During the creation and execution of The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale (2004 to 2005) my brother was living in Miami, Florida, and I made a couple of visits to see him. That Miami vibe crept into some aspects of the fairy’s tale, as evidenced by the photos here, taken by photographer Dennis Dean. 

Dennis and I had corresponded back when my website was just taking off, and he was gracious enough to do a photo shoot on one of my visits. My brother drove us to his home, where we took some photos, and Dennis asked my brother to join in for some of the shoot, which was fun (I was completely floored that my brother was game for it). Miami had long passed the crest of its mid-90’s cool factor, and I was already almost aged out of the club scene by then (not that I was ever even into any club scene), so it was amusing to simply witness it from a distance. There were other things that attracted my interest then, such as the tropical plants that grew so casually outside, or the mesmerizing pull of the ocean just across the street from the Art Deco stretch of hotels. 

I would return there on an official Divine Diva Tour stop, carrying this cumbersome binder of a tour book with me. Miami has its darker underside too, but that’s a different tale for a different project. 

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One and Part Two.

Many hats were worn for The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale, literally and figuratively, as they’ve been worn for my whole life. Does a shifting image make it easier to narrow down who you might be, or only add confusion to the mix? Does trying on different guises help us select which paths we take, or merely delay the inevitable crawl into our true selves? And how many selves might we find in a single lifetime?

“I was just, as a child, very different from the others, and didn’t really care what they thought because you know, a child doesn’t really have inhibitions; you sort of gain your inhibitions later.” ~ Philip Treacy

“The personality of the wearer and the hat makes the hat.” ~ Philip Treacy

“I remember in the early nineties people saying the hat was just for old women, but that’s ridiculous.” ~ Philip Treacy

“Hats are radical; only people that wear hats understand that.” ~ Philip Treacy

“How a hat makes you feel is what a hat is all about.” ~ Philip Treacy

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One.

A turn into the stereotypically-masculine (read: toxic, if we’d used such terms twenty years ago) marks this shift in The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale. After the powder-blue doll posts (and one milky interlude) this gives the sort of attitude that is more laughable than formidable, which is the perfect tone for a project that found me at my most unintentionally hilarious. 

“Irony has seeped into the felt of any fedora hat I have ever owned – not out of any wish of mine, but out of necessity. A fedora hat worn by me without the necessary protective irony would eat through my head and kill me.” ~ George W. S. Trow

“There are very few moments in a man’s existence when he experiences so much ludicrous distress, or meets with so little charitable commiseration, as when he is in pursuit of his own hat.” ~ Charles Dickens

“Cock your hat – angles are attitudes.” ~ Frank Sinatra

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 

Watching Madonna sip milk from a bowl like a cat was an indelible image from her ‘Express Yourself’ video, and it’s a scene that stayed with me up until this day. Coupled with the ‘Got milk?‘ ad campaign from my youth, this Divina Diva interlude switches us back into traditionally masculine mode – a recurring motif of stereotypical gender ideas twisted or flipped in some way. 

“I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved which a cow enjoys on giving milk.” ~ H. L. Mencken

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

When last we left The Divine Diva Tour Book: A Fairy’s Tale, I’d unlocked the comical key to making bad drag and ridiculous scenes work in a way that touched on fantasy, glamour and fun, and finally allowed me not to take myself too seriously. That lesson was one of the most lasting and important from the project, and I’m not sure if it actually sunk in until all these years later. Two decades gives one a more accurate take on how things really played out. Only with the perspective of time do we see some things in their genuine light. 

And so we revisit this platinum-ringleted diva in her natural state, primping or prepping for some fabulous time on the town, or making plans for a party she is about to host. 

A diva’s life requires meticulous planning and careful consideration of every potential move. It is one giant chess game, and end result of which is to look like it is a carefree and effortless existence. Ease and style, grace and panache, and all of it without the slightest outward concern. 

As with most diva antics, things rarely work out to the level of perfectionism she so badly wants to command. Such disappointment leads to demands… and exclamations of outrage when things don’t go her way. 

She thinks everyone gets the act, that they see through the outrage to the fear and hurt, then she hopes they never do, and screams a little louder. 

A diva shouts loudly into the void of a dead phone line, and our tale pauses for laughter. At the same time, a little line of doubt begins to thread its way into the narrative. Not all is powder-blue perfection and confection, and the underbelly of all this faux fur splendor reveals its vulnerabilities. Still, she screams… still, we laugh…

Then, another twist, another swing, and a sudden disturbing smile.

When a diva smiles like this, it’s best to run.

As fast and far as you can.

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One and Part Two.