Christmas is a fun time and here at the Kuhmillion Lingerie boutique, we get kinda excited. If you’re here for a few Christmas lingerie ideas, then you’re either looking for something to surprise her with, or you’re searching for the perfect outfit for yourself, to surprise your special someone. We know how that goes! It can be a bit overwhelming to figure out what will look good and what will fit. Here are some ideas including some “can’t miss” options for the worrisome.

Hot Matching Sets
This is one of our best selling matching sets. It’s a burlesque inspired striped red and black satin set, and we just love it. The contrasting stripes give it a vintage, Christmas wrapping look that we think everyone will love.

This pinstriped boyshort and bra set is one of the newer ones in our collection. I think the simple black color and the classic pinstripe pattern give this a refined Christmas lingerie look. The boyshort is cut high on the hips and seems to be a look back at the 1960s style of knickers.

Retro Styles with Garters
Now if we look back to the lingerie and foundation garments of the 1940s, we see a lot of longline bras and corselettes. Here at Kuhmillion we have lots of retro styles that speak to the nostalgia that people feel around the holidays. Check out our Christmas lingerie ideas with a fabulous vintage look!

Purple, once reserved only for royalty, is such a lush, bold color. This purple and black satin bustier would make such a great Christmas gift with plenty of eye-pleasing details like the corset style lacing, the ribbon details and the garters.

Truly a 1940s corselette throwback style, this red and black sheer chemise is on fire! In fact, this is the first item in our boutique that we thought about when we sat down to write about Christmas lingerie ideas. This one is nice because of the red color and also the interplay between the coverage and the revealing sheer fabric. You can really vamp this up too, with a pair of stockings and gloves. Read on!

Corset Styles
Some people just LOVE corsets and cinchers. For those of you who do, Christmas lingerie can take on a totally different meaning. It’s the decadent time of year when you don’t mind splurging on a fantastic new piece.

For burlesque lovers, goth girls and other creative artsy types, this corset has been a favorite and a best seller. The red and black pattern is interesting and intricate. We love it too, because you can pair it with just about anything else and it will look fab.

 And for something completely perfect for Christmas, this red paisley overbust corset is simple, classic and makes a great gift all by itself.

Can’t Miss Ideas
So we promised a few “can’t miss” ideas for those of you who might have a little trouble with sizing, or want to avoid exchanges or returns. These are Christmas lingerie ideas that fall into the one size fits most category. They’re every bit as cool as those other ideas, and will make a great gift.

Stockings make such an easy gift. These are a fully fashioned Cuban heel style with backseam, and they come in nude or black. She’ll love these!

Something new to our shop, fun, simple-to-apply eyelashes can transform the eyes and demand attention. The great thing about these is that they’re fun to wear just about anywhere! Check out our dramatic styles of eyelashes in the shop.

And one more idea: satin gloves. We have several great styles of gloves, so I’ve just picked our most popular. These come in black and feature a nice button detail that creates some additional visual interest. These go fabulously with any Christmas lingerie, but also can be worn out to a party with a pretty little cocktail dress.

Hope this post has given you some wonderful holiday gift ideas! As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

It’s currently November, which, in Texas means I can pretty much walk around in shorts without  so much as a chill, but as the holidays roll around, that won’t be the case. Unfortunately, for many burlesque dancers, the time for skimpy apparel has long since passed the point of comfort. So, here’s the problem many of us face – how in the heck do we stay warm, while getting ready to take it all off?

The art of burlesque can be very strenuous, but sometimes a frenetic jiggle just isn’t enough to keep the circulation going! Here are some tips on how to maintain the illusion of the tease, without complete exposure to the elements.

Layers – A great way to keep the heat on is to start with heavy layers. Think opulent velvets, or furs (faux fur tends to be cheaper AND warmer). Cashmeres and wool overcoats can make for a dramatic reveal, and by the time you’re done dancing in all those heavy layers, you’ll definitely have worked up a sweat. Pair a floor sweeping velvet or wool coat with a satin and lace chemise, or a bra and panty set in icy tones for a glamorous (and cozy) finale.


Take a Cue from Figure Skaters – Dancing on ice is certainly a challenge for temperature regulation, but figure skaters have got it down! Many figure skating costumes give the illusion of bare skin, without really revealing a thing. A nude bodysuit, or even nude hose covered with fishnets and topped with a burlesque corset will give the impression of bare skin from afar. If you aren’t going for a full reveal, don’t be afraid to choose a bodysuit studded with crystals. You can also take advantage of a warm nude colored bodysuit for dances like a fan dance, or you can sew pasties or tassels right onto a burlesque teddy for some added excitement that won’t leave your teeth chattering.


