Bows and Byes

I haven't been blogging a ton lately, because I have been busy with other non-internety stuff; like making  as many bows as I can find materials for. 

Bow making, officially my new favourite hobby, has been taking up all my spare time lately, and I have plans for a lot more. Sadly, that will have to wait till I'm back from vacation. I'm afraid I haven't had time to prepare any posts in advance, but I'll be back July 1 or 2, with a more consistent posting schedule.

Love,
Rosie

Aqua- Awesome/Annoying and Analyzable

I don't talk about music here very often, mostly because my musical taste is possibly even more random and strange than my clothing choices. I love all sorts of stuff, lots of it either really annoying/strange or totally awesome, depending on who you are. Possibly the most potentially annoying of all the stuff I listen to is Aqua (close second is probably my slight love for the Spice Girls, especially their song Wannabe). I would try to blame it all on my being a child of the 90s, but since I only started listening to them in the past year, I guess it's just my tendency to love annoying songs.

Honestly though, how could I not love a band with tracks like these?

Lollipop


Dr. Jones


Cartoon Heroes


Barbie Girl


Someone once asked me how I could love the song Barbie Girl, when it's so degrading towards women. Personally, I don't find it degrading. I think it shows how strong and real women are by talking about the stereotypical "barbie girl" and making us realize how ridiculous it is. Maybe it's just all the literary analysis I do at school talking, but I find songs like this incredibly thought provoking and interesting. To me, it doesn't say "you are pretty and wear makeup, so you must be a a naive slut." It says "You aren't actually like that. Most women aren't, they use their heads for things other than displaying hair."*

Do you think that "degrading" songs like Barbie Girl help people realize how diverse women are, or do they reinforce stereotypes?

Love,
Rosie

*I had a really good ending for that sentence, but I try to keep this blog clean for those of you who don't want your mind polluted.

What I Wore: Romanticized Bombshell

Shirt, "borrowed" from my daddy; pink tank top, Jacob; skirt, thrifted; Shoes, Indigo by Clarks; white hair bow, Claires; gold skull bow, handmade by me; belt, Cake

I got this skirt over a month ago, but it had languished unloved in a bag while I tried to figure out how to wash a leather skirt. I needed to wear it today though, because I try to always wear something leather when I'm writing intense exams. It may sound strange and creepy, but super soft leather always makes me feel calmer. Since my coat was out of the question, I settled for the skirt.

I'm so glad I finally got around to washing it, because it made me really inspect it. The leather is amazingly soft, the lining is a heavy, but very real, sating, the quality of the overall product is amazing. I don't know the brand, Champ Elysées Fashions Inc, from Montreal and a Google search reveals nothing. It was made in Canada though, which automatically wins it points in my books.

When I was considering what to wear it with last night, I wanted to go with my pink tank top, but it looked unbalanced, so I added the white shirt; which prompted my mother to comment that I looked vaguely like a girl out of an Indianna Jones movie, so I'm happy with the outfit.

A new obsession of mine is bows. So far I've started small, but I have plans for an absolutely gigantic purple tulle bow, probably to be worn on my head. I know I'm a bit late on this trend, but maybe I'll be late enough to be considered avant garde :P 

When I was looking in the mirror this morning putting on my eyeliner, I realized that this outfits feels slightly WWII to me. I can totally imagine the hard working bombshell heroine of some romanticized "true story" movie wearing this to rush into a bomb shelter and realized her dashing soldier lover is missing; hence the basement pictures, because I like to think it looks vaguely like a bomb shelter. 

And I like to have fun with photo editing.

Have you ever found an absolutely amazing piece by a seemingly non-existant brand? What about an absolutely amazing piece, period?

Love,
Rosie

PS: If you have any info on Champ Elysée Fashions Inc. from Montreal, Canada, I'd really appreciate if you let me know, either in the comments or you can send me an email. I'd love to find out more about the origins of this skirt.

Rayban x Prada x cheaper = love

It is rare that I see an item online, and go "WANT". Usually, I see something and go, "ohh, pretty" then I forget about it. I saw these Prada sunglasses on Doe Deere, and couldn't get the clear pink frames and smokey lens caught my hear and refused to let go.

I wasn't however super into the shape of the frame, especially not for a Prada sort of price. I literally couldn't them out of my head, I kept imagining outfits that would look amazing with them. Then, just days later, I saw these at the grocery store (yes, at the grocery store). 

They have the same shape as my beloved Rayban Cats, they have the colours I love about the Prada glasses, and they are mine for a very reasonable price. Prepare to seem them frequently!

