three inches

heeeeeeech

2009-08-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

red and purple lipstick all over the page

2009-08-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

go out and smash it like oh my god

2009-06-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

[shoes vintage, top thrifted, skirt express]

i'm backkk

2009-06-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

[dress by me, shirt gointernational, shoes ninewest]

my love affair with studs and Balmain OR how I saved lots of money by making my own prom dress

2009-05-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Studs. I am a huge fan. Of them. I'm also a huge fan of DIY. So just about everyone in the fashion blogosphere has drooled over Balmain at one point. And now it's my turn.

I had been pouring over pictures for inspiration for my prom dress for ages. I was set on a flowy, possibly grecian, with flower details sort of dress but when I saw the backstage pictures of Balmain S/S 09 all of that sort of flew out the window. I was particularly set on a bandage silhouette which I had so previously loved in Herve Leger dresses and when I saw this dress with the jewels, I knew I had to make it.

One tiny problem. My sewing ability is sort of unorthodox in that I don't understand patterns or anything, really. I started out with a thin black cotton fabric and cut it in a sort of skintight tube dress with sewing down on side. Very simple. Then I cut black strips of velvet approximately 3-4 inches in width and 2 yards long. I took the strips and crossed them in the front to form an X in the front and two straight bands in the back by sewing two of the ends together. (This description is horrid) I did this repeatedly with about 5 strips and I interwove some of the X's to create a weaving effect that some of the Balmain dresses had.

Once I had all of the strips on me securely, I had to secure them to the black cotton tube which I was wearing underneath. I did this by pinning the strips one the sides and taking off the dress (easier said than done since there was no zipper.. ) and sewing down either side. Thank god this worked. It sounds crude I know. The best part of the strips not being securely attached except at 2 points is that when the dress isn't worn, the dress seriously resembles a cleaning mop. I love it.

For the neckline, I wanted something asymmetrical and when I saw this Balmain dress, I decided to incorporate it.

Instead of using the jewels on the dress I wanted to use studs. Now I've never used studs before which in retrospect is probably a good thing because I probably would not have done it. Studding velvet cloth is not fun. Especially when the studs you are using are very tiny and the prongs don't poke in the cloth where you want them to. After awhile though, I must admit, studding became fun and even addictive. I bought 2 packs of 500 from studsandspikes.com, but I have lots left over. For future projects. Probably to the disappointment of my boyfriend. Some of the leftovers I used to make a deliciously tacky headband.

[nine west heels, diy prom dress]

I have a couple of better photos of the dress which I will add later once I steal them from my friend.
If anyone has any questions or needs clarifications because for some reason they didn't understand my extremely clear descriptions (I kid.) leave a comment!

resistance is futile

2009-04-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Guess Maeve Boots. Unbridled. Lust. That describes my feeling for these. Pretty much ever since I saw the Topshop Emma Cook boots. I had to walk around in legit army combat boots for a emergency response program that I did for the past 4 years just about every weekend so I blame my love of manly dominatrix shoes on that. I also blame them for being 56% off, Laurel for looking amazing in them, and my math final that I would do just about anything to get out of studying for.

Oh dear, lots of blame in my life right now.

I am fully aware of all the crap I will get from people in my life for wearing these shoes. For example, my sister responded with "ew" when I sent her a picture and told me to at least get them in brown because "the black ones are too combat emo boot-y." We share DNA but not fashion sense.

I was greatly amused when in an enthusiastic user's review of the shoes, the woman claimed that she bought them for a hiking trip. She must not be married. That's all I can say.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THESE TO COME. There was a certain thrill in getting the last pair in my size.

It is bad that material things bring me such joy? Ah well, first major shoe purchase calls for such excitement.. yes?

my feet barely touch the ground when i sit on this couch properly

2009-04-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite kind of shoes are the fug kind.
These shoes are particularly horrific. It's as if some child was presented with a gorgeously delicate peep toe with a chunky heel and then proceeded to cover it in a tacky green corduroy fabric. And then the child mistook the shoe for its coloring book and drew huge tacky flowers all over it. Needless to say, I love these shoes.

They also have an adorable bow on the peep toe. I was going to make a punny blogpost title along the lines of 'little bow peep' Hee.

Dragged to San Francisco with a couple of prom-dress shopping desperate friends, I discovered these beauties in the clearance section of Ambiance marked down from $70 to a grand total of $4.23. Yes, it cost me almost as much as my Starbucks. Sometimes it pays to have an uncommonly huge shoe size.

5'4''

2009-04-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Three inches. Or 7.62 cm if you happen to live somewhere that has a measuring system that makes actual sense. Which I do not. Why this seemingly arbitrary measure of distance? Well, to me, three inches is not insignificant. The Earth sank three inches under the weight of the Flooded Amazon back in 2005. There's a Canadian sextet called Three Inches of Blood that plays heavy metal music. Three inches is also the least amount of heel I agree to wear, before I turn to flats. However to me, three inches represents something I lack. In height. And if one more person decides to inform me that I should try out for the sub-5'7'' ANTM cycle, I will shank that person. And their mother. Welcome to my blog.

[photo credit - jakandjil]