Winter Lust

[ 23 January 2007, 21:26 ]

In my opinion, winter is the most exciting time to be in the Northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, I left London on the 12th of October to begin my new life in Melbourne, Australia — which is, very distinctly, south of the equator. (It is regularly hitting 40 degrees celsius here — that’s 104 degrees fahrenheit to you.)

Fashion-wise, winter is absolutely the best season of the year. No contest. Especially if you live somewhere that actually gets really cold, or even better, somewhere that receives the odd dousing of snow. Coats! Boots! Gloves! Hats! Textured stockings! It’s a hedonistic dream… & Visa doesn’t regard it with complete disdain either.

To assuage my envy, here is my small tribute to the chilly weather some of you are experiencing… or are supposed to be experiencing. Isn’t global warming a blast?! I just can’t stop myself from embarking on digital window shopping trips. Here are some things I would be gleefully awaiting in the mail if I were where you are. They’re listed in order of obsession, where ten brings a smile to my face & one keeps me awake & sweating through the night.

10. Black & silver glitter star legwarmers from Hot Topic. Cute. Very, very cute, in fact. You could wear these with anything for instant greatness!

09. Custom message scarf from lulette.com. Ideally the one that says “Let Them Eat Cake” — the Marie Antoinette influence lives on!

08. Cashmere long jumper from Topshop. I love cashmere — so soft & if you take good care of it, it will last forever. It comes in silver only, but this is such an eminently wearable colour that it would get a lot of use. I’d wear it with black leggings & big boots or with cobalt blue anything.

07. A huge box of stockings from sockdreams.com. I especially like the star tights (pictured above), Jonathan Aston Broderie Anglais leggings, lace leggings, long Orkney angora leg-warmers & long cuffable scrunchable socks. Yum. Once upon a time, I only ever wore striped stockings. I have a drawer packed to the top with them in all colours… but I’m over that now. I want more variety.

06. Rebecca Sanver jamba boots from Ashley Ardrey. Wow, they are lovely & very “grown up” looking. I’m not sure I could pull them off, but maybe…

05. Rosalie coat from Miss Sixty. I love the shape of this & the cut at the back. The empire-waist is very flattering. It’s also on sale! & it has faux fur panels around the cuffs! Golly.

04. A hat from Gobbolino. They come in a variety of colours, but I am especially fond of this one in striped fabric with white faux fur & braids in candy colours. So cute!

03. Circus umbrella from Oompa.com. Oh. My. God. I have wanted this for a very long time. IT HAS A DANGLING CIRCUS MAN, okay? Please. I must own it. Yes, it is made for children but that just means it will only fit one person. I’m okay with that. I like being a solo voyager in the rain.

02. Rainbow hoodie from Kidrobot. It’s sold out at the moment but I maintain hope that they’ll bring it back. How could they not? It’s the best thing they’ve ever done (in my opinion).

01. Hello Kitty cashmere sweater by Victoria Couture. Rarrr. I love this so much. The idea of cuddling up in a cashmere Hello Kitty sweater & drinking hot chocolate is almost too much to bear. I saw this in the Patricia Field store when I was there, but the price tag was obscene, so I didn’t buy it. Wish I had though, it would have been worth it.

Other things you might want in Winter:

A hip-flask. Mine is engraved with “Gala in the funeral parlour” but you might want something less grim. This one is, at least, honest. (Some googling shows that Urban Outfitters used to a pink heart-shaped glitter one… if you have one & want to sell it to me I will give you my first-born.)

A long (faux) fur coat. When you’ve bought it, I suggest sending it to these people: especially if you’re going to Burning Man. (Wow.)

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Tags: consumption, inspiration, madame

Creepy doll shoes

[ 16 January 2007, 06:10 ]

I have to admit, Blythe dolls give me the willies. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the fact that they’re so expensive & yet adult women scoop them up like they’re going out of style, or maybe it’s because their “skin” is shiny. Anyway, I have never liked them.

However, when I saw Blythe SHOES on Sushi Zume Tokyo (a blog run by an incredibly cute couple living in, you guessed it, Tokyo), I have to admit that I thought the shoes were pretty cool. Obscenely creepy, but awesome, which is quite a good combination in my opinion.

I especially love the first pair — polka-dots & heart detail! They would look so great with ripped stockings, a puffy black dress & a couple of red accessories.

You can buy them from Irregular Choice. They seem to be mostly out of stock at the moment, but I’m sure it will pick up again soon!

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Tags: consumption, madame

Frisky-Wear For Fashion Enthusiasts

[ 10 January 2007, 15:25 ]

Who says leather, PVC & latex should be relegated to the bedroom? Whilst normally the domain of hairy men in thongs or goth culture (are the two things really that different?), there are definitely some great things, especially in the accessory department, that can be incorporated into your wardrobe for some unusual flair.

Shrinkle: Turquoise choker

Shrinkle: Hot pink rhinestone cuff

Shrinkle: Neon green rhinestone choker
Man, Shrinkle always has great things. Best of all, she also seems like the sort of girl who would be a LOT of fun to hang out with. Girls like that need all the support we can give them!

Patricia Field: Leather fingertip gloves. They’ve been seen on Paris Hilton but don’t let that put you off. I’m itching to buy a pair for when winter rolls around.

Patricia Field: “Not Tonight” eye-mask. Okay, not so kinky, but great nonetheless. One of my personal style missions is to bring eye-masks into my everyday wear. They look so good pulled up on your crown, amidst a nest of bed-hair. I need more! Sigh.

Spartacus: Pink Heart Wrist Restraints (with white faux fur!). This is the item that started this article. I absolutely love these.

Spartacus: Pink Leather Blindfold. Okay, so the model is a little scary, but a pink leather blindfold with a heart on it! This one is definitely too fabulous to only wear at sexy-time.

Agent Provocateur: Black leather gloves with pink bows. Purring noises. God these are gorgeous.

Agent Provocateur: Leather choker with padlock fastening (in pink or black!). I like this as well, but it’s a little too understated for me. I prefer Shrinkle’s neon rhinestone ones. Does that make me tacky?

Gallery Serpentine: Polka-Dot Buckled Waspie. Sorry the picture’s so small. This would be great to dress up an all-black or white outfit, or to add some texture when worn with blacks & greys. Yum.

This article was brought to you by the letters P, V & C, & inspired by Miss Susie Bubble’s experiments with latex.

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Tags: consumption, madame

Incredibly excellent and fanciful jewellery

[ 20 December 2006, 01:54 ]

I love all this stuff, I guess primarily because it reminds me of the clunky, bizarre, neon (see also: AWESOME) jewellery I wore as a child. ...Which I have not quite renounced. It’s amazing what you can find if you simply enter “<appealing thing> <type of jewellery>” into Google. (Try it. & if you find anything good, let me know!)

In no particular order:

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Tags: consumption, madame