Tag: fashion

Posted in Fashion Sparks, WWWhat?

Geek up your jewellery collection

Posted on by Cate

A short while ago, I posted on the phenomenon of ear cuffs, which were fashion news to me. Then as I was browsing through the Think Geek online store (uh huh), I saw it: the Dragon Ear Wrap. Let’s be clear, the Dragon is to the standard ear cuffs what the Kardashians are to the Brady Bunch – bigger, more outrageous and a whole lot crazier. And don’t worry, the Dragon just looks as though it is permanently attached – it really clips to the top of your ear and then you wear the tail like a normal earring. Yes, just like a normal earring.

Or perhaps a scrolling LED belt buckle is more your style. It can store up to five messages, so you might want to pre-program it for a night out on the town and then you won’t have to worry about shouting over that pesky loud music – just point down to your buckle and let your belt do the talking.

For the old school geek, there’s a sundial ring. Apparently it works – although why you wouldn’t wear a watch or check your phone is beyond me. It seems very complicated and presumably much time passes you by as you fiddle with the dial to calculate the time of day. And what if it’s a cloudy day? Or you want to know how long to wait ’til the last bus home in the evening? You’ve been warned, my friends.

Or for less than $20, you could go back to a time when the concept of a wearable device that told the time and could add up the cost of your comics and lollies was MINDBLOWING. Yes, the Casio calculator watch is back and is sure to wow the kids of today. Or at least confuse them even more about that mythical time before iphones and Wiis.

If you would like to check out more geeky gear, then Think Geek is the place for you. There’s a lot there that goes way over my head, but if you’re down with maths and computers, or even if you just like weird stuff, it’s worth a look!

Posted in Fashion Sparks, WWWhat?

Green sleeves

Posted on by Cate

The Ecouterre website is all devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design. And there are some very interesting things there. I tend to use the word ‘interesting’ a lot when I am not sure of the right word to use to properly articulate my thoughts. And so I present to you this interesting fashion innovation: Egle Cekanaviciute’s Plant-Filled Couture Doubles As Wearable Planters. Uh huh. There are so many puns that I could insert here, but I’ll limit it to one true thought: I wasn’t sure at first, but the idea is growing on me.

I have previously written about wearable planters as necklaces in the early days of this blog, here. So I’m not opposed to the idea. I mean, why shouldn’t we use our empty pockets and otherwise pointless jacket sleeves to grow plants?

Peckish on the bus? Break off some basil from the herb garden at your elbow, whip out the tomato slices in your shoe & the mozarella in your handbag – hello, Caprese salad on the go! Or if the person next to you in a meeting has not-so-fresh breath, you could offer them a mint leave from the patch at the back of your frock.

And every bride wants to look her best from all angles – why not have a bouquet at the front and an ivy plant climbing up your back? Not sure how you’d sit down or avoid birds and bugs getting up close and personal with you on your special day, but I just put the ideas out there – you can work out the details.

You can see more of the Lithuanian designer’s wares here. Just in time for planting bulbs if you’re in the southern hemisphere…keep an eye out for me around Sydney in a few months in my daffodil jacket and hyacinth trousers…

Posted in Fashion Sparks, Sparky gifts

Let’s ear it for cuffs

Posted on by Cate

There’s a lot about fashion that I don’t understand. The whole concept of ‘ear cuffs’ would be an example of something that I just don’t get. They sound painful, like you’re punishing your ears for doing something wrong. But they must be popular, as there are 159 pages of them on etsy. (And, no, they’re not all made by the same person.)

In case you’re not familiar with ear cuffs either, they are different to conventional earrings, as they wrap around bits of your ear without piercings. So you can easily swap to a different ear cuff to suit your mood. I have provided a selection for you to consider here. And may I say, it has been kinda creepy to look at so many photos of ears – not our prettiest feature, that’s for sure.

I call the first cuff, “Wait, can you hear a peacock?” and it is made by Anna in London. For $31 you can buy your own and freak people out as you wait at the bus stop. Or you might prefer the spiky cuff that Anna has for sale for $18 – this one would come in handy if you are trying to tone down your punk rocker look at work (or if you are trying to convince people you are actually part-human, part-machine).

