Week 27: Moulin Rouge

Well, I couldn't put it off any longer, this week I felt it was time to combine one of my favourite parts of Paris with one of my favourite films of all time to give you… the Moulin Rouge shoot!

That's right folks, for week 27 (on the 27^th of the month – clever huh?) I donned my flounciest petticoat and sashayed on over to the world-famous cabaret with this week's photographer (AND make-up artist) Very Talented Cousin.

The Moulin Rouge ("Red Windmill") was founded in 1889 by dynamic duo Charles Zidler and Jospeh Oller. These gifted businessmen had an acute understanding of the public's tastes and new exactly how to turn their dance-hall into a money-making miracle.

Nestled at the foot of the Butte de Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge aimed to provide a fabulous escape where the rich and powerful could slum it with bohemian artists and flirty dancers in one of the most fashionable districts in town.

Taking its name from the multitude of windmills which graced the top of the Montmartre hill from the late 17^th century, the cabaret is probably most famous for being the "spiritual birthplace" of the cancan. Although the dance had been around since the 1830s it reached high fame at the Moulin Rouge where famous dancers –such as La Goulue – made it raunchier than ever.

La Goulue – or The Glutton – was one of cabaret's main attractions. Although also known as "the Queen of Montmartre", she got her principal stage name from her habit of downing customers' glasses as she danced by their tables. A close friend of Auguste Renoir, the posed for many of the quartier's artists and was painted many times by Toulouse-Lautrec. She was well-loved for her amiable nature and readiness to shock and one of my favourite stories of her tells of the time –in 1890 – when the future King Edward VII (then The Prince of Wales) was on a private trip to Paris, and visited the Moulin Rouge to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently  La Goulue recognised him in the audience and- mid-dance, with her leg in the air- decided to call out "Hey, Wales – the champagne's on you!". I really hope that's true.

Nowadays, if you go to a show there, you will see the dance troupe the "Doriss Girls" named after Doris Haug who formed the troupe in 1957. One small difference has been made, however: where once there were 4 girls… now you get 60. Makes sense that one of the nicknames for the cabaret was "The First Palace of Women"…

VTC made me do this pose...

There's so much to say about this wonderful place, I'd be here for weeks if I tried to tell you about all of it, but my favourite thing that I learnt while doing my research was… there used to be an ELEPHANT in the garden. A giant, life-sized elephant that was built for the Universal Exposition in 1889. This elephant not only looked hella cool, but also –apparently – housed an opium den and belly dancers which you could go and enjoy for the very reasonable price of one French franc. But only if you were a man. Harumph. Guess no one told Nicole that….

That reference will have seemed a tad bizarre if you haven't seen Baz Luhrman's 2001 masterpiece. If this is the case… well… I’m sorry – and I include a clip to put you out of your misery. Unless of course you hate musicals, glitter and ridiculously dramatic romances. In which case, you may want to give it a miss…

ANYWAY, this week's outfit is pretty much solely inspired by the cancan dancers' costumes in the films, with me putting my own 1950s flamenco dancer spin on it. Too many references? Maybe… Mint green and red seemed like an initially dubious combination to me, but I think they worked surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that some poor Spanish tourists mistook me for someone ACTUALLY affiliated with the establishment, and asked if I'd get a picture taken with their child. Sorry about that…

Me with the Spanish tourist child...

VTC was in charge of all the make-up (also inspired by the film) and OH MY GOODNESS HOW COOL ARE THE DIAMANTE THINGS?! Although they did make it look as if I was crying glitter… which is pretty much how I feel whenever I watch the film actually, so it all works out quite well. To keep in with the slightly risqué nature of the place, we went for a couple of cheeky Chanel tattoo transfers on the lower thigh. Which I think are hilarious fun… apologies for anyone now feeling scandalised… I do try to make this as family friendly as possible… just ask the Spanish tourists!

Right, that's enough glamour for one day – back to Metro-Boulot-Dodo for me. See you all soon!

Top - New Look
Skirt - Marina Retro
Petticoat - Lindy Bop
Shoes - New Look
Earrings - H+M
Tattoo transfer on thigh - Chanel