spiky situations.

i clearly have no time to be making random things but this appeared on tommy ton's style.com fashion week photos...

...and then this happened.

basically, i bought a hair comb from fenwicks haberdashery (i assume any haberdashery will have them...?) and some studs from ebay, cut some strips of leather i had lying about and superglued everything together.
ok... a little more to it than that, but not much.

make sure to get screw in studs.
make a hole for each stud in one piece of the leather. (i had 3 strips - you can see the pen lines from where i was trying to place them evenly on the top but, yknow, whatever.)
push the stud through; tighten the screw.
when all the studs are through, superglue the other two strips to the studded strip and then glue the whole thing to the comb.

more ways to wear:

the thing about it is, it's heavy. if you, like me, like things off centre (and don't plan on wearing it like a little tiara thing, pic #2), it's best to backcomb/hairspray the section you're putting it in to give it something to hold on to, and stick some bobby pins underneath it so it can't slide out. (that's what i've done in the first pic).

throw it on.

grainy photos; why?

H&M dress+croptop+necklace//topshop hoodie//h! by henry holland cycling shorts//vintage boots+belt//DIY cape

to call this a DIY cape is to really overestimate the 'doing' involved - it's literally just a metre of fabric (burnt orange coloured mohair mix, infact, bought for uni but not used. yet.) wrapped around and belted. shuffled up around my neck for putting a jacket over/if i need to move my arms, shuffled down when i'm cold/don't need to use my upper arms. if you're still stuck for a cape, head on down to your nearest haberdashery (mine was £10.95 for the metre, from fenwicks...) and pick your material. and if you get bored of a cape, you have a metre of fabric for doing...something...with. see?! multipurpose.

for winter.

this has been an awful long time in the making, due mostly to laziness and partly to waiting to find the right collar and then waiting for it to arrive, but...

while lots of blogs i read are posting their a/w coat wishlists (for the high street, mostly), while looking out of the window and wondering what they're waiting for (go away, rain.), i've been slowly beavering away on my own winter delight (to be rotated with my fur coat and my moss-y swing coat!).

anyway, i knew i'd posted what is essentially a 'before' pic, here, last year. a full length navy wool coat (bought from ebay); as worn at most 3 times last winter, and swiftly pushed aside when i came back from Paris with the fur coat.

then a few months ago some girl came in to uni (i think she was one of the fit models for the 4th years...) wearing a cream floral 'tapestry' coat with a fur collar.

i fell in love.

we all fell in love.

ebay was scoured in search of a similar coat, to no avail. and then i thought, "what am i looking for?" - a cream floral coat doesn't go with much, and here i have a nice winter coat that i don't wear even during winter. let's take it up, take it in and give it some shape, shorten the sleeves to the always more flattering bracelet length, and then find the perfect detachable fur collar!

[with asos boots and greasy hair. mm.]

apparently navy is just as hard to photog as black.

i need to resew one of the sleeves cos it's a bit buckled, and move the button so it lies better, but there you go. and i can take the collar off and wear it over a gold-coloured cardigan for a real Michael Kors moment.

now to work on the cheap shearling i bought ages ago. maybe a bigger removable sheepskin collar? hmm.

making a comeback.

i've gone all 40s. which wasn't part of the plan.

it's the hat.

the comeback I speak of = formal hats.
part outfit post, part DIY.

thrifted leopard dress//topshop boutique skirt//vintage jacket+belt (gift off Ana...)//peacocks shoes//various rings//thrifted+DIYd hat

if in doubt, dress it down with a denim jacket...

you may remember my buying this hat on a whim way back when I had blonde hair. it went with the outfit the day I bought it; it was £4 in a charity shop. I don't think I wore it again other than in that pic.

it (along with a whole bunch of stuff) have been in my DIY pile for months, but last night I had an hour to kill and it was on top of the pile.

essentially, alls I did was cut off the wide brim and concertina-d it and stitched that to hold the shape, then stitched it to the bit of brim I'd left on.

if I wear it forward it looks like a baseball cap...I shall not be wearing it like this. but with the brim at the back or side; vair cute.

such an easy DIY (no need for good sewing, as long as it's held in place and you use the same colour thread...), perfect for weddings or other such formal occasions. or, y'know, everyday.

studded.

