Halloween Costume Inspiration Without Looking Like A.....

Hi guys,
Whenever I start thinking about what to go as for Halloween that infamous quote from Mean Girls always pops into my head: "In the real world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it."

I am not much of a slut: I like to keep myself covered up so I'm not very good at it! That means that my Halloween costumes require a little more imagination. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are throwing a mixed child and adult Halloween party for Halloween this year, so I need a costume that won't scare small precocious children but that feels adequately 'Halloween-y'. I turned to my go to site for all of my one stop fashion needs: ASOS, And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by some of their Halloween offerings. Here are my picks:

SKELETON FUN

I love this skeleton look because you could wear the pieces individually again - It's a good way to justify the extra expense of the costume's component parts and means that you won't have to wear horrible polyester all night. Those leggings would look cool with a simple t shirt dress and the tee is perfect for pairing with jeans.

PUMPKIN PRINCESS 

This is a great outfit if you want to wear your favourite black dress whilst still looking like your wearing an awesome costume. Accessories are also cheaper than buying a full costume, which in an added bonus if you're only going to one party and then won't be wearing the outfit again! This is definitely what I would wear if I was going to a fancier evening party.

GHOULISH GHOST

This is probably closest to what I will end up wearing: a super casual sweater so I can run around after kids all afternoon but still with a distinct costume-y feel. Wilbur is going as a super-cute (and not at all scary) bat, and Mike is toying between being a zombie or a vampire. Decisions, decisions!

Need a little more costume inspiration?
Here I am as Madonna in 2011
Here I am as Lady Gaga in 2010 
Here I am as Alice in Wonderland's White Rabbit in 2010 

Have you chosen your Halloween costume yet? Do you have any fantastic ideas or inspiration to share? I'd love to hear it!

Love Tor x

Life Lately, according to my iPhone: July 2014

Hi guys,
Wow, it has been a long time between blog posts! Work has been hectic (definitely a good thing) and sometimes real life just gets in the way. It suddenly seems much more important to spend my downtime playing games and running around outside with Wilbur than it does to chain myself to my laptop. I've also been busy organising our next trip to Disneyland (which is two weeks away) and my sister's hen do (which is three weeks away). The hen do is a Disney-themed costume party, and I am going as Cruella deVille. Last week I had a practice of the make up:

Scary right? The eyebrows have been painted on with eyeliner which means they don't move at all, adding to the overall cartoony effect. I'm also currently in the process of creating a dalmatian print cape from a meter of fun-fur. I'll share the final outfit when it's all ready. Here's what else I've been up to over the past month:

1. I went and got my hair did (the curls sadly, didn't last long - damn my thick and heavy hair 2. Inspired by the magical Mary Berry, Wilbur and I made dinosaur cookies. 3. Dinner, recreated in Play Dough. Just because.

1. Wilbur's first face painting 2. Walking in the woods to gather sticks and stones for painting with 3. Water play in the garden on a hot day 4. Digging up bones at the dinosaur park. We've been outside and having fun every day: for the first time in years, I'll actually be sad when summer is over this year.

Fashion-wise, it's been a pretty light month at my end. I've been far to busy playing outside and making the most of the summer instead of worrying about what I'm wearing: most unlike me, I know. But September is fast approaching - the month of new season fashion, choosing new coats and breaking out all my favourite Autumn outfits. I can't wait!

Love Tor x

Fabfrocks loves: Lady Gaga and Giorgio Armani

Hi guys,
My love of Lady Gaga is well documented. From copying her make up to lusting after her dresses, if she does it then I want it. I normally despise all forms of pop music, but with my hand on my heart I can say that going to see her on her last tour was one of the best musical nights of my life.

So how excited was I when I saw the sketches of the costumes for her latest Born this Way Ball tour (which hits the UK in September)? The answer is pretty damn excited: The custom Giorgio Armani wardrobe created for Lady Gaga is characterized by extreme forms and futuristic materials – latex, metal, studs, PVC – crafted with couture savoir faire. Each outfit is completed with detailed, other-worldly accessories.

The first design includes a black bodice made of tubular PVC elements connected with metal studs, with mirrored metal inserts to define a curvaceous design. The ensemble is highlighted by a matching headpiece, robotic thigh-high boots, and exaggerated gloves ending in mirrored nails.

Another look is created via a shiny black grid-patterned PVC bodice with matching headpiece and embroidered ankle boots. Highlights include shoulders outlined by a play of sharp spikes, black Swarovski jet crystals and flowing fringe, creating a moving architecture.On the third black bodice, transparent Plexiglas, black crystals and luminous studs create a Cubist composition of abstract guitars. The matching headpiece follows in the shape of a keyboard; the boots are black vinyl.

The final design is a long tunic with leg-o-mutton sleeves made of skin-toned latex. Luminous PVC elements create flashes of synthetic light inside the garment. The same avant garde lighting is featured on the triangle decorating the chest, on the headpiece, and on the platform of the matching latex ankle boots.

So what does the man himself think of his creations? “Collaborating with Lady Gaga is always an exciting experience for me. I admire the way she uses fashion as a scenic element and as a means to build a character," says Giorgio Armani. "She is an artist of many talents and great intelligence. Creating stage costumes for her is a stimulating and creative exercise." And what do I think? Well I have only two words: "Yes please!"

I can't wait til Gaga lands in London in all her glory!

Love Tor xx

Daily Wear: Lady Madonna

Hi guys,
I can't believe the weekend is almost over! Just a quick post to share my Madonna costume, which I wore to a friend's 80s-themed 30th birthday last night. When I think of 80s icons, Madonna immediately comes to mind, so I knew straight away that was a costume I was going to put together. And luckily, everything I needed I already had in my wardrobe: not sure what that says about my wardrobe!


