do you hear the people sing

D and I found this pair of Wartime Secretary Pants during the Zara sale and I had to try it on because it was so cheap. It fit like a glove so I bought it, but unfortunately they ran of sizes for the matching jacket. We then discussed a French Resistance look-- I think he gets the kicks out of all the different looks that I like playing around with. And I remembered I have a green beret, bought years ago from ASOS, that I knew I would wear someday, and lo and behold, it's gone one full circle and has been used in the UK itself.

My mother's gorgeous red pussybow top was kidnapped by me. . and I've worn it quite a few times over here. It's so soft and silky, and it fits very well-- I love its classic look. Of course you'll need more red here, so on goes Chanel Passion slicked on the lips, and the red Dolce & Gabanna pumps which I wear everywhere. Other items are: vintage gold earrings (Mom's); Diva ring; long black satin gloves; green Miu Miu bag; green ASOS wool beret.

 

 

And somehow everytime I think of Revolution or Resistance, I think of El Che and his fighting spirit (I named my cat after him, unfortunately he turned out to be a bit Sissy-ish, so I now call him Ernesto Che not-Guevara) and how sexy he looked smoking his pipe. Someone used to laugh at me for 'liking dead men' but I think he was just jealous. Lol. I think of The Boxer Rebellion. I also think of May 1968 even though I was only born in '86. And then I also have the song Do You Hear The People Sing from Les Miserables blasting in my head, getting all roused up. That's one of my favourite songs, I think I once shocked my mom one night when she came downstairs to see me all engrossed in that song which I play on some nights. If you have seen how Alex DeLarge looks all musically-intoxicated everytime he listens to Ludwig van in A Clockwork Orange, that's the effect Do You Hear has on me. One day I really must go watch Les Miserables, having read Hugo's amazing piece many times over, crippled my fingers practicing the pieces on my piano when I was much younger, God I love the story and music.

Have a fabulous weekend! x

creationism in black and white

 

I feel the urge to create coming back, beyond the card I illustrated for my cousin's wedding (which she used as part of her wedding presentation!) and the Tearing Wax Candle Holders I made. This is a welcome move as I had a dry spell for an entire year apart from a few random sketches where my pen surreptitiously moved inside my notebook pages. I got reminded of the long pair of gloves I studded sometime back in Singapore in preparation for Cambridge life (yeah right, more like I was being vain), and a set of photographs that showcased them. . 

The emphasis being on the accessories here-- a faux fur collar and long black leather gloves. It's so hard to find huge dangerous-looking studs back in Singapore. Of course there was Ebay UK and US, but delivery charges were a bit insane for a tiny packet, I decided to practice extreme delay of gratification. I was so happy to find a children's Stud Your T-Shirt With Mickey Mouse set in a 7-11 store whilst waiting for my friend to pick me up from the bus interchange. Of course, I wasn't planning on having a silver Mickey silhouette on my tee, but I love buying crafting materials knowing I will use them someday* . And so when I found these gloves from m)phosis on major discount, I knew I was going to get Stud Happy with them.

Back to The Look-- bold eyes did the trick here, together with juicy coral lips (see first picture of this post for a better idea).

*Imagine when you decide to make necklaces in the middle of the night you have to source online and wait for delivery till they come?

Studding is done both at the base and then it radiates upwards from the base of your thumb towards your index finger to simulate a ring. Jewelry and accessories-- purrfect for greedy souls like myself.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Finally, I arrived in the UK. Ebay delivery fees were £2 instead of £20. So I ordered myself a large packet of mixed studs. But I had no urge to create anything in Cambridge. Actually I had little urge for many things there. So the studs sat in my Craft Boxes, together with the millions of things that needed repairs involving hot glue guns, wires and pliers. Last night I remembered how I used to create stuff whilst watching the telly. You see, I stopped watching tv back in 2007 or 2008, apart from the occasional drama when I was sitting with my family whilst having dinner. They always say that family dinners with the tv is bad for your family as it reduces the dynamics, but in my family, everybody talks, laughs, discusses and gets distracted, telly time involves a lot of interaction. Okay, why am I talking about that now. It was scary that so much time gets eaten up with television. Say, you start at 7pm and then you end at midnight. And then you watch all the US drama serials freshly broadcasted on the internet for another few hours (I've never had cable before-- people think I'm poor for that lol), you have no more time left. Plus I also started working very very hard.

