I went with my mum and a couple of friends, who ended up leaving mum and I to wander the markets as we found ourselves spending a good half an hour at most of the stalls. Unfortunately neither of us had money on the Saturday (I had too many bills this week and mum left her purse at home!) so we returned on Sunday to do some spending. I had a migraine like nothing else but was desperate for a few pieces I saw so braved the nausea and throbbing head pains and spent the early afternoon getting some amazing jewelry and brooches.

(Pink Girl brooch by Lauren Carney, Alice in Wonderland brooches by Tree Party Design, Skull brooch by White Square & my FAVOURITE, the owl with mice corpses in his tummy necklace by Made by White)

There’s also music but it’s all cutesy indie pop rock which I am really not a fan of, so I didn’t check out any bands (not that my migraine would have allowed for it anyway) as well as food and drink stalls. Unfortunately the cupcakes weren’t very nice so hopefully he next markets in November will have a proper cupcake stall *nudge nudge* though that was my only complaint about the whole thing, which was as a whole  very excellent indeed.

So  you won’t be able to go to these markets any time soon since the next ones in Brisbane won’t be on again til November. But that’s good in a way because I may actually be able to save money and buy a lot more next time! They’re also in Sydney so if you’re from down that way, I insist you check them out!

This is how I look with a killer migraine, by the way. Please note the nasty bed hair (which I only just got cut on Friday as a matter of fact). I am wearing my new lucite Eiffel Tower necklace by Tree Party Design.

]]> http://www.rubyvelour.com/2010/06/finders-keepers-markets/feed/ 2 http://www.rubyvelour.com/2010/06/japanese-fashion-gyaru/ http://www.rubyvelour.com/2010/06/japanese-fashion-gyaru/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:29:55 +0000 Cara http://www.rubyvelour.com/?p=712

(Image from hautekeikk.com)

Ever since I spent a week in Tokyo in September last year I have been kind of obsessed with this fashion style followed by young Japanese women called Gyaru. To be honest I’m not even sure if that’s the proper name for the style as the look is also referred to as Kogyaru or Kogal though it tends to apply more to the girls who wear Japanese school uniforms all the time. Then there’s also Ganguro which is also suitable except in this trend they go overboard with the tanning until their faces are almost black and then use white makeup which can look really creepy (example). For now I am going to go with Gyaru because it seems to be the most accurate term to describe this style, please correct me if I’m using the wrong term or if there’s another one I don’t know about. Please note I am no expert in this style and this is all based on personal observations and research on the internet. Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes and I’m keen to learn as much as possible about this wonderful fashion!

The gyaru fashion in Japan is all about looking “Western”. The girls take the basic elements of western fashion and make them their own. One of the main aspects is the hair and makeup as this is what transforms a regular Japanese girl into a gyaru girl. They usually lighten their hair to a nice golden brown or dark strawberry blonde colour and add lots of extensions to make it long and thick. They tease the back to make it super thick and usually curl the ends so their hair looks luxurious and wavy. As for makeup the main focus is on the eyes, to make them as big and bright as possible. They usually wear contacts that alter the colour of their eyes and make the iris much, much bigger. They also wear fake lashes or at the very least, special lash lengthening mascara that makes their eyelashes much thicker and longer than normal mascara does (such as Fiberwig). Combined with clever use of eyeshadow and eyeliner their eyes appear HUGE and very Western. I saw one girl in Tokyo who drew the bottom line of her eyeliner go a good 5mm below her actual eyeline to create the effect of big, round eyes. From a distance it was convincing but up close it was really bizarre!

I found this video the other day that has two girls demonstrating how they do their makeup to go from “ugly” to “beautiful”. You can really see how much of a difference it makes here because they show them only half made-up before they finish off their makeup:

(This is the second half of the clip)

Their fashion can vary, though typically they wear the latest fashions from shopping centers like Shibuya 109 (which is seriously the greatest shopping center of all times, ever! Unless you’re not into young female fashion, of course…). It’s typically short skirts, platformed heels, cute tops or jumpers with chunky belts and designer bags and jewelry. The style can range from cute to sexy or in-your-face colourful and funky and I’ve also witnessed a goth sorta take on the look too.

