatable straight jacket!
The competition commences with all contestants on stage and introduced with a brief bio. This year’s contestants hailed from Los Angeles, New York, Rhode Island, Boston, Florida, Germany, and Scotland. After their first costume change change they return individually to answer a variety of questions including: What is your favorite latex item? What will you do as Miss Rubber World? Describe your first latex experience. If you had one piece of rubber gear to give someone what would it be?
Miss Rubber World 2012
One more change and they return for their fantasy/ fetish skit. Standout performances included 2 rubber cats, saucers of milk, and lots of grooming; Marilyn Monroe with a whip performing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”; spinning bondage, ballet boots, slaves in hoods and cages, chains and corporal punishment, dogs and a lion tamer!
After all that the judges (Xris SMack, party promoter and DJ, fetish models Jade Vixen and Jean Bardot, make-up artist and T-girl, Lady J, latex designers Brigitte More and Klawdya Rothschild, and 2011 MRW winner Archean) tally their votes, the winners are announced, prizes and sash are awarded, and photos taken.
My pre-Miss Rubber World 2012 Meet-and-Greet was busy and festive. Revelers nearly finished the alcohol on hand while trying on latex garments just in time for the big contest.
The latex business is slow in the summer so I took off to work on another project: a photo book of my cat, Mr. Mahj, as we took to the roads of America for a month.
We left on a Sunday, and drove like mad to get past the sprawling states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illionois. During that two day ride the only things that caught my attention were “the rubber capital of America” (Akron, Ohio), and a sign for foot-high pies. (I stopped, only to discover they lied and the pies were only about 6″ high!) It wasn’t until we arrived in St. Louis with its massive Gateway Arch (“Gateway to the West”, that I felt truly on holiday.
We spent the night with a friend and dined on steak in Kansas City. The next day we visited various Kansas highlights including the very accurate Museum of Oz. Mr. Mahj strutted through the exhibits for many a photo op. Our next stop was Cawker City to see the world’s largest cat toy, also known as a ball of string. It was 10 feet in diameter and smelt a bit rank, but Mr. Mahj took it all in stride.
Next, south to Lucas and one of Kansas’ eight wonders—The Garden of Eden, where, at the age of 62, local eccentric Samuel Perry Dinsmoor began work on his life-long art project and final resting place, by adorning his house with concrete sculptures of gods and devils. Since his death his mummified body is available for all to see: providing they came early enough that it wasn’t closed.
From there we headed into Oklahoma to follow Route 66 west towards Amarillo, Texas and Cadillac Ranch (where a local millionaire had 10 Cadillacs half buried, nose down in the dirt along side the highway). Unfortunately we did not see either Bug Ranch (VWs in the dirt, or Combine Ranch (tractors in the dirt). What an absurdist sense of humor those Texans have!
Although we had looked forward to Route 66, it was rather a disappointment. It was rather depressing to pass all the neglected towns and closed businesses with their cool broken signs, reminders of an era of road trips past.
So we decided to head south to Roswell, New Mexico to get photos of Mr. Mahj at the alien crash site. New Mexico is perhaps my favorite state so I was delighted to see more of it. After that we stopped in Santa Fe, then Taos where I ended spending the night in the Emergency Room with breathing problems due to the high altitude. That cut that part of the trip short which was disappointing as I’ve really enjoyed Taos in the past but then being able to breathe is more important.
A brief stop at Los Alamos, then off to Albuquerque, too late for a hot air balloon ride but lots of route 66 kitsch and neon. It was much more interesting that I had imagined and much to my surprise I’d like to return at some point in the distant future. Next we made our way to Gallop and spent our 3rd and final night in New Mexico, getting out just in time to avoid a growing forest fire.
In Arizona the hot 40-mile-an-hour winds helped fuel huge forest fires in the south so we headed to the incredibly beautiful and bizarre Petrified Forest, then west to the Meteor Crater, where astronauts train for walking on the moon, with a quick stop for a photo-op on a giant Jack Rabbit in Winslow.
At the Grand Canyon, Mr. Mahj didn’t seem too impressed as he did his catwalk on scenic overlooks or tried to find relief from the heat under the shade of a scraggly bush. Numerous photo ops later we made a short pit stop at the Hoover Damn where the concrete was so hot he refused to set foot out of his bag until we arrived in Las Vegas.
