Lil' Vivias Russian Dolls

I have a dear friend who absolutely loves matryoshka dolls, or more commonly known as Russian or nesting dolls. So for Vivia's birthday, I knew I wanted to give her something that centered around these whimsical figurines. After toying with the usual ideas of an Russian doll iPhone case or necklace, it quickly became clear that nothing would be better than a set of mini Vivias in her very own outfits.

I ordered a set of blank wooden dolls for a mere US$10 on eBay and began the awkwardly creepy but necessary process of observing what Vivia wore, committing to memory potential outfits to paint and feverishly sketching them out in a notebook before I forgot any of the details.

I have seen my share of traditional Matryoshka dolls but was amazed at all the modern and contemporary interpretations out there. People are so creative.

Paintbrush in hand, I dressed each doll with my favorite outfits that represented Vivia's youthful indie-hipster style. And just like that, with some acrylic paint, black and red pens for the eyes and lips and a touch of M.A.C. blush for rosy cheeks, each little doll beautifully came to life. They turned out SO cute!

Facebook Fairy Halloween Costume

After much brainstorming and heartache, I came up with my Halloween costume idea that I knew was THE ONE. It was a bit of an “Eureka” moment when I thought of it and I cannot wait to show you my creative journey in bringing it to life. So you may be asking me what I was. Well, I was Facebook Fairy.

“Uh what?”

Yup, that is the typical response I got when I told people what I was planning to be. Just utter confusion and skepticism, but I REFUSED to be a sexy nurse, school girl, or a cheerleader. I was going to be . . . Facebook Fairy.

As with many things, it started with a sketch. I was very inspired by Katy Perry’s outrageous but always fun and whimsical costumes that have made her so iconic. I envisioned the top of the dress to be blue resembling the Facebook logo, while the skirt would be made up of the various Facebook icons.

I went to a recommended seamstress and found the perfect two shades of blue for the bodice. I asked for the skirt to be lined with tulle to give it a more of a ballerina feel.  After a couple fittings and alternations, the dress was ready to be taken home to add all the the embellishments.

Getting my wig on.

Me seen here in 'dress rehearsal.'

I combed through (no pun intended) literally ever wig shop in Hong Kong to find a blue wig that matched the Facebook blue. I did not realize how much of a challenge this would be. Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, Central, you name it, I was there.

Getting desperate, I tried my luck and asked the lady who usually does my eyebrows if she knew of any wig shops. She, being a makeup artist and knowing many people in the beauty industry, suggested a very small wig shop that many of her hairstylist friends would go to.  Luck would finally be on my side.

Initial ideas were to have a “Like” button headpiece, but that would prove to be more difficult to execute and instead I came up with the idea of a “Like” wand.  After all, what fairy does not have a magic wand?  Floral oasis, being soft and lightweight, was the easiest way of creating this icon. I carved away until I had the perfect silhouette and then wrapped the hand shape with blue ribbon and two print-outs of the icon. To complete the wand, I simply inserted a ribbon-wrapped stick, made from an old calendar rod.

A sea of pearls

Pearl buttons were glued onto the bust of the dress to add a wonderful textural element to the otherwise flat dress.

I spent a lot of time on these icons. Some I were able to easily find the vector versions online while others I had to draw. I never spent so much time on Facebook not stalking an old crush, but rather studying the different icons on the various pages.

Before and After

Having no mannequin, I hung the dress on my living room's curtain rod to attach the icon print-outs. As Tim Gunn would say "Make it work!"

Like!

After adding a simple white headband, white flats with blue detailing, ribbon cuffs and some blue eye shadow and nail polish my look was complete. It could not have turned out better. And Facebook Fairy put her "Like" wand to good use, gracing well-dressed Halloween goers with her wand in approval.

White Swan Feather Dress

The moment I saw these photos of Chanel Iman for Fashion's Night Out I was head over heels in love. Not with Chanel, although she is absolutely gorgeous but with her feather dress. This fun and youthful bundle of fluffy goodness kind of became my obsession and I scoured the internet looking for something similar to wear to my upcoming New Year's Eve party.

I shutter to imagine what these Marchesa Fall 2010 couture dresses would cost. I suspect a small fortune.

It's so fluffy!

When I could not find anything similar I visited a highly recommended seamstress to see if he would be able to make something similar. He said it would be a challenge and quoted a price tag of US$500, a reasonable price for a one-of-a-kind dress but more than I was willing to pay for one night of partying and the high-risk factor of drunken party goers ruining my prized masterpiece.

Eventually, I decided to do it myself and simply glued pre-strung feathers unto an old white tube dress.  I threw on a few accessories and the finished look was better than I could have imagined. And you cannot beat a bank-friendly price tag of US$90 for all the materials. When all else fails, DO IT YOURSELF!

The completed look

Harajuku Lovers Baby Halloween Costume

It is true what they say about Halloween. It is a holiday children love because they can eat as much candy as they want, a holiday teenagers think they are too cool for, and a holiday that adults cultishly embrace. That was me. After many years of refusing to dress up for the occasion, something inside me decided that I would give the holiday a grown-up chance. But rather than buying a costume at the store, I decided I would get my DIY on and bring Gwen Stefani's Japanese-inspired Harajuku Lovers Baby to life. I'm not really sure why I decided to be her, maybe because she is so adorable or maybe because I just wanted to see if I could bring her fabulous hair to life.

During the time I was working on the costume, I carried this plastic doll everywhere I went, whipping her out in craft stores and fabric warehouses to make sure my purchases were as true to the original as possible.

I searched everywhere for a pink polka dotted dress. I came across a dress very similar in shape and silhouette to Baby's at a random boutique and decided to take it and add the dots myself as the October 31st deadline was fast approaching.

I'm seeing dots.

Once all the dotting was completed, beautiful scallop-edged lace was added to the bottom of the dress.

Smaller details like the dress's ribbon belt, bow and 'Baby' lettering and the headpiece's turquoise bows were easier completed. I would leave the most challenging but fun part for last, the headpiece.

I knew from the beginning that a curled updo would not have the same dramatic effect as Baby's Asian-inspired hair. After testing foam spheres without much success, I thought that ping pong balls would do the trick. They are light-weight but sturdy and lend themselves to be hot glue gunned and spray-painted.

Before and After

Totemo Kawaii! (Very Cute!)

The completed look. Of course, all my friends had to thoroughly inspect my hairdo. Usually, I don't let anyone touch my hair but this time I made an exception.

And of course, no Halloween celebration would be complete without some good-old pumpkin carving. I just made sure that my pumpkin perfectly coordinated with my outfit.