Bad Romance

This is so unlike my usual mood, but last night I pulled together my most fashionable pink clothes including my American Apparel rose jumper and vintage blouse for an outfit post of epic proportions. As luck would have it, I also received my This is Make Believe resin rose necklace in 'red' but it has more of a pink quality to it. I'm so happy to finally have it in my possession and see that it's safe too- while the resin isn't as flimsy as paper I don't want to bang it about too much in case I chip one of the petals.

Wearing: Cotton on Black Skirt, American Apparel 3-D Ribbon Rose jumper in Blossom, vintage silk blouse, This is Make Believe resin rose necklace, various homemade pink bow clips, prison issue plastic rosary bead in pink and pictured holding Cocoa-Cola in Cherry as well as Mr. Pink Diana F+ camera from Lomography and magenta satchel from Typo.

I chose not to wear all the pieces included in this photoset at once since it made it look too messy and instead indulged in mixing and matching various pieces together deciding the rosary necklace looked better without the jumper as did the medium format camera in a pink plastic body and coke can.

There's a few things I'd like to wear tomorrow since it feels like it will be my first day of transition from high school into university, and I do like the combination of the rose necklace as well as the pink plastic rosary from afar. I might give the double bows in my hair a miss though and hopefully it will dry straight for tomorrow.

You haven't seen the last of my beloved can of Coca-Cola cherry since I haven't popped open this bad boy yet. While in America last year I got to drink Dr. Pepper which I loved and it was described as being coke with a cherry flavour. So surely the real deal is going to blow my mind and be the best tasting thing ever- right?

The most frequently used 120 format camera in my arsenal is the Diana F+ Mr. Pink edition which comes in fluorescent pink and boasts an all plastic body. At the moment it's fitted with an external viewfinder which also acts as something to gauge what the lighting in the environment is like. I still haven't gotten any of my films developed yet, because I'm such a lazy bum.

Although this is a bit too much pink to handle, I do like the different materials of the necklace blouse and jumper as well as the shades and the way the interact with the bright flash from my camera. I'll almost be definitely wearing my resin rose necklace tomorrow and maybe give new people something to talk about when they first see me. Bringing a little icebreaker to the party as it were.

Because of the multiple swirling ribbons hand sewn onto this sheer jumper, it's surprisingly heavy and weighty and the elastic cuffs as well as hem is a bit of a shocker to when you first wear it but it's a really beautiful piece. I just need more incentive to wear it out and make use of it's unusual texture. Because I'm low on cash and I never wear it that much, I'm selling it on eBay for $100 AUD so if you're interested, pop a comment below and we can talk about it.

Combat Boots and Creepers

Now that I'm free of wearing school uniform I'll probably never subject myself to the torture of wearing a school uniform unless I plan on doing something weird and/or shady. Still, it would have been nice to be different and buy Dr Martens brand Mary Jane t-bars instead of the generic brand everyone else wears and maybe some frilly socks from American Apparel. Instead I choose and made the informed decision of being like every other girl in my year level and a little on the mediocre side. Well let me tell you, that's not going to happen this year, instead I have plenty of wonderful outfit posts planned which I'll try out tomorrow and dress reasonably well in vintage and new clothing alike.

When I can avoid my feet sweating and creating small puddles in my own boots, I'll be brave and once more wear my own pair of black Dr Martens in black leather and embossed in a floral motif. I don't own anything as colourful and eye-catching as the floral boots you see above but they are typically the most expensive of the British company's boots and also the most artistic in my opinion. How often do you see such great detail and painterly lengths on something that isn't a pair of vintage combat boots? New Zealand model Zippora Seven favours this design because the feminine floral design softens the style of combat boots. Perhaps for added irony a camouflage shirt worn over a feminine blouse could be worn?

Although I do quite like the neat and folded buds of these fakeroses I'm not quite up to decorating my plain Dr Martens in such a manner. As pretty as it is, it's simply not practical and this year I'm going to need to be practical to survive this new chapter in my life.

Never before have I attempted to DIY stud something, let alone a pair of shoes or leather jacket. Maybe to set myself on the path of becoming a DIY expert and start on 'training wheels' as it were, I could stud a pair of thick woolen socks to wear with a pair of Vans sake shoes or some creepers for extra grunge effect.

Inkling & Notions

 

I spotted the brand Inkling and Notions on the Superette website and I fell in love with the sweet shapes of their jewellery- I recently bought a 2012 diary made out a recycled Little Golden Book, Bambi based on the movie so I was thrilled to see deer as well as little bunny rabbits immortalised in silver jewellery for what I assume to be this New Zealand brand. This fawn pendant goes for $459 and features finely detailed and oxidised fur as well as a cute bow. What struck me was the face and detail of the ears, the brand hasn't sugar-coated and enhanced the natural structure of the deer to make it pleasing. The bow detail atop the fawn's head is rose gold, possibly adding to the cost of the pendant but this is solid silver body on the pendant.

 

The detailed silver Bunny Ring by Inklings and Notions has great texture in contrast with a smooth gold bow.

