Formal dresses

Sorry for the time between posts guys! My exams for Uni are coming up, so I might be a little busy.

Another thing that's coming up is my University's 'Law Ball', a formal event for the students in my course. This inspired me to make a post about formal dresses, and how they don't have to be boring.

My dress for my highschool formal was a lucky find. After searching and seeing the same designs over and over, I found this:

I fell in love at first sight. Thank goodness it was affordable, because I realised beforehand that I'd be wearing this dress on a few select occasions.

Here are some ideas for a different kind of formal dress for your next event, instead of those same boring designs you see in all the major stores. Some of these aren't available to buy, but they're great for inspiration for your next shopping trip.

This dress is great at creating a flattering figure. Ruffles such as these hide lumps and bumps, but the neckline is great at showing off your bust. The ribbon around the waist is cute and brings the piece together to create an hourglass figure.

This is a more cute and bubbly look. It reminds me of a tutu, but with the black lace and waistband to spice things up, this dress looks really amazing. I love how the lace continues on to form a strap, so that makes this dress different to the usual strapless cocktail dresses you see at formals and proms.

This dress is great for those undecided about whether to wear a long or short dress - have both! The ruffles are great at flattering your figure and the shoes you pick will get the attention they deserve. 

Overall, the dress you pick for you formal can be hot and stylish, without you having to worry that you'll get lost in the crowd of girls wearing similar dresses. These dresses add twists to popular designs, so you'll still fit the formal theme, while wearing something unique that you love.

Get your stripes on

Stripes are pretty damn awesome. It's important to choose how you wear them carefully though. 

Vertical if you're short, horizontal if you're tall. That's the general rule to follow. However, stripes that aren't suitable for your body shape can be worn elsewhere, like on socks! For an example, look at my 'I live for tights' post - there are some killer stripey tights and socks for your viewing pleasure.

Vertical stripes create a really slimming look. This great dress is also successful in the way that it doesn't flatten the bust, but lets the stripes bulge out, actually making it look better.

Horizontal stripes don't always have to be off limits for short people. Thin stripes are usually easier to get away with, and look super cute.

The length of this dress allows for a lot of leg, to create a longer, slimmer looking shape.
Also, stripes don't have to be white and red, or black and white. There are plenty of combinations available! If you don't mind standing out, you could even go for a rainbow look. (Extreme bravery required).

Here are some good examples of less typical stripes:

 

I really love the rainbow dress in this picture. The white does a great job of breaking it up, making it cute and fun, not an eyesore of aggressive colour.

Striped accessories are always fun. Socks, ribbons, hair accessories and handbags are a few items you can wear stripes on. Try them out!

Push My Buttons

It's that time again!
When I should be finishing my assignments worth 70% of my mark or studying for impending exams, A NEW BLOG POST!

I hope you like buttons, because that's what I'm focusing on today. Well,  tonight really (it's 2am here).

 When I'm talking about buttons, I don't mean those pins/badges that have band names, craptastic jokes or political statements on them, I mean actual functional clothing buttons. Like these:

Ok, so maybe they're not ALL functional

There are so many pretty buttons to choose from.
They make everything look super cute, but my favourite are the kind you find on cute underwear, instead of a bow, there are a pair of gorgeous buttons.

Kinda like this:

Sexy sailors are sexy

But with two buttons arranged vertically. You know what? I suck at explaining this. Here's a picture I drew so you can understand what the hell I'm talking about.

So yeah, basically they are awesome. Stripes are pretty damn cool themselves, but more of that later (hint hint).

But moving away from underwear, as awesome as it is, buttons such as in the first picture, can be added to almost anything to add some extra awesomeness. It also adds some quirkiness and unique quality to your outfit. Military style buttons are very much in fashion, and I think they look great. Who knew you could look bad-ass AND adorable at the same time?

 

This looks reaaally warm, and I wouldn't mind having this is my collection for winter. I really hate the cold ):

Buttons are really fun and cute, a great addition to any outfit! I'll be sure to let them make their way into my winter collection. For those folks in the Northern hemisphere, there are some killer bathing suits with adorable buttons for the summer.

Back from Sydney

Sorry for the lack of posting guys.
I've recently gone on a trip to Sydney (:

I came back yesterday at 10.30 so tired that I ignored my usualy bedtime of 2am and just fell onto my mess of sheets that I call my 'bed'.

 

The sightseeing was great, but I'm not sure it's up to standard with the lovely sights in Melbourne:

Ah, me and my friends are so mature...

