YourFashion

The Sydney Grand Final of the Miss Burlesque Australia competition is on the 8th October, and should produce some very pretty pictures and be a darn good show. Even the smaller shows in Perth I’ve seen have been of a very high quality compared to some of the shows I saw in the UK.

What’s with all the alt beauty pageants lately? A burlesque competition makes a lot of sense though, because of the nature of performance. The Perth burlesque scene is really interesting, if you haven’t had a chance to check it out. Although Sugar Blue Burlesque is the most well known traditional burlesque school, there are a multitude of factions and smaller troupes in the city and the performance ethos ranges from strictly traditional burlesque to activist performance burlesque. You have to see those to understand quite what I mean, but it’s worth a look.

Miss Burlesque Facebook Page here.

Miss Burlesque Australia WA. CLick for larger version.

It’s rare that I even find a PVC designer I like. I always think of it as that uncomfortable fabric that sits badly and aspires to sexy while only achieving plastic-ey. I should have known that modern alternative designers would find a way to make it work. It reminds me that gothic culture has moved a long way from ‘girls in graveyards’ and incorporated strong vintage and Lolita influences to be much more feminine than wannabe sexy.

I haven’t tried their clothes on so can’t vouch for quality, but I love how this label mixes PVC with other dress fabrics to make the most of the shininess without suffering from the drawbacks of the fabric. (Like its heaviness, stiffness, and ultimately lack of femininity.) Good show, I say.

I wanted to get in on this fancy underwear action, so made this pair as a prototype. They’re surprisingly comfortable because I made them to fit me, but not really functional because of all the bulky trim.

This is my super comfy Xmas in July outfit. Gothic Lolita Punk skirts have elastic waists, and my cowboy boots are flats so it’s a very no fuss outfit.

Craft continues!

He does look a bit long-suffering in that last shot. He’s also wearing the collar I made a week or two ago. Thanks to Finn for being my dummy (I mean model. I made a sheet of latex into the right size, chopped the edges and sewed it for a neater effect.

Deathrock latex choker

By far one of the most fun craft things I’ve been playing with is latex. I bought a tub of colourless latex and some oxide colouring from a hardware store and just been painting on glass (to give a shiny finish) and fabric. It looks awesomely industrial and is so easy to use. This is my first prototype. I dig how rough it looks – and it’s a far cry from what I normally associate with latex! But there is some extremely slick latex jewellery around. It sits really nicely on the skin and if done right can be mistaken for tattoos. (I know Beyond the Trapdoor in Subi has some.)

deathrock latex choker closed

Many years ago I used to make jewellery out of industrial materials. I never quite got out of the habit of scouring hardware stores for cool looking stuff, and recently produced this.

home made speaker cable necklace

It’s basically just speaker cable looped, sewn and cleaned up with some elastic. I wore it with a bandeau made from a plain, wide elastic fabric strip.

home made speaker cable necklace fastening

I haven’t been shopping lately so much as crafting. Oh okay I’ve been shopping *and* crafting. Anyways this week I’ll be showing you some of the pretty things I’ve been making.

To start is this collar I made for my boy. I’ve been thinking of cool scarf substitutes for winter and it just so happens a few years ago I dreamed of industrial leather and denim collars like this. (Yes I do dream of clothes a lot. Most frustrating when they don’t exist!)

hand made men's industrial leather collar side 1

I got the hinges from Bunnings and the rest is leatherworking and sewing stuff. It’s a really fat collar so it folds at the top and bottom to fit and ends up having stiff neck medical collar overtones.  Alas the tail is a bit short and sticks out which can cause the heavy buckle to rotate to the front, but overall I’m pretty pleased with the look and feel of it. And my boy quite likes it too.

Hand made men's industrial leather collar

hand made industrial leather collar lining