A Procrastination Post

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been a crappy blogger again, I've been swamped in tafe work. Next Wednesday afternoon I have to present my studio garment to a panel of judges from industry (Elio from Elio Moda, Pina from Fiorenza Bridal , and Zina from Red Cordial), and I've been madly fraying garment edges and sewing beads trying to get it all complete. The winner gets $5000 so that would be super nice (but I'm not really expecting to win lol). This is a post done in procrastination because I'm avoiding doing all the spec sheets that go with the garment (kill me...)

So I wasn't going to show you my recent buys until they actually arrived, because I've been doing all my shopping online, but now seems like the perfect time to show you :) HELL YES PROCRASTINATION!

It seems I've gone a little leotard crazy in the past week...I BOUGHT 3! What the hell is wrong with me? lol. Here goes:
This one is actually for a costume, but I strategically bought it in a colour that's coming into fashion this summer in a big way, so I can wear it with shorts and what not after I use it as a costume :)I'm really looking forward to getting this one in the mail...it's BLACK VELVET! To be honest I've never really been in to velvet ever since my mum made me a dalmatian print velvet vest back in my childhood (it was cool back then I swear), but ever since then it's been all I ever think of when I see velvet. Terrible.

I'm hoping like hell that this one fits (or that I can successfully take it in). It's a size 12 and I'm a 10, but I desperately wanted a lace leotard. I know its super hard to see it in this photo (which is part of the reason I was gonna wait til I got the item before doing this post), but it has a triangle of lace through the centre front (it's bigger at the top and tapers down to the crotch). Other than this one, the only lace leotards I came across were 100% lace...meaning 100% see through. I dunno about you but I think leaving your bra and stomach on display for all to see is just a liiiiiitle bit skanky (not to mention I have no desire to show everyone my non-supermodel stomach). I did consider buying one and layering it over my lilac leotard, but in summer you don't really want a million layers. So I'm quite happy I found this one...fingers crossed it fits!


One last buy...it's not a leotard but it's super cute :) I bought this one from a shop on Facebook called "Lou Lou" (as you can see from the photo I stole from their website). They're based in Perth I believe and they only make limited quantities of their garments, so you gotta get in quick if you want anything. They currently have their second collection available, as well as some garments from their first collection. If you search "LouLou Onlineshop" on Facebook you should be able to find them.

Well that's all for now my pretties :) I'll post up a photo of my garment next week after it's complete and on a model.

xoxo

Alice In Wonderband

I'm back again! Seems I've been blogging a bit lately, but I keep finding amazing things I want to share with you!

This time I've come across a store on ebay that has the most adorable alice bands (probably better known in Australia as head bands, but alice bands sounds so much cuter). You can check out the store here. The store is unfortunately based in South Korea, so anything you buy will most likely take about a fortnight to arrive, but if u don't mind the wait then go nuts! I've yet to buy anything from them so I can't be sure of the quality, but I checked the feedback and there's only a minimal number of people whinging about a bit of glue showing here and there. It probably depends a bit on the style. Most of them range from about $7 to $15 including postage.

Here's some pics of some of my favourites (click to enlarge):


xoxo

Bordello

As some of you know, I do pole dancing as a form of exercise. Despite what a lot of people think, it's not stripping, and unlike the skanks of the world I don't go flaunting my talents on street posts. It really is a lot of fun, and it really helps build muscle tone. As an added bonus I could tell I was losing weight after just a couple of weeks of attending classes. So to anyone who has ever considered giving it a go, I say just go for it, it's so addictive! Wear the inevitable bruises as a badge of honour and pride!

Anyway to the point of this blog post. You all saw the lacey shoe in my last blog right? Pretty isn't it? Well the brand of that shoe is Bordello, which just so happens to be a brand of POLE DANCING SHOE. So to anyone who has ever referred to the shoes that the strippers in the clubs wear as 'stripper shoes', you should know that they're actually specifically designed for pole dancing, and strippers just happen to wear them. My guess is that this is part of the reason why people have negative ideas about pole dancing.

So as a treat I have some pics of some AWESOME pole dancing shoes that would be perfectly acceptable to wear just about anywhere. I'm sure most girls at some point in their life have worn something VERY similar...
Love these...very Dorothy from the Wizard Of OzFAVOURITES!

