Tell me About it Stud

One of the easiest ways to update a piece of clothing or an accessory is with the careful application of studs to  evoke a grunge mood- for example have a look at these black heels with various studs in conical shapes along the backs of the shoes. It's something I've wanted to try for a while and with my staff discount at Cotton On I could buy a men's leather jacket with hood at 50% off and update it to fit my own personal style and add some studs to it; there's a whole range in all shapes, sizes and colours on eBay but I wouldn't really know where to begin if I were to add my own studs. I really like the use of the studs on the backs of these heels and the way they've been applied but would I be willing to risk wasting $50 for a jacket if I mess it up? Better to have a few test runs on some similar materials and fabrics before I go for the big finish and add studs of my own to a piece of clothing that's already been finished and sewn up.

The use of studs in the fashion world is not just limited to shoes, they can also be used in soft jersey jumpers as shown in the second photograph above. One of my favourite jumpers is an Ashish for Topshop jersey jumper with assorted studs on the epaulets as decoration, I've received mixed receptions on it but most of the time my friends and colleagues walk up to me while tapping and prodding along my shoulders to test out their durability. It's a big hit when I wear it out to some of the rougher suburbs- it's the kind of cosy jumper I wear when I don't feel like talking to people much and I just want to ward other people off.

This! This is the kind of jacket I would love to be able to DIY for myself- this very photograph was the cover of Oyster magazine some many months and editions ago. I felt captivated by the way the fringe falls across her face, her skin tone and complexion as well as all those thick and glorious gold studs. The use of thick and statement rings too is another impressive factor... all I have to do is master the way of the home done stud and find a nice thick leather jacket with lapels to add studs to. Wearing it with a shirt with a Mustang I received for Christmas from my father would be the perfect simple way to style it as well as wearing some cut-off vintage denim shorts.

Too bad there's not a lot in the way of denim shirts of jackets available at Cotton On at the moment... I'd love to try my hand at the simple plastic studs on the shoulders and maybe adding a back panel with a simple silhouette design in black fabric paint. Of course having black and blue hair pulled up in a bun would be the perfect way to pull it off but I'm not willing to make that sort of commitment at this point... I'll just try to get the motivation to clean my room, sell unwanted clothes and finally start some DIY projects in terms of fashion. I think I should make those three points my New Year's Resolution.

Black and White

Strange that on Christmas Eve I find myself posting about dark magic, naked occult girls with all her bits showing in black and white... but well there you go life's a bit like that and I'm that way inclined after finding some vintage pieces of clothing online as well as mooning over a gorgeous cow skull necklace I keep droning on and on about.

It would be lovely if I had all my money lined up after working for some twenty-something hours since my last pay check came in and the biggest sale on the Australian calender is closing in on us quite quickly in just one day really. Instead of mooning over things I can't afford instead I'm looking at the dark magic rituals of naked witches on heaths on a full moon night and that kind of rubbish? Some of the rubbish that's been tickling my fancy within the last week or so has been absolutely atrocious but maybe I'm just evolving into something obscure and dark myself. On another note- according to Facebook my American Indian name is 'Good Witch' and all I could think of was the delight that I had indeed managed to become either Tiffany Aching from a Terry Prachett novel or the famous Hermione Granger in the flesh. That was a very good day indeed.

It's only just the middle of Summer and I wish I could get away with wearing knee high socks and my now-very-dusty Doc Marten boots. You just can't have it all but I'd love to be able to break out those bad boys and wear them with say, a nice long black dress and maybe a jumper or knitted vest over the top and have some lovely boots under it all... although have managed to find some light and nimble footwear I would be happy to wear while braving the heat of Australia... not as durable as a reliable pair of Docs but we will see and time will tell what's in store for me.

A hap-hazard tendency of mine is to sleep with as little clothes as possible while under a doona cover during Summer... I resemble the first photograph of a head-to-toe, bona fide naked witch performing ancient rites rather than a punk being able to wear ripped tights. I am very much so a creature of the cold rather than someone who enjoys the scorching sun and heat of the beach... perhaps I am bound towards becoming a witch. Just yesterday I remanded to know from a fellow co-worker what her 'local' market was in order to be able to find a ripped and loose shirt featuring a wolf. What is it about the occult that keeps drawing me in? It's now Christmas where I am and I cannot get it out of my mind, still want to burn my candles while the ying to my yang, my sweet boyfriend is at midnight mass with his family and grandmother... strangely enough people think that I'm the sweet one and he's a bad influence on me. I really do beg to differ at this point.

