Visualizzazione post con etichetta fashion. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta fashion. Mostra tutti i post

lunedì 21 marzo 2016

Dressy Dinosaur

E' con grande piacere che voglio presentarvi il motivo della mia recente latitanza sul blog, ovvero il nuovo negozio Etsy: Dressy Dinosaur!

It's a great pleasure to present you the reason for my recent absence on the blog, my new Etsy shop: Dressy Dinosaur!
Ho deciso di unire nel negozio due mie grandi passioni: il vintage e i costumi (storici e da larp), infatti lo sto piano piano riempiendo sia con capi vintage a partire dagli anni '40, sia con mie creazioni originali (come il completo 1860 che vedete qui sotto). 

For this shop I decided to combine two of my greatest passions: vintage clothes and costumes (both historical and LARP), in fact I am slowly filling it with vintage pieces from the 40's onwards and with my own original creations (such as the 1860 set you can see below).


Nella creazione del negozio devo assolutamente ringraziare Dani e i miei amici che da tempo mi spingevano in questa direzione, mia suocera che mi ha dato un sacco di indirizzi utili dove trovare stoffe e materiali (e mi sta facendo pubblicità sfrenata con tutte le sue conoscenze ^^) e Lisa di Black Rabbit Hole, che mi ha dato diverse dritte e consigli sul mondo di Etsy.

Oltre al negozio vero e proprio,ho creato anche una pagina facebook dedicata, dove troverete aggiornamenti sugli oggetti in vendita, foto dei work in progress e curiosità su tutti i miei progetti sartoriali. Potete trovarla qui: https://www.facebook.com/dressydinosaur/

In creating the store I really have to thank Dani and my friends who have long pushed me in this direction, my mother-in-law who gave me a lot of useful addresses for fabrics and materials (and she's advertising me like crazy with all her acquaintances^^ ) and Lisa of  Black Rabbit Hole, which gave me several tips and advices on the world of Etsy.

In addition to the actual shop, I also created a dedicated facebook page, where you will find updates on the items for sale, work in progress pictures and additional curiosities about all my tailoring projects. You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/dressydinosaur/

https://www.facebook.com/dressydinosaur/


mercoledì 19 febbraio 2014

Un trionfo di perline/ A triumph of beads

Mi sono innamorata di una borsa, anzi più di una. 
Ho sempre amato molto le borse, soprattutto quelle con dettagli particolari o forme fuori dal comune, diciamo che se avessi soldi a palate probabilmente a quest’ora avrei un enorme armadio pieno di borse XD
La scintilla è scattata qualche sera fa: stavo cercando idee per il mio prossimo costume larp (ve ne parlerò a breve….) e sono capitata nella sezione dedicata alle borse di Victorian Trading Co. e ho trovato il paradiso!
Victorian Trading Co.propone una selezione di borse ( ma anche abiti, gioielli, accessori e oggetti per la casa) molto belli e ricercati, ma ciò che mi ha colpita di più sono state le borse di Mary Frances, una stilista e designer americana che realizza dei piccoli capolavori, impreziositi da ricami, perline e pietre, a prezzi nemmeno troppo alti, se li si confronta con altre marche d’alta moda, infatti i prezzi delle singole borse variano tra i 100 e i 200euro (comunque fuori dal mio budget T_T).
Qui sotto potete vedere una selezione delle borse che mi sono piaciute di più, a cominciare dalla mia preferita in assoluto: Jelly Dance, una borsa a forma di medusa che sembra uscita dalla fantasia di Tsukimi, la protagonista del manga/anime “Kuragehime” (“La principessa delle meduse”, edito in Italia da Star Comics, che vi consiglio caldamente).

