Once again the lovely and talented Laura Desiree dominated the stage in her Rock n Roll Red Fringe outfit created by me! This time it was at the Toronto Burlesque Festival’s opening show where she strutted her stuff before a packed house of burlesque enthusiasts and performers. Since the last time I blogged about this outfit we added another piece which is the flowing red satin skirt with fringe detail from waist to hip. I love what the skirt added to the overall outfit and I think it finishes the look perfectly. Check out these wonderful photos from photographer Ruth Gillson of the gorgeous Laura Desiree at the Toronto Burlesque Festival!
Last weekend the outstanding performer Aviva the Mirage took the stage at the Toronto Burlesque Festival. I was lucky enough to get to dress this blue-haired beauty for the festival! I had so much fun working on this outfit that included a long flowing robe, tiger print one shoulder leotard, panel skirt, bra and panties. The combination of the wild tiger print with the rich raspberry purple skirt and robe was so elegant with just a hint of Bettie Page sass. I look forward to making more outfits for this burlesque babe in the future!
One of my favourite vintage trends for summer is the two piece playsuit! The term ‘playsuit’ is usually used to refer to a garment that combines a top and shorts all in one (also known as a ‘romper’) or a top and pants (also know as a ‘jumpsuit’). You could also use the term ‘playsuit’ to refer to a combination top and bottom that are made from the same fabric, or combination of fabrics, also known as a two piece playsuit. The bottoms on a two piece playsuit could be pants, shorts, a skort or a skirt.
The two piece playsuit speaks to a time when quality and custom clothing was more common in fashion. Nowadays most of the clothing we buy is mass produced in factories overseas and is cheaply made and not meant to last. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s when you were likely to see this kind of playsuit set they were often made by tailors, local designers, and from home-sew patterns and included fun matching details that made the separates a completely co-ordinated outfit. To me the two piece playsuit is not only very convenient and practical (who doesn’t love co-ordinating separates?) but it also looks elegant and super sweet!
Last weekend I had a wonderful time exploring the insanity that is Atomic Lollipop which took place at the Ontario Science Centre! For those who don’t know what A Pop is, it is a convention that brings together cosplayers, ravers, nerds, gamers, larpers, lolita fashionistas, celebrity guests and so much more. It’s really hard to describe what exactly A Pop is, so I’m going to let this video explain…
Personally, I had a great time going to panels about Gender, LGBT comics, Burlesque, Crossplay and Lolita fashion, seeing performances from Pizza Underground, Illuminair Entertainment and Boylesque TO, performing for Peepshow TO, checking out the amazing vendors, participating in a lightsaber battle and so much more! Check out my insta-photos from last weekend’s Atomic Lollipop Con!
Myself and the amazing Leelando Calrissian who was crossplaying as Catwoman!Pizza Underground played on Friday night. They play Velvet Underground covers but change the words to be about pizza. Oh and Macaulay Culkin is a band member.They gave out free pizza!Then I bought an Alpaca and I named him Al.Bre Poisonne blew everyone away with her amazing Aerial Hoop performance!Scarlet Black did a fire routine as Sailor Mars!After obtaining our free lightsabers, we proceeded to the lightsaber battle outside!So many lightsabers!Brittany tried on a Red Panda Kigurumi!And we saw Macaulay Culkin buy a Gloomy Bear Kigurumi!To end Friday night the Boylesque boys did a little stripping for us. El Toro has a mighty fine behind!On Saturday I returned to hang out with these lovely people.Meryle Trouble, Sevvy Skellington, Leelando Calrissian and Charlie Quinn did an amazing panel about Crossplay and gender swap.Leelando and I make a cute couple! 😉On Saturday night I became my alter-ego Batwoman for the Peepshow TO show!I had to get a photo in the red tunnel!Harley and Batwoman post-showOn Sunday we were a bit more casual with our outfits.We found Zilly Lily!Betty Quirk and Sevvy Skellington did an awesome panel on the ABCs of Cosplay Striptease!Finally I concluded the weekend with a gang of Alpacas! So Kawaiii!