Mr. Mahj is a great traveling companion (for a cat). He surveyed the passing countryside from the vantage spot of a comfy pillow, eagerly leaping out for walks and adoration at every opportunity, and hopping into his bag to be transported back to the car when he’d seen enough.
Our most Route 66-like stay was at the “Holiday Motel” just off Las Vegas Boulevard. We sat by the water and listened to the screams of brave tourists as they plunged 108 stories from the top of the Stratosphere across the road. This is really more what I imagined accommodations would be on the road: a huge old animated neon sign and a small pool by the roadside as a relief from the day’s heat.
Summer is usually a slow time in the latex business. The shop is quiet, other than the odd person stopping in to take advantage of the air conditioner, or to stroke the cats. But I’ve been keeping busy!
Some Baroness fashions appeared this week at “VIVISECTION” An intimate goth/industrial party at—of all places—Laugh Lounge! I couldn’t resist! The show combined classic elegant latex with bizarre rubber accessories and hot models!
I’ve also just come back from upstate New York, where I was filmed for an avant-garde Swedish TV feature. I played myself (an expert on BDSM) educating the actors of August Strindbergs’ play, Miss Julie, with the goal of changing the ending so the lead will not commit suicide. It was really interesting, and I’m eager to see the final product.
We were contacted to help with Macs’ Viva Glam campaign, for which we created custom garments for Ricky Martin & Nikki Minaj!
For Nikki Minaj we made white latex skirts, tops, and gowns with appliquéd red lips. They also pulled an assortment of other latex. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results.
Another stylist pulled for RuPaul and crew for both the show and some public appearances! I love dressing divas!
Saturday, August 6th: don’t miss my Summer Sale!
Just because it’s hot doesn’t mean you can’t shop! I’m having a huge one-day sale. All Baroness latex, along with sale garments, toys, vintage clothing, and shoes, are on sale at great prices. So come early and don’t miss the bargains! The Baroness boutique is located at 530 B East 13th street between Avenues A & B open from 2-7.
The evening of June 5th was both enchanting and bittersweet. The intimate Royal Amusements dinner was flawless—delicious food and gorgeous latex-clad guests! At 10pm, as we paraded through the New York streets on our way to the finale Fetish Retinue party, I felt anxious and a little melancholy, knowing that I was walking into the end of an era, and uncertain of what was to come.
It's Been Fun
Walking up the long staircase to White Noise, the sounds of revelry filled the air. I was delighted to find the club packed! The Fetish Retinue was truly getting the send-off it deserved.
It was an emotional evening as guests approached, asking if this was truly the last party and why, thanking me for 12 years of fetish parties, and telling tales of the fun and tortures they had over the past years. I took to the stage and made a short speech, thanking everyone. I said that with such a huge turn-out I was going to do another farewell party in September, and that drew laughs and loud cheers. Then I stepped into the throng and began to celebrate.
It wasn’t an easy decision to end The Fetish Retinue and I haven’t yet come up with any definite plans, but I do want to do something for my birthday at Halloween, so start thinking about your costumes!
After the party madness I needed a break, so we took a month-long road trip around the US, including some of Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, and several amazing national parks.
While fun, the trip was actually another project, this time a photo book: Mr. Mahj Goes West, featuring one of my cats. Look for it sometime next year. Photographer Mark McQueen has a few of the cat images on his blog.
I dressed in simple, shiny, black latex, (it was a memorial, after all). A memorial of an SM titan; guardian of the gates of Hellfire, a piece of history, of a bygone era, and a visible icon with his bald head, long beard, and ever present cigar.
Fittingly, it was held at Paddles (thanks to owner Michael) and it was packed with people who came to pay their respects; those who knew him well (Hellfire debauchees), and those who had only heard legends of the epic man. I recognized many, and noted that the old crowd were grayer, wider, and still playing, (so much for the young, hot, SM stereotype!)
People told tales of the old Hellfire days (we all had them. I was there almost every week, and made my home in the back room where it was narrow and long enough, with a single entrance, for my 8 foot bull whip. It became a little harder once he put a motorcycle in there).
Fortunately, his SM toys, photos, and history were saved and will be sent to the Leather Archives in Chicago. Anyone who wishes to add to that, please contact me.
On Sunday at the 
