Paper Doll Cut

FOUR MORE DAYS...

2008-05-07T17:18:00.001-07:00

Only four more days of pure line drawing, cardboard cutting, play-doh modelling, latex pouring, photoshop editing.... and I. will. be. frigging. free. from. this. frigging. project.
Ice lollies have proved to be amazing energy boosters for these occasions!
yummy yum yum.

I'm sorry... come again?!

2008-04-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, hold on to whatever stable object is near you as I present the following:

Why must you do this Onkel Karl??? US$230 (around £115) for a pair of tights? I was very much ready to panic call every Chanel boutique in September to get my peasant mittens on these... £80 tops. £80 tops. Alas, the £80 have been thrown at my face. Rejection sucks.
I shall wait patiently for a high-street cheapo version... if they did it to the Prada socks, they can do it to these tights ...right?
Yet somehow... there's a little voice with a peculiar german-french accent telling me to go the extra £35 and get the real thing...

omg shoes.

2008-04-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I find it harder to be criticized on a design that I know was half-done than a design that I put all my effort on. I guess it's because there's more to learn from the latter... and that I should know better than to present half-arsed work. Either way, enough pointless ranting.

Pretty shoes were made for a reason. Some people may say it's to put us in debt. I say it's to cheer us up whenever we put them on. Cheaper than therapy and faster effects.

While these ones haven't had an outing yet, they have been used quite a lot whenever I feel like adding a little bit of spring to my feet. (no puns intended). Add a cup of tea, some ice-cream and I'm as good as new. On to the next step. (this time: awful pun intended).

It has landed.

2008-04-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

In all it's fluoro flowery glory, the elusive flowery prom dress has landed the Topshop website. Ironically enough... two months ago I would have run over to Topshop at midnight, forced the doors open with my T-square, raided their storage, left £100 quid and run away with the dress. Today... I just sit here in front of my laptop, look at the decent £50 tag, think "feh... can't be bovvered...." and scratch my belly.

ayayay steve madden!

2008-04-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Out had to come my spanish "ayayay dios mio!" when I laid eyes on the blatant copies of the Balenciaga FW07 shoe that Steve Madden has produced. Many complaints have been around the internets about the designer copying that sly Steve Madden has been up to. I never really thought much of it until my eyes settled on the "Bukled Bright Multi". A flamboyant bad copy it is, what with the awkward padding, weird dangling buckle on the back and just overall "hey, I'm better than nothing".

As if the poor shoe hadn't gone through enough suffering! I mean.. first came Beyonce who took all it's dignity away... and now this? I wanted these shoes badly when they came out, but with a £2000-ish tag (supposedly went down to £700?) ... I had to refrain. I still talked about them night and day to my friends. I would look over and over at it's pics on style.com... So, as much as I dislike the copy, there's a part of me listening to the SM shoe saying "oh come on babes, I ain't as good as Bal but I'm the only single guy left around and we all know you're lonely so gimme a try eh"....ayayay dios mio.

UPDATE:
"que carajo..?!" came out of my mouth when I found this abomination:
Balenciaga shoe, I know you must be going through some hard times, call me. Let's talk, let me hold you...

Yada yada yada

2008-04-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Between the alternation of spring cleaning and my self-made ArchiCAD crash learning course (nightmare) I did some flipping through my fashion inspiration file.

What stood out the most was the exagerately flared jeans. Unfortunately the only time I tried one of these on was with a friend who went to great lenghts in order to make me think that "these are butch lesbian trousers and as such should never ever eeeeever be worn yada yada". I shall buy these from Topshop, bring out whatever "butch lesbian" I have inside and wear them proudly with my Peacocks wedges (a copy of some Marc by MJ ones) or Miu Miu heels.

Another thing from the files was the bottom left pic of the girl in the denim bustier and sheer cardigan. I own a floral denim bustier which I always wore on top of a t-shirt since it was quite revealing... it had never occured to my marshmallow brain to layer it UNDER something... doh.

Alas, it is back to the ArchiCAD crash learning course and all dreams of 70s style frolicking must be swallowed up by 3D buildings... ugh.

Spring-cleaning story-telling

2008-04-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Back in my youthful days, I took a lot of pride in the fact that I could remember the origin of all of my toys. From which store they were bought to how I came to like them and the such. My deluded self had hopes that I would re-sell them when I was older and become a millionaire so I could buy one of those barbie cars for kids. My greedy dreams were crushed when my mother decided to give all my toys to my cousins.

I still have the same kind of obsession with attaching a story to the items I own. Today's spring cleaning was geared towards the accesories and there were a few things that even though no longer worn, have too much of a story to be thrown away.

