Yesterday was Australia Day! I’ve never really been one to be patriotic or even that worried about celebrating public holidays beyond sleeping in late and doing bugger all for the day. But this year my best friend had an Australia Day BBQ so it was time to get out there and have fun. The theme was “bogan” but I decided to dress up in something completely different. I was also very much in a pink mood so I chose my pinkest and most in-you-face dress.

Dress: Gail Sorronda for Target
Shoes: Super cheapo pink flower thongs pinched from my mum’s closet :D

The dress was white, but as you may have already guessed about me, I don’t really like white (when you have pink hair, you tend to develop a healthy aversion to it) so I dyed it pink. It sort of looks tie-dyed, which was unintentional but I love how it turned out. I haven’t worn it in ages because a certain someone didn’t like it, but now that is no longer a problem, I am going to wear it more often!

And just for good measure, I thought I’d get into the Aussie Day spirit for a few moments:

How was your Australia Day?

So I turned 29 yesterday and since it’s a bit of a non-event turning such an age, I decided against a party and just had a dinner with friends and family at Wagaya Japanese restaurant. As expected the food was delicious and everyone loved the neat way you order food on an interactive touch screen menu. I was also impressed by how many people could make it considering it’s only two days before Christmas. I love my friends :)

I decided to wear an amazing party dress that I bought recently from a Vintage market where it was love at first sight and I’ve been desperate to wear it ever since.

It’s a Victor Costa who I discovered, upon doing some research, is famous for copying designer dresses impeccably and selling them for a fraction of the cost.  And then  discovered some boutique in Hollywood is selling it for US$495! Man, I got a good deal on mine, eh? It’s such an amazing dress, there’s so much detail and it’s so ultra 80s I could die. I mean come on, colourful tulips, dropped waist, tiered skirt and a big bow on the back? Divine, dahhhlink.

Back detail. Click pics for larger images.

As I’m not at home right now, I can’t tell you what brand the shoes are but I also got them from some market but they’re much newer and one of the most comfy pair of heels I own and from an obscure brand in the UK so I doubt there are many others in Australia. The tiny purple top hat was a birthday present from a friend.

Considering how much planning went into my outfit/costume for this years Zombie Walk, I thought I’d do a “What I Wore” post.

As soon as I saw this dress I knew I had to have it for the walk. I mean really, zombie unicorns? Hello? Could it suit me ANY more? Oh yes, it could, because it’s PINK and BLACK! My only fault with it, is that it’s a bit too short. But I hav a very long torso and a lot of these styles of dresses sit to short on me as a result. So leggings were a definite, because I did not need to have any wiley protographers snapping any undies shots of me as I’m setting up the park.

My next decision was around the shoes. I had plans to buy the Iron Fist pink Gold Digger zombie flats but I didn’t have the time/cash to get them and I feared they’d get wrecked on a hectic 14 hour day with all my running around and climbing in gardens and later getting my drink on at the after party. So I got some cheapies that I did plan to decorate with black stitches but just plain ran out of time.

For my headwear I was going to buy this brain patch headband but my ever creative mum said she’d made her own version, but 3D! She whipped this up with Crayola molding foam with a red felt base. The blood drops were also made of the foam and then painted with red nail polish to make it shiney. She attached it to a headband which already had a fascinator base and voila, I had some adorable, exposed brains!

For my makeup, I wanted to keep it simple, cute and bloodless. I am so over blood and gore when it comes to zombies, let me tell you. I was given the tip recently that the coloured hair spray you use to make your hair “crazy” colours also works well on skin so I hunted everywhere for a can of white and then also bought a green and silver can for cheap. The white is used as a base and then green sprayed over top to give me a green tinge. I ran out of green on the legs so we used silver instead which nobody could really see anyway. But my poor face was now uncoloured! It took a lot of trickery and creative blending, but by using a pale foundation and then dusting a combination of green eyeshadows, then dabbing some white ae paint on to tone the green down, I managed to match my face to my body fairly well.

