From his office in downtown Juneau, James Hoagland adds a bit more volume and several more layers of hairspray to a Georgia client\u2019s new up-do. It\u2019s the same office where he styles clients from Australia and Denmark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m suited to working with a non-human medium,\u201d Hoagland said as he lifted a mannequin\u2019s head with a wig he\u2019s been styling for the past hour. He swings the head up and down, giving himself new angles to work from.<\/p>\n
Hoagland, a drag queen whose stage name is Gigi Monroe, is a local wig stylist \u2014 the only known one in Juneau \u2014 but his work sits on heads across the globe.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s styled wigs for a former Miss Gay America, and other professional drag queens on the national scene. When Clay Smith, a professional drag queen based out of New York City, performed as Delighted Tobehere during season 10 of America\u2019s Got Talent, a tall dark wig styled by Hoagland shined in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really does make a world of difference when you look at a queen,\u201d said Smith, who met Hoagland when he entered the drag scene down in Georgia. \u201cA good wig makes all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in his drag career, Smith added he had to \u201cfake it to make it \u2014 or just have James make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a better person because of our friendship and the hair,\u201d Smith said of Hoagland. \u201cI don\u2019t say that lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hoagland, styling wigs was something he began doing out of necessity to perform as Monroe in drag shows in his home state of Georgia. In the drag world, bigger is better, and statement pieces are a must to win over the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was doing for a long time,\u201d Hoagland said. \u201cI was doing my own hair but not good. For me, drag was all about learning from the people around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After years of practicing the craft in Georgia and then on the drag circuit in the deep south, Hoagland moved on to the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship. A decade later and Hoagland had drag down.<\/p>\n
Less than two years ago, Hoagland decided to make a home in Juneau with his now-husband; they got married two months ago. It just worked out that he found a part-time job, apart from the wig styling, with the Alaskan Aids Assistance Association, an organization that happens to host an annual drag show called Femme Fatal. He introduced Gigi Monroe to the capital city \u2014 and developed a whole host of new clients vying for towering up-do\u2019s teased to perfection in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long time there was only one (drag show) a year,\u201d Hoagland said. \u201cBut I think our community can definitely handle at least a few a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since living in Juneau, Hoagland has been part of two Femme Fatal productions, drag entertainment shows for gay cruise ship arrivals. Most recently, he produced \u2018Twas the Drag Before Christmas at Rendezvous, a show featuring seven local drag queens and two drag kings. The scene \u2014 and a demand for wigs \u2014 in Alaska\u2019s capital city is growing, Hoagland said. He\u2019s here to teach along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel a responsibility to offer these people who want to do it an outlet,\u201d Hoagland said.<\/p>\n
With an experienced drag queen in town who also knows how to make a wig 3 feet taller with a blow dryer, the opportunity to learn has arrived.<\/p>\n
Juneau resident Nic DeHart said he\u2019s experienced the drag world in small doses since high school, but it wasn\u2019t until about a year and a half ago \u2014 roughly around the time that Hoagland came onto the scene \u2014 that he really got involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had done drag bingo at the Rendezvous, but there wasn\u2019t enough demand to make it a worthwhile show,\u201d DeHart said. \u201cThen James moved to town.\u201d<\/p>\n
The road to more drag shows in Juneau, though, has its obstacles. There isn\u2019t a single gay bar in town, which is the norm for larger cities and especially state capitals.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also general barriers for the greater Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community at large, which Hoagland said is pronounced elsewhere, as evidenced by stories from some of his international customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s always a little surprising to me \u2014 maybe I take it for granted that (styled wigs for drag queens is) more accessible here in the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cI get orders from the (United Kingdom), Denmark, Belgium and Singapore. It\u2019s actually illegal to do drag (in Singapore) because it\u2019s illegal to be gay. It\u2019s more of a formality \u2014 it\u2019s not like they\u2019re being raided, but technically I guess they could, if somebody wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making wigs for drag kings and queens around the world is a way Hoagland said he gets to feel like he\u2019s still part of the professional circuit.<\/p>\n
Although 99 percent of his client base is drag-centered, he also styles wigs upon request for other occasions. He\u2019s styled wigs several times for Perseverance Theatre performers and for others wanting the perfect finishing touch for their costumes.<\/p>\n
Inside his office, Hoagland finished the wig for his Georgia client and began a Dolly Parton-inspired one for Gigi Monroe.<\/p>\n
The success Hoagland\u2019s found so far has inspired him to move past the online-only retail business and possibly open a full wig shop in town. He\u2019s hopeful that if he builds it, they will wear it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been no stopping me,\u201d Hoagland said.<\/p>\n
For more on Gigi Monroe Designs, visit www.gigimonroedesigns.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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