The first necklace is made with some beads I got on a trip to Japan. The beads came in a bag along with other random ones. I always had hopes of making many things with them but never got to it since I'm a terrible procrastinator. On one of her cleaning frenzies, my mum decided to just make random necklaces with them so they wouldn't "go to waste". Out of the many she made, I brought this one for some reason I can't really remember... maybe because the others reminded me of frankenstein.
The second necklace doesn't have much sentimental value but is is special. It's made with a peruvian seed called Huayruro. There's a tradition in Peru where a bracelet made with one of these seeds and a little metal charm in the shape of a baby is put around a new-born's wrist so he won't be vulnerable to evil. Not many people do it nowadays.
The third necklace/bracelet is also traditionally peruvian. It was my favourite necklace when I was 18 and I would wear it EVERYWHERE.
The last one is from a backpacking trip to Thailand (I know, how cliche). I got many random bits of jewellery on that trip but this one I would wear all the time with a Paul Frank t-shirt, those thai fisherman trousers favoured by backpackers (again, how cliche) and a battered pair of Adidas trainers.

The first scarf was knitted by my mom before I came to uni in the "so so cold" UK, and is the true example of a family curse where us the females get too excited and add as much crap as we can to our crafts. I do wear this scarf every once in a while, mainly because my mum stopped knitting things for me when I was around 5 (I think she couldn't be bothered to knit big jumpers) and her knitting something for 19-year-old me was a. big. deal.
The second scarf was made by my perfectionist best friend. This simple-looking scarf cost her blood, sweat and tears. If a row was 0.0001mm thinner than the others, she would get pissed off and redo the whole thing. While she could have spent max 3 hours on this, she ended up spending over a week or so. In her words, she wanted me to not find a better scarf than this one in the UK. She also recognizes it was her way of dealing with her fear that I would replace her. Alas, I have not.

£600 for a pair of dewy-eyes.

2008-04-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

When I was little, my mother hung pictures of puppies, ducklings and kitties in my room. I really wish she had kept some of them because they were terribly cute... in a cheesy way. My favourite was a version of the painting Dogs Playing Cards where the grown dogs had been changed into puppies.

Today while browsing the charity shops I came across the following tray:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. This is exactly the kind of paintings my mum hung on my room. I know I'm supposed to abstain from shopping but at £2 how could I say no?? I'm gonna proceed to turn it into a proper frame and hang it on my room, to kinda feel more homesick and cosy at the same time.
But one of the things it also reminded me of was this tunic/dress by Paul and Joe that I drooled over at Harrods:

I mean, come on! How more cheesy-cute can that tiger cub get??? I really do think it looks amazing in real life, the colour of the silk is a bit creamier and that really makes the tiger pop. But at around £600 (or was it £300...?) I think I am abstaining and holding on to my puppy tray/frame.
Am also hoping nobody else's mother hung cute-cheesy puppy pictures in their rooms so nobody will buy the tunics and they will go on sale for like £80. But that's just the child in me hoping hopelessly.

the wardrobe bitch-slap.

2008-04-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Spring cleaning is always there to remind me that no, I do NOT need any more clothes.
First, there's plastic drawers jam-packed with daily tops. Then the two plastic boxes, one for daily dresses and skirts, the other for bags (the bottom suitcase is filled with books...). The actual wardrobe bursting with shoes and outerwear. A roxy suitcase and the metallic suitcase filled with clothes that don't fit me anymore cause I've gained a considerable ammount of weight. The black suitcase on the bottom which is half-filled with DIY ideas and the turquoise suitcase with some vintage clothing (the suitcase on top of the turquoise one is empty). There's also a box full of shoes that I couldn't be bothered to dig out since it's underneath my bed behind some very delicate models. And let's not get started on my book situation...

I feel bitch-slapped and I do deserve it! Only today I was browsing through a charity shop thinking how much I needed a raincoat when you can see in my wardrobe a perfectly fine blue one...

Time to put a lid on the moneys.

Branded like a cow

2008-04-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

Last night after painting my nails, a silver marker caught my eye so I got all giggly and started drawing stars on top of my blue coat.
After realising that not only had I painted my nails with Chanel nail polish but had also blatantly copied the star-print from the SS08 collection, I got even more giggly and thought of drawing a chanel logo... my senses got to me before the marker got to my nails though. While I think some brand-loving can be alright to some extent, as in you love the style of a brand and immitate the style (kinda like painting stars on my nails), brand-loving can go really wrong and end up like this:

So I'll be keeping that marker away from my nails for some time...

fish vs. bunnies!