And then there is this gold number, apparently inspired by the movie Labyrinth and made by ravenevejewelry in Detroit. To my uncultured eye, it appears that a fancy bird has taken up residence on this lady’s ear. Either that, or the aliens have vistied and are using her ear to transmit messages back to the mothership.

Or maybe you’d prefer a bronze octopus crawling on your ear, from martymagic in Santa Cruz. I’m just not sure how comfortable it would be to have those tentacles tickling your ear all day and am sure your Granny would try to bat it away as with any other eight legged creature crawling on your ear. Eeeeek.

But I think my favourite would have to be this black & white feathered number by Mariya in Russia. It’s pricey at $90, but will surely keep you cool in summer and if anyone wants to start an impromptu badminton game, unclip the cuff and away you go.

With Mother’s Day coming up in many parts of the world, I’m sure it goes without saying that any of these would make a great gift for the mothers and grandmothers in your life. And I reckon you shouldn’t limit the cuff’s potential by explaining where it is meant to go – hours of fun as Mum and Granny Mac smile politely and try to work out if they’ve been given a brooch or a duster or some sort of new ipod accessory… You’re welcome!

Posted in Arty sparks, Fashion Sparks

Knitted Fashionistas (Fashioknitstas)

Posted on by Cate

Diane is from Canada and she sells knitting patterns on etsy. Unfortunately, you can’t buy these dolls ready-made, as Diane notes that she doesn’t have time to knit them for you, but she will sell you the pattern so that you can do it yourself. And if I could, Diane, I would. Because I can think of so many people who would love your work. Ok, mostly me, but there will definitely be some other people who like them. They are kooky, they are bright, they are hilarious. Put them together and you could have a beauty pageant to rival Miss Universe. And I love that Diane has named all of her dolls and provided funny back stories on the site.

This pink doll mightn’t fit the pageant look, but I had to include her. Back in my day, there was a cartoon about a chick in a rock band called Jem. I can’t remember much, but that theme song has stuck with me since the 1980s. Probably because the lyrics were mostly a repetition of: Jem. Truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous. I can’t remember if she really was, but since they said it so many times, I guess she must have been? Anyways, the pink haired, pink leg warmered doll reminds me so much of Jem. Although Diane says that she modelled this on an outfit she saw on Dancing with the Stars. Uh huh. I must try and find that episode to see it with my own eyes.

If the beauty pageant isn’t your thing, you might prefer your own knitted family. Or you can recreate (or dream about) your special day with the knitted wedding scene. Or adopt the doll that looks a bit like Marilyn Manson, with different coloured eyes. Diane’s etsy shop is well worth a look and you can find it here.

And the post wouldn’t be complete without a knitted streaker. Here he is.

Posted in Fashion Sparks

Lashes of style

Posted on by Cate

Apparently, I’m lucky to have nice, long eyelashes. I guess it’s luckier than short, stumpy eyelashes, but I can’t be sure. Although I do know that a lot of women spend a lot of money on mascara that promises to fatten their eyelashes, give their eyelashes volume, or enable their eyelashes to sing and dance. I’ve never worn it as I worry that it looks like I have long legged spiders sitting on my eyes. But then I saw these – goodbye spiders, hello birds or scorpions or fish!

Yes, these are fake eyelashes. MADE OF PAPER. Apparently “inspired by the Chinese art of paper-cutting”, these Paperself eyelashes “blend an element of traditional culture with contemporary design”. And then add a whole heap of creepy. The lashes are reusable (you just re-glue them, as with any craft project) and are available in full-width or half-width, depending on just how scary you want to look.

So, if you’re inspired and want to jazz up your look for a special occasion – and I’m going out on a limb to say these beauties will work for both girls and boys – then consider whacking a paper insect, bird or undersea wonderland on to your eyes. Nothing says I’m serious about this promotion like a scorpion tail on the corner of your eyelid. Or stamp your authority – I’m here from the UN to sort out this crisis – with the deer and butterfly set. Or for someone in a serious profession (dentist, accountant, politician), there’s a clown set. And I know that I’d trust a scalpel-weilding surgeon much more if they were sporting these undersea lashes.

Something for pretty much everyone, then! You can snap ’em up at the Urbanities website here.