Wednesday 30 September 2009

Halloween Outfit Decisions

So the question remains what are we going to go as this Halloween? Loads of pressure as Halloween is one event when everyone (even non costume fanatics) get involved.
I think we have three options.


1. A Tomb Stone - think big tomb head piece with rosette/blood outfits...



2. Vodoo Witches - think skeletons meets feathers and blood...











3. Clown girls - when I was in Buenos Aires earlier this year I went to a cool club called 69. There were these amazing podium dancers who were dressed as wicked crazy clowns. Think harlequin pattern meets lace and afro.... mmmm
Thoughts girls?




Let's do the clown thing fow show!




Tomb stone=too clunky - always annoying when you have a big cardboard box stuck to you.




Voodoo = too similar to Bitch Fairies

But instead of being normal clowns maybe we be SCHIZOPHRENIC CLOWNS.  Have a nice clown face painted on our faces and then a scary twisted clown face painted on masks that we wear on the back of our head?
Scary faces:








Nice faces:






Thursday 24 September 2009

All dressed up and nowhere to go....yet...

Halloween party options so far are a little thin on the ground:


Highlights include live snakes, singalongs and a booth of misfortune.


The launch of the Creatures of the Night nights so a new kid on the block. A risk that could or could not be worth it.


Guaranteed banging music but distinct lack of dress-up.


Last year the dress up was special but the rest a little average. Especially the toilets. Should we give it another go?


House Party
Maybe we need to make our own.....


Suggestions welcome!

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Bestival..the final show down.

The main Besitval affair for us was of course shooting stars, but I could not handle the thought of spending a night at a dressup festival, without ...well... being.... dressed up! Surely not. Criminal.
So I wizzed something up in the last few days in London. It is nothing specific exactly.. rather an alient fighter chick type thing I guess.
To be honest, I had this cool leather mask I had bought in Barcelona during the summer and had been waiting for an opportunity to wear it so based an outfit around that.
When I was shopping in Kleins for Madonna stuff I came across these hollow gold tubes that make cool shapes. So I attached them to shoulder pads and filled them with LED lights for night time fun.
Hannah kindly lent me her gold sequin cardigan thing I used to attach shoulder pads too... Thanks Hannah!
As a final touch I also bought these naff 80s gloves on ebay which were so wrong they were right.

That's it really. Nothing ground breaking.. but with the recycled Madonna gun used from 'Shooting Stars' the night before I was definitely ready to bust up some aliens ghost buster styles.

Mel


Tuesday 22 September 2009

Costume Catwalk Bestival


"Who are we?" "STARS!" "What do we do?" "SHOOT!" "So, We are...SHOOTING STARS!"

BESTIVAL 09 - Space Oddity

The Big Brainstorm


When I tell you that we started brainstorming Bestival costume ideas way back in March this year, I am not exaggerating. Does this make us vein or super organised? I'm unsure.


Bestival festival sets the bar for costume creativity. Unlike many other parties, the majority of people spend a considerable amount of time preparing. If you are not dressed up, you're an idiot.


The extra challenge with Bestival is that a group of 10 loud mouthed big personality girls had to agree the theme. Our whole crew go to Bestival and while for most parties we all interpret themes as we individually wish, this year I was dead set on the whole group going as one costumed force.


Originally we were thinking 'Milky Way Couture'. I was well excited about this. Then Hannah decided it was naff to support a brand (she is more earthy than me, i'm in advertising!)
So it was back to the drawing board....


After much discussion it was finally decided.... Shooting Stars. We wanted to put a twist on this though and be super stars with fat guns. Let the fun begin......


It didn't take me long to decide I would be Madonna... cones!


The majority of my outfit came from Ebay/internet. If you think about it far enough head, you don't even need to leave your desk to get a rocking outfit together.





  • LED lights for cones - £2.99... they last for hours
http://www.lights4fun.co.uk/Battery-Lights.aspx








  • Cones outfit - £20.00.... needed some adjustments to make it fit! Sewed the led lights on the cones to give is a space feel.
  • Microphone piece- £8.00
ebay







  • Wig - £5.00 ebay. I looked like an ugly sheep when I got it but then gave it a good trim. The trick with wigs is to wear a headband so they fit nice and tight to the head. Got rid of the bow too.
  • And most important .. gunnnsssss ... 2 for £10 at Army Kids We sprayed them chrome to be spacey.




Bestival 09 - Winehead

I was born with a very full head or hair - and so alas, I did not have much choice when it came to choosing my "star".  Amy's beehive was simply begging to be back backcombed for Bestival.
Clothing wise - it's a simple story - I opted for the torn denim short with white vest top.  
The attention to detail however, is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.
  • Double bra strap (2 tone)
  • Flower in the hair (sprayed silver for full space effect)
  • Signature OTT eyeliner
  • Amy's tattoos (you can buy transfers from ebay of her exact tatts  - with a diagram included of where to position on the body!!! - If that's not fame I don't know what is!!)


The Result? Spot the difference...



Bestival 09 - Bjork's infamous swan dress



What costume queen wouldn't relish the chance to re-create Bjork's beautiful swan. I snapped it up and got crafty.....







The task felt daunting for weeks before I begin but a couple of lucky finds and chances meant the dress only took about a day to make in total. Original plan was to start from scratch with layers and layers of tulle but a trip to a favourite charity shop (Whitecross Street, near Old Street roundabout) gave me a short white tutu to start with so layering the tulle on top of a base was much easier and quicker.


I toyed with making the swan from scratch also but bought a soft toy on-line (add link/photo here) and miraculously once it was all taken apart the neck was long enough and the body and wing pieces gave me a base for the torso of the dress.


All materials bought from Dalston Hill fabrics (need to check the name) - a gem of a shop on Ridley Road market. Floor to ceiling fabrics and a haberdashery hidden at the back, the domain of a German lady who rocks double denim daily and always has the answer to your costume needs. I needed white ostrich feathers to finish the dress and after showing me the £40 a metre version and seeing my face she promptly pulled out one big ostrich feather for the bargain price of £2.50 and described exactly how to slice it up to achieve the same effect. The woman is a costume angel, I will find out her name.


Finished the look off with a black wig (the plethora of wig shops are another Dalston treat) and of course, a silver gun. 






Thursday 17 September 2009

Bestival 09 Space Oddity - DAY 2

Inspiration for Day 2 of Bestival came from 2 things:


1. This harness. 



Found inside Susie's  Style Bubble.I got all my material from the brilliant people at Kleins. 


2...and Tiga's music video for "shoes ":























Again, pom poms from Kleins stuck down with toupe tape. Genius!


The result:
(waiting for friends to load photos up on facebook) - WATCH THIS SPACE!!