One of my favourite features of a gyaru girl are their accessories, especially their nails! They’re usually the ones with the insane nail art that prevents them from being able to use their fingers properly. I witnessed a few girls trying to text with these crazy long nails with massive jewels on them and just about died with jealousy. I’ve had Japanese nail art done before and while it was pretty crazy by Australian standards, it was pretty tame compared to some of what you see on hardcore gyaru girls. Another awesome accessory they have are their phone charms. Seriously, I don’t know how they put up with so many small stuffed toys on their phones, which are already a LOT bigger than what we’re used to I should also point out. When their phones aren’t in use, which admittedly isn’t very often, they leave the charms hanging out of their back pockets or handbags as fashion accessories. It’s so totally over the top, cute and cool.

It seems that most sources online regard the style as being for young, silly girls who have disposable incomes and are obsessed with fashion and consumerism but I don’t think that’s the case any more (bare in mind most of these sources also said gyaru doesn’t really exist any more when it very clearly does and kept likening it to the “Valley Girls” of the USA). It really is just a fashion trend that is followed by so many girls from all walks of life. To me it’s just a fashion style that’s trying to copy a Western style of fashion that doesn’t actually exist and has in itself become really unique and absolutely gorgeous. Apparently it takes hours for the really full-on gyaru girls to get ready each day, as this article explains (though it’s a good article I think a lot of the info is a bit off as I’m not sure if they’re actually trying to look like “living dolls” as such). I take a good hour to get ready each day so the mind boggles at the thought of taking up to five hours in the morning to get ready, but hey, no pain no gain, right?!

The thing that actually fascinates me the most though is that a lot of non-Asian girls, in particular white girls from Europe and the USA are now adopting the style. The thought of white girls trying to look like Japanese girls who are trying to look white is  hilarious! But they do a pretty good job at it in most cases, my current favourite is Cupcake Couture who is a 19 year old blonde girl from Finland who absolutely defines “gyaru” despite being the “wrong” race. Amazing! I am very willing to admit I could NOT be bothered maintaining this look, so I am happy to just appreciate it from afar and give kudos to those girls who live the gyaru way of life.

I would love to live in a world where we can all appreciate one another for how we look and the different choices we make. But I am also a realist and know that unless we all get full frontal lobotomies or turn into those old fashioned depictions of the future where we all wear the same space-age outfits and look kind of the same, that ain’t going to happen. It goes against human nature not to comment on other people, be it in a negative or positive way. Expecting women to look at celebrities who are wearing dresses that cost as much as our cars and jewels that cost more than our houses and not have something to say is preposterous. If we don’t like what they’re wearing, we have every right to say so if we want to. It’s not very nice, and we all should learn to stop being so damn critical all the time, but it’s what most people do and it generally doesn’t hurt anyone because most of us whisper such comments to a friend, have a chuckle and move on with our lives.

Mia Freedman strives for women of realistic body shapes to be seen in magazines and on TV. She’s not campaigning for a world where anyone can wear whatever they want without someone out there not liking it. Give her a fucking break. We live in a world where terrible things happen everyday. There are entire countries and religions that force women to live like slaves to their husbands and wear clothing that ensure they do not look desirable to any other man. We live in a world where LGBT people aren’t allowed the most basic right of marriage and are often persecuted and in severe cases, killed for having the “wrong” sexuality. And yet here we have people getting so mad about something so trivial. Yes, someone making a snide remark about how they don’t like what some celebrity wore to an awards show is trivial and meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Because a) There are far more important thing to worry about in the world and b) The celeb’s don’t give a shit what we lowly common folk think, and even if they did I am sure they can dry their tears with their big wads of cash and buy a few Cartier diamonds to cheer themselves up!

When we live in a world where there’s no discrimination about race, gender, religion or sexuality then we can all go crazy and stop people from having opinions about what other women wear. If indeed that’s what you really want.

