The downsides of perfectionism

I thought you should know that I've spent the last half an hour adjusting gaps between images and writing, and this is to previous posts that no one will ever look at.  I hate myself.  Goodnight.

Burberry Prorsum Autumn/ Winter '11-12

Holy crap! I want all of these coats SO much, especially the black and white ones.  So there's my birthday present sorted.  Burberry also made this in their A/W '11 collection.

mac attack

This mac cape would fit right in with my Topshop see-through plastic mac coat I bought last year.  If anyone's feeling generous it'll only set you back £795... so what are you waiting for?

I'm listening to: 'General Patton' by Big Boi
Images from: style.com

✄ DIY Tassel Spike Earings

 

On one of my many trips to the haberdashery shop I saw these gorgeous teal tassels and had to buy them, without knowing what I would use them for.  I love collecting spikes and studs, and I found an old necklace with loads of dirty-gold ones.  Usually you would think of putting silver with the teal but the gold looks so much better.  So how to attach them, and where?  I ended up having to attach the spikes to beaded links (that I had made) and all of that to a length of chain that I then sewed onto the gathered bit of the tassel, not as easy as it sounds!

apologies for the blurriness

The finished product...

Word.

 D&G Autumn/ Winter '11 - totally 80s but more knitwear instead o shell suits!  I love the billowing chiffon coming out from under the heavy knits.

I'm listening to: 'Going Home' by Alice Cooper
Images from: style.com

Don't tell me I can't find a link between Dinu Bodiciu and Lord of the Rings?

Take a look at the top right piece... remind you of anything?

the Uruk Hai and their berserker bottom left

See, I'm not crazy, they do look similar, the face completely covered except for the mouth, and the shape of the cresent of the helmet and the full circle of Bodiciu's headpieces.
Done and done.  Thank you very much!

I'm listening to: 'The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky Turned Black' by Johan Johansson
Images from: http://showtime.arts.ac.uk/Dinu

Today's oddity.

Today I saw a woman walking a cat.  Now when I get the rare occasion of seeing a cat on a lead I'm not only amused but I'm also relieved because for the entirety of that walk, every child, every bird, in fact everything is safe from the evil that is C.A.T.

i like to think i could take on a cat (if i had to, of course) not this one though

So next time you see a cat on a lead, take a second to thank your lucky stars that cat isn't able to run free (for 20 minutes!).

I'm listening to: 'Cool for Cats' by Squeeze

Love Gun!!!

My order from Vlieger & Vandam came a few days ago, they also sent a cute little postcard.  I've had it attached to my large ASOS canvas and leather bag, but I don't want to ruin it when my bag goes on the floor so I've attached it to my muff/ hand warmer and I think it looks pretty freakin' sweet.  In fact I think it's worthy of a Russian Bond girl spy (click here for my real life spy story).

Modern Family - Get Phil's ugly sweater/ hoodie here!!

So while doing my daily rounds of trolling through the high street websites hoping to get an amazing find.  Well, I did!  Now I'm assuming that everyone watches Modern Family, and if you don't, start right now but finish reading my post first!  So in the episode MuthaTrucker the father, Phil, buys this hoodie which everyone says is too feminine, but he still decides to wear it out to get ice cream. (I'm jealous, we don't have ice cream parlours in England)

He still thinks his hoodie is great, until...

 

He then promptly takes the hoodie off and throws it in the nearest bin.

So the reason I'm telling you all this is because I found this jumper in H&M and thought all you Modern Family fans might be interested in it.  Personally I think it's a hideous choice of colours, but that's just my opinion, so for those of you who are interested, here it is.

H&M jumper £9.99

I'm listening to:  'Back in the Sadle' by Aerosmith
Images from: http://shop.hm.com/gb/

Spring/ Summer '11 Trends - Prints are mint

1. Blumarine  2. Missoni  3. Issac Mizrahi  4. Jean PaulGaultier  5. Prada  6. Alexander McQueen  7. Moschino  8. Topshop Unique  9. Timo Weiland

 Here's the high street's answer to prints.

1. ASOS Printed Neoprene Bodycon Dress £40  2. Dorothy Perkins Multi Print Drape Neck Dress £38  3. Topshop Black Silk Print Dress by Mary Katrantzou for Topshop £120  4. H&M Dress £9.99  5. French Connection Night Blossom Jersey Dress With Batwing Sleeves £35  6. Topshop Orange Iris Print Bikini by Unique £55  7. Dorothy Perkins Tropical Print Belted Dress £45  8. Office Won Me Over Nat/ Black Canvas Shoes £70  9. Warehouse Shield Print Maxi Dress £50

I love French Connection's dress (5).  Even though most of the pieces have a repeated pattern, French Connection's dress stands out so much to me with it's vibrant colours; purples, yellows and gold.  It is also available in turquoise, red and gold.