DIY studded backpack//H&M stacked rings

I meant to put more studs on this thing; at least cover the flap, but I was working with what was around the house and all I had were like...little round studs. those were the biggest; and they were still tiny. pretty tiny, and then I ran out of those and only had minute ones and gave up - I had symmetry; that was enough.

the backpack currently holds my 2 maxi skirts/strapless dresses, shirt, tee, jeans, various socks and tights, belt, pumps and towel. and has my wellies tied to it with a leopard print scarf. but you can't see that.

bought these rings yesterday. they are badass.

crazy eyes

This post has been a long time in the making.

In the sense that I cba'd to take photos and stuff. But I got round to it yesterday! And mighty glad I did.

Warning: there are a shitload of photos here.

from yvan rodic

So, this picture was on Yvan Rodic a month or so ago, and I fell in love with the makeup. That's something I look out for, on catwalks, in lookbooks, on streetstyle sites. Style is one... faction of influence, makeup is another. An interesting makeup detail can elevate a plain outfit.

All this is a round about way of saying I had a bash at this look myself, and LOVED the results.

I very rarely wear heavy eye makeup. Mascara is a must, and I trytrytry with eyeliner - my mac pot is the best I've used, but still, it eventually wears away. So, last time I did a makeup post, my friend Hana recommended I try this primer from Urban Decay.

It's £11, which is steep for a tiny bottle, but it's genius. And it makes looks like this much more possible to me. And you, y'know, if you have a problem with running eye makeup! It'll at least stop your eyeshadow running down your face.

So, this is what I used:

Rather than go full on black, I started with a moss-y green base, a Collection 2000 cream shadow I've had for YEARS, since last time I went through a moss-y green/khaki phase. (Think I'm back in said phase now. FYI.) - applied with the sponge tip brush....thing, all up the length of the shape I want.

Follows by black powder from this palette. Also ancient. It's the one in the top right corner. Applied with the fat gold brush, all over the green base.

Then a little mac liner, applied with the other end of the sponge tip brush top the top lash line and up into the eye socket a little.

Pretty sweetass, non?

Just while we're on the subject of eyes, these false eyelashes from Paperself are amazing - intricate, delicate, and made of paper.

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i did a dance for you...with SCARVES

I was totally into the scarf top/drapey-ness/adornment/thing at Issey Miyake AW10 (too lazy to sort pics, etc), and figured HEY, I COULD RECREATE THIS, YEAH?

And so can you!

Well. You'll need a shitload of knitwear, but it's do-able. Luckily for me, I have 2 ready made, 3-metre-long+tassles on each end; made myself; couple o' years old type affairs.

Pinned em together at one end; wrapped them around self (with basic black vest top underneath for decency, you understand) and wapped a few safety pins+bird brooch in and around 'em to keep the shape together.

If you don't happen to have a couple of really long scarves at your disposal, now is the time to hit up yer local charity shops. Grab a few scarves. Multicoloured, patterned, all of the above. Pin 'em together. Wrap. Strut. Simples.

2xDIYd scarves//H&M vest+skirt+tights+jacket//vintage Lagerfeld loafers//vintage bird brooch//thrifted blazer

Also totally into the 2 jackets look this week. Cos it's getting warmer; ever so slightly; but it's not summer yet. Nor spring, really. 2 jackets though. Keeps me warm; gives me major shoulders; AND is easy to disassemble if the heat gets too much. Also? The double popped collar. Oh yeahhhh.

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cold shoulder

There was a time I saw this Kingdom of Style post and though "THAT'S CRAZY-AWESOME; WANT."

Months later, in a fit of procrastination, it were done. BUT NOT JUST THAT, ohhhh no, also a sequin epaulette effort.

Vidi:

Essentially, a bunch o' tulle and organza with some pearls, and then a bunch of studs and sequins and chain. Which might have broken a little in the revelry of NYE. Maybe.