Quite possibly because yesterday was Epiphany, I had my own epiphany that our Stargate Atlantis marathons** were . . tv! And that I had ordered new soft leather gloves. . and that I had so many things I wanted to create. . and that I had finished up loads of work earlier before Christmas just so I could craft. Then The Bad Unjust Apocalyptic News hit. Then there was the holiday season. Then. . The Epiphany. 

**I am going to become Fashion Blog That Mentions Stargate The Most. 

So I crept into my storage cupboards and pulled out my tools. And assembled together likely designs. Finally I decided to Be Greedy. Et voila, asymmetrical gloves! Complete with a 'ring' on the right side. Because you should Be Greedy.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And whilst we are at it, I also created this ruffled collar|necklace back in Singapore. Made of ruched black fabric, a silver chain across its center hooks it into place. I just realised it's perfect with the many turtlenecks one can wear this winter season. The photography is terrible, but it's the middle of the night and the light upstairs leaves much to be desired. .

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Instead of sleeping last night after doing up my gloves, I starred at my many necklaces hanging in my bedroom. Many of which, were sort of nice but not really my type. Sometimes snapped up during massive sales because I loved certain elements, at other times out of impulse. But as my style evolves, loads of them no longer cut it for me. Together with bits of broken jewelry in my craft boxes, ribbons, lace and other materials classified under 'Will Come In Useful Some Day', I laid many pieces on the floor, hung some up on hangers, and started to play around.

This was a ring that I hardly wear anymore, but love the design still. And therefore decided to incorporate it, together with a lace bow and a vintage brooch from my mother's box. I remember that box since my childhood-- a small rectangular wooden box from India with beautiful carvings and shiny bits on top. In it contained some beautiful brooches, of which she gave me a few. Whenever I think of The Mother Vs. Yours Truly, I think of her as stylish, polished and classy and myself as chameleonic, sometimes a bit cheap in terms of taste (i.e. high-street ripoffs) and then I hang my head down in shame like Tom Dooley. Whilst striving to improve myself, of which I do believe (and not in a delusional sense) that considerable advancement has been attained.

Definitely loving this creation of mine :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Technically, this is not a creation, but rather some inspiration that struck me like a bolt of lightning. These two necklaces would be awesome layered together.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And my final piece of the past 24 hours-- an asymmetrical layered necklace. The curved silver bits came from a multiple tiered piece that was a little too delicate for my liking, so I decided to make it a little chunkier. As I assembled together chain links, pearls, silver cords and the large black mirrored gem (of which I modified the border from gold to silver), I started grinning to myself. This piece evokes the ornaments and embellishments that early humans in ancient settlements would wear to demarcate the social class they belonged to-- markers of differentiation that are deep within one's primal origins. Also, that today's symbols for vanity in accessorising has got much deeper roots. And hence I christened it Upper Echelons.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Hope you've enjoyed this post. . Thank you for the New Year wishes . . and I definitely hope to meet at least some of you this year! xxx

happy rufflicious twenty eleven!

Life has been a bit of a crazy whirlwind since Christmas eve. Loads of feasting of every sort, as well as my Come To UK And Be A Teetotaller Fantasy mocking at me and saying "kiss my arse". Nevertheless, it's the New Year already! Twenty Eleven. . what a fulfilling the last year has been, in a very different sense from all my other years, especially in making me more resilient and certain about the Leaps I take. Here's another long PhotoFest of a post-- saying goodbye to 2010, wrapped up in the ribbon bows of beautiful revelations and immense gratitude; and a hello to 2011.

psychedelic christmas in the opium den

On Wednesday, something that potentially resolved my sticky situation materialised (fingers crossed still. .) Although I will still have to be frugal, I never felt so relieved and thankful. I convinced D we needed to do The Big Shop-- i.e. large haul at the supermarket, a.k.a. one of my favourite activities I look forward to. . and he kept going, "Look how much food there is in. . we're not going to go mad!". Of course, like two crazy people who love food shopping, we did go a little mad. Because of the spark of good news, Christmas would be Christmas after all, and I wouldn't keep holing myself up and feeling Apocalyptic. 

