MY ETSY STORE SALES !

Year 2014 already.

It's been way toooo long since I last posted. 

anyway!

i'm having a large sales for all my pieces from previous collection! 50% off from original price! 

maxi asymmetrical draped black dress with front pocket 

 charcoal knit sleeveless drape pleat-waisted dress

black gingham sleeveless pleat-waisted dress

unique tops, bottoms and dresses all handmade with lots of passion. 
and free-size!



If you are interested please visit my online store 

=) =)

~ like ~ Alice in Wonderland by Annie Leibovitz

thought of the day: winter go away i can't wait for spring! 

so

i came across these photo set the other day when i was doing some researching on alice in wonderland - theme for a small charity fashion show organized by this two amazing young people (Memoir Connect) in perth.

anyway. i was so stunned and amazed. 
can't think of any other words.


these photos were taken almost ten years ago for issue December 2003 Vogue US magazine.

annie leibovitz had taken reference from the infamous alice of wonderland;

she then approached this idea into surrealism visually and quite straightforwardly but yet remarkable.

these images were captured beautifully with appropriate settings and props, and what made it more interesting was bringing the  designers into characters play!

imagine !

model Natalia Vodianova portrayed Alice, wearing distinctive outfits in each shoots. and this interesting storyline had alice stumbling upon the wonderland characters played by the fashion designers who designed the outfits.

and, i have adapted some part of the classic story itself which should help clarify the images better =)

Alice

Curioser and Curioser : Alice met the author Lewis Carroll

Alice wearing Rochas iridescent flower-ruffle dress by Olivier Theyskens; in the guise of Lewis Carroll.

The White Rabbit

 
Alice is sitting on the riverbank, feeling bored when she notices a talking White Rabbit with a pocket watch running past. 

she follows it into a rabbit hole. and down she falls into the never ending passage.



 


 

Down The Rabbit Hole : Alice and the White Rabbit

Alice wearing Gauche sky blue silk satin dress by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent; the designer as the White Rabbit.

Alice finds the little bottle

she finds herself sitting around a hall with many locked doors to small for her to get through. 

she then discovers a little bottle on a table labelled 'DRINK ME'. 

without hesitation she drinks it and down she shrinks. now she becomes too small to reach for the key which she has left on the table.

Alice becomes too big !

 




she saw a cake with 'EAT ME' written. she eats it and the cake cause her to grow enormously that she hits the ceiling.

    

Drink Me ! : Alice turns enormously huge

Alice wearing organza minidress by Helmut Lang; the designer is spotted as the portrait on the wall.

Alice and the caterpillar

Alice comes across a large mushroom with a caterpillar, smoking a hookah sitting on it. 

the caterpillar tells Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her taller and the other side will make her shorter before crawling away.

Alice breaks some of the mushroom and keeps it.






 

Advice from a Caterpillar : Alice engages in a conversation with the Caterpillar

Alice wearing ruffled chiffon minidress by Marc Jacobs; portraying the caterpillar.  

Alice in the kitchen

Alice stumbles upon a house and went inside. 

in the kitchen, she meets the Duchess nursing her baby and a grinning cat.

the Duchess's Cook is making a soup that has too much pepper, which causes Alice, the Duchess, and her baby to sneeze.  
  

Alice hugging a baby that turns into a pig

the duchess later hands her baby to Alice but the baby turns into a pig suddenly.


 

Pig and Pepper : Alice is nursing the baby

Alice is wearing Chanel Haute Couture embroidered satin jacket with draped satin skirt and cream leather boot pants; and Karl Lagerfeld as Pepper.

the Cheshire Cat

Alice notices the Cheshire cat siting on a tree and ask it where should she go. The cat tells her the March Hare and the Mad Hatter live nearby and then disappears suddenly.

The Cheshire Cat : Alice wonders which way she should go and ask the cat

Alice wearing Gaultier Paris silk-jersey draped dress; with Jean Paul Gaultier as the Cheshire Cat

A Mad Tea-Party

Alice reaches the house of Hare and saw a big table setting out under a tree.

the March Hare and the Mad Hatter are having tea. there is a Dormouse sitting between them; asleep. 

The Hare and Hatter tell her that there is no room for her but Alice brings herself to sea anyway.

 

A Mad Tea-Party : Alice becomes a guest in the tea party

Alice wearing dress with painted and sculpted mint dickey over lace top and frilled lame skirt by Christian Lacroix Haute Couture; Stephen Jones as the Mad Hatter and Christian Lacroix as the March Hare.

Alice leaves the tea party and enter a garden. she saw three living playing cards painting the white roses red.

she then meets the King and Queen of Hearts.

 

The Queen's Croquet-Ground

she is invited by the Queen to play the croquet.

Alice is surprised by the croquet-ground; the balls are live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingos, and the soldiers make the arches. 