Actually, that is to it's discredit - took me bloody ages to sew all them shiny buggers on; and I included some 'found objects' - an old Lily Allen style earring (dunno whose that was; not mine. I'm not big on earrings; unless they are studs. Massive studs. Dome-y studs.), some buttons and old necklace charms, a big jewel that fell out of an old/tacky ring and a random wire cross which I believe I made when bored in college...

thrifted sheer blouse; black dress bought in Rome at some random shop;

ebayed vintage stockings; olllldd black suede shoes; Topshop stripe cardi

gold thrifted/selfcropped vest thing; green suede-y boots from...priceless?

some cheap shop, anyways; brown...peacocks..?..necklace.

man, I forget where I get stuff. Random shops; cheaply, mmmkay?

I could totally wear it on my head, also. Few hairpins, yknow.

I say I could totally wear it, but, what I mean is, if I (inevitably) dress as Corpse Bride again for Halloween, yknow.

Sidenote: hair=mess, thighs=suffering from post-christmas binge; absolutely huge. Length of dress doing no favours, etc. Ergh.

Sidenote2: need to find good place to take photos. Radiator is too hot. Bit burny.

style resolutions II - not actually to do with style....

Rather, to do with blogging and writing and working in general.

Must post; must keep on writing, unlike I did a little in the summer.

Must not be so lazy.

Must do something productive every day, whether it's uni work, blogging (setting up scheduled posts if I have a lot to blog about!) or working on "other projects"

Must undertake "other projects"...

...other projects being DIY projects; making stuff to sell on etsy, and the newest venture, the zine.

Yeah, so, having a whole bunch of writer/photographer/media/fashion-y type friends is a fat lot of good if you're not going to utilise them, says I. As such, we're looking at putting together a zine of some sort. No ideas yet, of course - we'll look at names, themes, articles etc in the new year, I think, and I'll put up a pdf link on the blog and probably send it about to a few people/bloggers if they're interested whenever it's ready.

Might even have a launch party.

And by launch party, I clearly mean we'll all go to theCut/Jukebox/Stonelove and get drunk.

I will, of course, keep you lot updated on what's occurring with it, but expect something a bit mismatched and random. A bit like this blog, then, non?

Material Girl

Channelling Like A Virgin-era Madonna = epic amounts of fun. Hard to see with all the black, but this was something I wore, like, last Friday. Need to hook up the camera more often!

Vintage skirt + boots + waistcoat, one pair of ripped tights, appropriated as a top (haha, fun.)

I then changed to go out, into a similarly goth-tinged outfit....

Blue boots, Dorothy Perkins; grey dress, H&M. Necklace, 5feet3 ;)

I got many a curious question about my top, mostly it went like this:

"were these tights?"

"yeah!"

"oh...cool! hmm."

One of my aims in life is to freak people out. Mission accomplished.

Speaking of tights, just bought those awesome Henry Holland pantone tights, but only in the black. Because, I would ADORE the blue ones if they were a darker blue, as with the green, but they are too pastel-y for my tastes....

This week I have mostly been working on the most AWESOME JACKET EVER, which shall henceforth be known as the Steggy jacket, because the sleeves remind me and Gemma of Stegosaurus'. I plan to finish it tomorrow and wear it tomorrow night....we'll see, we'll see.

Are You Peacocking?

When Luke was finishing his college work off last month, he bought a bunch of Peacock feathers for a photoshoot type thing, and he gave me one.

I've been trying to figure out what to do with it ever since.

As seen in the photos from the other day, I tried wearing it as a headband type thing, held in with pins; which seems to be the best idea so far. But then I started expanding on that - let's make a headpiece from this! Sounded like a good idea at the time.

Added my pearl necklaces around my head a couple of times, and pinned them in place, and added a vintage brooch.

I like it, but it flattens my hair something terrible, which I don't enjoy. Maybe when it grows a bit (C'MON HAIR, GROWWWW!)...

Note the blue driving gloves. And the black boots. I'm still trying to find something to go with them, really.

Also, this is a new dress, from H&M (thanks mam!) which is probably going to be a staple this autumn. I shall wear it with a beret.

Gotta love the european theme I'm going for here!