But there was some argument over which was better between me and my friends.
Out of the four of us, two prefered Melbourne and two liked Sydney better.
I'd like to open a poll about it, so you can vote for yourself.

Sydney did have great sights to see, with internationally recognised icons and great beaches all available.

However, the public transport system was reaaaly expensive. If you're a local, this would be less of an issue, as you can better value by buying bulk. But for us tourists, it was often cheaper just to share a taxi.

The cost of food was also kinda high, I have to admit, Melbourne shopping is better in most aspects. Shops are open later with more variety and much lower prices.

Sydney is hotter though, so that's a plus, and the beaches are great and plentiful.

Vote to settle this people!
Sydney or Melbourne?

New background, take two

Due to the general feedback I got, which was along the lines of

Can't read the text! ):

I tried to fix it by changing the font colour but...
This didnt work because the side bar text colour changed along with the body text colour, making it impossible to find a colour that made BOTH of them readable.

So, in conclusion, I've changed the background again, so it's easy to read.

Tell me what you think, poll is that-a-way -->

That's right, follow the giant arrow.

New background

So I just changed the background of my blog.
I'd like to hear what you think of it.
I'll set up a poll so you can tell me what you think.
Thanks to everyone who supports me by following/commenting!

I live for tights

This post will be more full of pictures than text, because really, these designs speak for themselves.

I love black tights the most, however, white tights come with a great variety of pretty patterns.

I'm usually not one to draw from celebreties for fashion inspiration but it's interesting to note that celebreties love tights too, Lady Gaga was spotted wearing these:

Which remind me of these tights, available over the internet. They are called the 'corset back' tights. I think it takes a bit of courage to wear them, courage I sadly do not have.

For more ideas, visit this awesome slide-show of quirky tights.

I do love the sock variety, made out of legging material, these nylon socks look great and are easier to wear than some of these bold leggings.

One thing I will say though is that please please please don't wear leggings as pants.
They are not pants. They go see through when you bend over. It's not a good look.
 

Unless you happen to be a model

Also, Jeggings are a tricky subject.

It's really up to you, but if you feel sensitive about your shape, they really don't hide anything.

These were listed as 'plus sized' jeggings, but honestly, the girls on the sides look like they're of an average weight. This is what I don't like about jeggings. They make you feel like your legs have to resemble twigs or you aren't 'normal'.

School uniforms

To be more specific, school girl skirts.
I love them. They're so cute.
To be realistic, I don't wear actual pieces of school uniforms out and about, but I love the style of the skirt. The pleads and the cute and innocent, yet sexy look is simple great.

Okay, so maybe it's not always so innocent.


But that's the great part. They're really versatile.
They look great in summer with short socks and can be worn in winter with a cute sweater and scarf matched up with some awesome tights. Or better still, my adored long socks.


They are the hallmark of anime girls. I've seen them represented time and time again, which makes them great for cosplay. This is also fortunate, because it means you can inexpensively recreate your favourite characters look, as school style skirts are widely available and generally, not expensive if you know where to look.
I've picked up some great ones from op-shops and if you're handy with a sweing machine, you can always take the hem up to suit you.

A classic school girl skirt in anime with killer thigh high socks.

 Speaking of cosplay, school uniforms in general are a great way to go. They are generally flattering and available on the internet for all body types. They're a fail-safe way of looking cute and sexy at the same time, just ask any guy.

The gorgeously understated school uniform of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Soryu from the anime Evangelion 

Hot Fashion Spot

Time for another bean-style drawing (aka. craptastic) of today's topic:

Spots and polka dots are insanely cute when worn correctly, but there is a very fine line between ‘charming, quirky’ and ‘eyesore’.  The problem with spots is that they're tempting to buy when you see them adorning the item on the rack, whether it be a skirt, handbag or sunglasses, but when you take it home and decide to wear it, it's hard to find an outfit that works.

I often decide to build my outfit around one piece that I really want to wear, like a new spotty skirt that I haven't gotten around to wearing yet. I try on outfit after outfit, my floordrobe slowly building up to dangerus levels, when I find a combination that's just right.
There's only one problem.
The item needs to be replaced.
And so I've spent an hour trying to find an outfit to match my skirt, and ended up switching it with another item.

Spots are hard to get right, but I often find that having smaller spots makes an item much easier to match.