So there you have it. Most places that stock Bordello shoes will charge approx $175 for a pair, or up to $230 for the rhinestone encrusted ones. However, the shop I get my 'stripper shoes' from stocks them for about $110 up to $170. They're called 'Shoes In Hollywood' and are situated at Bald Hills. You can check the website out here. If they don't have the item you want in stock they can usually order it from their distributor in America and it will only take them about a week to get it in. You can visit the shop, or shop online if you don't mind paying the postage costs.

Til next time...keep an open mind :)
xoxo

Love of Lace

I'm loving lace right now. I remember the days when I would have refused to wear anything flowery or lacey, saying it was too pretty. Ahhh how things have changed. Here's some of the lacey things i'm loving at the moment:
I would like to take this opportunity to say that i still don't like crochet.

xoxo

To Felix & Slink...

Thankyou to Felix & Slink for their apology regarding my experience at YEDP. I admit that telling others to avoid their events altogether was probably a tough call, however, the point of my blog wasn’t to put shit on Felix & Slink, but rather emote how disappointed I was with the event as a whole. Myself and many others were under the impression that the event was a show and not just a party and yes I understand that there would have been a lot more space had it not rained. I appreciate the efforts of Felix & Slink in regards to the event, and also in regards to their efforts in contacting me and apologising for my experience; it means a lot and shows that the agency cares. However, my blog is a reflection on what I experienced on the night and I do not think that any of the statements were uncalled for.

YEDP and Valentino

Hey guys...

Guess what? I now have 10 followers! We're in double digits baby!

Anyway I know I've been really slack reporting back to you about YEDP, I was waiting for a half decent photo from the event to surface, but since one has yet to come up I'll show you this one instead:Kudos to Edith for managing to look cute as usual while I look like a spaz who doesn't want to smile anymore.

Anyway, despite the celebrity attention the show got (Erin McNaught, Leigh Buchanan, Julie Grbac and Petrova Hammond), to be honest the show was really shit and not worth the $85 entry (plus the $200+ I spent on my outfit). I've read a review on the show that stated that 'not many shows are a sellout and a washout', and I thought woah someone is finally telling the truth. Well I was wrong. Turns out the 'washout' they were referring to was the torrential downpour we experienced that night.

The Laruche Bar is really nice, however definitely not suitable for a fashion show. The 'runway' consisted of people being moved to the side to create a gap in the crowd, the room was overcrowded, and very dark. There were about 8 garments shown (you can hardly call that a show), and unfortunately I couldn't see any of them because of the poor set up. Each model was also holding up a big sign with the designer's name on it. Great for exposure, not so great if you're trying to see the actual garment.

So the moral of the story is, don't go to any events hosted by Felix and Slink, and definitely don't go to any show's held at The Laruche Bar. I think we owe more to Brisbane's up and coming designers. Let's get these shows out of the bars where everyone is too drunk to appreciate whats going on, or at least hold them earlier in the night before everyone has a chance to get to that point. The venue opened at 9:30 and the show wasn't until 2 hours later (free drinks on offer). Oh and did I mention I ate a piece of raw chicken and spent the rest of the night feeling ill? I was out of there by midnight...

In happier news, I went and saw the Valentino exhibit at GOMA yesterday. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take any photos in there (some of the garments are about 50 years old and the extra light can be damaging to the fabrics), but I have some pictures courtesy of Oliver Black. You can see all his pics on his facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=195987&id=709224693 or if you follow this link to the GOMA website there are images of some of the garments on display: http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/valentino_retrospective/Valentino_gallery


Once you look at the first couple of garments you turn the corner into one of the main galleries...and WOW that is a sight to be seen! Platform upon platform of Valentino dresses, and the room would span a couple of hundred metres. It is just amazing to see these garments up close and take in just how much work has actually gone into them. I believe I once heard that other than major seams, all Valentino's garments are sewn and embellished by hand... if that's true then I can't even begin to imagine how long it must have taken to sew some of those garments! While I have to admit that not all of Valentino's work is really my thing, this is one exhibit you can't miss. Tickets are $16 for students and $20 for adults and it runs until the 14th of November. GO CHECK IT OUT! They have some pretty cheap merchandise too if ur a gift shop person, I got a magnetic bookmark for $2.50 :)

Til next time...
xoxo

Why it's ok to whinge...