I fell in love with a bag, more than one to be honest.
I always loved bags, especially when they have particular details or uncommon shapes, if I had a lot of money to spend I would probably fill a gigantic closet only with bags XD
I discovered the object of my infatuation some days ago: I was browsing VictorianTrading Co. website, searching inspiration for my new larp costume (I will write about it in the next days...) and when I found heaven in the handbags section!
VictorianTrading Co. offers a selection of beautiful and refined bags (but also clothes, jewelry, accessories and household objects) but what impressed me the most were Mary Frances handbags.
MaryFrances is an American stylist and designer, that creates small masterpieces, embellished with beads, embroideries and stones. Also their creations aren’t incredibly pricey compared to other haute couture brands, they usually run around 150-300 dollars (still out of my budget though T_T).
Here you can see a selection of my favourite bags, starting from my very favourite: Jelly Dance, a jellyfish shaped bag, that remember me of Tsukimi’s creations from “Kuragehime” manga/anime (“The jellyfish princess” which I strongly recommend you).


Sempre restando nell’ambito del regno animale, mi sono piaciute molto anche queste:

Still following the animal theme, I also like these:






E che dire di quelle a tema natalizio, stupende e divertenti!

And what about the Christmas collection, amazing and funny!




Altri modelli dalle forme particolari:

Other oddly shaped styles:






Se non siete amanti delle borse stravaganti come me, Mary Frances realizza anche borse dal design più classico (ma sempre spettacolari):

If you don’t like bizarre bags like me, Mary Frances also creates more classical bags (but still astonishing):





Ovviamente non sono borse da tutti i giorni e avrei pochissime occasioni di usarle, ma mi piacerebbe prima o poi averne una tutta per me :)

Obviously they are bags for special occasions and not for everyday use, but sooner or later I wish I could have one of my own :) 




martedì 16 luglio 2013

Saldi estivi 2013: aspettative irrealistiche/ Summer sales 2013: unrealistic expetations

Quest'anno non ho davvero la più pallida idea di cosa posso aspettarmi di trovare ai saldi. La mia totale ignoranza nel campo della moda attuale è dovuta al fatto che nelle ultime tre stagioni, un pò per gli impegni universitari, un pò perché il mio budget per i vestiti è sempre più ridotto, non sono andata quasi mai in centro a girare per negozi, anzi, quando mi toccava andare a Torino per l'università mi auto imponevo di ignorare le vetrine, per la serie "occhio non vede, cuore (e portafogli) non duole".
Ma ora sono arrivati i saldi estivi e, nonostante io continui a non navigare nell'oro, mi piacerebbe fare qualche acquisto, soprattutto perché negli ultimi mesi i miei gusti in fatto di vestiti sono cambiati, e dopo tante riflessioni e ripensamenti, sto svendendo gran parte del mio guardaroba lolita (non sto proprio quittando, qualcosa ho tenuto, è solo che con il lolita canonico non mi ci vedo più...), quindi il mio armadio si è un pò svuotato e avrei bisogno di qualcosa di nuovo.
In particolare, nelle mie fantasie più estreme ed irrealistiche (tanto so già che non troverò nulla o quasi di questa lista...) vorrei trovare:

This year I really don't have a clue about what I can expect to find during summer sales. My total ignorance about current fashion is due to the fact that in the last three seasons I almost never went downtown for shopping because I was incredibly busy with school and with a very small budget for clothes.
But now summer sales are here and, although I'm still not swimming in money, I'd like to shop for something new, especially because in the last few months my taste for clothes has changed, and after much reflections and rethinking, I'm selling off a large part of my lolita wardrobe (I'm not really quitting, I'm still keeping some pieces, it's just that I don't see myself in canon lolita outfits anymore), so my closet is a bit emptied and I need something new.
Particularly, in my most extreme and unrealistic fantasies (I know that I probably won't find anything in this list) I dream to find:


Una gonna morbida a strati di tulle o organza nera che arrivi sopra il ginocchio o almeno a metà coscia (mi sono accorta che le gonne loli mi abbassano troppo, mentre le mini mi fanno le gambe e i fianchi troppo grandi, l'ideale sarebbe una via di mezzo tra le due lunghezze...).

A soft layered tulle skirt in black, long just over the knee or at least to mid-thigh (I noticed that lolita skirts make me look too short, while miniskirts make my legs and hips look too large, the ideal would be somewhere between these two lenghts).