I make no secret of my love for animals, I have owned nine rabbits over eight years and although there are sadly no survivors I still love them very much and sometimes have dreams in which I have rabbits again. This sweet ring features a bunny rabbit crafted true to nature with a triangular nose and face. The bow over the ear reminds me strangely of Minni Mouse. It's rare to see rabbits incorporated into jewellery- let alone to such a high standard and exquisite craftsmanship. I still love the fawn necklace but this rabbit ring with bow is a close second on my wish list.

Vintage touches to hair

When I went in to work yesterday and had to prepare my hair which was a light mess I managed to neaten it up by pulling the hair from the top of my hair and the strands which would make up a fringe if they were shorter, braiding that and putting at the top a scrunchie in a gingham print. I felt a lot better for it and not I'm lusting after some of these touches others before me have added to their hair and the first is a barrette or large statement clip. I love the lock of the $1 notes American currency shaped into a bow against the honey brown tone of her hair. Barrettes are easy to clip in to place and the bow is simple enough to make but I'm not too sure how I would feel using another country's currency simply as a decoration in my hair! If I ever did find a patterned fabric of that material and stiffened it by using felt as a backing support than maybe I would be daring enough to try. The bows I've made at home so far are too large to wear without it looking ridiculous and over the top, I should really work on making some cute practical ones.

The contrast of brightly coloured red dyed hair and the vintage fabric hair scarf look so great together, the way the red mixes with tones of gold and the intricate pattern of the scarf add so much colour and life to what would otherwise be a boring photograph. I have a few bandannas myself that I sometimes wear on occasion in my hair, mainly with the tied knot at the front giving off a Mexican maid look rather than anything scary and intimidating. I would deal with people joking and saying things like 'housekeeping' to me rather than anything to do with shady goings on and dealings. The sweet vintage print on this scarf as well as the way it's worn with coloured hair is so vibrant and the two complement each other perfectly. It's a match made in heaven.

My last final touch of vintage pieces to hair is the use of a scrunchie that's brightly coloured with some fantastic pattern which looks particularly striking if it's keeping a bun neat and tidy. I can never really master making my hair look so neatly kept and tidy though and it hates to be tamed and kept in a bun without the intervention of a clip or large comb. It'd be nice to master the technique used in this photograph, of twisting the hair and tucking the ends into the centre of the bun but I'm not sure if the length of my hair has now become a hindrance and the weight is too much of a problem when holding it up. Still, a girl can dream can't she?

Bow Wow

Bows are one of my favourite girly things by far- they’re both a recognisable shape but also a classic part of design and have been used in dresses for hundreds of years. Since they can be used in different ways you can achieve a school-girl-charm effect, or for a more alluring effect they can be the back detail on a dress (as seen above). They’re easy to make, large or small and I really like to wear them in my hair too whether their tied around a ponytail or plait by a ribbon or made from felt like the big pink one. I bought a dress from Stole Girlfriends Club which had a tartan bow as a feature on the back, which I then copied to create my own. I did it as a break from study but since I’m not free from the stresses of my final year of high school as well as exams, I may make some more bows to pick and choose from as I go to work or just to look nice when I go into the city.

I remember at my formal this year the great numbers of bow ties adorned by the boys in my year level as well as the vests underneath their jackets. I felt particularly proud of the bow ties since I am a great Doctor Who fan and I am completely taken with Matt Smith who has had the great privilege (though it is well deserved) to become the 11^th Doctor. Unisex style for both boys and girls, bows have such a great versatility for formal events at night or just casual events during the day. I think as the years go on, boys are becoming more and more fashion conscience- in the right direction as well. Not that I’m complaining mind you since they all look like such little, spiffy cutie-pies.

I wouldn’t mind having this piece of work become a part of my bedroom, there’s no real organisation of the sizes and width of the bows. I sort of like that, but I do wonder what this framed wall piece would look like as the bow size start from their greatest size and decrease to the smallest little bows. Ironically, it sort of reminds me of Pokémon contests and ribbons as well. I supposed if I can’t wear a cool bow tie with a cute little suit I would collect them on the wall as a piece of artwork.

The model looks like a little girls’ dolly covered in the cream covered bows and wide hips and structure of the dress. It must be the cute little dots of make up just under her eyes and the delicate application of blush make up. Gently toying and undoing the bow on her shoulders as well as the sweeping fringe over one eye reminds me of another photograph already posted. Subversive and dark mood mixed with sweet lovely girly style of clothing and grace.

I don’t even mind that I have finished my final year of school- I would love to own a pair of Doc Martens in black and wear them with white or nude frilly socks. If I had managed to find the right material from maybe a second-hand such as a sheer material then I would be able to make some of my own socks of this style pictured above. I probably won’t have the bravado nor the skills to do such a thing. I might just change the date of birth for the American Apparel website and then get 25% off my order. Then buy a few socks especially red since I will have to wear some shocking Christmas and festive shirts for work soon. I just love getting into the Christmas spirit and infecting as many shoppers with the holiday spirit.

I would be able to muster and summon enough guts and crafty wits to create a bow of this size to recreate a lovely photograph such as this. It must be those lovely alluring eyes of hers that are really drawing me in as well as the black and white effects of the photograph. My Photoshop I have downloaded from the Internet isn’t as great as I’d hope, since I have to create print screens of what I do which reduces the quality. Maybe over the holidays I will be able to buy myself the real thing and then rework as well as edit my photographs. Possibly motivate myself a little more to create arts and crafts in order to take some good photographs that are arty.