It's only a matter of some few months before I am able to wear tights again and free my poor feet from the sweaty confines of sneakers and thin ballet flats but till then I'd like to continue mooning over and daydreaming about girls holding hands around Ouija boards with lots of glorious candles wearing black lipstick. Being someone with brown hair and near black hair maybe wearing black lipstick wouldn't exactly suit me but it'd be something I'd be interested in trying when taking pride within my own appearance. As of late I cannot be assed wearing lipstick to work and I cannot think of a worse idea than to wear it out on a date with my boyfriend... so I'm really left with little occasions to wear it at all then.

Space Head

Around my house there's a mass of books on the Moon as well as other astrological things that my father has collected over the years due to a fascination with all things space. In fact his younger brother, my uncle even worked at the Planetarium in Melbourne. I was thinking about studying about these sort of things at university but it involves far too much mathematics and not enough theory for my liking. It's just interesting to see what happens in the worlds beyond ours in the far reaches of space and to pour my eyes over the pages of the other-worldy; that is the nebulae, the moon as well as the stars.

I haven't seen these spacey Doc Martens on any other site then featured on another blogspot... I know that Solestruck an online store for unique shoes has some velvet Doc Martens but I haven't seen any sluck patent leather patterned combat boots with the northen lights or nebulae on them. They would look amazing when teamed up with some space leggings from Black Milk but maybe I'm just in a bit of a futuristic mood. It'd be great to be assured that these gloriously unique Doc Martens do exist and that they're not just a pipe dream to aspired towards. Other than Solestruck I'm not sure what other online shoe store to check out but there's already a swag of shoes from that website that I can't afford. Besides, the velvet Doc Martens in black may be more versatile with an edgy darkness to them as well.

It may be just a Photoshop effect to layer a spack background speckled with stars over the top of another photograph or it may be the work of a double exposure on a film camera. I really want to learn how to perform a mutliple exposure shot with better results than what I have already tried but to get an effect as intense as this it must be digitally enhanced. Which is a shame, I really dig the floating girl possessed scene mixed in with stars and the cosmos.

At my store we sell a few strings of lanterns with fairy lights inside them but I'd be really impressed if there were a set that were all patterned like the moon full of craters or if there was a solar system string of lucky lanterns. It porbably won't be hapening any time soon but the radiant look of the moon in this shot fills me with hope and whimsy.

Running through the school on my final victory lap of the school (senior year tradition), I spotted a brilliant water colour picture full of space motifs and a floating girl through the cosomos. It was almost as good as this mixture of a skinny and boney girl and a head full of speckled stars. I wish I was able to pull off such a great affect but any time I have tried I always make the paper too wet and it ripples and distorts. It's still nice to be able to observe and admire other people's handiwork regarding water colour as well as art that embodies space.

Dr. Martens

A pair of floral Dr Martens; to add a feminine touch to the hardy work boots and complement the soft focus of the background in comparison to the white daisies held in what appears to be an ink well next to the rare and elusive floral boots. They go for a pretty penny on eBay since they are one of the rarer prints of the English boots and are worn by models such as New Zealand model Zippora Seven. I like the contrast of the floral motif of the boots which seems to include flowers of every colour with the grain of the wood of the floor.

"Ever since 1st April 1960, When Dr. Martens boots first rolled off the production line and on to the feet of postmen, policemen and everyday workers, our reputation for durability has become footwear folklore. Over 100 million pairs later, our belief in making things to last is as strong as its ever been."

Part of the British boot companies success may be attributed to the hardy nature of the Dr Martens, as well as the variations in colour and design. There are docs available for children as well as adults and they come in just about every colour and pattern you can imagine. There's floral, metallic pink, purple, red, green, roses, pastel, cherry red, orange, black, brown, leopard print... every colour of the rainbow in every sheen and effect possible! The popular range of footwear has also dabbled in shades of suede in addition to the traditional leather. My favourite pair that I've seen have been a sweet ladybird motif. As well as boots, Dr Martens have created variations on the popular ballet flat, crafted high heeled boots and Mary Jane t-bars. Although I swore on my last day of high school I would move away from that kind of fashion, I love the Dr Martens t-bars. They'd go well with a lovely pair of frilly socks in maroon with white lace from American Apparel.

It's a bit hard to believe Dr Martens have been around for over half a century, but at the same time everyone seems to have subconsciously known them for your entire life. The boots have been etched into the background of history: when asked to think about punks in Germany or skinheads from England, my mind immediately leaps to images of sky-high mohawks of neon green coupled with tall, curb-stomping boots that look like they're stolen from the nearest local army base.