Know Your Venue – Before you choose your burlesque costumes, try to spend some time on the stage in your chosen venue with the lights on, and the climate control set for a show. This will let you know exactly how much cold you need to plan for. If that’s not possible, plan several versions of your burlesque costume, so you have options when it’s time to perform. While putting together your burlesque outfit, also plan for what you’ll be wearing to mingle before and after the show. A wrap or voluminous shawl is a great way to turn a plunging neckline into a comfortably elegant ensemble.

-Rouge Dubonnet
 

With cold weather arriving and Christmas just around the corner, why not turn up the heat a little with some sexy stockings for Christmas? This is the season for stockings and thigh highs, and you don’t have to save them just for your sexy Christmas lingerie, you can also pair some fabulous legwear with your favorite party dress or skirt.

As I’ve written before, stockings and thigh highs are slightly different, where stockings require garters to hold them up, and thigh highs can stay up on their own. But garters will attach to most thigh highs as well, so I’ll tell you about our favorite styles of both, to get you thinking about the gift-giving season!

The stockings that seem to be made for Christmas are these black stockings with red welt, backseam and Cuban heel. These are true stockings and will go with just about any of our other fun and sexy Christmas lingerie. The red welt (the top part) is showy and can be a lot of fun to wear out with a black dress. Show a little peek of the welt, or just let the red backseam capture everyone's attention.

How about a little wintery nude stocking? This is a nude sheer nylon with a sexy high contrast black backseam. The welt is much more understated than the red stockings, but the black backseam may cause more than a couple people to do a doubletake if you should wear them out. Not feeling bold enough to wear them out on the town? Well these stockings also go with a ton of our sexy Christmas lingerie, especially any of our outfits with garters.

And for something simple, classic but kinda flirty, I just love these black fishnet thigh highs with backseams. I LOVE the simple spandex welts, and fishnets are just so provocative, yet refined. You can wear these under a dress for the big holiday party, or you can just save them for the bedroom! And you can attach garters to these for even more sexiness.

For even more thigh high goodness with a bolder pattern, these black floral lace lovelies are just the thing. The welt is minimal, but adorned with cute pink ribbon accents, and the pattern is just so perfect for the holidays. These may be best suited for wearing out to a party or on a date since they are so busy, but we think they would make a perfect little lingerie gift.

And lastly, take a look at these champagne floral thigh highs. Now these are every bit as sexy as the black floral thigh highs, but with the more subdued color, the sophistication is taken up a notch. These can also be worn out for the evening, but also make for a wonderful addition to a sexy lingerie outfit for the bedroom. We love them! 

The fun thing about sexy Christmas lingerie is that it works as a gift in both directions. You can buy something sexy and give it to your very special lady as a gift, or if you ARE the special lady, you can buy something for yourself and share the gift with a private showing later. ; ) Have fun!

-Patrick 

Listen up, because this is the post where I give away all my burlesque show photography secrets! Okay, well it turns out there aren’t any secrets in photography, just better results by people who pay attention, learn, and constantly strive to do better work.

The Most Difficult Lighting
Photography is about capturing light, and this type of shoot has got to be one of the most difficult because there just isn’t enough light in a club, ever. In our online store here, we have all these great photos of our products that are made to look like they’re shot in a club or an alley or whatnot. It turns out that they are all shot with studio flash kits that basically make the sun look like a dim bulb. But in a club, you are working with much much less light.



The two things that work for me are a very fast lens and forcing a fast shutter speed. Here’s a bit more detail about each of these:

Fast Lens - This refers to a lens that has an aperture setting somewhere between f1.0 and f2.0. Most run of the mill lenses won’t go below f2.8, but there are plenty that do; you just have to find one. The difference between how much light hits the back of the camera at f1.8 compared with f2.8 is HUGE, and with that extra light you can start to record enough information to make a decent photo.


Shutter Speed - I constantly see burlesque show photography that is blurry, and in my mind that looks bad. This is because the shutter speed was too slow and the camera or the subject were moving ever so slightly when the photo was taken. Photographers will often set their camera to “aperture priority” so that they can force the lens to stay open at the lowest f-stop (e.g. f2.8). The camera will then try to calculate an appropriate shutter speed to get a decent shot. It’s always too slow. Here’s what I do. Set the camera to “Shutter Speed Priority” and set it to 1/120. The camera will try to find an appropriate aperture to get a good exposure and almost always select the lowest aperture. I find that with digital, the exposure is in fact too low, BUT it’s enough light to work with, and you can compensate with a little adjustment in a photo editing program such as Photoshop.


