Trying to find relevant and stylish clothing that will remain distinctive and memorable is challenging and often time-consuming. Shopping for both men and women’s clothes is even more difficult.
Drag queens have the strenuous task of not only filling their casual wardrobes but also their drag wardrobes, which means being active in two realms of fashion at the same time.
Seth LeBlanc, English senior, said drag is a huge part of his creative life and is a form of social art that serves as a personal means of expression.
“When I was younger, I thought that to be gay, you had to be a drag queen,” LeBlanc said. “I didn’t come to appreciate it until much later in life.”
LeBlanc said his initial inspiration for drag came from the reality TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a show detailing the search for “America’s next drag superstar.”
He is not a performance drag queen, but LeBlanc said his drag outfits are a culmination of months of work, his creative spin and substantial financial investments.
LeBlanc said all of the time he would usually spend on art projects has gone into drag, and it is just a new way to convey his creativity into something he loves.
One of drag fashion’s most challenging aspects is the often overwhelming cost, LeBlanc said. Unlike drag artists who perform every week, LeBlanc only does about four to five drag shows a year.
LeBlanc said he decided his drag queen name would be Cherry Nobyl after learning of his Russian decent. He said he always had been obsessed with Russia, particularly now with the country’s gay-rights developments.
However, after years of having the name, LeBlanc said he no longer likes the constraints that adopting a persona can have in choosing different drag outfits. Rather, he said he likes to be free to bring to life any idea that he likes.
While it is difficult to find clothes that he can wear or alter for drag, hair and makeup are the two most important aesthetics in putting together a drag outfit. The cost of wigs can range from $70 to $200 for decent quality, he said.
“I’ve probably spent around three or four grand in the last two years on drag,” LeBlanc said.
Building a drag wardrobe is a prolonged process of collecting different items, though an idea for an outfit can revolve around one aesthetic such as a wig, he said.
“If I see something that I like or think of something I really want to do, I’m so obsessed with it [that] I’m going to spend my money on it,” LeBlanc said.
There is also a sense of brand loyalty and consistency when shopping for a specific outfit, he said. Brands LeBlanc gravitates toward are RockStar Wigs, Beauty Supply Warehouse and MAC Cosmetics.
While wigs usually don’t last more than one or two wears, LeBlanc said he tries to repurpose clothes so that he can use them multiple times.
For example, one of his first outfits was called “Miss Frizzle,” a play on the cartoon character from “The Magic School Bus.” LeBlanc said he chose a wig that could be used multiple times but used a cheaper material, patterned with childish dinosaurs, to create the dress.
While building a character or persona is important to some drag queens, others, like himself, enjoy a more random approach to creating their outfits, he said.
The clothing is usually the least important investment in creating a drag outfit because it’s so difficult to find a reasonable fit, he said. Therefore, the hair and makeup are the main focuses in building an outfit.
LeBlanc is part of BRAWL, Baton Rouge Arm Wrestling Ladies, a non-profit organization with a mission to “empower women and strengthen local communities through theater, arm wrestling and philanthropy.” He said his involvement in BRAWL exemplifies his personal expression of using drag for philanthropic purposes.
Ray Siebenkittel, anthropology graduate student, said he took a more academic approach to drag.
“I used academics as an excuse to get into drag,” Siebenkittel said. “I started going to the bar every week and looking at drag queens as a culture group.”
Siebenkittel practices and occasionally performs, but he said he wanted to take an almost outside view of drag and how it’s representative of a group of people.
He said in his current research, he looks at how drag queens go through gender and embody different characteristics.
“I’m essentially a drag researcher right now,” Siebenkittel said.
One of the biggest aspects of drag fashion Siebenkittel has noticed is the androgynous aspect that drag brings to culture. The idea of leaving masculine aspects apparent in drag outfits is exceedingly prominent in many drag shows, he said.
You can reach Michael Tarver on Twitter @michael_T16.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Emily Brauner

Seth LeBlanc participates in local Baton Rouge drag.