In the boudoir with The Tassle Club

n the name of love and sex (not to mention lovely sex, and sexy love) we thought that for this issue we’d replace our usual ‘At Home With…’ column with a fantastic ‘In the Boudoir With…’.

And who would make a more suitable subject than Ireland’s top burlesque and cabaret collective, The Tassel Club? The Tassel Club have been providing Dublin with can-can dancers, contortionists, barber-shop quartets, circus acts, glitz, glam and buckets of neo-burlesque style for the last few years, throwing parties across the city like no one else.
So this Valentine’s Day it makes sense that the Tassel Club are doing their sexy and unique thing in Dublin’s Sugar Club, where folks like Colin Farrell and Sam Neil have joined the ladies for their Dublin visits.
The gorgeous, glamorous group also performed at Electric Picnic last year on their own stage, as well as getting jiggy with it on the main stage with the Alabama 3.
Internationally renowned burlesque acts like Immodesty Blaize and Miss Lily White are known to frequent the Irish club, and for every Tassel Club session the venue transforms into a stylish ‘40s cabaret café, with cigarette girls, audience participation, music, frills, fun and frolics.
Founder and producer Sara Colohan started The Tassel Club when she got sick of the Dublin clubbing scene and was looking for new, cool and fun nights out.
But where we want to be, ladies and gents, is underneath the frilly skirts, red lipstick and pin striped suits. So we asked Sara and two of her most talented and beautiful Tassel performers, Miss Roxy Rhinestone and Miss Frosty La Rue, about how they go about letting down their perfectly-arranged hair. Getting together ‘in the boudoir’– a fine lingerie store called La Petite Coquette on South William Street in Dublin– we talked men, make up and corsets.
Roxy exudes classic ‘40s chic, with her red dress, red lips and dark hair, insisting that when she doesn’t end up alone after a night out she would “bring a guy home to my place – it’s always nice to wake up in your own bed. And if I end up in his, signs of computer games are always a turn-off”.
Miss Frosty La Rue, in all-white and doing Dietrich better than Dietrich, is impeccable and unforgettable. She reckons it’s better to play outside the boudoir, “I’d go back to his place – it tells you so much more about them.” But she’d make sure to “chuck the comfy slippers under the bed” if he comes to hers, so as not to compromise the burlesque spell she casts.
But Miss La Rue confesses that her favourite room is the bathroom because “there’s nothing like lounging in the bath for hours surrounded by candles.”
And if her man isn’t doing the same, he won’t get close to her boudoir: “It’s important for a guy to look after himself too. I personally like guys who take pride in their appearance, without going to the narcissistic level. They should want to make us proud, as much as visa versa is true.”
And make an effort she does. From Africa she’s imported beautiful white ostrich feather fans, which are unique in Ireland and are a perfect treat for whoever is lucky enough to end up in her boudoir, fanning her softly as she listens to Nina Simone on her chaise longue.
With loose, dark tresses and a veiled tilt hat, the fabulous Madam Sara is the troupe’s mentor and stylist. Her boudoir is a sultry place where all the men wear is “a smile” and PJ Harvey blasts out of the stereo.
Wearing little else than mascara, lipstick and glitter Sara wouldn’t give any man a second glance in her boudoir for less than Rosé Champagne and a gourmet meal. Only then – maybe – can you win her over.
Miss Frosty La Rue always has some massage oil at hand too. “I do swear by lots of almond oil. There is nothing like getting close with almond oil,” she exclaims with a cheeky smile.
While Roxy will set a romantic scene in her boudoir with “loads and loads of candles,” whether she’s getting ready for romance or for a Tassel Club performance, Roxy likes to “have a bath to unwind and relax my muscles, with lots of candles and maybe a glass of wine.”
Pics: Graham Keogh