Have you ever had an item you fell completely obsessed over? Did you get it, or find a substitute?

Love,
Rosie

Wannabe Artsy or Wickedly Awesome?

I took these photos out in my front lawn after school on Wednesday, and when I finally got them on to my computer this evening, I couldn't believe how well they turned out. It was so hard narrowing it down to a few to post, I feel I could have put up any of the 75 and been proud of them.

As you can see, I'm really loving the look of a short depth of field right now. One of the things I love about my new camera is how much more extreme this effect is. These are shot at f-4.5; and they depth of field is still like twice as shallow as my old camera at f-2.6. Some people may see that as a problem, but personally I love it!

What do you think? I am right to love a short depth of field, or does it look wannabe artistic?

Love,
Rosie

Black Out Recap

It's been a couple of days, since the end of the Black-Out, and I have had some time to think about it. If you didn't catch them at the time of posting, here are the outfits I wore (the photos are links to the posts):

Over all, I feel pretty good about it. I cheated once, but other than that, I really learned how to embrace colours and other neutrals. I did lean on navy blue and white a bit, but I that helped me realize that the base of an outfit doesn't HAVE to be black. The week also saw me experimenting with colours as neutrals (Day 3, I would definitely classify that skirt as a neutral) and days entirely without neutrals (Day 2).

Did you participate in the Black-Out? What are your thoughts on black clothing?

Love,
Rosie

What I Wore: With Help from my Brother

Before I start this post, I have just a few words: It was 80s theme day.

Leggings, Gina Tricot; shirt, Seduction; shoes, Converse; legwarmers, Ardeens; head band, Lululemon; black and white bracelets, Claires; sunglasses, Joe Fresh

As you can see, I was celebrating the end of the Black-Out today, but it was also because I have very little 80s ish clothing that is actually brightly coloured.

The reason for the jelly bracelets is this:

Source

And the story: My little brother asked me this morning why I was wearing leggings with that top and not skirt, and I told him it was an 80s theme day. He then proceeded to tell me that I should wear my Jelly bracelets, and when I asked why he explained that Madonna wore them in the 80s.

If you were around in the 80s, what sort of stuff did you wear?

Love,
Rosie

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 8: Too Warm

Sweater; thrifted; skirt, thrifted; tank top, Seduction; shoes, Birkis; scarf worn as belt, ???

This outfit, like so many I have worn recently, was great till after gym class. The sweater is cute, but after playing foot ball in the hot and humid weather for an hour, it was just too warm. I ended up spending most of the afternoon in just my tank top, which was fine but slightly awkward since it is very low cut. You'd think I'd learn my lesson and start wearing t-shirts, but no!

Do you have any practicality mistakes you make over and over?

Love,

Rosie

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 6-7: lazy days

Day 6:

Shirt, gift; skirt, thrifted; bandana, I've had it since I was like 8 years old.

As you probably noted in my last post, I've been pretty busy socially lately. And while I enjoy a good party as much as the next person (although I enjoy forcing water into hopelessly drunk friends less), staying out late and going all day two days in a row had left me completely exhausted, so I spent Saturday lazying around at home*, which is why my outfit is slightly shapeless and doesn't include shoes.

Day 7:
I don't have photos of todays outfit because it was too rainy all day to get out and take them, and I just don't  like photos of the inside of my house. For the record though, I'm wearing a mens grey button down and purple leggings with a purple headband.

What do you like to wear for quiet days at home?

Love,
Rosie

*By lazing around at home I mean doing and hanging out several loads of laundry, mowing the lawn, and preparing meals for up to seven people.

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 4-5: Please don't kill me!

Day 4:

Skirt, thrifted; shirt, Seduction; shoes, Birkis; bracelets, various gifts and handmade.

This entire outfit felt like a really super good idea in the morning. After an hour spent outside playing soccer in the blinding sun (in gym clothes of course), the skirt was my new best friend and the shirt was starting to seem like a frenemy. 

Day 4.5:

Dress, Gina Tricot; Black and white bracelets, Claires; hair bow, Claires; shoes, Birkis, but I only wore them to and from.

I know, I know: I cheated. Please don't kill me! I don't have a really good excuse, just that there was a black and white themed dance, I own no white clothing suitable for dancing and I REALLY love dances and themes.

Day 5:

Shirt, Smart Set; skirt, thrifted; bandana, thrifted; Sunglasses, Joe Fresh; shoes, Birkis.