Hey guys...a quick post on why it's ok to whinge to company's about their products. If you've bought a garment (or really any other item for that matter) that you're not entirely happy with (eg. it's faulty or hasn't lasted as long as you think it should have), then CONTACT THE COMPANY. Have a whinge. In my experience, the majority of the time they will give you some sort of compensation or a full replacement because they want to keep you happy so you'll keep buying their product.

For example, the pair of stockings I bought for the YEDP show had a run in them before I even put them on. Luckily the run wasn't long enough to be seen from under my dress so I just put some nail polish on it to stop it going any further, but this meant that I could no longer return the product because of the nail polish. I wrote Voodoo an email though telling them of the problem and they've asked me to send the stockings back (despite the nail polish) for their quality control department to examine, and they're gonna send me a brand new pair, FREE OF CHARGE.

And that's why it pays to whinge...

xoxo

An EKKA Rant...

Ok so this is a bit more of a quick rant than anything of interest, but yesterday when I went to the EKKA I went and watched the Cotton and Wool Fashion Parade (of course). The audience seemed to appreciate the established designers stuff, however as soon as MSIT and QUT student's work came out there was quite alot of laughter rippling round the auditorium. Why? I don't know. I spose some of the garments were a little more imaginative than others, incorporating small bustles and what not, but honestly I just found this inspiring and it was really hurtful to realise that the general public just doesn't understand what fashion is all about. All I have to say to those people is that if you're just going to sit there and laugh at someone else's work, how about next year you just head on over to the 'Forty Plus and Fabulous' workshops instead. Let them tell you how to dress your wrinkling bodies.

So that being said, I'll finish with some pictures I took of some ridiculously coloured chickens...not sure what prize their owners were attempting to win, but I feel sorry for the poor things. Sorry the pics are a bit fuzzy, my camera is shit with the flash turned off and I didn't want to scare them, I'm sure they've been tormented enough :s

mirror mirror POKEMON!

Woohoo I finally got the photos from Mirror Mirror Pokemon! As you may remember the pokemon I chose were Dewgong, Goldeen and Seaking. I'm sure you can work out which outfit is which just by looking at the colours :)

Remember you can enlarge the pics by clicking on them...enjoy!


xoxo

my YEDP outfit

Greetings followers!

So I went and found an outfit for the YEDP show on Tuesday night, and spent far more than I was supposed to...OOPS! It's ok though, because I love the dress and I'm sure I can wear the jacket with other items. So here's my outfit:So as you can probably guess my whole damn outfit is from Bardot. At this point you're probably thinking I should just apply for a job there, but the thing is I can't stand the whole fake facade that is attached to a job in retail clothing (and we wonder why I'm in this industry...) So anyway the dress was $130 (and the last size 10 in Brisbane which I trekked to the city for), and the jacket was $100. With my 10% Bardot discount card (wow this makes me sound really obsessive for having a discount card, I'm innocent though I swear, they just gave it to me one day for buying a t-shirt) it came to about $200 total. Eeep...good thing drinks are included in the ticket price for the night!

Hopefully I'll see you at the show (I'm not sure if tickets are still available but if you want to double check the link is in my last post).

Love
xoxo

AUGUST: a busy month for Fashion in Brisbane

Hey peeps...
I'm sorry it's been A WHOLE WEEK since I last blogged...I haven't given up I promise! I'm still waiting on some photos from Mirror Mirror, but I will post them up once I have them :)

In other news: Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival (MBFF) starts this Saturday (the 7th) along with the Valentino exhibit at GOMA. What a month August is for fashion in Brisbane! And for those of you heading to the EKKA which opens this Thursday (the 5th) make sure you check out the Cotton and Wool fashion parades there too. There's 3 shows a day at 1, 2, and 3pm (and 4pm on selected dates). I'm sooooo looking forward to having a strawberry ice-cream (despite this freezing weather hanging around at the moment).

Also, on Tuesday the 10th at 9:30pm is the Young Emerging Designer's Party (YEDP) being held by Felix and Slink at Laruche Bar & Supperclub in the Valley. Tickets are $85 (available from the website) which includes free drinks and canapes until 12:30am and a parade showcasing up and coming designers such as Ireney T, Neon Heartache, Edwina Mclennan and many more. Get all the info here: http://www.yedp.com.au/home.html

Well that's all for now, I'll have Mirror Mirror pics up as soon as I get them, and I need a new outfit for Tuesday night so no doubt I'll post it up here too!

...
xoxo