Ok, ok, so there's nothing new about a drag queen and even the most queenliest men I have known have often labeled the practice “just too gay” but if you are in any way a fan of the avant garde, performance art, living outside the mainstream, vintage costume, extravagant style, and glitter you owe it to yourself to familiarize yourself with the Cockettes. They were psychedelic, hippie drag queens whacked out on LSD with a penchant for Victorian lace, sequins, and any pre-war fashions that could be stolen from thrift stores.
Their reign was brief, from an impromptu singing and dancing performance with huge layered costumes and eventual nudity, to the toast of the San Fransisco freak scene, they ruled their world until drugs, snobby New Yorkers, and aids brought them down.
To learn all about them and be visually blown away by all the footage of their performances, watch the great documentary simply titled, The Cockettes (available on DVD and Netflix). I took the liberty of capturing just a few of the stimulating images here.
But what do you think?