I used black and grey eyeshadows around my eyes, added eyeliner for definition and lots of mascara (I’ll be damned if I’m going to be an ugly zombie).  I dusted some dark grey eyeshadow on my cheeks like blush to make my face a little bit gaunt and then drew on the scars wirth an old black eyeliner. The black lipstick finished the look and I was done!

Dress: Hell Bunny Zombie Unicorn petal dress from Sourpuss
Leggings: Body Control ones from Avon
Shoes: Basic pink slip-on’s from Rubi
Fascinator: Made by my mum :)
Eyeshadow: Various blacks and greys by BYS
Lipstick: Black by Shu Uemera

It has been ages since I did a “What I Wore” post and there are two very good reasons for it. Firstly, I still haven’t replaced my poor, broken camera (though I have an amazing one on layby which I pick up soon) and secondly, because I get all self-conscious and shy and so rarely take photos of my outfits and on the rare occassion that I do, I freak out and refuse to post it. I am lame, I know.

But I just bought this dress and was feeling lovelyso I got mum to snap a few quick pics on her mobile which turned out OK and I’m biting the bullet and posting! Yay for me!

Dress: Pink Bat Attack by Sourpuss (bought from my friend Skye-Bow Clothing & Accessories)
Leggings:  I got these babies from Avon. They hold you in and are slinky and just about the best pair I’ve ever owned!
Necklace: Zombie Bling by Sourpuss (also from Skye-Bow Clothing & Accessories)
Shoes: El-cheapo’s from Best & Less which I got for about $9 or something ridiculous!

Detail:

As you can (hopefully) see, the bats have wicked little grins. Now really, how could I have lived another minute without this dress in my possession? The necklace is also incredible, the perfect length and so nicely encrusted with rhinestones. Dear god I love Sourpuss!

So you’d think that now I’m well and truly in my late 20s that I’d stop having themed parties. WELL YOU’RE WRONG. I love having themed parties, but not just one of those boring decade parties (like 80′s parties or the dreaded flapper/gangster parties you see everywhere) but really specific ones. Like out Doomed Lovers party for Valentines Day one year (Anthony and I were Rihanna and Chris Brown) and our excellent Superheroes on a Budget party! For my birthday this year I decided I’d go for Vampires since I missed out on Halloween this year thanks to the zombie walk (and boy am I sick of zombies these days). I’ve loved vampires for years, especially the old ones starring Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee as well as the recent, sexy TV shows like True Blood and yes, even Vampire Diaries.

I knew it was going to be a smaller sort of party considering it was on the last weekend before Christmas (damn having a birthday on December 23rd) but that didn’t stop me from going all out on decorating the place. I got some awesome vampire decorations from Martha Stewart’s Halloween range from Scrapbook.com and I also had a lot of help from my mum who made gravestones out of cardboard and cut out dozens of bat shapes before spending hours making almost 100 mini cupcakes with me the night before. I scoured the internet in the weeks leading up to the party looking for good ideas but found few that weren’t totally tacky and/or aimed at children. So we just used fake spiderwebs, lots of bats and dark decor to make my unit look like Dracula’s lair and had lots of red foods and drinks to keep the theme. It was so much fun to set up, but I was totally beat before the party even started. I might try not to go so crazy for my next party, I think (haha yeah right).

WHAT I WORE:

Dress: From Retro Metro, Paddington (I think it was some sort of costume as they had heaps in various colours)
Boots: Bought off a good friend who got them from Pulp – an amazing investment!
Gloves: From Adornments, Paddington.
Necklace: Not sure, probably from Diva or somewhere similar.
Hat: From my sister – from Dollars & Sense of all places!
Hair: My trusty extensions from Price Attack
Stockings: Ambra from David Jones (the best fishnets ever, I assure you).

And just for fun here are few snaps taken during the night (hover for descriptions):

Oh and in case you’re wondering how I got such kickarse vampire teeth, you’ll want to check out Dracula House. We got the werewolf fangs as there are four teeth which seemed like a good investment. They stick with this weird putty stuff that sets and become small plates that come out easily but stay put amazingly too. Don’t try and use these with crazy acrylic nails like I did – they stick like shit to a blanket! Get someone else to put them in for you, which is probably the best way to do it anyway as you may end up throwing many tantrums if you try and do it by yourself!

