Jessica L’Whor is planning her next move.
It may not be obvious to those who have eyes on the Denver Drag Queen’s socials that she’s in the midst of a transformation. Her October calendar alone boasted no less than 35 events. Over the last couple of weeks, her followers have seen her running to drag brunch in pumps and a pencil skirt, inspiring wig-glue-envy during a high-energy performance and encouraging younger generations, whether that’s reading to children as Miss Jessica or raising money for Imagination Library dressed as Dolly Parton.
Despite how frequently she’s been stepping out this past month, L’Whor admits she’s in an era of personal reflection. And her chrysalis arc, like so many other world-altering processes, begins in The Lab.
That’s Jessica’s closet, of course. Spanning an entire floor of her house, L’Whor’s Lab holds a vast collection of garments lined with fringe, fur and rhinestones, wigs of every color and cut, shoes, sunglasses, props, gloves, you name it.
Mirroring her personal journey, L’Whor’s Lab is going through a transformation itself. As she works to catalogue and organize her collection, she welcomed Dive in for a sneak peek, sharing the stories within.
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This iconic red coat was originally purchase for an out-of-drag ensemble for the Virgin Cruise Line’s Scarlet Night. The coat has since been swept into her in-drag wardrobe, and Jessica wore it most recently for Pride with a rainbow sequin dress (seen in L’Whor’s viral “Ask A Queen” series).
“It shows off a lot of body, a lot of leg, and it’s see through so I pair [the jacket] on top of [the dress], and it’s very queer,” Jessica shared.
This wig matches a periwinkle harness in The Lab that followed a similar trajectory. Originally purchased for an out-of-drag look (for when she was “more of a ho — in public”), the harness was quickly pulled into Jessica’s wardrobe.
“Usually, that’s how it works: I wear it out of drag, and then I’m like, ‘Wow, this looks great on me out of drag,’ and then I’m like, ‘let’s put this in drag,” she shared.
For the drag look, the harness is paired with a tiny latex top and a matching bow wig in the same shade.
“It’s one of my favorites. It’s really beautiful, but I don’t every wear it because I don’t want it to get all fucked up,” L’Whor said of the wig. “This is one of two because I had a bitch steal my first one, and I never caught her.”
Let this be a message for the wig thief: our eyes are peeled for a suspicious-looking character in a beautiful blue wig. We won’t forget.
The blue bow beauty lives amongst its sisters in a vast collection of wigs spanning colors, textures and cuts. Some, like the bow wig, are saved for special occasions; some are worn often and well-loved; and others wait for their moment, as Jessica saves for the right special look.
The vastness of Jessica’s wig collection is perhaps second only to the array of accessories and props she collects: gloves, sunglasses for a dramatic eye reveal, a cane (for her elderly woman performance) and headpieces, such as the intricately-made Brunch Hat, complete with berries and whipped cream.
One particular piece of L’Whor history, named Skid Mark, of course, has traveled the farthest of any other piece in her wardrobe. Skid Mark has traveled with L’Whor across the country (sometimes vacuum-sealed for packing, though L’Whor assured us he doesn’t mind the compression), and now enjoys a peaceful retirement in The Lab — though it’s not impossible he’ll be called back to active duty sometime in the future.
And what wardrobe is complete without heels in every color? Within the collection, L’Whor keeps her first-ever pair of heels (left), a waist-high pair of orange books (that hook to a belt with suspenders – right) and a number of other pumps and boots for any existing or future looks.
One particular pair, in the classic Lady Gaga armadillo shape, represents a grail piece that took years of searching. After finally finding the base of the shoe, L’Whor called upon DJ Dazzle to add rhinestones and added the dream shoe into her rotation of looks.
“I do this Alien Goddess sort of ‘Ruler of the World,’ look, and they’re so fun to walk in,” L’Whor shared. “They’re actually really comfortable, and they’re crazy cool.”
When asked about her biggest investment piece, Jessica didn’t lead us to an intricate gown or diamond-encrusted accessory but, instead, to a lifeguard hoodie. She’s kept the lifeguard hoodie since she first got into drag, a staple element of her first Drag Nation look at Tracks.
And we do mean staple. As she tells the story: “I was doing this lifeguard number, but I needed a lifeguard hoodie. I don’t know why, but I needed it to feel the fantasy,” L’Whor recalled. “I wanted it custom with my name and the plus sign on the back, and I needed it in four days, and the only place I could find that would be willing to get it to me on time was from Europe and was very expensive.”
“So, this hoodie, which — probably, when you think of what it costs, it’s a $10 or $20 hoodie, right? I spent $250 on it, and I put it on my credit card, and I didn’t have any money to spend on food.”
But (mostly) every story has a happy ending, and Jessica’s lifeguard hoodie is no exception: “My friends felt so bad for me that they put rhinestones on it when I was out and about,” she shared.
At the very least, the hoodie is lovingly bedazzled and a memory of Jessica’s scrappy (and somewhat “starving artist”) younger self.
Earlier this year, L’Whor officiated a wedding on a beach in Cancun for two friends. Her friends requested “white and crystals,” so L’Whor had a look that she previously used as a “country-meets-Madonna” look custom upgraded, draped in crystals, fringe, pearls and rhinestones.
Now, the jacket is used to pay homage to Dolly Parton, a forever iconic persona worth celebrating.
This army jacket is a sentimental keep in Jessica’s lab, as she used to wear it every time she hosted Snatched! A Sabotage Drag Show.
As Jessica describes it: “The premise of the show was that every performer that was in it, the first round they did whatever they wanted to perform, and after their first number the audience got to vote on things to fuck with them during their number: changing their song, pie-ing them in the face, stuffing their pads with Thanksgiving dinner, brushing their teeth with mustard…this has so many stains and so much history, DNA all over it from the at least year and a half that I used to host that show.”
Why the fatigues, you may wonder? “I felt like I was taking them into battle.”
For more photos from Jessica L’Whor’s closet tour with Denver Dive, view the full gallery here. Follow Denver Dive on Instagram for behind-the-scenes videos of the tour and other style and culture content.
All photos by Logan Leeper unless otherwise noted.