2008-03-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Coming from the lovely catholic continent that is South America, if I were back home I would be facing a weekend full of religious movies and being force-fed fish soup by my mother. Not complaining since it is after all what I grew up with and while I hated it when I was little, I do miss it now.
Instead, I decided to fill this Friday making cheesy easter bonnets and picking up daffodils from campus while cycling since the sun made a shy brief appearance. Some easter-themed cookie decorating with the flatmates was in order too. We ended up drawing bunnies and chickens worthy of a horror flic. They were really ugly. But tasty.

Hope you have a wonderful easter, without ugly bunnies/chicks in your cookies!

2008-03-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

I really hadn't realized the sudden explosion of celebrity "designed" clothing... but after clicking away on New York magazine's article on Kate Moss' collection... WOW.

Avril Lavigne, Rachel Bilson, Heidi Montag, Whitney Port, Pete Wentz ... huuuuuuuuuuh??? While I don't really mind celebrity lines, if the designs are good... but they are after all based more on the celeb's popularity rather than skills and mostly we end up with overpriced unfortunate garments... here's hoping that the Rachel Bilson for DKNY collection produces some good pieces.

Dress-shopping for the food-obsessed.

2008-03-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

All the dresses below are from Topshop, can you guess which one is from the Kate Moss collection?

Yep, the overpriced one.
I got the polka dot one... and what did I do with the extra £15 you ask? Eat half a chicken from Nando's with peri peri chips and coleslaw... and a massive popcorn sundae from Friday's. The best of it all?? The empire line shape of the polka dot dress will hide all the weight gained from such a scrumptious meal. I love it when things come together as nicely as this.

mister thirty-seven, my love drifts a little...

2008-03-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

Many people know the wonders of charity shopping, mainly the browsing that then gives to finds such as a gorgeous vintage dress for £3. It then becomes the most special treasure since it was meant for one and for one alone... or at least that's what I like to think when I find something special...
Yesterday I went back with my bike to the lovely town I went to last time. Of course, many wonderful things were found... but the thing that absolutely made my day was the following:

When I went inside the shop I started browsing through the teddies and the lady who was putting them together smiled and said "It's a teddy bear picnic!". Apparently they had received a massive donation of teddies and decided that instead of shoving them all in a basket like most charity shops do, they would put them in a table and have them picnic. Yep, those are real edible gingerbread men!
Among the picnickers I managed to find a Lion King plush that I really wanted in my young years but that I never got because my mother couldn't afford it. He is now sitting in my desk.

So yes, charity shopping... true love.

mister thirty-six, all that glitters is not as smooth as gold

2008-03-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sequins, sequins, sequins. I love sequins. Sequin dresses, sequin leggings, sequin tops, sequin skirts, sequin jumpers... even sequin bras if I could find them. It would never fit in my heart that anybody could hate sequins. My world would crumble if I heard such vile words.

Yesterday I did. From the mouth of my bestest mate. It all started about me asking him how this formal party at his girlfriend's house went. He went straight to it: "It was good, except that Patricia was wearing a chastity belt". Upon further enquiry he ranted about how he wouldn't dare touch her for fear that her sequin dress would shred his sensible hands.
According to him, this isn't the first time he has encountered "the hostility of sequins". Apparently his prom date was such a case. My world did crumble... how could such pretty things as sequins be so hostile to the opposite sex??

On second thought... I considered how useful my sequin leggings will be when those wandering hands often found at cheesy student nights decide to wander beyond their boundaries.

mister thirty-five, let me clutch you.

2008-03-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Image from Zavvi

Onkel karl. How can you not love him. I know some hate him but me... I really wish he was my onkel. Anywaaay, out is his DVD! (actually... has been out for some time) and while his musings may not be as funny as the girls from Go Fug Yourself make them seem (my favourite) ... I still feel like spending a lazy afternoon watching him work. Add to basket it is!

On a side note, does anyone else find the Zavvi website really ugly?

Edit: As always youtube has something. Preview can be found here.

mister thirty-four, temptation temptation....

2008-02-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

Image from Net-a-Porter

... comes in the shape above. Seen here... I've found one for £350. ponder ponder ponder. Answer will most likely be no.

mister thirty-three, bite me.

2008-02-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

Lovely dress the one above, huh? Really pretty... but think twice, once you get hooked... it will bring out the worst in you. It got me to the point of dress-stalking... a chapter I'd like to forget...

Topshop decided to play the misterious card with it, what with random prices (ranging from modest £30 to appaling £100) appearing in different magazines and an unknown sale date (a topshop girl actually suggested it would be out in 2 months...!).

With my birthday creeping up on me, matters had to be taken into my own hands. A browse in London's Beyond Retro last last Wednesday provided the floral dress, unfortunately there's no before picture since I went chopping as soon as I could. Trust me though, old lady floral dress it was! Some chop-chopping and amateur stitching later:

I know, it's practically a copy of the Topshop one but I really liked the design. What I did was chop off half the skirt part of the dress and then make a mini-skirt out of it with elastic. So basically I've got a dress/top, a skirt and well, there's no tutu... it really is just tulle fabric attached with safety pins.
Was an amazing party dress though, I felt like one of those wedding cakes with loads of sugar flowers on them.

