The Must-Have Lingerie According to New York City Strippers

Picture this. Four 22-year-old girls sequestered at a corner table in a Midtown strip club on a Friday at 2 AM to celebrate a college graduation. Now, picture one of those girls (me) periodically leaving that table, not to throw some ones, but to go ask strippers dancing on stage where they got their super cute lingerie sets. Around the time I approached my tenth dancer of the night, it dawned on me: Why have we made models on billboards and television fashion shows the authority on all things sexy when we could be consulting the experts in uniform directly? So in the spirit of boots on the ground research—Pleaser boots that is—I headed over to Bushwick to interview the dancers of Pumps and get them to teach me a thing or two about where to find the naughtiest negligees. As they got ready for their night on stage, I sat with them in the dressing room to talk pussy patches, G-string hand-me-downs, and the sexiest way to unclasp a bra. Afterwards, the owner Kat took me into her underground lair, which she calls the Narnia of stripper lingerie.

———

THURSDAY 8 PM JUNE 11, 2026 BROOKLYN

———

MAHOGANY

RUSSELL: How long have you been dancing?

MAHOGANY: About four and a half years.

RUSSELL: What set are you wearing right now?

MAHOGANY: I’m wearing a Pumps logo micro-kini that Kat made. A lot of girls wear the same thing every night in a different font, if you will. So this is definitely the cut that I go for every single night that I dance. It makes me feel the most confident, and I make the most money when I’m wearing this type of outfit. 

RUSSELL: Does that make it easier to hold the tips?

MAHOGANY: I always wear a single garter on my right leg, and that’s where I put my singles usually. But the strappy-ness of a bikini is definitely helpful for customers that do want the experience of putting money in my outfit. It gives them a lot of options of places to decorate. [Laughs]

RUSSELL: What’s a set you think every woman should have in their wardrobe? 

MAHOGANY: A classic black lingerie set with a garter belt and thigh-high, sheer mesh tights is just a standard, feel-good, sexy outfit that you can wear under a going-out outfit. Having stuff that makes you feel good is really important, whether it be for stripping, going out, your partner, or yourself. 

———

VIVIAN

RUSSELL: How long have you been dancing?

VIVIAN: I’ve been at Pumps for about a year and a half. I’m also a burlesque performer, so I’ve been in New York for about four years and in nightlife about that long too. 

RUSSELL:  Are there different sets that you choose for your burlesque performances versus here at Pumps?

VIVIAN: I really lean toward a lot of black and red in general. This lime green is an exception—it’s actually one of my favorite things to wear here. If it’s a show, it’s usually a full costume top to bottom, not just a lingerie set. But if it’s for work at Pumps, usually a bikini. 

RUSSELL: What are your go-to lingerie brands?

VIVIAN: On the bougie end, I love an Agent Provocateur moment. I just shopped at Fleur du Mal recently, I love her too. A lot of the costuming I pull is from community sourcing. We actually do a lot of costuming swaps in the city where performers will exchange or pay for each other’s costume pieces, so we swap a lot of inventory out.

RUSSELL: That’s so cool! Has that always been a thing or is it new?

VIVIAN: We’re always trying to figure out ways to do things more cost-effectively. So that’s trading either skills or product, costuming, wigs, or hair stuff. It’s been a long-time practice for sure. Also, historically, there was a lot of crossover between burlesque and strip spaces in New York. Oftentimes, burlesque performers would headline at strip clubs and vice versa. 

RUSSELL: Wow.

VIVIAN: And then the costuming is also affected by that because we hang out with each other and we’re like, “Girl, I love that. Where’d you get that?” And then a lot of pieces get passed down from performer to performer. 

KAT: The traveling G-string. [Laughs]

VIVIAN: It’s my favorite thing to be like, “I know that corset. That was in my closet at one point.”

RUSSELL: Can a G-string carry memory? You’ll feel the dancer before you.

VIVIAN: These would last the apocalypse, for sure.

RUSSELL: I don’t know if this is a faux pas to perform in Victoria’s Secret.

VIVIAN: They fall apart.

MAHOGANY: The stripper style is different in other cities and states. I started dancing in Oregon and a lot of the girls there really loved those Victoria’s Secret thick, bedazzled, sparkly strap undies. 

RUSSELL: How would you describe New York’s dancer style?

MAHOGANY: It’s a mix. Pumps is also quite an exception compared to a lot of the gentlemen’s clubs in Manhattan and a lot of the booty-throwing clubs in Queens. At Pumps, we do have an awesome variety of girls with and without tattoos, girls that wear lingerie, girls that go for simple bikinis. 