My manager asked me if I could just wear some regular work pants instead of my usual skirt/legging combo. I was appalled and honestly told her “I don’t wear pants” because I don’t! I used to wear jeans a lot and even use to wear black work pants all the time, but that was years ago and I’m strictly a cute skirt/dress with leggings kinda girl nowadays. I told her I’d do what I could but what I wore to work was all I really had and so the deadline of “tomorrow” (I know, right) wasn’t going to work because I wouldn’t be able to get anything “business-like” until pay day. I think she was surprised that I simply do not have normal, boring, work clothes like everyone else. I’ve worked in fairly casual places for a few years now and since this is a call center, I thought my funky twist on business wear would be more than adequate! Anyone who’s ever worked in a call center like the ones I’ve worked in probably get why I’m feeling so hard done by about this. Call centers are just always so much more relaxed clothing-wise than most office environments, because our jobs typically suck a whole lot more than typical office jobs.

So, this leaves me with a dilemma. I’ve obviously got to get some more corporate attire unless I want upper management hating my guts forever (I already noticed some evil eyes today because I literally just had to wear what I normally wear due to running late and not having any other options). So this is where I need YOUR advice, guys! I’m not a corporate sorta girl and I don’t want to look like a total business jerk with a big butt in crappy business pants. What brands are available that aren’t too expensive, look good and will prevent me from getting into any more trouble? Any shops in Brisbane that you can recommend that suit a girl with an arse like Kim Kardashian (who lacks the millions of dollars to make it look amazingly sexy). How can I take some dreadful work pants and make it look a little bit funky? How can I do this without selling my soul???

For the record, this is basically the sort of thing I wear to work every day:

That is, a black button down shirt, usually with the sleeves rolled up a bit, a black tutu-style skirt over plain leggings with my satin, 3/4 sleeved blazer, some plain lats and maybe some cute clips in my hair or a nice brooch. I believe it’s the skirts and leggings that aren’t working or me, hence the suggestion of work pants, as I cannot see how my shirt/jacket combination can be wrong in any way.

So please give me any suggestions and if you work in a corporate business environment, how do you ensure you don’t to look like a frumpy old dag or a slutty secretary (seriously, it seems to go one way or the other and nowhere in between, as far as I’m concerned) and maintain some sanity???

(Please note any suggestions involving “Get a new job” are duly noted in advance and my options are already being explored)

Anyway, because of this I like to think myself quite knowledgeable about dying hair in non-natural, vibrant colours. Even before I got the pink streaks for the first time, I used to use this stuff called Magic Silver Rose which made my hair a vivid pinky-purple colour (it was a toner old ladies used as a rinse, bit like the ol’ blue rinse, but when used concentrated it was BRIGHT as fuck). As such I am a total pink-hair-snob and shudder when I see people walking around with bad dye jobs. Doesn’t matter what colour, badly done and poorly maintained colour looks nasty, though I am especially passionate when it comes to PINK.

That is why I thought I’d share my tips on dying hair vivid colours like pink so that if you’re thinking about getting your hair did BRIGHT then you won’t make the same fatal mistakes so many others have made! My advice needs to be triplicated for those who has all of their hair dyed a bold colour (or colours) as I can get away with a lot more as I have my pink strategically placed so regrowth takes quite a while to show.