Blue LED lights around the ficcus tree and some white-themed baubles; cards from D's mom, my mom and a student; presents under the tree-- I asked D, "Just to be clear, there are three for me?"/ "Who else would they be for". 

I love my kitchen more than my wardrobe. It is also more diverse than my wardrobe, funnily enough. My snack bar is always loaded with all sorts of munchies-- trays full of chocolates, bags full of chips and boxes of biscuits. A large tin of Quality Street and miscellaneous boxes of truffles complete the feel, together with the Live well, love much, laugh often sign on the exposed brick walls as an everyday reminder. Bottles of booze and two new pints of icecream. . hohoho it's Christmas! 

And a sexy man lighting the fireplace ;)

Vegetables and wine heating up on a clean gas stove. . whilst D keeps laughing at me saying, "Ooh, vegetables" because a year ago, he'd go, "I am going to have words with your mother that on your own you do not buy vegetables at all". Always invoking my mother's name, tsk tsk. And even longer ago when we were friends he'd do that too, and I'd smugly tell myself, "hahaha as though you will ever be in a position to meet my mother". Now I eat my words as I eat my . . vegetables.

 

Really loving this shelf now that I've got the colour theme sorted out. . 

And the extravagant feather lashes I picked out for the night.

retro snakes

 

Before the snow started to fall, I had uncovered loads of clothes that I stored away in boxes for the past year. Excitedly, I drew up a few image sets and decided to execute them, with the aid of tights, some scarves and big coats to keep myself warm. Because last year was supposed to be the worst winter in the past twenty years or so of British history, and I survived extraordinarily well wearing summer clothes inside. I had no idea just why-- in about 24 degree celsius air-conditioned rooms in Singapore, I would freeze, tremble and practically reverberate, and everyone would sympathetically lend their jackets to me. Australian winters were hell to me, and I always piled up. But I found the British winter strangely comforting, even when native Brits were having their teeth chattering, I thought it a little odd-- maybe I had somewhat turned mutant! So I stupidly thought this year would be no kick. And then the snows rained down, the temperatures plummeted-- alright, living by the coast does have fierce winters. Tights will not suffice. This was my very last execution of my beautiful plans that have since witnessed their evanescence. .

thai food at the wick inn

A week ago, I came back home to find a note from D that he had gone for Tai Chi. Interesting, I thought. I realised that my fingerless lace gloves had arrived in the post, in my attempt to replace all the four pairs of gloves that mysteriously 'disappeared' from my carefully-packed possessions* in my dorm room. So I decided to meet him for drinks and dinner, changed my outfit to one more befitting of the gloves** and put on my Icarus Grew Oriental Wings top, slicked on some red lipstick, dramatised the black liquid eyeliner and the appropriate accouterments-- a ring with a burst of pearls and another sheer red fabric rose one, both from Diva, and bronze chandelier earrings from Forever 21. I also threw on my gold Bebe brocade coat and a Dior handbag with pretty embroidery, feeling in my element. As I walked there, I kept texting him to order wedges-- my pub staple-- fantasising about warm hearty and slightly spicy potato chunks I would anoint with vinegar and pepper, but he kept telling me to be patient. For what? I wondered. And then as I walked into the charming old pub The Wick Inn, with a gleeful smile did he hand over the Thai Menu to me. And all cravings of wedges shimmered out of the many windows in the establishment. .

*Because you don't screw with the memory of an elephant, much less a photographic one. Alas, how is one to raise a case that 'four pairs of gloves and two letters were selectively stolen from my room?'
** You know how you might have no sense of delayed gratification and must wear new stuff now?