I'm listening to:  'All of the Lights' by Kanye West

Images from: Style.com, ASOS, Dorothy Perkins, H&M, Office, Topshop, French Connection

Spring/ Summer '11 Trends - Block Colours

1. Alexandre Herchovitch  2. Aquilano Rimondi  3. Costume National  4. Juilen Macdonald  5. Loewe  6. Giambattista Valli

And here are some pieces from the high street.

1. ASOS 60's Mac With Contrast Trim £75  2. River Island Purple Peep Toe Platform Shoes £69.99  3. ASOS Ankle Sock With Frill £3.50  4. ASOS Leather Drop Lock Lady Bag £65  5. ASOS Lime Boyfriend Belt £8  6. Topshop Raspberry Cut About Stripe Tee £34  7. ASOS PARTY ON Peep Toe Perspex Heel Shoe £65  8. H&M Cover Mobile £3.99  9. ASOS Turban £12  10. Juicy Couture Luxe Chiffon Chain Strap Bag £163  11. Kurt Geiger Eucalyptus Crystal Bow Detail Platform Court Shoes  12. ASOS Cut out Shift Dress £35  13. River Island Espadrille Shoes £12.99  14. ASOS Over the Knee Two Tone Socks £5  15. River Island Green Swing Coat £44.99  16. River Island Navy Semi Wedge Court Shoes £59.90  17. River Island Red Button Circle Skirt £26.99  18. River Island Red Snake Briefcase £33  19. Topshop Brick Twist Front Chiffon Blouse £45  20. Topshop Cut Triple Pendant £14

I love the Topshop red and white stripe top (6), I think it's cute and versatile.  It's not your average striped top because of the change in direction of the stripes.  I think River Island's green swing coat would look completely at home in Julien Macdonald's show, having been made of a similar material as used on the catwalk shows (shown above).  The coat is just so relevant right now and is a definite must have this season.

I'm listening to: 'Burning Our Bed' by Alice Cooper
Images from: Style.com, ASOS, H&M, River Island, Kurt Geiger and Topshop

Spring/ Summer '11 Trends - Showcase Your Lace

 1. Chanel  2. Christopher Kane  3. Maechesa  4. Collette Dinnigan  5. Meadham  6. Francesco Scognamiglio  7.  Anna Sui  8. BCBG Max Azira  9. Brioni

Here's what I found on the high street.

1.  ASOS Lacivious Lace Panelled Body Suit £95  2. Topshop Cream Lace and Silk Panel Dress £65

3. ASOS Noelle Adam Lace Black Flowers Statement Necklace £25  4. ASOS Darling Puff Sleeve Lace Cardigan £36  5. Warehouse Lace Insert Drape Cardigan £40  6. ASOS Suzi Smith Lace Chain Shoulder Bag £30  7. Miss Lac Detail Trousers £35  8. Oasis Victoriana Lace Dress £60  9. Miss Selfridge Pink Lace Batwing Top £40  10. Dorothy Perkins Pink Lace Belted Dress £45  11. Topshop Lace Effect Mega Cuff £25  12. ASOS Revive Lace Collar Dress £75, sale £45

You can see that the ASOS Lacivious Lace Panelled Body Suit (1)has been directly inspired by Francesco's catwalk piece (6).

I'm listening to: 'Love You to Death' by Type O Negative

Images from: Asos.com and Style.com

Call Security! (again)

Having found the genius of Vlieger & Vandam in this previous post, I had a look around for other gun-related fashion and found this:

You're gonna love the name of it too....... Pursuader.  No 'the' or anything!  How freaking awesome is that?!  This "handbag", fully equipped will mobile phone holder(!) is the handy work of James Piatt.  He's skilled in many different art forms, as you can see on his website, architecture, furniture and lighting design, art etc.  Another one of his fashion pieces, Tinkerbell, is not for the faint-hearted, nor the fans of Paris Hilton.

I'll be honest, I though it was a cat at first

"Based on Paris Hilton's discarded pet Tinkerbell is an upside down dead Chihuahua. This design captializes on the trend of carrying a small dog as a fashion accessory" - http://www.jamespiatt.com/index.html

My favourite of is handbags are what these sexy lady-soldiers are advertising.

I love knuckle dusters, my Dad used to be in the Police back in the day when they apparently had knuckle dusters?!  I don't actually know where he got it from, but I don't care as long as I can make a handbag out of it!

I'm loving all this hard fashion I'm coming across.

Images from: http://www.jamespiatt.com/index.html

Just a quikie

I've been without my skull headphones for ages now, and I found them today and they're just awesome, so have a look.

Bed time. Goodnight x

✄ DIY Furry Cutie Boots

Here's a quick and simple DIY I've just made.  I had some rather tired looking pixie ankle boots, that have done stout service, and I thought it might be time for a makeover.

i've never seen a pair of boots look so sad

 So that was then, and this is now...