• Get it done properly. Either go to a hairdresser to get your hair light enough for bright colours to show or at least make sure the person helping you out knows what they’re doing. I let some friends who had NO idea what they were doing bleach my hair once which almost killed it. Luckily this was the under-part of my hair so the damage was hard to see. Having someone stuff up when they’re doing your whole head will only result in tears!
• Pick your dyes carefully! The dyes you buy at the grocery store are OK for natural colours but if you’re going got a bright red or a plummy sort of colour, you might want to look elsewhere. These dyes are designed to go over your natural hair colour and will look nasty if done over bleached blonde hair. I must admit though, store-bought black is permanent as hell and extremely good value. For unnatural, bright colours pick the brand based on how bright and permanent you want the colour to be. In Australia we really only have Fudge Paintbox which is super bright but not at all permanent (therefore ideal if you plan to change the colour regularly). The most permanent of all bright dyes I’ve found as Special Effects, which is hard to come by in Australia, though very common in the USA. SFX is therefore the best value, as a bottle of the stuff lasts ages as you don’t need to retouch the colour nearly as often as Fudge. In between Fudge and SFX are brands like Manic Panic and LaRiche Directions. Directions is a little bit more permanent than Fudge but comes in big tubs that last ages so it’s really good value. Manic Panic comes in the same sort o tubs and is even more long-lasting than Fudge and Directions so also great value. It’s an American brand though can be found in Australia easily enough (likewise with Directions, though it’s from the UK).
• DO YOUR REGROWTH! There’s nothing worse than seeing someone with a bright coloured hair with a big, nasty strip of dark regrowth ruining it. On that note KEEP YOUR COLOUR BRIGHT! You want to rock the bright coloured hair? Then keep it looking good but getting rid off regrowth and keeping the colour even and the colour you want it to be. Nothing I hate more than seeing girls with half-faded pink hair with an inch of regrowth. Not got the time to maintain the colour? THEN DON’T HAVE IT! I know some people have their days/weeks where they let their hair fade out and look crap (god knows I have) but I tend to only ever see people during this stage, and rarely see them with the colour looking awesome. It ain’t hard so don’t slack off!
• Pick a colour that goes with the colours you wear. I cringe when I see people with pink hair wearing red (and vice versa). If you’re going to dye your hair a certain colour then make sure it’s not going to clash with half your wardrobe.
• Care for your hair! Now you have bright colored hair, you need to treat it better than how you’d treat your natural hair colour. Using shampoos that are made specifically or coloured hair are a good start. Avoiding going under the water in the pool or at the beach is another big one as chlorine and salt water can strip colour out. Washing your hair less may have to be another option because you’ll find your colour feeds really quickly if you wash it everyday vs every other day. And most importantly, particularly or those who’ve had to bleach their hair to get the bright colour, treat your hair to a special conditioning treatment after bleaching. I’m lucky because I have pink and black hair because the conditioner I get with the store-bought black dye is AMAZING.

I actually remembered to take a few photos while my mum did my hair last weekend. Yep, my mum. She is a pro at dying my hair which means I know it gets done well AND it’s free (I dye hair in return). It usually takes the better part of a full day to complete but she does a top-notch job each time so well worth it. Click the pics or full-sized images and descriptions.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I’m always happy to help out with tips for keeping bright, unnatural hair colours looking good! Another great reference guide is this one by Gala Darling. Just remember though, everyone is different and practice makes perfect. What may work or me might not work for you so experiment and keep trying til you get it right!

When I take into account the expense I go through in order to maintain everything, my mind boggles (s0 I try not to think about it too much) so just for prosperity and to make you all cringe at how much of a friggen girl I really am, here’s a list of what I do to look my best everyday:

Makeup
I LOVE makeup and wear it a lot. I also have a very specific regime with makeup application and have spent a lot o time perfecting it. I am always open to suggestions about how to be more efficient/cost effective or whatever, such as my recent purchase o makeup primer. That shit be awesome, yo! I tend to stick to Clinique for most of my makeup products but do use cheaper stuff like Revlon or Rimmel for lipstick, blush and eyeshadow (plus Clinique is pretty crap for bright colours so I have to go elsewhere to get the colours I like). I am always buying new stuff, particularly lipstick, so I spend a fair bit each year on new makeup.

Hair
I am actually quite cost-efficient with hair as I get my mum to dye it for me (I don’t trust hairdressers with this since my regrowth is a very complicated matter). I do get my hair cut at Oscar Oscar every few months, and my stylist is amazing so I a bit pay extra for her services than the standard stylist. I don’t actually use a lot of hair products and have a non-GHD (therefore reasonably priced) straighter. I do however make sure to straighten and style my hair everyday. If I don’t have time for makeup, the very least I do is my hair because I’ll be damned if people are going to look at my pink/black hair and think “Ugh she should maintain her hair better if she wants to rock colours like that”.