Un paio di leggings a stampa galattica, mi pare di averli intravisti da Calzedonia quest'inverno, ma la stampa non mi era piaciuta molto, chissà se riesco a trovare delle alternative...

A pair of galaxy leggings, I've seen them at Calzedonia this winter, but I didn't like the print very much, maybe I could find them from other brands...

Un nuovo tascapane Eastpak, quello che ho adesso l'ho usato quasi ogni giorno per 5 anni e ormai è decisamente usurato. Mi piacerebbe trovare in saldo a un buon prezzo uno dei due modelli qui sopra, ma la vedo dura visto che il prezzo pieno è 57€ (sarebbe comunque un buon investimento, vista la qualità delle borse, però è decisamente fuori dal mio budget ^_^).

A new Eastpack messenger bag, the one I currently have has been used almost everyday for 5 years and now it's quite worn out. I would like to find at a good price one of the two styles in the picture above, but it won't be easy, since the full price is 57€ (it would still be a good investment, given the quality of the bags, but it is definitely out of my budget ^_^).


Un abito in stile marinaro che non sembri troppo un costume di Halloween sexy o una divisa scolastica giapponese (come il 95% dei risultati se digito "vintage sailor dress" su google, la vedo dura trovarlo...). L'anno scorso ne ho visto uno molto carino da Promod, rosso con la gonna a ruota e un motivo di piccole ancore bianche, però quando sono arrivati i saldi è sparito :(

A nautical/sailor dress that does not look too much like a sexy Halloween costume or a japanese school uniform (like the 95% of the results of typing "vintage sailor dress" on google, it will be hard finding it ...). Last year I saw a very nice one at Promod, red with a small white anchors pattern and a flared skirt, but I couldn't find it again during sales :(


Un bel paio di scarpe da ginnastica colorate. Queste mi servono abbastanza urgentemente perché le Vans che ho preso ai saldi invernali (perché mi si erano distrutte le scarpe precedenti dopo 4 anni di servizio) stanno già cadendo a pezzi! Per fortuna le ho prese proprio alla fine dei saldi ed erano gli ultimi numeri, quindi le ho pagate solo 18€, però il prezzo di listino era 65€, ma la qualità è davvero pessima!
A Febbraio quando ho preso le Vans ricordo di aver visto dei modelli di Adidas Dragon e Gazelle molto belli con colori pastellosi, all'epoca erano a prezzo pieno essendo la  nuova collezione primaverile,  magari ora riesco a trovarle a meno...

A nice pair of pastel colored sneakers. I need these quite urgently because the Vans I bought during winter sales (because my earlier shoes were destroyed after 4 years of service) are already falling apart! Luckily I got them during the last sales with a heavy discount (I paid them only 18€,while the full price was 65€) but their quality is really bad!
In February when I bought the Vans I remember seeing some Adidas Gazelle and Dragon with very beautifulpastel colors, at the time they were at full price because they belong to the new spring collection, maybe now I can find them at a lower price...


Questa primavera, in uno dei miei rari sopralluoghi nei negozi, ho visto da H&M dei jeans lilla delavè (simili a quelli della foto) davvero belli ed ero anche intenzionata a prenderli visto che non costavano troppo (24€), peccato che quando sono tornata la settimana dopo con più soldi avevano cambiato la collezione e non li ho trovati più! Spero ritornino ora coi saldi...

This spring, during one of my rare visits to the stores, I saw a very nice pair of delavè jeans in lilac (similar to those in the picture above) and I was determined to buy them because they weren't too costly (24 €), but when I went back to the store a week later to purchase them, they had changed the collection displayed and I couldn't find them anymore! I hope they will come back now during sales...

Una borsa nera carina (preferibilmente lucida, con tracolla e ragionevolmente spaziosa) che vada bene sia in occasioni un pò eleganti che per tutti i giorni. Quella in foto costa un rene e non l'avrò mai, però mi piacerebbe trovare qualcosa di simile a prezzi più bassi.