So yeah! who needs topshop anyway?? huuuuuuuuuuh??!!!

mister thirty-two, say bye to Cathy!

2008-02-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

Oh wallets wallets wallets, it's a love hate relationship between me and them. Love them because the alternative is a pandemonium of receipts/pictures/coins/cards/candy in my bag. Hate them when they dissappear and leave me vulnerable to this mean mean world. Still, it's more love than hate and my love tends to be too rough on them.

Meet Cathy, she has been with me the last year and a bit... she is one special lady and even though I've made her gain some serious pounds (no puns intended) with all the crap she carries, she still holds up... but I think she's begging to retire...

Now meet her brief alternative ... she is gorgeous, soft to touch and svelte. Don't let her good looks fool you cause the lady has some serious organising techniques inside there. Unfortunately, knowing my history with wallets... she won't be able to take the abuse. She is to be returned soon, I don't deserve her.

And we arrive to the one I see some serious future with:

Image from Dollydagger

Not only is she blessed with looks but she seems to be made for people like me who feel some ridiculous need to store as much crap as they can in their wallets. She is to arrive in the next week or so...

ps: just realized I made that last wallet sound like a mail-order bride...

mister thirty-one.

2008-02-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

two guggenheims, two architects. two shoes, two designers. one broke girl surviving on toast.

Chloe s/s 08, Solomon Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright

Prada a/w 08, Guggenheim Bilbao by Frank O. Gehry

mister thirty, it's my birthday...

2008-02-17T10:28:00.001-08:00

... even though I don't look like it / the day doesn't seem like it, it is still a happy one. More details once I'm de-stressed out.

mister twenty-nine, oh the woe you give me.

2008-02-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

Image by FaceHunter

The woe, the woe. Where are those striped tights from??

mister twenty-eight.

2008-02-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, I did some day-tripping to London. Of course, the main purpose was researching at the amazing RIBA library but I couldn't stop taking a peek at Topshop on my way there.
After much wandering, I stumbled upon the VV Rouleaux stall. All those feathers, birds, flowers and colours lured me in. I hovered round and round the stall not deciding how to approach so much colour. Eventually I made my way to one of the lovely girls attending the stall and she helped me make a little headpiece. The colour scheme I meant to keep to was blue... but like a kid in a candyshop fills his bag with loads of mismatching candy, so did I fill my headpiece with as much colour as I could. The result was the following:

The best thing of this whole deal? It was free! I couldn't believe my ears since most of the headpieces on sale where above the £30 tag. I attached the comb to my hair, a big smile to my face and skipped my way to the RIBA.
Once I got there, it was fun to see the guard's shocked face to see this massive feather/flower ornament on my head.
I was quite sad that once I got back to Topshop to buy one of the headpieces for sale, my card couldn't be used and the ATM wasn't working and the VV Rouleaux girls where leaving and I had to go back home. So I had to leave the most precious bird headdress... well, the guy at the cashier disagreed since he actually stared at the headpiece I was going to buy and exclaimed "£39!!!!!!!! ... damn, I could make this myself!"

Anyway, ebay has a lot of millinery materials for me to browse and make my own headpieces. If not, Etsy has some precious ready-mae headpieces as well.
To start, this Marie Antoinette one which I would definitely wear, even if it was meant for a doll. Then, one for our inner mermaid. And even though it was not meant as a headdress; my favourite is Pinky Finch.

I definitely recommend getting down to Topshop Oxford Circus today since it's the last day the VV Rouleaux stand will be there. I would if I didn't live in the Midlands... and didn't have a project hand-in, magazine design and birthday planning to do today.

Ugh.

senhor vinte sete, tá na hora de brincar

2008-02-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

When I was little, me and my mother would go to Brazil all the time. I loved (and still do) love that place, specially Sao Paulo. Back in those days, Xuxa was the biggest thing ever for children my age.

I remember getting my first pair of jelly shoes from her children's footwear line and never wearing anything else. They were perfect for rainy Sao Paulo but of course, by the end of the day my feet would smell really bad, which wasn't a good thing considering the hotel me and my mum stayed in had no air con!

Fastforwarding to today, a little trip to Peacocks provided me with some cheap jelly shoes!

When I put them on, I am instantly reminded of the Antarctica soft drinks, the coconuts I would drink, the endless amounts of Turma da Monica comics and the trips to their theme park. The hot dogs boiled in onion, day trips to Campos do Jordao, the Simba Safari Park and of course, the beloved Praca da Republica.

ilari lari lari e
o o o

mister twenty-six, let's dance to vanilla ice.

