September 1962, darling! Letās talk Tutus, Darlings!
Hey my fabulous darlings,
Welcome back to Pink-Tutu.com. This month, I've taken my fabulous pink tutu all the way back to September 1962. It's not just the year of fabulous flares and fabulous music. Itās the month that brought me to my favourite place - New York City!
Don't tell anyone, but my heart truly beats for Broadway. So much that I, err, I might've borrowed this monthās travel fund for a ticket to a Broadway show! It wasn't cheap, let me tell you, but oh, the spectacle, darlings! My first glimpse of āA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forumā wasā¦ well, divine.
And the costumes, my dears! That fabulous cast of Romans were living in their finest attire! From the togas to theā¦ theā¦ I just canāt tell you some of what they were wearing, youād simply faint!
The energy in that theatre, though. The applause. The roaring laughter. Just fantastic!
Iāll admit, I nearly burst into tears of joy when a lovely, lovely queen dressed as a woman entered, let me tell you! Now, this is the kind of representation Iām here for! My little heart, it did leap! And she sashayed and shimmied across the stage and... well, I just canāt go into it, darlings. Youāll just have to go and see it for yourself. It was simply fabulous, my dears! I'm thinking I need to channel that look for next monthās drag performance!
Anyway, back to the world of drag! Well, it isnāt much of a world back then. If you canāt imagine what life wouldāve been like in a drag club 60 years ago, just ask a dear old granny and sheāll be happy to tell you about the dangers they faced! They would simply not tell you what life was like on stage though, no darling, they would just keep it secret, like some sort of mystical ancient ritual, all to do with hiding in plain sight. But of course, I can do anything I can do in my fabulous pink tutu, darlings! My little sparkly heart beats with such passion for all things pink and beautifulā¦
There weren't really any dedicated drag clubs around the world in 1962, as most queer bars didnāt quite know what they were yet! Imagine! Weāre in 2023, and drag clubs are a thing. That makes me happy! But what are these bars all about then? What does one do there? So many questions for this curious little drag queen.
To try and satisfy my insatiable appetite for knowledge of everything pink, and to do what I do best... wellā¦ I took my lovely pink tutu across to some of the āhomosexual hotspotsā that were starting to emerge around the world in 1962. And it turns out these clubs were more like the places we now know as pubs - you know the sort - the ones that have lots of pints on the barā¦ You might even see some of those fabulous rainbow flags I adore so much. Oh, dear! Iām not even talking about that in my blog. Not this month! No! Absolutely not.
Letās go to a real club!
1. Greenwich Village, NYC. This is where the real action is! As you may know, drag has always had a huge history in New York City, right? I'm telling you, darling, this is exactly where I must go. Now I could tell you about all the bars that existed at the time, like The Stonewall Inn, a tavern on the west side of Greenwich Village, in a brownstone building on Christopher Street that opened sometime around 1919 - now, darling! What a bar. The owner, Joe, wasn't a drag queen but his place certainly had a fabulous drag scene!
That was all, literally all, until, dare I say, June 1969ā¦.
Don't get me wrong. Greenwich Village was quite fantastic for queens way back then in the 60s, in particular 1962! And let me tell you, these Queens - or should I say Kings before they were Kingsā¦ oh no, my dears, do listen.
They all had to be really careful back then, see.
Why?
You may not believe it, my dears, but ācross-dressingā - and you all know what I mean here - wasnāt a good idea, was it, for those Queens who just needed to be themselves. The law really wasnāt so kind, no. So these queens just dressed up āat homeā, no. There werenāt really any balls or stage shows either. No one would go to the theatre to watch someone in drag then, no, they were a bit moreā¦ reserved with these kinds of performances, seeā¦
2. London, England.
Right, where did I take my pink tutu then? Yes, dearie, London. Thatās where we all want to be, darlings, at least for those of us who love shopping in Carnaby Street. But Londonās real story in 1962 isnāt just about cardies and jumpers. Oh no, no, no. Itās a tale of secret gay bars - āclubsā to us normal folks! Now they didnāt want you all getting too outlandish with the drag outfits, see? So there was a certain amount of secretly-kept discretion in play. Some places were just so quiet, you would never know! One little tip for the little lovelies who love the shopping. Did you know, you can buy some very special tutu-like accessories in Carnaby Street - a wonderful, very special store, known as āSusanās Dress shopā. Oh, how I love these kinds of places! It truly takes my breath away! My next trip is planned for London to visit Susan, a very interesting woman, Iām told! Oh darling, don't even tell anyone! I just know weāll be best friends!
Londonās got a little surprise waiting, my dears, for those who want the show. There were drag queens performing in theatrical venues like the āCafe de Paris,ā one of London's most famous cabarets on Leicester Square! My darling! Donāt you want to travel back in time to see them, all of them in their glittering gowns? Itās a pity, the Cafe De Paris has almost gone entirely now, as has the spirit of such places. My precious pink tutu took a walk around, but alas, those places have now faded into legend, although this spot has reappeared, like a beautiful drag phoenix. In this same venue, on that same square! It just makes me feel all happy!
*3. Los Angeles, USA. *
Oh, how wonderful this place is. Even if, to my lovely darlings, this fabulous city would not be so glamorous or āhappening" as a place for drag. It really wasnāt until later, about two decades later to be precise, that things really started roaring.
But if we go to LA then youāll understand why this cityās going to blow up.
I bet my fabulous pink tutu that there was a little bit of something brewing in 1962! My dearest! And my sources, all my sources, told me that they had already invented that wonderful 'Cocktail' in LA, known to everyone as the 'Screwdriver'!
Now I like my drinksā¦ I donāt want to name and shame any of you who may be āsoberā, but that sounds pretty fabulous to me! Itās got everything! Itās got Orange juice and Vodka and all the colours that make you want to sashay! It would take quite the person, even someone wearing my fabulous pink tutu, to take it to a nightclub, so you understand!
Now donāt be foolish and think, my dearies, that you should just drink it anywhere you can get it! No. Just know what youāre doing before you do it! A Queen of 1962 knows best! Oh, how it's tempting to say āthat's all for now darlingā, but wait! What?! Did you think Iād just forget to talk about how to make a screwdriver? How to become one? Or indeed drink it on a runway? You donāt get a blog update on drag history without every little detail being fully explored, do you?! Now where would the fun be in that, dearie? Iām afraid that this has been a short one, as my drag time travel has meant an early start to this months blog post. But fear not, my darling! My blog is coming soon, for now, grab a Screwdriver, pull out that pink tutu, get ready to āserveā some looks for the greatest time ever, and join me for my next travel date!
See you in October, my lovely darlings.
Don't forget, you can find my monthly blogs on www.pink-tutu.com!