This was super easy; I went to my not-so-local local haberdashery (but the drive is worth it) and bought a previously measured length of fur trim, don't forget when measuring always add a bit extra in case of mistakes.  Then sew it onto the outside of the boot roughly 1cm from the top so you don't pull all the feathers out when putting them on and taking them off.
And that's it. Easy.  But it's never that easy when I'm involved; as soon as I'd finished I wanted to use lace instead.  Typical me.  I suppose I'll keep them as they are until summer when I'll swap to lace, but I'll tell you now, I'm not happy about it!

I'm listening to: 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' by Status Quo

Call Security!

After finding Head Huggers, (see previous post) which I keep calling Head Bangers, I stumbled on a page from Vlieger & Vandam which was this piece from the Autumn/ Winter '10 collection.  Now with Stumble Upon! you get to choose which categories you want to stumble on e.g art, fashion, films etc.  However, I somehow managed to tick the 'guns' category, but I guess it turned out OK, now that found this piece from the collection.

Guardian Angel Soft a/w10/11

I also found these Hairwear pieces from 2002 that reminded me of the previous post.  Once again I love the fit of the sculpted hairwear.  The jaw strap on the left-hand one instantly makes me think of a balaclava, those two elements make the piece more strong and masculine, compared to the elegance of the right-hand piece.   It's a very flowing and feminine sculpture, it has the elongated back that suggests long hair and has a large hanging pendant.  Although the pendant is big and looks heavy, it still maintains the flowing essence of this beautiful piece.

Hairwear 2002

While exploring the site I came across this, and I just had to buy it (plus it was in the sale, score!)

Vlieger & Vandam Charm Gun Skin s/s11

Can you blame me?!

I'm listening to: 'Russian Roulette' by Rihanna - rather appropriate I think
Images from:  http://www.vliegervandam.com/

Give your head a hug.

I stumbled upon a Head Huggers just now, it's a fantastic site that was set up to help people who've had chemotherapy or other illnesses, which lead to hair loss, to keep their heads warm and in (I think) a fashionable way.  There are free patterns for all the hats for men, women and children on the site and links to patterns off site as well.  The plan is to distribute them to hospitals, hospices, homes and anywhere they would be needed.  So join Sue W. Thompson and volunteer to make a lot of heads warmer!

 

Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap

 I'm so glad I've found this site because I've knitted jumpers with hoods (I LOVE hoods, they frame the face so well) before but none of the patterns I've come across have a rounded hood, they all end up pointy.  So when I saw this hat and the way it hugs the head and got all excited.  I'm going wool shopping tomorrow!

Crochet Flapper Hat

To me this design looks more like a Cloche hat, which happens to be 'in' right now and luckily I haven't bought one yet so that's another one for the to do list.  It's funny; the reason I haven't bought a cloche hat yet is because I wasn't sure if it would work well with short hair, but if it works for no hair, I think it'll work for me just fine!

I'm listening to: 'Hard' by Rihanna
Images from: http://www.headhuggers.org/default.htm 

The first of what the high street has to offer

The crocheted top over floaty dress look from Alberta Feretti's s/s11 collection has filtered down to the high street, Republic in fact.  This is their Miso Crochet Top Dress for £34.99.

i think i'll wait for a discount cos i'm cheap!

 I'm listening to: 'Christian Dior Denim Flow' by Kanye West

Image from: http://www.republic.co.uk/

Self portait.

self portrait 60x90cm graphite pencil

The white line that goes from my nose to my mouth is a reflection.  This is me at playgroup doing 'the look' I apparently do when I'm not impressed.  For details of commissions please email me liddie_squid@hotmail.com.

Seriously? A string vest? Are you mad?

all that hair makes it look like he's blury at the edges

Yep, I'm on the hunt for a string vest, not because I've gained a few pounds (which I have), put a hanky on my head and grown some impressive shoulder beards.  It's because I want to thread somehting through the holes, and I'm determined to make them acceptable, I'm not sure why I've picked up this string gauntlet, but I just have, so expect something soon, hopefully.

I'm listening to: 'the dogs barking because someone's at the door' by Holly, Casper and Jack

I spy with my little eye...

Yesterday I went up to London for some unpleasant medical tests and on the way to the hospital, and at one of the stops on the bus a very red, nervous-looking guy got off the bus by the back entrance, which I was opposite in my wheelchair.  So he stepped onto the pavement and there was this tall atractive lady in a long expenisive-looking coat and one of those fur Russian hats.  They then spoke for only a few seconds and turned around and went off in opposite directions.  Now, any other person probably wouldn't've noticed this suspicious situation, but I am obsessed with thinking people are spys, which I guess kind of makes me a amateur spy as well (yes, maybe not but let me have this one)!  My boyfriend is always saying it's ridiculous, but there must be spies out there, maybe its not like Spooks and 24 in the real world but they don't just sit in an office all day, they've got plenty of spying to do.  Personally I think Jack Bauer would be proud of me, so proud that he might even have a little cry about it in his car.  So there.

I'm listening to: 'The Pink Panther Theme Tune' by Henry Mancini... Just kidding!!