Halloween

Many weeks ago I decided to be an owl for Halloween but I only started thinking about how to transform myself into an owl a few days ago. Originally I planned to get a cheap brown dress and attach loads of feathers to it unfortunately I couldn’t find an inexpensive dress that I liked. However I feel my plan B is more original and more fun.

These shoes are really easy to make and took less than 5 minutes, I would have usually spent more time giving them a neater finish but that would have been pointless as they will get ruined as we are heading to Galloween at The Forum which will likely packed.

To make them I recommend a hot glue gun but other strong adhesives may work:

1.      Take any pair of shoes mine are plain brown ballerina flats £4 from Primark.

2.      Turn the glue gun on to heat up and whilst it’s heating up pick the feathers you’re going to use.

3.      Squeeze glue onto the shoe and press feather in place (careful the glue can come through the feather and burn).

4.      Hot glue dries quickly so it’s best to work fast.

5.      You are now the proud owner of homemade feather shoes in less than 5 minutes.

For the rest of my costume remembered I have this bottle of Spirit Gum and I am going to wear a brown dress I already have then stick feathers to my skin.

Spirit Gum is a really cool product it is designed for wigs and fake beards etc. for Television and Theatre performers but think you can get it from many manufacturers now. Mine is made by Kryolan who are a professional stage makeup company.

I have never heard of many people using their products which is sad as they are affordable and perform to a high standard. My pale skin makes it next to impossible to buy foundation from the high street as the lightest shades are always too dark but Kryolan have every shade imaginable. They sell everything from eyeliners and lipsticks to artificial blood. I bought the Spirit Gum ages ago on a whim; I have boxes full of random bits and pieces I buy because they excited me at the time. I have teddy bear and elephant shaped cake tins from when I went through a baking phase. Fountain pens with inks from when I decided to learn calligraphy. A Hindi dictionary  because I am desperate to visit India however because I found that it was too difficult I bought a German dictionary to learn German instead because I am longing to visit Berlin.

Cannot wait to see Halloween costumes tomorrow, hoping to find something that tops the guy dressed as a suitcase I saw in Siberia last night. I also danced with the Pope in Korova but the highlight of the night had to be when the Ghost Busters song was being played and filling the dance floor with glee were two men dressed as the Ghostbusters. They were hoisted into the air and crowd surfed until bouncers told them off.

Findings

I enjoy reading Harpers Bazaar and Vogue sporadically but I have to confess I couldn’t care less what celebrities are wearing. If I were to describe my style in three words I would choose "eclectic", "indie" and "vintage". Sometimes I wonder if I am an odd example of a fashion student as the majority of my wages are spent on books and camera film. To me fashion is art in a beautiful to look at way, ergo whilst I enjoy looking at what people are wearing I often resent being told by society to emanate them. Also I feel celebrities never get a break and it must be difficult for them. Alas I cannot remember the title but I once saw a magazine praise Naomi Campbell for an Alexander McQueen dress she wore then six pages later to my disbelief a different article completely slated her for the same dress, surely that is an editing mistake somewhere.  

However I made an amazing find. My uni library has shelves and shelves of magazines i've never come across before. Usually I scan through Retail Week as it is relevant to my lectures. Having some free time between lectures I decided to browse the titles to see the other offerings as I had been itching to read a few design titles. Purely because I like the colour purple I picked up Purple Fashion. After flicking the pages I would usually have put it back and forgotten all about it but I spotted gold dust.



Art Piece by Robert Montgomery

This I immediately recognised as on of my favourite pieces by Robert Montgomery. I hurriedly found the page again which was not easy as Purple is a considerable size. There was a lovely interview with Montgomery so I headed up to a comfy seat on the fifth floor beside the art books. I must say I was glad I was tucked away in the corner with no one looking over my shoulder as Purple contains quite a lot of nudity; I don’t particular dislike nudity I have just never seen frontal nudity in a magazine before. Indeed proving us British are awfully conservative.

I didn’t have enough time to read many articles so I looked online and amazingly if you sign up you can view the whole publication online for free. Definitely worth checking out.

Cosy

Freezing cold day today meaning the time has come to pick up the knitting needles and get this years woolies ready. Last year I knitted this hat.

 

This year I've decided to be more ambitious and have a matching hat, scarf and mittens. What I'm most excited about though is I had a rummage through vintage knitting patterns I found in my Grandma's loft. I took a selection of them and am going to use one of them to make my cosy accessories.

Introductions

I needed to buy a new camera in order to write a blog so please say hello to my new friend Cecil the Canon.

Obviously when I say "need" I was lying and should have said "wanted" likewise fashion is what we want and desire. Fundamentally clothing is for protection against the elements and from embarrassment, clothing can become fashion when we use it to express ourselves and tell the world who we are.