Nails
I used to be pretty slack with nails, only getting back into painting them regularly early last year. Then I went to Tokyo and got nail bling done and haven’t looked back since. I have to get refills every 2-3 weeks (I usually push it out to a good 3 weeks) which is a pain in the arse, albeit a worthwhile one because acrylic nails are da bomb! Don’t get me wrong, the nails you see are MY nails but the acrylic and gel stuff makes them super strong and lets them grow super long. I got them done on the weekend and had to shave a few mm off as they were getting insane. I relish in having anew set with a new colour and deciding which nail stickers to use. It’s time consuming but I get a lot of comments on my nails so totally worth it!

Tanning
I only got into this REALLY recently as I’d always vowed and declared tans were stupid and I liked being pale. But then I got a spray tan for my high school reunion and fell in love with brown skin. I don’t believe in real tans – skin cancer is not something to flirt with so I am all over these sunless tans now. I can’t afford to get spray tans every week or two so have Ella Bache tan cream to maintain a sun-kissed look. It makes my legs look so much better which is a very big thing for me as I have always had a bit of a thing against my legs. Plus a tan takes a few kg off you and god knows I love tricking nature in every way possible!

Waxing & Shaving
Something no one enjoys but is a necessary evil. I tend to shave everywhere except my bikini zone because I am pretty much hairless all over and so can go for a lot longer than the average girl between leg or underarm shaves. Shaving your bikini area is  huge NO NO and if you don’t already, start waxing IMMEDIATELY! Waxing is actually kind of expensive and because it has to be done every 4-6 weeks it’s a pretty major commitment as far as time and money go.

Clothes
All girls, even those who all at the lower end of the scale of girliness, love clothes. I defy any girl to say they hate clothes and shopping and never do it. I’m pretty sure it’s inbuilt in all of us, even if some of us can ignore the urge more than others. Personally I am OBSESSED! I have so many clothes it’s alarming. I doubt I know anyone who has half the amount of dresses I have or have spent half as much money as I have on their wardrobes. A lot of what I own are all from impulse buys because I literally cannot resist a sale, but I do have some items, dresses in particular, which were investment pieces and I actually gave some thought to before buying (they’re few and far between though, I gotta admit). I recently worked out my wardrobe is my most expensive “possession” and what I value the most of all my belongings. Sad but true!

Exercise
I personally exercise to keep fit and healthy, but a large component of my wanting to go for a run instead of sitting at home watching TV and eating crap is to get my body looking good. I also swear by the gym as I’ve become obsessed with classes like Body Combat which is another large expense (something like $650 a year I think). Plus I go to boxing once a week which is another expense at $10 a class. It’s probably the most beneficial of all my “looking good” expenses but still, totally not cheap and another expensive thing I do, along with so many other ladies out there, to keep looking good.

I’m not sure if I’ve missed out on anything, but that’s a good summary of what I do to keep looking the way I do. Sometimes I think I live such a superficial existence but then realise it’s who I am and I do it for myself more than anyone else anyway, so whether it’s superficial or not, it’s my business. I like looking nice and am not afraid to let people know it! I am very curious about the regime of others and how it differs to mine and the reasons why. So tell me, what do you do to keep looking the way you do and what would you change if you had the money/time/patience?

I love makeup. I wear it almost everyday and am one of those girls who hates the thought of going out in public without my face on (or some mascara at the very least). I am by no means a makeup artist and I’m probably not even all that good at doing makeup (on myself or others) compared to a lot of other people, especially if all if the Youtube tutorials out there are anything to go by!  But I knows some of the basics and feel I should share these facts with you all for lack of anything better to do :D

Not all girls are into makeup, in fact I am sometimes surprised at how many girls I know who don’t wear makeup at all, usually because they just don’t know how to put it on! Then there are those who just aren’t interested in it, which is fair enough, though there is always a time and a place where makeup is necessary (unless you’re morally opposed to it, extremely allergic or a super-feminist, I suppose) which means you really need to know the basics to at least fool people into thinking you know what you’re doing.

