Mae West in batwings? Suddenly, life has meaning again.
Dangerous Minds has generously collected a slew of “vintage visual treats” in the form of Mae West film stills and production shots from the ’30s, all of which effortlessly affirm why she’s a timeless gay icon with a singluar style that’s influenced everyone from Madonna to Siouxsie Sioux.
Working overtime in fashionable fripperies like batwings, butterfly wings, and sinister spider legs, West’s next-level stylings are, in her own words, “tight enough so I look like a woman, loose enough so I look like a lady.”
See what she’s talking about here:
crowebobby
Do you have any advice for the youth of America, Miss. West? Ya, grow up! (She could be funny even without the double entendre.)
Chris
When I’m good, I’m very very good. But when I’ve bad, I’m even better.
GG
http://www.davidstuff.com/general/maewest.htm
MrEguy
At a USO Christmas show for the troops, Mae sauntered on stage while thousands of men roared and whistled. She caressed her thighs and purred, “Do you like these, fellas? I call this one Christmas and this one New Years… come up and see me between the holidays.”
Sammy Schlipshit
Original, indeed.
She was the best creation into which she could morph.
All of the rest of so called out landish female performers are but a mere shadow of this great woman. Poor imitations.
Those costumes are superior. Any drag queen would be beyond the moon if able to wear any of those.
Harley
“singluar style” Really QUEERTY? Please hire a proof reader.
OzJosh
And maybe not just a drag queen. At least one biography has made a strong case for Ms West being born a man, or, perhaps more accurately, a hermaphrodite. There is evidence of gender confusion around her as a child and her sexual history (or lack thereof) is a deep mystery. Despite the racy image and a career built on sexual innuendo, West’s only marriage was over in an instant (and the ex-husband paid off to keep silent) and there is zero evidence of sexual relations with any of the men in her life.