Se il caldo non mi uccide prima, verso la fine della settimana vorrei tentare la fortuna e fare un giro nei negozi a Torino, vi terrò aggiornati ;)

A cute black bag (preferably glossy, with shoulder strap and reasonably spacious) that fits both with quite formal outfits and every day casual ones. The one in the picture costs an arm and a leg and I will never have it, but I'd like to find something similar at lower prices.

If the heat does not kill me first, I want to go shopping in Turin at the end of the week, I'll keep you updated ;)





lunedì 21 maggio 2012

Rainy days crafts: Perfume Bottle Necklace

It rained a lot in the past days (well, actually it's still raining...), so I had a lot of spare time while forced at home by the weather, and I used it to finish some craft projects I was working on, here I will show my favourite: a perfume bottle necklace to match my Metamorphose Perfume Bottle skirt!


A while ago I purchased this skirt, which was one of my dream prints ever since I discovered lolita, and suddenly started to hunt for matching items: I already had a blouse, tights and shoes and I easily found a cute pink cardigan and some pink and gold hair accessories, but what I wanted the  most was  a perfume bottle necklace, similar to the one Metamorphose released with the print series (sorry for the bad picture, but this was the best stock image I could find...)


I found the original one on EGL sales a couple of times, and it wasn't incredibly costly,but I arrived too late and it was already sold :(
But then I remebered that years ago my grandmother gave me some mignon perfume bottles to play with that were just the right size for a necklace!
Luckily I still had some of the tiny bottles at my parent's, so this weekend I put myself to work and created my personal version of the necklace:


I'm very satisfied of how it came out: the bottle is not too big and it matches the skirt perfectly! For the chain   I used some simple white plastic pearls and some small pink hearts


Here's a picture of the necklace on a clear background (my pillow ^^), so you can see it better :)


I can't wait to wear it in a coordinate!


mercoledì 4 aprile 2012

Monster High dolls review


In my last post I mentioned that I recently started collecting Monster High dolls, here is a little review of the ones I already own :)
Monster high dolls were released in 2010 and they are inspired by monster movies and horror fiction in general: in fact all the characters are the offsprings of famous monsters like Dracula (Draculaura), Frankenstein (Frankie Stein), the Mummy (Cleo and Nefera DeNIle), etc.
Since these dolls aren't "born" to be collected, but just as common toys (though I am not very sure about this, since they came with a stand included in the box, they have some very little parts and they are a bit fragile for children's playing) , they are easy to find even in supermarkets and they aren't very expensive. However I've notice that the price varies a lot from shop to shop and sometimes internet is the best option: for example in my city Operetta's price varies from 26 € to 30 €, while I found (and bought) her at 24€ shipping included on the net.
What I like the most about these dolls are the details of their outfits, the softness and shine of the hair (kanekalon fibers) and the fully articulated bodies (there are also some "create-your-monster" kits, with alternative body parts to assemble new characters, I want the skeleton and dragon girl sets!).
Right now my collection includes Operetta, Spectra Vondergeist and Cleo DeNile.



Operetta is the daughter of the Phantom of the Opera, she has a beautiful rockabilly inspired hairdo with victory rolls and a casual outfit with musical accents (accessories, arm tattoo and face "scar", covered by a music note-shaped mask). Her package also includes a coffin-shaped guitar, her spider pet Memphis (with Elvis Presley-styled hair), her diary, a plastic stand and a brush.



Spectra Vondergeist is the daughter of the Ghosts, so her arms and legs ends are made of transparent plastic, like they're disappearing, and she has a lot of chain accessories (maybe a recall to Jacob Marley's ghost from "A Christmas Carol). Her package also included a drawstrings pouch-shaped bag, her ghost ferret pet Rhuen, her diary, a plastic stand and a brush.



Cleo DeNile is the daughter of the Mummy, she has long hair with dark green and gold highlights, a tipycal egyptian makeup, clthes with bandage details and accessories (mostly golden) that recall egyptian art. In these pictures she wear her alternative outfit with some accessories from the basic one, because I thought it was more "mummy-like". Her package also included a plastic folder, her diary, a plastic stand and a brush (she doen't have a pet because mine is the second version).