1. Mascara is your friend! Invest in a good mascara because it is what makes all the difference to your face. Adding mascara when you don’t really feel like putting on makeup will trick people into thinking you are made-up because it makes your eyes pop and they’re the windows into your soul blah-di-blah-blah. Seriously it makes a significant difference and I do really believe you should not leave the house without it on your lashes!
2. Find the foundation that works for you. Do not go for whatever is cheap because you’re stingy. But at the same time, don’t just go for whatever is the most expensive because price doesn’t always = good. The first foundation you ever buy will probably not be the best one for you. You need to learn through practice, pretty much. I use Clinique Superbalanced foundation and find it’s the best one for me. There are probably other brands out there which I’d love more but until I find it, this is the foundation for me. I also LOVE mineral powder foundation as it’s easy and quick and makes you look pretty much flawless without all the extra effort and without making you look overdone. It’s also meant to be good for your skin but I think that’s probably too good to be true!
3. Learn the basics of makeup. It’s really not as basic as putting on some mascara and some foundation and looking amazing. There’s a bit more too it than that, I’m afraid! Think about things like blush and finishing powder (it’s what seals your foundation, otherwise you’ll just look kind of sticky and moist). You need to moisturise before applying your makeup too! So make sure you have a good moisturiser as well or else you risk nasty break outs form when your makeup clogs up all of your pores. Make sure you have the right tools for even the most basic makeup – a sponge/brush for applying foundation, a blusher brush, a finishing powder brush (I actually use the same brush for both blush and my powder needs), cotton buds to remove wiley makeup marks, makeup remover etc. The more complex you’re willing to get, the more tools you will need.
4. Learn to do eye makeup well (or not at all). Badly applied eye makeup make you look like a trash bag. If you can’t do your own eyeliner properly then don’t do it at all! Likewise with eyeshadow. The amount of times I have seen shitty looking eyeshadow ruining a girls face are countless and all totally needless. If you’re determined to wear fancy eye makeup then bloody well practice it before you reveal it to the world. And for the love of god, think about the colours you use because red might be your favourite colour but chances are it’s not going to suit your skin one and unless you have some mad skills then that’s one colour better left untouched!
5. Lipstick or gloss? Not everyone can wear lipstick, which is very unfortunate but something you should know about yourself before slapping it on and leaving the house looking like a clown. Some people suit a gloss, others (like me) get heir hair all caught up in it and can only really do lipstick. Work out what works for you and also make sure you choose colours that suit you and ensure you know how to apply the stuff. Just because you’re wearing clear lip gloss doesn’t mean you can smear it wherever without looking in a mirror! If you don’t have well-defined lips then you’re going to need to use lip liners before putting on your lipstick. Otherwise you’ll be know as Ol’ Patchy Lips McGee (well if you were my friend anyway).
6. Get your colours right! Just because that foundation was your colour last year don’t mean it’s the right shade this year! Our skin tones change all the time, due to tanning (or lack thereof) or just plain old aging, so you need to make sure your foundation is actually your correct skin colour before putting it all over your face. I thoroughly recommend getting the sales girls at makeup counters in department stores to do this for you as it’s their job and the lights there are great so they can work out your colour easily. This also applies for things like blush, lipstick, eyeshadow etc. Personally I always wear pink and black so I don’t need to update my colours often, but if you do change your wardrobe and style every season then your makeup should follow suit. Also, blue eyeshadow might be in right now but it will get daggy pretty quickly so do not keep wearing it unless you can really pull of such a vivid hue!

Once you have all of this sorted, you need to learn how to put it all on without making yourself look like a whore. Do NOT take your mum’s advice unless she always has flawless makeup herself because chances are she learnt how to do her makeup in high school and even then was never all that good at it. I suggest getting a professional to show you the ropes – usually this can be done for free (or at least very cheap) at the stand of your favourite makeup company at any department store. Otherwise there are a plethora of resources online to check out. For tips on foundation check out destroyx.com’s Basic QA for foundation and for pretty much anything else makeup related check out Doe Deere’s Blogazine as she is fantastic as a whole and will inspire you to experiment with colour! Meanwhile there are a zillion and one tutorials on Youtube that teach your everything from the basics of makeup application to some of the most amazing makeup masterpieces I’ve ever seen (check out this Edward Scissorhands costume makeup by Kandee Johnson – it is AMAZING!). Or at the very least get your friend who has the skills to give you some tips – there’s nothing much a girl loves more than passing on her style tips to a needy friend!