Composition
This is where you get to be creative. People generally don’t want to see shots of isolated body parts, so I usually go for full body shots. People also have an innate sense of visual balance. If you always center your subject in the photo, it may look good, but if you move the camera just a little bit, maybe capture something else along the edge of the shot, the shot could be magic. I learned the rule of thirds, and constantly work to make my in-camera composition interesting. But of course, you can always adjust the composition later by cropping the picture if you didn’t quite compose it perfectly in-camera.


Distracting People and Things
Any person or thing can photobomb your burlesque dancer and ruin the photo. So I’m constantly watching a performance through the lens and seeing things come in and out of the shot, waiting for the right moment to click. I usually identify distracting things before the show even gets started, and at clubs, there’s alway tons of junk on the stage behind the dancers, and tall noggins in the front row. I just try to identify areas and things to avoid getting into my shots.


The Performers
Okay, I’m not a professional by any means, so I take burlesque show photography lightly, and think of my goal as promoting the performers. I would do that anyway if I was a pro, because it helps me get good shots. The two things I think about while snapping shots are:

- What would they (the dancers) want to see of themselves?
- How can I showcase their performance?

Flattery will get you....into some shows with a press pass!  :)


Editing Your Work
My editor is my wife, the other half of Kuhmillion Lingerie. She happens to be a trained and experienced graphic designer who understands art and composition. She also understands the value of editing a project. When I’ve done a shoot, the first thing she does is narrow down a “keepers” pile to about 10% of everything shot. By the final Flickr gallery, we’re down to 30-40 photos at most. But they’re the best of the shoot and most people, including the performers, don’t have the time to flip through much more than that.


I hope my rambling is helpful to some out there who are struggling to take decent photos at a burlesque show or any performance at a club. Good luck!

-Patrick 

What’s the first thing you think about when I say “winter?” Snow! Okay well we don’t have that in Austin very often, but it does get cold, and winter is the time of year that we get a little more cozy and focus on the indoors. I love the fall and winter, because with cooler temperatures come more layered clothes, interesting styles and winter lingerie. There are tons of great pieces of lingerie that just seem to fit the winter season. Here are some sexy lingerie ideas for this winter that you might just love!

Ice Blue Corset
The Kuhmillion Christmas tree is a monochromatic mix of icy blues and snowy whites. Everytime I take a peek at this fabulous blue corset I think about the wintertime, and finally I can show it off in a blog post. This wintery little number has really cute contrasting black ribbon laces and trim. And the garters kick it up a notch. Pair it with any black ruffle panty and a simple pair of black stockings and you’ll have a fun fun time this winter.


Hot Red Matching Set
So maybe the winter gets a little bit colder where you’re at and you want something with a bit warmer colors. Bright red is not only the warmest of winter lingerie colors, but it also fits with one of the primary colors of the holidays. This sexy matching red set is one of our faves in the shop. This one is all about the ruffles along the bra and garter belt. It’s a nice look that’s softer than some of the more sleek styles of lingerie that we have.


Aqua Blue and Black One Piece with Garters

I really love chemise lingerie, and this new one is just so wintery with the aqua blue and black mesh overlay. There’s something about the full body length of a chemise that not only throws my mind back to the 1940s, but also puts me into winter lingerie mode. The contrasting black and cool aqua blue of this icy little number is just plain sexy, and the garters give you a million options for pairing it with stockings or even thigh highs.


Patterned Hosiery
If summer is the time for bare legs, then the Fall and Winter months are the time for legwear. There are a few different styles of hosiery that pop into my mind right now. A fancy Jacquard patterned thigh high is so eye-catching! The term Jacquard refers to the weaving technique used. This type of stocking is made on a Jacquard loom, a mechanical loom invented in the early 1800s (by a man named Jacquard) for weaving complex patterns. The delicate pattern and bold black color that brings the focus to the legs is just so harmonious with the winter season and all of its beautifully adorned textiles and ornaments.


Another fabulous style is this backseam fishnet with sparkly rhinestones along the backseam. It’s like little winter sparkles all along the back of the leg!


And for winter hosiery that just says “Christmas,” I just love the red fence net thigh highs with lace tops. These might be a little bit bold for wearing outside, but I’m sure they’d make a fun present to unwrap for the holidays!


-Beth