VIVIAN: 100%. There are some clubs that have restrictions as far as what you can and can’t wear, and what is considered dress code. 

RUSSELL: What are the different dress codes? 

VIVIAN: So a “gentleman’s club”—which that title doesn’t mean anything—but that could mean that you’re required to wear a cocktail dress instead of wearing a bikini.

RUSSELL: When you’re walking the floor?

VIVIAN: Mm-hmm. But I like that this feels representative of Brooklyn as it is.

MAHOGANY: In Oregon, I was dancing fully nude so that changes the process of the performance on stage and how you take your clothes off. Because here in New York and at Pumps with a cabaret license, we only go topless. A lot of outfits that worked for me at a fully nude club were not conducive to the topless cabaret laws here. 

RUSSELL: That brings up something more logistical.  What were sets that were easier to remove versus ones that were too much of a hassle?

MAHOGANY: The most difficult things were body suits and stuff that’s strappy. Especially at the spot I started out, we had two song sets and it was top off for the first song and then bottoms off for the second song. We have our own timeline that we follow on stage. Honestly, as long as it’s something you can untie or unclasp, it’s pretty easy to get off.

RUSSELL: What’s a sexy way to unclasp a bra?

VIVIAN: I genuinely enjoy talking about this. [Laughs] So with burlesque, you rig costuming, and what that means is that you design it and you sew it so that it has quick-release features. A lot of times in burlesque, people will resew clasps to the front of the bra. But if you have a regular bra that has a back—

RUSSELL: With a gentleman suitor.

VIVIAN: You could look over your shoulder. It’s about edging the audience. You could do it on the pole, if it’s a bikini, you can pull a string and just throw it. If it’s a bra, you can do one strap at a time and then pop it and catch it. 

———

PIXIE

PIXIE: I got here hella early, so I’ve got to say something. [Laughs]

RUSSELL: Sit down for your closeup. What set are you wearing right now?

PIXIE: I am wearing a three-year-old Kat bikini, a 20-minute-old Kat thong, and then just some jewelry from the homies.

RUSSELL: How often are you getting new sets?

PIXIE: Oh, god. I am a frequent flyer of Kat’s store. Three sets a week.

RUSSELL: There’s such an array of different aesthetics, are there ones that make you walk and talk a little bit differently?

PIXIE: Yeah. I got my tits done last June, so the smaller the top, the better I feel because I paid a fuck ton of money for them.

RUSSELL: Yeah, you have to show them off.

PIXIE: I want you all to see them bounce.

RUSSELL: What’s a set that every woman should have in her wardrobe?

PIXIE: Every woman should have a tiny-ass top and a thong that you could pull up over your jeans.

RUSSELL: Are you a frequenter of the whale tail for your everyday?

PIXIE: I’ve been a frequenter since middle school.

RUSSELL: Is there a difference in the lingerie that you wear when you’re working versus when you’re just in your own free time?

PIXIE: I do not wear lingerie in my free time. I just get butt-ass naked. I don’t care enough about my partner to do that. [Laughs]

RUSSELL: No, that’s so major. What’s the sexiest way to remove a bra top?

PIXIE: Oh, just start tossing your tits up and down, and then just slowly put your fingers between your cleavage and slowly open it up.

RUSSELL: So you do it from the front?

PIXIE: Let them flop out, yeah.

RUSSELL: And would you just keep it on that way? 

PIXIE: Yes, because the string lifts them from underneath and makes them look amazing.

RUSSELL: Are you a staunch loyal Kat wearer or do you wear any other brands?

PIXIE: I have some other brands, but I like shopping with Kat because I could try it on and she could be like, “That does not work for you.” 

RUSSELL: Are you a harsh critic?

KAT: I definitely don’t lie.

PIXIE: She’s very honest, and I appreciate that. I’ve walked out looking funky before.

RUSSELL: Honesty’s the best policy. I would rather someone tell me, “Babe, let’s try something else.”

PIXIE: Especially when your job is how you look. If I go out looking crazy, I’m going to make money like I’m looking crazy.

KAT: Also, at other sex shops, they have a very small variety and it’s usually a box set and they will not let you try it on. I know because I carry Leg Avenue, Elegant Moments, a lot of companies.

RUSSELL: What’s your size range, by the way?

KAT: I would say, these years, it’s smaller. But I’ll do any size. If I don’t have it, I will get it in a week. I’ll copy any outfit.

RUSSELL: You’re literally like the Steve Madden of lingerie.

KAT: I definitely think I’m up there. [Laughs]

———

MARIAH

RUSSELL: How long have you been dancing?

MARIAH: I’ve been dancing for about four years, but I’ve been doing sex work for 14 years.