See the rest of the photos on my Facebook gallery.

I don’t go out clubbing that much any more. Not because I’m necessarily over it or anything, but I am trying to be responsible with money plus the migraines that come with a big night out are getting worse as I get closer to the age of 30 (*shriek*) so I tend to only go out when I have something to go to. This is my outfit from last Saturday night, which was a friends 30th at one of my favourite Brisbane clubs, Alhambra. I have to admit it’s one of my favourites, which I also have in black. It’s real silk, plus there’s sequins and fancy straps and oh man… I love this dress. I got it from Forever New earlier in the year after falling in love with it a month or two earlier. I couldn’t justify the $150 or so that it cost, and couldn’t decide which colour I liked more. Then one day I found it on sale for $80. I went to get the black one, discovered it was 50% sale items so I ended up getting the black and pink/purple ones for $80 altogether. Best day ever!

Detail

I cannot get my camera to get the true colour, it’s actually more pink than this, but you get the idea. It’s only downfall is that the sequins can scratch the shit out of your arm as you’re dancing. But the amazing, swishy skirt more than makes up for that!

And just for laughs, check out an action shot of me at the club. Ruby Velour = True Class.

Dress – Forever New
Fishnets – Ambra
Shoes – Rubi
Hair flower – Dotti
Bracelet – Found on the floor of a club one time ;)

Well I failed to post a new outfit each day of the week. I really did try but there were some days when I literally didn’t have the time and others where I felt like I looked like arse, so I kind of gave up. I have a couple of outfits to post about still, but overall the week was not quite the epic success I’d hoped for. On the bright side though, I am now far less apprehensive about taking photos of what I’m wearing to post on the internet, which was really what I was hoping to achieve all along! So I will now post a new “What I Wore” as often as I’m feeling gutsy enough to show the world what I am wearing, which hopefully will be often!

Now I don’t want to just leave it there. I do have a photos from this weekend I’d like to share with you all. But before I do, I’d like to tell you about an obsession of mine. Small things. I like miniature versions of stuff. I find them irresistibly adorable and want to collect all small versions of normal, everyday things. My main focus with this obsession though are tiny hats. Particularly tiny top hats. I know they’re not new and the Japanese have been all over it for ages. But what can I say, I love them and have always fantasised about collecting them.

Well Saturday was my lucky day! I accidentally discovered a treasure trove of tiny top hats (among various other fantastic head wear) at a stall at the Paddington Antique Centre. I won’t give you any more detail as I don’t want too many people knowing my secret hot spot for cheap and darling hats. I bought a small brown one a few weeks before but was amazed to discover they had a wide range of them in various colours this time. I was good and only bought two but I’m pretty sure I will be back in the next week or two for another couple of them. So I now have a pink medium-sized tiny hat and a super duper tiny white hat (I’m pretty sure I will use it on my wedding day FYI). One day I’ll compile them all and do some sort of zany photo blog of them :D

Meanwhile, since I’m talking about amazing discoveries in Paddington, if you have any interest in vintage and retro fashion, I discovered the most amazing shop called Retro Metro. There’s technically two shops but they’re both named the same and owned and run by the same people, and literally across the street from each other. I bought the most outrageous dress from there, which I will be unveiling at my work Christmas party next month. It ain’t cheap, but it’s proper vintage and retro fashion that’s been specially picked for it’s uniqueness and quality. I found one pink 1950′s prom dress that was actually pleated tulle! I never knew such a thing existed and would have walked out with it if I had $300 or so to spare. And you know, shed about four dress sizes. I also nearly walked out with a Scala bowler hat but unfortunately my enormous head doesn’t fit into a size small men’s hat :( But I seriously suggest you check it out if you live in Brisbane. Just make sure you save up your pennies first!

