Looking the Part: Dressing for Success in the Sex Industry
Posted at 3:57 PM Jul 09, 2008
Sex Worker Rant runs on Wednesdays and is written by Renegade Evolution, a sex worker, sexual mercenary, and all around fan of “The Sexy” living somewhere near our nation’s capital. Quirky might as well be her middle name.
Though on occasion I find it tedious, one of my favorite things to do when preparing for work, be it stripping, a porn shoot, a bit of professional domination, whatever, is selecting my wardrobe, make up, and hairstyle. True enough, I don't always have a lot of leeway in this; with porn, often the director has very specific ideas about what he or she wants, from seven inch heeled fuck me boots, a shredded tank top and barely-there g-string to soccer mom shorts, sandals, and a Paisley blouse, and often times with domination, the costuming is important to the client as part of his or her fetish: leather or latex, rubber or metal, fishnet and flesh. Even in stripping, there are requests: cop, cowgirl, cheerleader, Goth gal. However, often, the decision is entirely up to me, and I find that, the choosing of wardrobe, hair, and make up, the ritual of assembling those things, to in and of itself be erotic.
Sure, when I'm working, I'm me, but I always find it a bit fun to decide which side of me whomever is going to get to see. Which part of myself am I going to reveal before I even start shedding clothes? Are they going to get to meet the tough, tattooed me with the affection for huge, hard platform heeled boots, stark black eye makeup and a top-knot ponytail trapped in a spiked band, or will they get the mellow, easy-going gal in the standard plastic stripper shoes, bright pink boy shorts and loose and free mane? Am I feeling the vamp, the tease, the goddess, or the control freak? Fun or Fantasy or a little bit of both? What part of me do they get to see? Even though my clothes will soon enough end up on the floor, what first impression do I feel like making?
And I enjoy the ritual of looking the part. Applying the make up, light and natural, stark and severe, barely there or hot and whorish, doing the hair, pulled back tight, loose and free, ironed and forced into position, and putting on whatever bit of gear I've decided to wear. Sliding the g-string on so it frames my ass just right, lacing up the corset, adjusting the bra so it both lifts and shapes in the desired manner, pulling on the boots or slipping into the heels, attaching garters if needs be, giving myself whatever last smile, smirk, pout or stare is necessary in the mirror before I go do my thing. The ritual of looking the part in and of itself often puts me in the mood to sell whatever fantasy of sexuality I've been hired to perform.
Sometimes, even when not wearing much, the clothes really do make the woman!
Read Renegade Evolution's blog here.
[Photo by Flickr user smokegirl rebekah]
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