 

The Queen's Croquet Ground : the Queen turned crimson with fury, screamed `Off with her head! Off--'

Alice wearing Dior Haute Couture hand-painted polka dots dress; with John Galliano as the Queen of Hearts and Alexis Roche as the King.

 

The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle

 


the Queen of Hearts introduces Alice to the Gryphon, who takes her to the Mock Turtle.

the Mock Turtle is very sad.

Alice asks what his sorrow is, but the Gryphon answers that he has none. 

so the Mock Turtle starts telling his history.

The Mock Turtle's Story : The Mock tells Alice his story with sobs and sighs

Alice wearing Atelier Versace layered silk tulle and chiffon organza dress lined in lace; with Donatella Versace as the Gryphon and Rupert Everett as the Mock Turtle.

Queens of Hearts shouting at Alice

Alice sees the King and Queen of Hearts sitting on their throne,with a great crowd surrounding them.

it is a trial to find out who steals the Queen's tarts.

Alice is surprised that she is being called as the third witness.










((the following two shots were inspired from the sequel of Alice in Wonderland - Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there))

Alice sitting on the great arm chair

Alice is at home, sitting on a chair talking to herself and her black kitten named Kitty.

Alice trying to imagine getting through the glass

Alice starts telling Kitty about the other side of the looking-glass where everything is the same; but only backwards. 

she wonders how it will be to live there and imagines the glass so soft that she can get through. 

Through the Looking Glass : Alice climbs through the glass into the shadow world

Alice wearing Balenciaga crystal pleated chiffon dress and grey ankle boots; and Nicolas Ghesquiere as the black kitty.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

she meets the fat twin brothers, Tweedledum and Tweedledee from the famous nursery rhyme.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee : Alice  comes upon the fat twin brothers

Alice wearing Viktor and Rolf multi-layered silk dress; the designer as the twin brothers.



hope you find this interesting and fun !








( images courtesy from Vogue ;

original illustrations and storyline adapted from Alice in Wonderland )



 

D.I.Y ~ project two ~

and the weather is definitely chilling.

it's officially winter! 



another transformation today;

just
a way to freshen your wardrobe !
 
this is an incredible easy project to make yourself something out of worn clothes that you just got tired and feel uninspiring wearing them.

or modifying some boring basics to something trendy this season because you wouldn't want to spend that heavily buying it out from the store...

and yes that's because you know you could replica something similar easily with only a few dollars. 

and it's so much fun to use your creativity.


 
【project 2】

a worn out v neckline sweater

and turn it into ...

         studded elbow patched sweater












let's get started!


: a brief-how-to :

 the first few steps would be very similar to the previous diy.

1. wear your sweater. make a mark using chalk, pin or marker on where you would like your elbow patch to be in front of the mirror.

2. then you need to decide if you like your neckline (ha!)if not, draw your desired neckline - whether if it's just a little trim or chop off. my sweater has a v-neckline and i just don't wear v neck that much so i am going to chop it off to something like a crew neck.


3. lay the shirt flat on the table and decide on how large you want your patches to be. you can draw the desire shape on a paper (i just use newspaper) and briefly put in on the shirt so you get an idea how it would look like. i wanted to go for an oblong shape this time so i cut out a square around 13cmX13cm from the paper then fold it in half and draw a curve line around the edge. cut along the curve line and you have your pattern ready.

4. lay your cut-out papers on any remnants (i suggest other kind of knits or denim so you don't have to worry about doing the finishes or any fraying issue) and cut them out. i had utilized my left-over cut out jeans from my old d.i.y again.

5. pin the patches in place and stitch the patches on using machine or hand-stitch it firmly. and you are done with the patches!

6. let's go along with the studs. lay your sweater flat and decide where you want the studs to be. play around until you are satisfied. i kept mine symmetrical and just alternating in height. once you are done, use a chalk or pen to mark where the studs are going to sit. please refer to my old diy to learn how to stud.

7. DONE and ready to be worn! YAH!

before and after

d.i.y outfit look  ♡

i made this quite a while ago and have been wearing it a few times but never got to take a proper photo of it, so i apologize for the poor images.

in vain

D.I.Y ~ project one ~

so.

was doing some wardrobe cleaning the other day (and that was like three months ago)
trashing some old unwanted clothes for donation.

and it was quite a big bag.

there were in fact a lot of ragged sweaters and shirts from my partner and so i decided to take them all and perhaps use them wisely instead ; aha.

d.i.y is just like giving another chance of life to these poor babies.

and finally.
last week i took them out from the cupboard where i kept them well before i decided to do some choppin'.

the weather has been turning really chilly and i wonder where has my autumn gone instead. and it is a good timing to transform them so i could wear for the cold days


【project 1】

men's long t-shirt

 


  an old basic t-shirts ...

customizing into






funky denim cut-outs cropped top !












