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.