Mike went as Suggs although as he isn't wearing his sunglasses or his hat you can't really tell!

And my outfit? Well, The pleather jacket is from Primark (I lopped the sleeves off last year for a Lady Gaga costume) the one shoulder dress is from Topshop, as are the flat ankle boots. The long lace gloves are from Accessorize, the hair bow is from Miss Selfridge, and the clutch bag is from Peacocks. A high street costume without spending a penny! I might actually reuse this for Halloween...I'm on something of an economy drive.....


Love Tor xxx

Halloween costume ideas

Hi guys,
With Halloween just a few days away, everyone is talking about what costumes they are going to be wearing. I love Halloween (we will be spending ours at the London Dungeons) and I love dressing up, but I hate unimaginative slut costumes: what exactly does a playboy bunny have to do with Halloween? My thoughts exactly! A costume party is the perfect opportunity to express yourself: do you really want people to think the inner you is a stripper, or worse still, that you have so little imagination you think its OK to dress as a witch? (again!)

So if you still haven't decided what you're going as and you need a costume quick, here are my picks of the best ones to be had:

Of course there was bound to be a Lady Gaga costume or two in the mix. And lets be honest, the Lady is pretty scary! This has all the aspects needed to be a great Halloween look! For around £40 you can buy the two official lady gaga outfits. But lets be honest, the quality is unlikely to be great, and for that money you could buy a dress you might actually wear again! Why not just invest in a couple of cans of coke to wrap in your hair, throw on a pair of fishnet tights with either a black dress or black leotard (depending on how daring you are!) and then add a black studded leather jacket. The one in the picture is from Topshop.

Corpse bride: I have weddings on the brain at the moment, and the corpse bride costume is a nice easy one to do! Tesco's had an amazing corpse bride costume on their website (it's now sold out online) However with a little time this is a costume that can look great on a budget: buy an old wedding dress or long white dress (the older the better!) from your local charity shop. Tear it and add either streaks of dirt or fake blood. White out your face with facepaints and your hair with talc and you're ready to go. Easy as that!
Speaking of my wedding (were we? again?) Alice in Wonderland characters make great costumes (especially if you team up with a group of friends) and are so popular they are no 2 on the list of 100 most popular homemade costumes. From Alice and the Queen of Hearts to the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit, these would be super-easy to buy, and easy to make too (especially the hatter and the rabbit) The Alice dress shown is available from etsy.

Other great ideas for fashion lovers include: Marie Antionette, a 1920's flapper girl, Anna Wintour, and my personal favourite: Karl Lagerfeld.

I can't wait for the start of the witching hour: i'm making jellies with spiders in, and am even attempting orange cake pops (I want to make them look like pumpkins!)How will you be spending your Halloween? What will you be dressing up as this Halloween?

Love, Tor xx

Attend the tale...

Hello blogosphere,

Brace yourself for cliche albeit one well meant: going to the movies used to be an event. When there was no internet, TV or glossy multi-narrative strand based American crime dramas, people used to look most often to the Picturehouse for their Big Night Out.

Yes, yes. I know you know this. You're very smart. I was just writing preamble - it can't all be gold! Damn your black hearts. Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is that on the occasions I can afford the shocking British multiplex/independent smugfest cinema prices (seriously, what's the point of being highbrow if it's not dirt cheap? Those Philip Seymour Hoffman films aren't going to watch themselves) I always dress up. Sometimes I theme it, cause y'know, with all my anger issues, I rarely get invited to fancy dress parties. Also, I think it's genuinely cheering to make all outings, even fairly commonplace ones, little events in themselves.

Two days ago I went to see Sweeney Todd.




Nice poster. Johnny Depp IS Sweeney Todd. Our focus IS his crotch. Anywhoo, I am a huge musical theatre nut and have an especial squidgy spot for Sondheim so I was almost foaming at mouth with excitement to see this particular motion picture Event. Did I block out out the fact that Tim Burton cast non-singers in two of the most difficult musical theatre roles. Yes. Yes I did. I blocked hard. It wasn't too difficult because at least ol' reliable Burton had the good sense to cast Helena Bonham Carter, whom I love very tenderly.

Yes indeed, despite her pipey- girly no power singing, I love her and her crazed fashion sense/hair. Her Sweeney costumes (designed by the ever-present Colleen Atwood) and general off-duty aceness were the inspiration for my cinema-goin' outfit.




Behold my mood boards o' inspiration:

Colleen Atwood's costume sketches

Scruffy hair, black eyes, mismatching Victoriana and eccentric/psychotic attitude with underlying vulnerability. 'kay:

Chiffon sleeved velvet dress: early 90s Laura Ashley, filched from mum
Ratty wool hoodie: filched from sister
Dirty yellow rose top: New Look
Purple tights: M&S
Boots: Nine West
Kitsch heart ring (just seen): Gift from my beloved co-blogger Tor

I tried not to be too costumey so it was goth-lite all the way. I didn't enjoy the movie - I firmly believe that a musical should be populated by actors who can actually sing the material. Call me a snob, but I need my moment of transcendence and Johnny Depp's growlly puppy rock voice, close miked and pitch corrected as it was, is no substitute for the fury and richness of George Hearn, Michael Cerveris or Len Cariou. I'm a broadway girl and I like a little belt.

Scene from the 2007 Broadway revival of Sweeney Tood w/ Michael Ceveris (left) & blessed Patti Lupone (centre,top). See lovely Wendy's blog for more Patti-fied 70s fashion goodness.

Wow. Our last two posts were on musical theatre and Disney. Maybe this is why we're not invited to frickin' Chanel. We have got to get cool somehow.

Maybe I'll take up smoking....that's still cool, right?

Love,
Becky.