RUSSELL: How did you get started?

MARIAH: When I was 19, I worked at Bloomingdale’s and I made no money and my manager was kind of mean. So, I went on the internet and I found a phone sex operating site. I made a thousand that night and I was like, “Okay, I’m just going to do this forever.” Then I went from phone sex operator to being a cam girl, which I made even more doing that. But I made so much money that it got really scary, and I got death threats every day. I bought a gun and it got really bad, so I quit. 

RUSSELL: Oh my god.

MARIAH: And then COVID hit and I got on unemployment. Not through sex work because we pay all our taxes, but we don’t get covered or cared for. Then, I moved to New York, which is more of a dancing town than where I’m from. There’s some clubs like in LA—

RUSSELL: Yeah, my first ever strip club that I went to was in LA.

MARIAH: I have a lot of great friends at some wonderful clubs out there, but I didn’t think I could get hired at those, so I think I just didn’t go for it. And then when I moved to New York, I got really wasted when I was new here and someone brought me to Pumps at a birthday party, and I walked in, I fell in love with it, and I got hired that night.

KAT: She was born for this.

RUSSELL: What would you say is the New York dancer style?

MARIAH: It’s a club-to-club thing. Pumps has an alt-rock vibe to it. My friend Scarlet has extremely amazing specific sets because they do performance art on stage. We’re trying to get our clothes off real quick.

RUSSELL: That’s fair.

MARIAH: I like this set because I really like having my nipples out the whole night if I can. 

RUSSELL: What set are you wearing right now?

MARIAH: This is a fishnet little onesie body suit leotard from Kat. The thong is from a brand that gifted me some stuff when I walked a fashion show called ZHILYOVA. 

RUSSELL: Is it common for lingerie brands to send dancers PR?

MARIAH: It’s something that’s starting to happen.

RUSSELL: It’s a huge untapped market for La Perla or Agent Provocateur because these are people who are walking models of what the sets look like.

MARIAH: I mean, with brands like La Perla, they would have to change their sizing a little bit.

RUSSELL: That’s true. They don’t go above a C.

MARIAH: I want to buy their stuff so badly and I can’t even fit in it.

RUSSELL: I used to be a 32G, and then I got a breast reduction because I could not find anything that would fit me other than grandma bras.

KAT: I would’ve got you. You would’ve been dancing the night you walked in. I’d change your name to Big Tits.

MARIAH: Yeah, she just calls me Big Tits.

RUSSELL: What set holds the bills the best?

MARIAH: For catching money, that’s why I wear a tight thong underneath because then I can just put it right here. Also, it would just show my pussy without this.

KAT: I have secure pussy thongs. Nothing will fall out. And I have it in every size.

RUSSELL: What type of lingerie do you wear when you’re not working?

MARIAH: I still wear my stripper shit. I like dancing in black, or sometimes cheetah print. It’s the Italian in me.

RUSSELL: What’s a set that you think every woman should have in her wardrobe?

MARIAH: A fishnet onesie with your nipples poking out. This is my favorite thing I’ve ever owned. All night I feel horny in this.

RUSSELL: How are you removing this in the dance?

MARIAH: When I go on stage, first I make a joke that it’s about to be a big reveal, even though you see everything. Then I just pull a string. I slowly, sensually take that off and then I titty fuck the pole. 

———

DAPHNE

RUSSELL: Walk me through your outfit.

DAPHNE: I am wearing this really cute little onesie that I got from Kat. This was the first thing I ever got from Kat when I first started working here a couple years ago. In my head, it’s my Lisa Frank outfit. It’s from Blue Orchid. It has a little purple trim, a little neon rainbow-colored tiger stripe moment, and then I just paired it with some fishnets that I cut the waistband off of so that they go down. That was also a trick I learned from Kat. 

RUSSELL: What set gets you the most tips?

DAPHNE: Ooh, honestly, it might be this one. I have a little black lace long-sleeve dress that’s really cute. That one’s also a hit for sure.

RUSSELL: How often are you trying new sets out?

DAPHNE: I change outfits a lot. I’m either like an all-pastel-pink baby doll moment or all black. I also dyed my hair a really dark brown this winter. So then I was like, “Now I’m suddenly goth.” But now my hair’s red again and I’m like, “We’ve lightened back up for spring.”

RUSSELL: How long have you been dancing?

DAPHNE: Oh, it’ll be two years in July.

RUSSELL: What’s something in your two years that you’ve learned about lingerie?

DAPHNE: There are actually a lot of different silhouettes that look good on me that I didn’t think did. You see so many people who have so many different bodies and different styles, things that I would see and be like, “I would never do that.” Now I’m like, “That’s the hottest, coolest thing in the entire world.”

