Polyvore

I’ve known the site Polyvore for a while but I’ve never felt compelled to join. I always thought it was cool the way people built their sets and the way you could mix and match things, but I always imagined that it would be a tad too confusing or time-consuming. I was proven wrong last night. I was actually looking for a shoe online and decided to see if polyvore maybe had it in it’s archives. Sadly, it didn’t, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and user-friendly the site is!

For you who don’t know what the site is about, I’ll give you a quick explanation:

There are pictures of clothing, shoes, accessories, etc. and they show a description of the product, the price, and where to buy it. You can add them to your “favorites” and make “sets” with them. A set would be a combination of a number of items, forming an outfit.

The site is great for keeping track of the latest fashions or for keeping a wishlist! I’ve joined to be able to get further inspiration when drawing and creating.

If you are a member there, send me a link! I’d love to see your sets! I haven't created any yet, but I've been favoriting items! My member name is tfbp.

Don’t be shy!

P.S: Does anyone know where to find this shoe pictured below?! It's from Topshop but they don't have it on their site. I saw it in NYLON magazine (July/2010). I'm absolutely in love with it but can't find it anywhere! Any help is apreciated! <3

Topshop $210

;]

Ink on paper

I am back! I'm puffy and in my pj's all day, but I'm fine. The surgery went well and now I just have to sit back and wait for my face to return to it's normal size.
But as I promised, today I will talk about my absolute #1 favourite source of inspiration and love. Books.
I can't get enough of them. Seriously.
I am an absolute book worm, always have been.

Now, if you're thinking "OMG! I HATE reading!" don't fret! These books I'll show you are mostly just picture books. (Gotta love Taschen!)

If there was only one thing I could teach you with this post, it would have to be: Know your background, know your history!

Learning how things first started is essencial if you want to create something new. You have to understand how it all began to be able to develop it further!
With that said, most of the books in my list are books that show us the history of fashion.
I took the time to seperate a few of them that I think you should go running to the book shop to buy them now. And I mean NOW!

From left to right: Fashion Design 1800-1940, La Moda del Siglo XIX en Detalle, Chanel and Her World, 1000 Dessous, Fashion Illustrator, and A random Thierry Mugler book from a brazilian collection (you'll understand why a "random book" is on the list later)

And Century Girl! I absolutely heart this book. Oops cuz I forgot to include it in the original pile of books. But its huge anyway, so I guess it looks better on it's own.

Now for a closer look at each book, just so you can see why they are all so inspiring!

BRB

Hi guys. I'm posting really quickly to let you all know that tomorrow, well technicaly today, since it's 3:00am, I'm going to go through surgery (wish me luck!) and I'll have to stay 1 week in bed, at the least... That means no DIY tutorials for a while. =[
I will continue posting though, don't worry!

I've already preped a post about my #1 favorite source of inspiration: books. I should have it up in a couple of days or so.

I also want to take the time to thank all my visitors. The numbers have been growing, but the most impressive and inspiring thing for me is the variety of visitors I've been recieving! People from Austria, Italy, Lithuania, China, Canada, UK, USA, Egypt, just to name a few countries! Thank you all so much. I really hope you're enjoying the blog as much as I am.

See you again soon!
=]

DIY: Chain headpiece

So sorry for not posting sooner, but today I've got a treat for you! I'll be showing you how to make a basic chain headpiece. I actually got inspired by a diamond headpiece Lady Gaga uses in her video for the song Bad Romance.

 I liked the idea and thought of making something similar, but with chains.

I did some research around the web and found these two inspiring images:

This is a silver chain headpiece made by La Dama.

A fan outside of Lady Gaga's show in Tokyo.

This basic headpiece I'm teaching in the tutorial is based on the La Dama one, but later on I will add more chains and embellish it to make it something more Gaga-esque. I'll make another tutorial for that separately. 

So here goes...

Magazine shopping!

Today I realized something: what started out as a problem is now becoming an addiction. I started this project to get rid of my old magazines, but now I'm just buying more and more of them! I just can't get enough! I think “Well sure, you can get pictures of runway shows on the internet.” but it takes a lot of research and time. Magazines make it easier for us, plus there are lots of articles and useful ideas.

Today I'll show you some tips on buying magazines to get inspired.

Tip #1: Think globally

Don't limit yourself to local magazines. There's nothing more inspiring than seeing another country's point of view on your subject of interest.

Sure, it can get a bit costly if you make this a habit. If you don't want to spend too much, wait for the fashion weeks to happen and buy magazines then. You'll get the best of the season's runways.

This was an awesome find! A Spanish magazine came with this extra issue containing all the big spring/ summer runway shows!

Tip #2: Fashion isn't only about clothing

Don't limit yourself to fashion magazines. You can get plenty of inspiration from hair styling magazines and make up magazines! Look for art magazines that focus on photography as well.

Here’s an example of the variety I try to get. Click to zoom. Edit: Where it says Brasilian Elle, it's actualy a Portuguese Elle. Sorry for the mix up! I do have Brasilian Elle's, though.

Tip #3: Ebay is your friend

You can find plenty of international magazines for sale on the World Wide Web. They’ll be older issues, of course, but the good thing about it: they’ll be cheaper!

One of my FAVORITE magazines is a French one called Numéro. The original price is 5 Euros but it’s very expensive where I live (around $40). Searching around, I’ve found an issue on Ebay for as low as $8.99!

---

These are the 3 things I always try to consider when buying my magazines. I hope it helps in opening your horizons!
If you have any favorite magazines that you really recommend, be sure to tell me in the comments section!

Much love
=]