The skirt (which is actually a skort, shhh!) is a pretty bright blue, but the intense sunlight that day made everything sort of blown out. Having worn it for a day, I have now decided that I need to recreate it in every colour of the rainbow, and several that aren't in the rainbow. Cuteness of a miniskirt with the wearing ease of shorts, Rosie likey!

Day 5.5:

Dress, Eclipse; belt, Cake; bandana, thrifted; shoes, Birkis removed the minute I walked through the door. 

I wore this outfit to a cast party for a production I'm in right now, and I could not have been happier with my choice. I was overdressed, since everyone else was wearing shorts and t-shirts (except my best friend Nat who was wearing an outfit that sort of matched mine); but that was just fine.

Love,

Rosie

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 3: Full of Bobby Pins

Skirt, thrifted; shirt, Seduction; sandals, birkis; hat, handmade by my mummy; bracelets various gifts and handmade.

I'm on the fence about this skirt. It's a light weight corduroy, and awkwardly stiff. And the waist band, which fits perfectly, refuses to stay in one place. Still, it's a nice olivey green, and looks divine with hot pink, and I bet lots of other colours.

I've never posted an outfit featuring this hat before, but I've worn it like three times over the past week. I just shove all my hair into it, stick it full of bobby pins and I'm set for the day. It's so much more glamourous than a athletic headband, adds a pop of colour, and matches my purse/camera bag, so expect to see it a lot more in the coming days and weeks.

Do you have a go to accessory?


Love,
Rosie

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 2: New and Old

Dress, Joe Fresh; sandals, Birkis; headband, Claires (several years ago); necklace, a gift from a friend; bracelets, various gifts and handmade

Yeah, I wear these sandals a LOT. The thing is: they are super comfortable no matter what I'm doing, they are easy to take off (and put back on)*, they are neutral enough to match pretty much everything I own, they require pretty much no upkeep, and when my friends are like "Hey Rosie, don't you think it would be awesome to walk across town to get some ice cream?", I can say "Totally 100% awesome!" not "I'd love to, but my shoes won't allow it.".

I have an extreme love for this dress. I've only worn it a couple of times, but every time I do, I'm like: "Damn I love this dress, even if it's trying to force me to show everyone my bra." It's not that often you find a dress that makes you look drop dead gorgeous while feeling like pyjamas.

This necklace arrived in the mail yesterday, and I had to wear it. The large stone is jade, and it has inspired a whole realm of new outfits.

I never would have thought to wear jade/mint green with red on my own, but since the necklace put them together I decided to go with it.

That led to me wearing this headband, which has been laying unloved in my bedroom for YEARS, since I never know what to wear it with. I have some ideas as to what to wear it with though, so it may become a more regular participant in my outfits.

Love,

Rosie

* I like my shoes to be easy on and easy off because I have a somewhat (ok, extremely) annoying habit of taking my shoes off. Honestly, I get to a rehearsal or a class or a random place, and I take my shoes off.

What I Wore Black-Out 2010 Day 1: Crop top and florals

Skirt, thrifted; shirt, gift from a friend, years ago; tank top, Seduction; shoes, Birkis; belt, Cake; bracelets, various gifts and handmade.

It was the first day of the black-out today, and I will admit that I had a bit of trouble with this outfit. I wanted to wear the shirt, and normally I would have thrown on a black belt, black tank and black skirt for effortless chic, but I think this was way more fun.

I love this skirt so much, I can't believe I've barely worn it! I think my main problem was not know what to wear it with, but I've got all sorts of ideas now that I know just how amazing it is. You can sort of see it in the photos, but it's practically alive, the way it moves and flows.

I had some fun with photo editing after I took this photo, but these are the true colours of the shirt. I was helping my sister sort through some old clothing I had put aside for her, found this and reclaimed it. As you can see in the first two pictures, it's really short, and pretty loose, but I think it will look neat with high waisted jeans or a skirt, and the need for a tank top makes the outfit way more interesting.

Love,

Rosie

Summer Black-Out 2010 and other Announcements

Am I a bad person or what? In my second to last post, I told you all that my camera was broken, and that posting would pretty much stop until I got it fixed. Well, my camera isn't fixed yet, but if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that yesterday I bought a Canon Rebel XS. May may have been in all time low when it came to posting, but I think June will be a bit better. I am in the middle of exam revision right now, but I'm really excited about my new camera, so expect more outfit posts.

For today though, I just wanted to share with you something pretty cool I'm going to be doing for a week starting tomorrow.

It starts tomorrow, June 7th, and runs until June 14th. Please please please head on over to Already Pretty to check out the guide lines and to get more info.

Love,
Rosie