2008-02-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

I love food. I love smelling it, looking at it, cooking it, obviously EATING it and now... I like wearing it! (almost...)

RECIPE:
* 1x Screw Eye
* 1x Food Eraser of your choice
* 1x Small chain to attach the charm to.

PROCEDURE:

mister twenty-five.

2008-02-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

As mentioned before, my bike and I went on a date today. Oh the good times we had.

As for what I was wearing... well, just an old sweatshirt and some ugly trousers.

mister twenty-four, let's get wasted...

2008-02-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

(Image from Lauren Conrad's clothes collection online store)

...high-wasted that is!

mister twenty-three, it's the elusive dress, the pretty shoes and the eye candy

2008-02-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

I went on a little day trip to darling lovely London today, mainly to see this little exhibition at the National Theatre and to do some library researching. Of course, once the geekiness was over it was off to the shops! First I headed to Topshop, to hunt for this dress which I want to wear on my birthday:

I had already looked for it in my local Topshop, but they knew nothing about it so I figured my woes would be solutioned by the Oxford Circus one but alas, they don't stock it yet... and don't know when. So I guess I shall just stalk the online shop and click like a mad woman when it does pop up, hopefully before the end of next week! Saw the Christopher Kane collection, but didn't really like the pieces that much... which avoided frustration since by the time I got there my size had run out. I did however, get a top and a bracelet thing.

Anyway, the day was still young and I went to get the other thing I wanted from London... my birthday present!
I know, nothing edgy... just plain classic Chanel flats. I've already got a pair of expensive extravagant shoes and never really get to wear them because well, they are just tooooo beautiful. These on the other hand are asking for some heavy wearing! In fact, they are asking to come along with my bike on the little day trip we plan on taking tomorrow. Of course, they are talking utter nonsense since there will be a lot of mud and grass!
After that, I was obviously skint and it was back to the lovely south bank, for a little stroll before heading off to St. Pancras. Oh the good times London gives.

mister twenty-two, I feel like dancing.

2008-02-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

After pretty much still being in love with the Miu Miu SS08 collection and seeing other bloggers' version of the skirts, I went ahead and did mine today. I thought that instead of doing the whole thing from scratch, I'd just get a big, loooong, full skirt from a charity shop and adjust it.

I found the following skirt at the Extra Care store and even though I was looking for a more harlequin-ish print, I thought that the light stonewashed denim would look quite nice in a shorter version.

The below skirt is the result. It is very 80s, which is something I didnt really expect but definitely something I can work with. I also got the top half of the skirt and wear it underneath so as not to expose myself more than I need/want to.

mister twenty-one, i. am. not. burlesque.

2008-02-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

I wonder if this is the solution to my feather skirt obsession ... I'm not loving the feathers since ideally I wanted maribou feathers, as seen in the below pic by The Sartorialist.

Also, it says that there's only feathers in the back.... so might end up with that memorable skirt worn by Carrie Bradshaw... hmmm.... Well, I've got 2 days for thinking and even though all signs point to "NO!", desperation might get the best of me.

mister twenty, you must be my lucky star.

2008-02-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

Since lectures finished early today, me and my beloved bike went out on a date to a lovely town 3 miles from where I live. We are just beginning to know each other so we are taking things slowly. I left him well locked up so he could rest and decided to have a walk around to see what the town had to offer. After much pondering about I came across the high street and the oh so glorious ammount of charity shops to be explored/ravaged!! And boy did the ravaging lead to good finds! I haven't had such a good thrifting day in aaaages.

First there was Mind (for better mental health) and it was overflowing with designer things.

1) Red vintage Versace coat. 2) Vintage Escada blouse. 3) Aquascutum coat.

I left quite a share of designer items behind since I felt evil by getting all the goods. Then I found a sari which I intend to wear in two different ways.

First will be the skirt part, which is INCREDIBLY long and considering I'm only 5 feet tall then yep, I think it can be used as a long flowy dress resembling the one in Lanvin.

Then for the actual body part, I'm chopping the puffy sleeves off and using it as a sort of overcoat to lift up simple outfits. But before I do all this, I shall dress up in the whole sari and surprise my indian flatmate when she comes back from wherever she went to.

Of course, there were many other finds. But I think I've been selfish enough by giving a long narration of my shopping day.

Mister Nineteen, you think you know someone...

2008-02-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

...but then they say the following:
"I love the clothes at Jane Norman, they are so pretty... me and my mother always shop there together"

Mister Eighteen.

2008-02-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Just came back from a meal with friends and then some house-hopping. They had to hear all my gushing about my new bike.