This dress is a great example. The frills soften the look, and matched with pastel colours, we get an adorable ensemble, without the risk of looking like a circus escapee. It also demonstrates that a great way to make spots work is to show some skin. This gets rid of the problem of having to match tights or pants with the dress, but we can instead afford to mix up the colour pallet with a cute handbag.

Speaking of tights, this may be unrelated, but they sure are awesome.

Ok, it's semi-related. She's totally wearing a spotty dress. But these '8-bit tights' are really cute. I love how it gives the illusion of wearing a garterbelt, but without the smuttiness. It's also a really good way of impressing your gamer boyfriend. Or gamer girlfriend.

So here's one for the winter time.

I've never really been into hoodies, but I can totally see myself wearing this one. It looks so adorable and warm, you just want to hug it. It's also another great example of how smaller spots are easier to pull off. This would look great with your comfiest jeans and flats, or even at home with your pyjama bottoms (does anybody else do this?).

Spots can be hard to wear, but if you can pull if off right, they're totally worth it. They look adorable and can give any tired old outfit an instant pick-me-up injection of fun and youthfulness. An easy way to include spots in your outfit would be to buy a spotty handbag or headband, or really any little accessory, and hey, that can look just as great.

Feel free to share your experience with spots in the comments section.

I just had to share this.

This is one of the funniest blogs I have read in a while.
I just wish he would update more often. I guess he has a day job to focus on...

http://www.27bslash6.com/index.html

In one post he attempts to pay his bills with a picture of a seven-legged spider.

Check it out!

My awesome drawing skills

I've decided to show off my extremely proffesional drawing skills with a new post. I think I am good enough to be hired as an illustrator. If you're reading this, illustrator-hiring people, I'm available to be hired! My fee per drawing will be only $300. I think this is a bargain, considering my talent, and if I were you, I would snap up this deal fast!

I'll also like to add that I am, in fact, slightly dyslexic and tend to spell things wrong.
A lot.
I am sorry.

Another thing I am sorry for is for misleading you about my drawing skills. They are not proffesional at all. In fact, they are pretty much THE BEST EVER!
See for yourself.

And before you try to discredit my awesome drawing, saying 'Dogs have tails! That is not a dog! That is some sort of pig-monster!' I'd like to say that my dog does in fact have no tail.
We didn't dock it ourselves, he came that way. He's a farm dog and the breeders must have thought that it would be safer to cut off his tail rather than have it getting stuck in a fence or a sheep.
There are two things wrong with this.
First, he lives in a suburban backyard and the closest he has ever gotten to chasing a sheep is running into my rabbit's cage while flailing around the back yard.
Second, his compensation for having no tail is probably more dangerous than any amount of tail could ever be. He wags his whole back section when he is over excited (which is often) and as a result, knocks over everything, including small children.

I realise this post has turned from my awesome drawing skills to my insane dog, so I'll wrap it up by asking you what you think of my artistic expression.

(inb4 pig-monster)

Bows and their wondeful range of uses

Excuse my horrible drawing

Bows are pretty much awesome. They tend to make everything cuter. From in your hair to socks to underwear, bows are the addition that can make something a little risque look cute and adorable. As I said previously, I'm not going to tell you what type of bow to wear with what, or even how many bows in one outfit you can get away with, but I'll give my opinion.

For starters, it's probably best to wear patterned bows with something plain. We don't want stripey bows adorning our spotty dresses because frankly, we'll end up looking as over decorated as Osherwat (apologies to his fans). Matching in colour is often a good idea, but sometimes a complimenting colour is great and can really make the bow stand out. And example is black bows on white - these look great, but I wouldn't go so far as to start mixing green bows on blue clothing, but that's up to you.

Socks with bows are adorable and, in my opinion, pretty sexy. Long socks with bows are pretty much the god tier of all socks, the above photo as evidence. I'm not a huge fan of bows on the shorter variety of socks, because it puts you in real danger of looking like a three year old. 

 
I think this is a great example of bows in hair not looking childish. If you can get your hands on a bow that looks sophisticated and simple, it'll look great in your hair. Again, I'd be careful with colour choice, but mostly, pick something that people will actually be able to see against you hair colour. If you have the perfect bow, but it's not a clip, you can always thread it onto a bobby pin. The above photo does show an example of wearing bows in more than one place at a time (the earings and the hair), but I'd also be careful with this.

Generally, to avoid looking as over adorned as this:

That's not to say she doesn't look adorable, but I don't know if this look will translate well anywhere that isn't an anime festival, let alone real life.

I'd stick to wearing a bow in one place at a time.