: a brief-how-to :

1. put the shirt on in front of the mirror and make a mark using chalk, pin or marker on desired length (for cropped look). alternatively you can just fold and carefully take off the shirt so you don't lose the fold !  i did not add any extra length for finishes as i always preferred raw edges. 

2. do not take the shirt off ! you need to decide where you want to put the sleeve-patches on. just choose where you would love it to sit. in my case, i decided on the elbow. mark it.
 
3. lay the shirt flat on the table and cut off the extra hem. then, decide on how large you want your patches to be. you can draw the desire shape on a paper (i just use newspaper) and briefly put in on the shirt so you get an idea how it would look like. i cut out two 14cmX18cm for the front and two 7cmX31cm for the elbow. 

you don't have to follow mine since every shirt is different. a tip for the elbow patch is to measure the width of the sleeves + 2cm for seams.

4. lay your cut-out papers on any remnants (i strongly suggest knits or denim so you don't have to worry about doing the finishes or fraying issue) and cut them out. i had utilized my left-over cut out jeans and ripped them for the torn look.

4. once you decide on where they are going to sit, pin it and stitch the patches on using machine or hand-stitch it firmly. and you are done !

before and after

d.i.y outfit look  ♡

pairing with
⇒ d.i.y denim shorts (see how i transform a similar one here)
⇒ d.i.y cross necklace
  

~ like ~ the modern Théâtre de la Mode

browsing my blog and realized how i have been neglecting it.

yes i have been mia from blogging, and wonder how i used to write at least a post each day.

just not so motivated recently. i am sorry.

it's getting creepily cold these few days; rainy and windy here in perth and yes i miss the sunny weather now. it's funny that when it's hot you are grumbling how you wished it's cold and vice versa. 

.......

 

if you had read about my Théâtre de la Mode post

you would be quite familiar and amazed of this event that happened during the post-war in Paris.

and

here is another reference of recent designer who had adapted this idea conceptually.

 

sara flamm and christopher kelly established the label T d l M (Théâtre de la Mode) back in 2007 and showed their debut autumn/winter 2008 collection 'willows' in london through installation of miniature wooden mannequins; taking inspiration from this postwar couture. 

likewise, even the label name is directly linked.

it was indeed an innovative approach for them to adapt this concept in this modern era but how would they apply to show the difference between these dolls and the 1945's miniature dolls?

 




this is where we could see that they were not just any other ordinary dolls but with unique animal looks; so called 'creatures of the woodland'.






when it is rather common for us to imagine and perceive that  dolls do usually wear high-end fashion or extravagance outfits, they had transcended this value by putting on casual-wear and modern tailoring on these creatures.

willow autumn/winter 2008

willow autumn/winter 2008

undeniably, each dolls had developed distinctive characteristic and mood through the outfits.


additionally, presenting their collections in miniature was what they considered as a reminiscent of Théâtre de la Mode and a homage to the french couturiers. 


and not to forget that it provided us to take a new perspective and challenge of contemporary fashion.

fashion is not only about fashion but also a reflection of how the world is today - quite a statement of recent economic climate that make it difficult to survive in the (fashion) world.


if you are interested in the designer's recent work visit the website
currently, it's a menswear label ( i think sara flamm is no longer with the label) which is based in london.


have a great weekend !



(image courtesy from T d I M) 
 

 

D.I.Y denim cutoffs

it's been a while.
i am sorry that i have been quite reluctant to write a post nowadays.

jeans are versatile. 
jeans are must have.

it's still summer here.
there's one thing about me.
i don't wear jeans during summer.
well i used to.
but not for the past few years. 

i wear shorts a lot for summer.

there was a urge to do some diy last week.

some old pairs of unwanted jeans and turn them into something wearable in this heat.

it's a really quick and easy diy.

i have got these worn out men's jeans (just for the comfort)but you can get whatever jeans you want; please note that loose fit are preferred.

you just need a pair of scissor to do the transformation!

you can try the jeans on and   mark your desire hemline or use your favourite pair of shorts as a template.
 
once marked, draw a slanted line (leaving the inseam longer than the side one)

i decided to cut it free hand but it should looked like the photo- the hemline in an angle.

fold the jeans to mirror your hemline and cut the other side.


 
i forgot to take the photo but i will try to explain.

you want to create a slightly round angle on the front.

cut about 2.5cm or more (as you desire) on the side seam, then we move on and cut towards the inseam at a round angle. now the front would be shorter than the back.

this way you have got the lovely details of the pocket peeking out too!

this is not an necessary step but if you have an unpicker, you can run the unpicker through the hemline to create the frayed look.

if you don't, don't worry. 

wash the shorts and you will eventually get the look.

more details on the shorts.

i have studs on hand so i decided to do some studding.

you can do whatever you want; leave it plain cause it looks as good.










finished look!

here is another pair of jeans being transformed.

these shorts will be on sale at my facebook page so if you would love to have these, please visit my shop!