No matter how often or how rarely you make your face up, there’s no excuse for doing a half-arsed job. Good makeup is not meant to be noticed, but it’s the first thing people will see when done badly!

After seeing the blog The Daily Nail I thought to myself “You’ve been making your nails extra fancy and beautiful for ages now, so why haven’t you been posting pictures on your blog for all to see?”. I didn’t have an answer so instead I decided I’d just start posting pictures here instead. No idea what to call the posts about nails, so if anyone haas any fun names they want to suggest, please do!

Today’s nails are so cute I could be sick! I got my nails refilled yesterday (at American Nails in Toowong, if you’re in Brisbane and need a recommendation) and got them painted an illuminous pink. Unfortunately their nail polish was the slowest drying of all times ever and by the time I got home I’d smudged a few nails pretty badly. So I had to touch them up with my own colour which was a bit darker, but a favourite of mine (Revlon Strawberry Electric). Tonight I added these teddy bear and heart decals which I bought in Tokyo. They are too cute for words, they’re even kind of 3D!

Anyway I usually change my nails each week so I will try and post a photo each time I do. I wish I’d thought of taking a picture of my amazing Halloween nails :(

Tonight I read a few blogs by people I admire, dealing with the idea of not being accepted by friends, family, the general public etc. The letters on Doe Deere Blogazine really affected me because of how these poor girls feel inferior because they choose to dress differently to most other people. Their experiences, where they’re publicly humiliated in front of their school, or have random strangers shout things and even have their own mum’s not “getting it” devastates me. I’ve been quite different all of my life. In high school when all the girl were showing off their newly developed boobs (which I had since grade 5, so like, whatever) in tight tops, I favoured baggy band t-shirts and shorts with skate shoes. In Uni I liked to wear fitted t-shirts and baggy shorts, all of which matched in colour. More recently I am completely obsessed with pink and black and wear only the most over-the-top outfits I have, usually involving tutu’s and other unusual accessories.

The thing is though, I’ve never experienced any sort of negative feedback for how I dress. Luckily for me, my mum encouraged dressing differently and now delights in the fact I wear eccentric outfits that almost always turns heads wherever I go. I’ve also grown up with friends who enjoyed different fashion styles to the norm, so I always had backup in one way or another. So to hear about people who probably don’t dress anything near as over-the-top as I do who go through hell about what they choose to wear…well, it breaks my heart! I can’t even imagine worrying about whether or not people will say nasty stuff to/about me by wearing one of my regular outfits out in public. I mean sure, some people might make nasty comments behind my back but I don’t hear them and therefore they don’t technically exist to me. I just don’t know how I would react if ever someone made a nasty comment about my choice of clothing to my face or loud enough for me to hear them. Probably very badly, so I just hope I never have to go through something like that.

I’ve always been an advocate of being who you want to be, screw the consequences or the people who don’t like it. But I guess when it comes to being harassed about it, particularly to the point where you worry about your own safety, then something’s got to give. Depending on your situation you may need to make some compromises, particularly if you’re young and live with your parents, which isn’t ideal but for your own well-being you have to do whatever helps you get by. It may mean toning things down day-to-day and finding other outlets for your self-expression. If/when you’re able to, move somewhere more open-minded! Being stuck somewhere that’s filled with narrow-minded jerks will never work out for anyone a little bit different, so get the hell out! If it’s someone like a family member or even your own friends who are giving you a hard time though, you have to be strong. Tell them that they can either suck it up and accept you for who you are or get lost. I am certain very few people are going to be shallow enough to disown a relative or a friend simple because of how they dress. Take a stand, be brave and be proud of who you are! This is your life and damn all who don’t agree with your choices!

Now I think about it, this goes for anything really, not just irregular fashion choices. Be you gay, extremely tattooed, have an unusual haircut or a love of anything not-normal. Never take someone’s lack of respect, intelligence or acceptance to heart. Be whoever the hell you want to be and be proud that you’re a much better person because you don’t give a fuck about what anyone thinks about you! Life is too short and being “normal” much too boring!