I love to see a good pair of Dr Martens and some tights with long ladders and sizable rips. That's when the real gritty character of the boots is unleashed and you achieve the punk look and make them look tough and domineering. When walking around in a pair of authentic docs you sort of clunk around clumsily and I personally think you'd have to be mad to wear them all the time- but I guess if you did then you'd have a mean sort of outer shell and get a sort of a reputation. Boots like those can build a reputation, brick by brick as it were and like my mother always says it's good to be tough-skinned and not let things get to you. Endure the real character-building incidents in your life and these shoes let you breeze through that sort of stuff with ease.

Within the last thirty years or so, Dr Martens have been worn by many different peoples with various kinds of personal styles. Although I may first associate the boots with grunge and punk, they have been become part of the hipster movement as well for lovers of vintage and unique clothing. At a store in Melbourne known as RetroStar I always loved pouring over the pairs of Dr Martens scalped and pilfered from Op Shops across suburban Victoria and collected to be resold at the pricey vintage palace. Pairs of black docs were plentiful, but the staff would change the laces on a few pairs and sometimes there would be a few different colours worn out after many years of faithful service and eagerly awaiting to be worn again for the next generation of artistic youths.

A pair of shiny, black Dr martens dressed up with shoe laces that seem reminiscent of Where's Wally picture books. I like the new lease on life the boots have been given: the flair of individuality as well as the pairing with a wild pair of striped socks rolled down the calves. There's a lot you can tell from a person's shoes. If you're a forensic investigator, it's how the person walks and any sorts of injuries they may be carrying. If you're a magazine editor it's the style, grace and elegance of the wearer as well as their attention to detail and quirk.

I wish all the docs pictured in the photograph above were in my room and not in some shop! It's a bit hard to tell from the film photograph and the sort of soft-focus and uneven flash but some of the pairs, particularly the green pair may even be suede, an elusive sub-species of the Dr Martens animal kingdom. I have a friend who loves velvet- I hope that she would be impressed by them.

I like the notion of

I am a bit dubious as to whether the see-through boots pictured above are authentic docs. The soles seem to have the same height and grip to them but the toes seem to be rounded a tad too much and also there is a suspicious circle motif near the eye holes of the boot that seem to imitate the trademark star symbol of Converse's Chuck Taylors

I adore the combination of Dr Martens boots in black, white frilly socks and the tights. I am a bit of a fan of tights with little effects such as a dotted pattern or hearts and I think that the tights and socks really soften the toughness the boots seem to radiate and give off. This is what I mean by their great versatility and the different sense of styles of people across all ages that wear them. I've seen teachers that are known geeks and self-proclaimed comic book lovers sport the boots as well as some of the more senior students who are self-assured in their sense of style and own physical presence. The boots have a fantastic reputation to them and I think that as more youths such as myself imitate and wear vintage clothing, it brings us closer to out elders who remember and first wore such legends as the Dr Martens boots.

I myself own a pair of the famed boots of folklore and urban legend: patent leather with an embossed floral motif bough from Myer in the city a year ago on Boxing Day. When I bought them I got more than I bargained for really, not just a pair of iconic shoes with punk attitude. They can sometimes have a human quality to them almost, specifically their rebelious nature to being worn all day and a bi-polar tendency. One day wearing them will be a walk in the park so to speak, all sunshine, kittens and rainbows stomping around San Diego Zoo exploring with not a care in the world and then the next it will be all blisters and limping agony dressed as Luigi the Italian plumber begging Mario to slow down during recess at school. Oh yes, I wear my Dr Martens with pride for many an occasion but sometimes they can not be as friendly for your feet as maybe you'd like to think.

Therefore, with their slight tendency of violence towards feet, the best thing to do is to arm yourself and wear a pair of thick, woolen socks when rocking out with your docs out. Do not gain confidence in the leather and think that it may have softened after the the cycle of nature and the seasons have 'may' have weakened them. At no times are you every truly safe- don't you see this is just what they want you to think and do?! Those devilish boots are tricky little buggers; they lull you into a sense of false security so they can give you nasty nipping blisters that take a fortnight to heel. No longer will they claim me as a prisoner of war. I advise you to be the same, but dear reader, do not be discouraged! They are good boots of strong and hardy leather and can survive many a scuffing and still have the same glimmer they always had. They can be found in Salvos, Vinnies and Op Shops or eBay so if you do seek them, the hunting grounds are wide. I wish you luck in your intrepid travels if you do intend to wear docs.