Faux-fur hat: Charity shop
Poncho (worn as scarf): Moschino
Leather blazer: Zara
Cardigan dress: Yumi
Wool tights: H&M
Lace-up heels: Peacocks

Mister Seventeen, I want some Lizzie Dukes

2008-02-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

There's a little charity shop I regularly go to. It always stocks the most amazing ammounts of cheap jewelry. I mean nothing negative by the word cheap since I've found most of my treasured jewellery there. However, there's always loads of chains that definitely fall on the tacky range. Being as cheap as they are and considering my love for ugly things, I can never leave them behind. But as they say, there's always room for improvement and the following are the two simplest ways I've found to do so.

BIG FAT RIBBON
This is a classic mock gold chain. As favoured by many kids who hang out at my local Mc. Donald's.
I just attached a big fat ribbon on the bottom and ta-da! I would definitely opt for dark colours since what I'm trying to do is tune down the shiny-ness. I normally wear this necklace when I wear the whole shirt and blazer masculine thing, giving a hint towards a bow-tie.

HANDKERCHIEF

You'll need a hankie or small scarf, the colour/print of your choice! For mine I picked a hankie with a pretty chestnut print that I don't really use that much.
1.- Wrap the handkerchief around your wrist, making a cuff that you can remove.
2.- Wrap the chain around the cuff you made, clasp it and then wear it! :)

So next time you see a tacky gold chain for 10p, go on and give it some sweet luving bruuv. BRAPAGE.

On a side note

2008-02-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

I'm off to pick up my lovely new bicycle! Am really excited since I've been wanting to start cycling for ageees but never really got to it. This is the most expensive bike I've bought in my life since back home the most they could ever cost is £40.
I'm no expert in bikes but after looking at many bikes that didn't quite feel right, I felt so at ease with the above bike that I had to have it. It's a Diamondback Maravista and you can read more about it here. Weeeee!!! off I go !!!! <3>

EDIT: I just got back :) Can't explain how HAPPYYYYY I feel :D!!!! I've never cycled in the UK before and back home they let us ride on the pavement so you can imagine how scared I was to cycle next to cars!!! brrrr!!! It was all worth it though! I plan to take it out to lectures tomorrow and then some random places. Can't stay out too late though since my lights and neon monster jacket haven't arrived yet.

mister sixteen, everything's good under the sea.

2008-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

You know how most disney princesses are surrounded by pretty furry animals who dress them and accesorize them. One example is Cinderella and of course, Snow White and Aurora.

Ariel on the other hand never had her share of slave furry animals to dress her up. Instead, she had a singing crab and a painfully cute fish. Well, she did have a seagull who gave her endless ammounts of "treasure" but still, nothing like singing mice to make you a pretty pink dress.

Unlike the other princesses though, Ariel had a (living) rich daddy. If I were Ariel , I'd get papa Triton to ring up Jean Paul Gaultier ASAP and make me every single dress in his couture collection. Specially the following dress.

Cinderella, eat your heart out.

mister fifteen, this is how broke I intend to be this summer.

2008-02-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

yep.

mister fourteen, frankenstein's coming!

2008-02-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Last year I got tricked into buying a job-lot of "vintage" clothing off ebay... of course, all the clothing ended up being mouldy, stretched second hand clothing... I actually felt ashamed to donate it to my local charity shops... but being the compulsive hoarder that I am... I didn't throw most things away... one of those is this gem:

I know, it's ugly as fuck. But you know, I think it's got some future. I'm thinking of turning it into some sort of tuxedo shaped blazer/sweater hybrid thing. I know I might be fighting a lost cause BUT I've got a long weekend ahead and I'm a sucker for lost causes.

oh mr. darcy

2008-01-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

You know... since we're with the whole Mr. Darcy thing... why not just go along with it??

And for those of you who (like me) favour the new one....

Boooy does blogging feel good.

mister twelve, this is what to do with your extra tulle :)

2008-01-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

After pretty much combing the ebay world for the perfect tutu and not being satisfied, I ended up making my own. I will not go into details of this since there's probably enough info out there to make your own tutu in 300 different ways (just a wild guess).

However, I bought 20 metres of the tulle net thing so ... I've got some extra. Actually... quite a lot of extra. While combing my image archive I found the two following ideas on how to rid myself of those extra meters.

First off a very nice little collar thing. Kinda clownish but still very girly. I'm thinking of adding a bit more tulle on the front... so I can tuck it inside a jumper and look very Mr. Darcy. Or not. Actually... not, that might be my worst idea ever. Apologies Coco Rocha, I shall stick to you.

Another thing might be this underlayer 3/4 sleeve top. My tulle is not as soft as this one looks but why not give it a try?

