Capes Quote by Karen Abbott
“If Lady Gaga and Dorothy Parker had a secret love child, it would've been Gypsy Rose Lee. Gypsy arrived for opening nights at the Met wearing a full-length cape made entirely of orchids, while Lady Gaga shows up wearing a full-length cloak made of meat.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Gilded Lily by Karen Abbott, 2015
The comparison humorously merges two bold, avant‑garde performers, highlighting their shared flair for theatrical, boundary‑pushing style.
In simple terms: Both women are daring, theatrical, and unconventional.
Key Takeaway
Embrace bold, unconventional self‑expression.
Themes
creativity
performance
rebellion
Mood
playful
critical
Type
satirical
observational
When to use this quote
- stage performance
- fashion design
- personal branding
Key Concepts
cultural criticism
celebrity
fashion
Questions to Reflect On
- How does humor help critique cultural icons?
- What risks arise when blending disparate personas?
A Different Perspective
The analogy may oversimplify each artist’s unique context.
![“Her sister [June Havoc] said the musical portrayed who Gypsy [Rose Lee] wanted to be before the burlesque thing happened she wanted to be this beautiful, romantic person with dreams. So Gypsy told the story of her life as she wished she'd lived it: embellishing, softening the edges, eliminating…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f9d/karen-abbott-13658_beautiful_her-sister-june-havoc-said-the-musical-p_3013386.jpg)
![“A half-century before Madonna, Gypsy [Rose Lee] understood how to make performance out of desire, how to exploit the very human and eternal instinct to always want most what we'll never have.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a50/karen-abbott-13658_century_a-half-century-before-madonna-gypsy-rose_2856261.jpg)
![“I greatly admired Gypsy [Rose Lee] for being able to rise above her circumstances; I was terrified of her; I thought she was generous; I thought she was brilliant; I thought she was cruel.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/421/karen-abbott-13658_able_i-greatly-admired-gypsy-rose-lee-for-bei_2782139.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee] wasn't a linear person, and she didn't live life in a linear fashion. She was relentlessly self-inventing, and moved backward as often as she moved forward.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2a8/karen-abbott-13658_fashion_gypsy-rose-lee-wasn-t-a-linear-person-an_2555037.jpg)
![“Burlesque thrived during the Great Depression, and by extension, so, too, did Gypsy [Rose Lee]. Men could no longer afford to pay $5.50 to see a show on Broadway, but they could scrape together $1.00 for a matinee at a burlesque house.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8c7/karen-abbott-13658_broadway_burlesque-thrived-during-the-great-depre_2257195.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee], who was called Louise as a kid, gave her first performances here with her sister [June Hovac], playing for the local Masonic lodge halls. It was a tight-knit community, and the support and success the act enjoyed here enabled them to hit the road and make it in big-time vaudeville.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c33/karen-abbott-13658_bigs_gypsy-rose-lee-who-was-called-louise-as_2173429.jpg)
![“She [Gypsy Rose Lee] was a sophisticated self-satirist with a contagious delight in the comedy of sex. She was coy; she was sly; she always had a witty quip; she had an intensely dramatic presence.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b3e/karen-abbott-13658_comedy_she-gypsy-rose-lee-was-a-sophisticated-s_1447479.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee] is as unique as she is timeless. Her story is classic Americana, and the strangest rags-to-riches saga you'll ever read; I like to call it Horatio Alger meets Tim Burton.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/829/karen-abbott-13658_americana_gypsy-rose-lee-is-as-unique-as-she-is-ti_902352.jpg)
![“The cousin said that Gypsy [Rose Lee] took a full fifteen minutes to peel off a single glove, and that she was so damn good at it he gladly would've given her fifteen more. So this story got me thinking, who was Gypsy Rose Lee? Who could possibly take the simple act of peeling off a glove and make…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/424/karen-abbott-13658_articles_the-cousin-said-that-gypsy-rose-lee-took_512540.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee ] was a masterful storyteller, and her memoir and by extension, the musical weren't only Gypsy's monument; they were also her chance for monumental revisionism.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fe2/karen-abbott-13658_chance_gypsy-rose-lee-was-a-masterful-storytell_259518.jpg)
![“I think Gypsy [Rose Lee] would be appalled at today's rawer, more blatant displays of the female form. She was, in her own way, a prude.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/35c/karen-abbott-13658_appalled_i-think-gypsy-rose-lee-would-be-appalled_10445.jpg)
![“I thought both she [Gypsy Rose Lee] and her story would be ill-served by a conventional, birth-to-death narrative, and so I structured the book like one of her stripteases: revealing a peek of shoulder, then a glimpse of knee, pulling back a bit before you go a bit further, until all is revealed…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba0/karen-abbott-13658_birth_i-thought-both-she-gypsy-rose-lee-and-he_637177.jpg)