Well I am off to a terrible start with this What I Wore Week business! I got to day two (which I’m about to post now) but then I had some personal stuff come up and so couldn’t do an outfit post today. Long story but I hope you’ll forgive me and accept an extra day added at the end to make up for it.

I got this dress on Saturday and decided it’d be ideal for a Sunday session. It’s so, so not my normal style and while it doesn’t really flatter my figure so well, I fell in love with it’s adorable skull design and soft materials. I was pretty stoked when I fit into a size 10 though, considering I’m definitely not that size down in the rump area, so that may be another reason why I bought it ;)

This necklace was bought on the same day from the same shop. Um hello Ruby Velour style to a tee! If there’s anything I love more than bling or skulls, it’s the two together! Here you can also see the detail of my dress.

And this is my best friend Sarah and I. We’re at Eagle St Pier as we went to watch the Pacquiao vs Margarito fight at the Pig n Whistle pub. It was an awesome fight, which I just so happen to be re-watching now. It’s amazing how much you learn to like a sport after doing it yourself for a while. SHOCK!

Dress – Dangerfield
Necklace – Dangerfield
Shoes – Rubi
Stockings – David Jones

To combat this, I am forcing myself to post my daily outfit each day for the next week. Even if it’s some daggy crap I wear to work, I am showing it off. I am hoping it will a) help me get over their stupid phobia I have and b) show you all how great I look everyday, usually for CHEAP. So here I go, day one is Saturday 13th November:

Today’s outfit as what I wore on a day shopping in the City. Man oh man I spent some money today, I just got paid and boy did I act like it! As per usual, I went with mostly black with a splash of pink. I also dressed comfortable since I knew there’s be a lot of walking.

Can I just point out this amazing bra? It was really cheap, in fact $20 from Trade Secret and is a cup size smaller than I usually wear but fits like a dream and makes my boobs look fantastic. When I talk about finding a good bra to help enhance your assets, this is what I am talking about!

And how about these shoes? Mum bought them from some little boutique in an outer suburb of Ipswich but they didn’t fit her so I bought them off her because I couldn’t bare the thought of her returning them! Pearls and diamantes, OH HELL YES!

Top/s – Supre (pink singlet with black lace shirt over top)
Tutu – Jay Jay’s
Leggings – Supre
Shoes – Unknown
Necklace – Made by my mum

OK so that wasn’t too bad (well, unless we’re talking about photo quality, coz yeah, I need to find a different setting on my camera ASAP). tay tuned for tomorrow’s post, the new dress I have is SHIT HOT and nothing like what I usually wear!

While this was the 3^rd time I’ve organised the walk, I learned a lot which will make the 2011 walk even better. We undertook so much this year, from corporate sponsorship, becoming a registered business to having our own merchandise and co-ordinating a whole heap of volunteers. All of which we undertook while still working 9 – 5 jobs! I’m amazed it didn’t send me mad as I thought I was going to wig out more than a few times, but it all worked out pretty well in the end, thankfully.

I don’t know why, but I decided to go as a Steampunk zombie this year. It’s not like I had enough of my plate without having an overly elaborate costume, right? But my mum worked her magic and produced the most fantastic costume in less than three weeks. The only downfall was that I had to cover half of it up with a hideous hi-vis marshal vest in order to be easily recognised by police and other participants, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I mightn’t be so elaborate next year since I almost died from heat stroke in all the leather and ended up having to do most of the walk backwards to stop people getting ahead of me (I don’t know what it is with people having to rush, it’s a zombie walk, slow down and be a zombie for crying out loud!) but I’m sure I’ll find something crazy to dress as again next year. (Umm and why, may I ask, do I always look my best when stressed out??? Seriously, it’s not fair!)

If you’re interested, you can check out the official Post Walk Statement for all the official info about the walk. Otherwise, you should check out all the photos at the Flickr pool that lots of amazing photographers took on the day (since I didn’t get t take any of my own photos, sadly).

Oh and if you’re thinking “Pfft there’s no way there were 10,000 participants this year”, let this awesome photo by Andrew Otten prove you wrong!

(Click for the larger version)