Oh well, if all fails I can always drape it all over my room, the common kitchen and toilets. Heck, why stop there? Might as well cover my hall's administrative offices with it as well.

EDIT: Found this pretty little dress on style.com ... I think that making this would be rather difficult but with 12 metres of tulle I think there's a lot of fabric for trial and error. Still, I'd rather wait till I get my sewing machine...

mister eleven, urr soo emoooo

2008-01-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting a pair of striped socks for quite some time now. Unfortunately, most of the ones I find are "L@@K, EMO, PUNK, scene, ROCK, GOTH, stripe tights! L@@K!!!" aaand after looking at more goth apparel web-pages than I imagined existed.... I think I may have found the right pair... unfortunately... they are red and black.
I'm trying to think of a way to make these without having to purchase a whole tights-making factory. And of course, trying to fit said factory in my room... which was today picked as most untidy room in my hall. A pic was actually taken and shall be used for the leaflet they hand out to freshers next year. Anyways, back on track. Wheeeere caaaan I fiiind theeeese tiiiiiiiights?????????? urgh.

mister ten, let's WAAAAARP!!!!

2008-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Back when I was 10 years old, my mother presented me with this fat magazine called "Ribon". It is a japanese monthly manga magazine for girls. Mind, I am still hooked to the thing. It is quite funny to see the lady at the japanese bookshop look confused as to why a 20-year-old would buy a magazine aimed at 13-15 year olds. I guess it keeps me young.

Anyway, back to the fashion part of the story. Back in those days, one of the stories that run there was Gokinjo Monogatari. It was about a girl called Mikako who went to a special arts high-school and wanted to become a fashion designer. The story wasn't my favourite, BUT she did influence me a lot. During those years I tried my best to dress like her.

She had influences from the 60s, used loads of colour and was overall funky. I remember finding platform shoes on a trip to France and wearing them non-stop (yep, I even went down the Eiffel Tower in them). I had a bright plaid blouse with white round collar neck that i would attach a polka-cotted bow to. I also remember getting some bright lime-green jeans from my aunt on my birthday.

Today I'm feeling very Mikako after viewing some episodes of the animated version online. And what, with all the cartoon inspired fashion seen lately (with Peanuts and Minnie Mouse. Let's not forget the Disney princesses getting their makeover) I shall make my trip to Sainsbury's in a very Mikako outfit. Out comes my 60s flowery mod dress, white shirt with long collar, thick white tights and loads of bright jewellery. If only I had a nice pair of furry shorts.... do I hear the sounds of an approaching DIY??

mister nine, are you Prince Eric?

2008-01-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

One of my real names is the name of a famous mermaid. This is just coincidence. Another coincidence is that I have an enormous passion for the sea. This weekend I shall be going to the beach, to wet my feet, feel the breeze and maybe even splash about. And most likely end up with pneumonia.
I always have worn dresses when I go to the beach. But this was back at home, where the sea is warm and the sun is out; thus, bright small dresses where always my choice. Considering this is the English sea...I feel that I should change my scales to grey-ish tones.

Im feeling heavy knits, jersey dress, thick stockings, boots. All in tones of greyness. A ring to papa Poseidon shall provide all the pearls and seashells to adorn myself with.
I promise to be the most overly-dressed girl amongst my friends in this little day trip. Oh well, they are already used to it anyway.

mister eight, I blame it all on the milkshake!!!

2008-01-25T16:42:00.001-08:00

It all started with an innocent trip to eat ice-cream in Harrods with my friend... then we decided to have a browse/peek... and we all know how that ends... I found myself in the Hermes section looking at one scarf. The tag said £192... I'm behind on my rent but the colors blind my judgement... I ask to just have a look at it...

Now, I have never touched a Hermes scarf before and the experience absolutely ravaged my sense of economy... the weight of it, the way it slips through your fingers and the puffiness of the edges. Before I had time to hear my judgement screeching for help or catch my friend's glare of "are you MAD?", there was an orange bag in my hands... oh. boy.

Anyway, fastforwarding to this moment ... Im actually not regretting this purchase of mine... I've been spending the last hour or so playing around with how to wear it... kinda reminds me of when I got my first pair of heels and would wear them eeeeeeeeeeverywhere.

And oh well, if I get kicked out of my uni halls for being behind on my rent... I might just find a way to magically fold this scarf into a tent, which truth be told would be much prettier than my current room.

mister seven, you just cant be serious...

2007-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Now this is seriously taking things a bit too far....

KATE MOSS' WATER BOTTLE

KATE MOSS' PROMO CARD

Almost as confusing as the Spice Girls Walkers Crisps packages selling for a rather good ammount of money...

Weird world it is...

mister six, i almost forgot you!!!!!!

