The Bearded Lady Goes Crafty
By TwistieThere is a long and colorful history to the bearded lady as a circus sideshow attraction. She often looked much like this:
But what to do if you want a beard for your ladylike self and nature has denied you luxuriant chin whiskers? That’s when it’s time to contact Erin Dollar.
In her blog, Erin discusses beards that please her and her own adventures in making beards out of yarn or felt for women, men, children, and whoever would just like to put on an obviously unnatural beard once in a while, as who would not?
Her Etsy store is brimful of fake beards, moustaches, and prints of bearded people. My personal fave? This fabulous purple yarn beard.
So what inspired Erin? A combination of things, such as gender roles, questions about what women are expected to make as crafters, Frida Kahlo, and Edward Gorey. I call all of these excellent inspirations. But Erin? If you read this, I have another inspiration for you: Remedios Varo, who painted this glorious ode to the (literally) handlebar moustache.