RUSSELL: What lingerie do you wear outside of work?

DAPHNE: I am never wearing a bra in real life, so it’s usually like whatever cute little thong I have, and that’s it. But I also love a vintage slip.

RUSSELL: Cute. What set holds the bills best?

DAPHNE: Oh, I have an outfit from Kat that’s also a onesie, but it has a diamond, straps in the front, and then it has three different straps on the hips, and that one is great for holding bills because I don’t have to wear a garter, I can just like tuck the ones everywhere. Also, it’s a fun, interactive thing for the customers because they’ll be like, “Oh, wait, I want to put it here and here and here.”

RUSSELL: You’re just drowning in bills.

DAPHNE: I’m like, “Just keep going. Sure.”

———

KAT

KAT: I feel like lingerie needs to step up their game.

RUSSELL: What’s wrong with lingerie right now?

KAT: It’s nice, but I feel like it doesn’t have a four-way stretch. And I don’t want to give them that, but I’m going to.

RUSSELL: What are the brands that you sell?

KAT: Elegant Moments, Leg Avenue, Music Legs, I have a lot of stuff lingering that people don’t make anymore. I will copy any outfit. I sell vintage. I will custom-make you an outfit. I am not fucking around.

RUSSELL: How much does a custom set run for you?

KAT: Anywhere from like $60 to $200. I used to have a friend who made carnival outfits and she used to bring them from Brazil. I have everything.

RUSSELL: Remind me when you started dancing.

KAT: 1992.

RUSSELL: Had you always danced in New York or did you travel to dance in other places?

KAT: I worked in El Salvador, but that was just for fun.

RUSSELL: How is the lingerie different on dancers in El Salvador versus here?

KAT: I would say they weren’t up on their Pleaser game. They had shorter heels. 

RUSSELL: How has lingerie changed?

KAT: I would say everything’s still the same. There’s more stockings because now it’s easier to make. 

RUSSELL: Was it a conscious thing that you wanted to transition from dancing yourself to running this business?

KAT: Well, this is a funny thing because I started dancing, and then I ended up working in film. And at the time, New York, there were so many strip clubs you could work at, and the strip clubs used to pay you to work there. Now, it’s just so popular, and it’s like you still make the same money as back then, but the money was worth more.

RUSSELL: Inflation.

KAT: This was like my backup plan. I’m like, “They can’t send no freaking 90 year old home.” My bartender during the day, she has known me since I was 18. I still have a lot of girls that even though they’re retired from this, they still come and hang out.

RUSSELL: Do you have dancers from other clubs buy from you?

KAT: Yes. I have a following in the burlesque world and in the fetish world, if you’re down to get dressed sexy.

RUSSELL: Do you have a dream celebrity that you would love to style in your lingerie?

KAT: Well, I dress Vanjie. I’ll dress them all. Anybody, let’s go.

RUSSELL: When you were dancing, did you have a favorite style?

KAT: Back then, DLD used to make killer leather sets. So I had the chap bottoms with the top—sick.

RUSSELL: When I went to the strip club last time, it was a Friday at like 2 AM and I thought, “For sure it’s going to be busy,” and I didn’t see as many people. How has the strip game changed in New York? 

KAT: You never know. One guy can make your night, and then some people that don’t have it can still make you feel good with 20 bucks. That’s why you’re in this business.

RUSSELL: What kind of clientele do you get here?

KAT: Everything. Construction workers, blue-collar, people from the neighborhood. My husband bought this place in ’97 and we’ve been through it.

RUSSELL: Do the customers ever make requests in terms of what they want to see girls in?

KAT: I have a few customers that definitely bless some people. They’re like, “Kat, get her an outfit, it’s on me.” I love those people, man. It’s really nice because they take care of them. I’m like, “Okay, what color?” And the guy would be like, “Whatever you want,” and he’ll tip on top of it. 

RUSSELL: Would you ever want to expand or do you always want to keep it down here?

KAT: I’ll do whatever. Just don’t send my ass home. A lot of people say this is like a Narnia of stripper clothes. And my friend from London, she comes and she shops here, and then she smuggles it back and sells it over there. 

RUSSELL: Are there any stripper trends that you notice currently?

KAT: Now it’s the less, the better. As long as it’s secured. 

RUSSELL: What’s the skimpiest set that you have here?

KAT: Ooh, I have the pussy patch by Pacie’s. I don’t know if they make them anymore, but you just stick it on and then that’s it.

RUSSELL: Finally, I should ask you, what’s the sexiest way to remove lingerie?

KAT: Eye contact, slow, and feel in the room who really likes you. Then go for it.