2007-05-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

haha. I was pondering with how to make that peach-ish shirt not so old lady and came up with what sits to the left. It iiiiis:
- the peachy shirt (duh!)
- miss selfridge rose bracelet and owl necklace (£1 sale hurrah!)
- topshop black drainpipes
- today's black leather "box" bag

hmmmmm.... I wonder if this is alright... dum de dum. will keep on playing around :D!

mister five, you are oh so very cheap.

2007-05-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

sooo. a hobby of mine is to go on a constant basis to charity shops around my area :) i like to dig and hunt, i find it more entertaining than shopping high street (dont get me wrong... i love my high-street sales).
yesterday and today have yielded nice finds! First off, the dress on the right. Lovely Jean Baron vintage dress. It is looong and has a nice drapey back, kind of cape-ish... (please understand english is not my first language). I fell in love!

Next was a light-peach polyester shirt. It is semi-transparent and veeery light. I normally dont buy Made in China things from charity shops... but the color and texture and everything about this shirt made me buy it. blame it! (uuuuh, also have a look at the neck!!)... i might have problems with taking the old lady factor a few levels down.

Then there is a shop that has a reject corner of 3 for £1 clothes. Great for modifying apparel and sometimes you find the odd good item (once I got a nice pair of red jeans). I found that gold-ish dress and gray pencil skirt and thought "hmmm... chloe dress!" hahaha, might turn out good, might be horrible. who knows! but for that price....

Then there is my little darling! I love the necklace to the right. The cage props open and closes! <3 !
Other finds included a jane shilton white bag with loooooads of compartments inside, a black leather box bag, and other stuff that I will not bore you with.

mister four, i know you hate shopping primark with me

2007-05-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Lets get something straight. I like Primark. I dont go for their dresses unless they are borderline cheap (by that I mean £1-3), because I believe a flammable dress that will make you sweat like a pig and EVERY single girl is gonna have is not even worth £8. Been there done that and not liked.

However, there is some stuff I love. Such are the 5 for £2.50 undies, £6 skinny jeans (and recently their £12 coloured skinny jeans), £6 flats and basic £3 t-shirts.

There is of course the issue that they manage to chav-up their stuff quite wonderfully... and today while browsing the accesories racks I found the necklace on the left (image courtesy of EBay)... I think "WHY? why Primark? WHY??" You took one of my favourite accesories (I own 3 big heart necklaces) and chaved it up to the point that I will never look at them the same way... The image just doesnt do justice to the 'ugh'ness of it. Its a heavy chain and made of that bright special-fake-coloured gold....

Primark, you break my heart.

mister three, you are very kinky

2007-05-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

I love how some clothing makes you feel in the mood to do something. In this case its my bunny ears. Got it last year, in one of those night festivals full of greasy yummy food and games with lots of lights. I remember it was love at first sight
Now, it is not a posh accesory. I dont see myself wearing these out. But when the time comes to clean up my room, I put these on and boom! housewife extraordinaire. I am so fast and efficient, it is just amazing.
I can't imagine losing this habit in the near future, though I might change them for a nicer pair, who knows. My future husband will be happy.

pop me, mister one

2007-05-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

so what is Paper Doll Cut about? its about c_ _ _ _ _ _g/s so here we go, options galore :

cooking
cooks
cakes
coughing
clothing
clothes

me thinks the picture of lily cole above pretty much points to the last options... eh? yep, this is pretty much a blog about clothing... i dare not say fashion yet. me is very picky about how that word is used. so yes, the odd rambling about clothes and their wonderful world (why not architecture since im so fond of it, you mas ask. but that's the reason not... im too fond of it, its too personal... ill be soooo gay on every post, youll be sooo bored of me).
of course, i dont pretend this to be a "style guide" or whatever... i hate that. its clothing with some extra odds and ends here an there. just me talking. hurrah.

so yes, ill do my best to be entertaining to whoever happens to stumble upon this blog of mine.

nice to meet you. pie.

i like you, mister zero

2007-05-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

so hello :)
wanted to make a fun and woo-hoo introduction but truth be told I CANT be bothered... so I'll just fast-fact myself :D
I LIKE : the sea, architecture, tea, lime pie, music
I DONT LIKE: boiled fish, contemporary art, coffee, tiramisu, ipods

better explained, ive been in love with the sea since i was a child. not just in summer. i love it on the winter, autumn and spring. i specially like how the sun shines on it. but i dont like boiled fish... actually... I HATE IT, the smell, the texture the taste. ugh
architecture is my passion, you have no idea how stupid I can get about it... and ill shut up about how much of a groupie I can be when seeing architects I admire... Contemporary art though.... thats just not .... right.
...and so on.