Overall I can say that I'm really satisfied with the quality of the dolls and I will probably buy more (and maybe sew some custom clothes!), now I'm looking forward to buy Cupid (sadly she will not be released in Italy, so I'll have to search her online) and Rochelle Goyle.

giovedì 16 febbraio 2012

Baby Angel strikes back!

Remember this post in which I reviewed two Metamorphose replicas made by italian brand Baby Angel?  I’ve recently discovered that Baby Angel’s 2012 spring/summer collection will feature some new “heavily lolita inspired” items! But the very best news about this is that this time they seem to be original prints, not replicas! This collection isn’t arrived in shops yet, except for some cutsews and accessories, but I found some pictures online, my favourite piece from the new collection is this skirt:
Considering the pretty good quality of last year skirts, I ‘m seriously considering of buying it (they also lowered the price a little, and I have a discount coupon to spend in their shops...), my only perplexity is about the colours: from the picture above they seem soft and pastel, but I looked at the matching cutsew in the shop and the colours seemed a lot more flashy, especially the pink details, they rembered me some Barbie clothes from the 80’s. Maybe it’s just the light in the shop that is strange, anyway I’m waiting to see the skirt in person (maybe in a different shop) before deciding.
Another lolita inspired piece from the collection is this jsk:
This looks like the “evolution” of last year Putumayo replica, because it features a very similar BxW flower pattern, but the shape is different and they replaced the butterflies with some random sweets. I don’t like it very much, because, other that not being a great fan of jsk and dresses (there is also a skirt version though), I think the sweets details looks a bit “unrelated” to the rest of the dress.
Instead, another item I’m very interested to, is this top:
I can’t tell from the stock picture if it’s made of cotton or cheap “lace-like” fabric, but if it’s cotton I think it would be a nice addition to my spring wardrobe J
The collection features also a couple of shirred cutsew in the same fabric of the skirts above, some cute sweets themed t-shirts, a misterious “punk” skirt (but it seems very short, more like a mini skirt than a loliable one), and some matching accessories, like a cupcake shaped locket necklace.
Right now I’m waiting for the skirt to appear in shops, I’ll write a review if I’ll decide to buy it, let’s hope it’s not too short and flashy!

mercoledì 16 novembre 2011

Quick DIY project: 15 minutes fake fur tippet

This winter there's a new entry between our fashionable weapons against cold: fur tippets. I'm not a great fan of fur (I'm absolutely against real one), but after looking at both lolita and western fashion shops, brand news or outfits posts, I have to admit that (fake) fur tippets are a very cute way to add a warm touch to an outfit. Many brands added them to their fall-winter collections, from lolita ones:

 to western fashion ones like MaxMara and Juicy Couture:

 As I said before, I think they're cute, but I wouldn't use them often enough to justify a big expense so, what to do?
The answer came from my mother's latest closet cleaning: in one of her drawers I found a fake fur detachable collar from an old jacket that she no longer had. Since the collar was brand new and unused, I decided to make it a guinea pig for my tailoring experiments. And now, finally, into the real project!

What you need:
- detachable fake fur collar (that's the hardest part, try searching in your house for old jackets, coats or maybe look for cheap ones in flea markets and garage sales);
- 1 meter ribbon of your choice (better using a ribbon at least 2,5 cm high);
- scissors;
- matching thread and needle;
- fraying ends glue (or clear nail polish);
- (optional) beads, lace, brooches, vintage buttons...everything you may want to use as an embellishment.

How to do:
Cut two pieces of ribbon about 50 cm long, fold twice one of the ends of each piece, like this:
Put some glue or nail polish on the other end to prevent fraying (before glueing you can shape the ribbon's end with scissors as you like) and let it dry
Once dry, take the unglued ends and sew them to the inner corners of the collar, on the reverse side. If the collar has lining, sew the ribbons to it, so the stitches will not be visible on the right side
Now your collar should looks like this:
If you want you can now add embellishments or else your new fur tippet is ready to be worn :)