I’m not really someone you could call fashionable. I don’t wear the latest fashions and instead wear unusual items of clothing most people wouldn’t dare touch. I do actually really like fashion, even if I don’t follow it personally. I don’t have the figure or the personality for a lot of what you see on the catwalks or in the shops, plus I like to be as individual as possible (hopefully without looking too weird). So why am I here to talk about fashion? Clothes are a very big deal to me, as with most girls, and since I have a fairly unique style, I thought it would be nice to share a few of my style tips and secrets for those of  you who aren’t into wearing what everyone else is wearing right now.

Despite first impressions, my outfits tend to be pretty simple. In fact I tend to wear a fairly limited range of outfits. The reason for this is because I believe in picking a look for yourself and sticking with it. That’s not for everyone, but that’s how I manage myself and my zany styles. I also go for a certain fewcolours, mostly black, pink, purple and green. I do sometimes buy other colours but only if the item is to die for. I do this because I am obsessed with matching colours! I almost exclusively wear pink and black, which means I am always matching and I can combine most of my clothes with most of my shoes. Sometimes I wish I would delve into other bright colours and mix it up some more, but for now this is how I do things.

My ultimate favourite thing to wear are tutu’s! I cannot get enough of them and have quite a collection. It started with some cute black ones I got at Supre and then progressed into complete madness as I found them more readily available in stores. I’ve always been a skirt girl and I really do think tutu’s and I are clothing soul mates. Coupled with leggings (plain for day-to-day wear, fancy patterns for going out) and you have half of my perfect outfit. I usually wear a plan singlet top with the tutu/legging combination, often in a bold colour like fluro pink, to really set it off.

I also love dresses, especially 50’s style ones with big skirts you can twirl around in and have lots or tulle under-layers. Given my body shape, this style of dress tends to suit me the most as it accentuates my little waist and big boobs, while hiding my large rump. They can be dressed up and down so they work during the day and when going out at night. Leggings a ballerina flats make these dresses casual while staying excessively cute and girlie. Changing into stocking and heels dresses them up and makes them smoking hot at night. Dresses are one of my main exceptions to the pink/black rule because you don’t have to worry about colour-coordinating as much and if a dress is cute then it doesn’t matter what colour is, chances are you have to get it anyway (I’m always so excited when I find the perfect dress in pink though).

I used to wear jeans all the time, but don’t wear them very much any more as I kind of grew out of it. Not that I mean that in a negative way against jeans, it’s just that I wore them so much from when I was a teenager til my early 20s, that I got over them. I do still love black skinny-leg jeans, even if they don’t look too good on me. My latest pair are from London and feature white embroidered skeleton hands on the back pockets. Cute! With jeans I tend to wear just about any top, though I find it’s ideal to wear extra-sexy tops with jeans to tone them down a bit. I often buy lingerie to wear as tops but you can over-do it if you match them with skirts so I find jeans creates the perfect balance. Oh and if you haven’t worn a cami or corset as a regular top before – you don’t know what you’re missing out on!

As for accessories…well I’ve only recently gotten back into wearing them. I used to only wear a necklace, my rings and watch and nothing else. These days I now wear lots of brooches – I adore cameos, blingy spangles and big, gaudy flowers the most. I have also started wearing things in my hair (I love brooches that double as hair clips) and large, obnoxious earrings. I don’t believe in the theory you can’t wear big earrings and a necklace (and others like it) and tend to go for the “more is more” philosophy. As long as there’s some continuity in all you wear, then wear as much as you want! Loud and proud!

Shoes are the bane of my existence as I am hopeless with high heels. I love them so dearly but have weak little feet that blister easily and I am exceptionally clumsy so the higher the heel, the more dangerous they become. I wear a lot of ballet flats by day as they’re cute while staying comfortable. When going out I wear kitten-heels or wedge-heels the most as I can walk in them better than other heels. Any other shoe I have needs to be worn in thoroughly before I venture out of the house in it. Luckily I live within 500m of the best clubs and bars in Brisbane though, as I often have to run home to change shoes during the night!

Do you have a particular style that defines you? Do you obsess over matching colours like me, or are you mad for colour?