Fashion Blogger Georgia is as cute as a cupcake and just as sweet! Her blog Cupcake’s Clothes displays a seemingly endless collection of the prettiest, most girly outfits you could ever imagine. Her lovely curvy figure and pastel pink hair are the perfect base for each of her whimsical, magical ensembles. She is incredibly talented at accessorizing her outfits with an array of cute jewellery and hair accessories, some of which you can even find for sale on her website. I love seeing gorgeous ladies like Georgia who have such a distinct and unique sense of style sharing their outfits with others and it inspires me to see the fun, creative things other ladies are doing with their personal fashion.
Last wednesday I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favourite photos from my collaborations with If You Fall Photography displayed in the Art Vs Alt show at Rosie the Rebel! It was a wonderful show filled with lots of very edgy, dark and musically inspired paintings, photographs and sculptures. I had a wonderful time taking it all in and was honoured to be included in the show. Thanks to Alex from If You Fall for making me look so damn cute!
As an avid wearer of corsets I was thrilled to have the opportunity to model for the company Love, Poetry Corsets. Their unique designs come in a beautiful array of fabrics and their shapes hug the body and flatter the figure. I got to model this steampunk inspired, overbust corset with a sweetheart neckline and back lacing.
This past weekend I had an absolutely fabulous time celebrating World Pride in Toronto!
As an openly bisexual woman it is so important to me to celebrate Pride and show my support as a member of the LGBT community. I feel empowered being a part of such a humongous group of not just Lesbian, Gay, Bi, and Trans people, but also all the weirdos, freaks, and artistic creative types like myself who were celebrating. It makes me feel like I am part of a much bigger community when I see such vast crowds of like-minded people declaring that they are proud to be who they are. I was so happy that Toronto got to be the host for World Pride 2014 and I feel lucky to live in this great city where I do feel safe to be openly, genuinely ME!
The party started on Thursday evening. I lined up early and got into the Starry Night event at the 519 Green Space where I had the pleasure of seeing Ru Paul’s Drag Race’s top 4 Queens from this season, Darienne Lake, Courtney Act, Adore Delano and Bianca Del Rio, doing their thing on stage. On Friday night I joined my friends at Exicted Mental State (aka EMS), the Toronto Rocky Horror cast, at their pride show. The main event was the parade on Sunday, in which I strutted the parade route in my new self-made mermaid ensemble!
Hanging with my mermaid friend Brittany watching Drag Queens!
Darienne LakeA surprise from behind! 😉Courtney ActAdore DelanoCourtney ActAdore DelanoThe headliner Bianca Del Rio, she was hilarious!Hanging with my friend Meryle Trouble before she played Trixie and Eddie in the Rocky Horror Picture Show!Waiting for the Pride Parade to start on Sunday with BrittanyReady to celebrate!I found some beefy Trojan men!Photo by Moxy FruvousPhoto by Vanessa SargesMy gorgeous gal pals!
On Sunday I attended a 1920’s Gatsby themed garden party at Spadina House in Toronto with the lovely Leelando Calrissian! We had a fabulous time getting all dolled up in our 1920s attire and lounging on the beautiful lawn behind the historical mansion. There were more amazing outfits than you could imagine, some real 1920s vintage, others simply inspired or reproduction. The women were decked out in lace, pearls, bias-cut frocks, cloche hats, beaded bags, with many gorgeous parasols scattered throughout the crowd. The men adorned themselves with boater hats, suspenders, linen suits, sock garters, spats with many pocket watches on fobs. Live bands roared with jazz on the main stage and small groups played the ukulele at the garage stage. The main event was the fashion parade and costume contest with prizes from Malabar, Aviv restaurant and the Rose Emporium. Leelando and I were very jealous of the grand prize winner who will be receiving 2 dozen fresh cut roses every month for the next year for winning! Please enjoy my photos from the Gatsby Garden Party!
Leeland looking regal at Spadina HouseGorgeous Gatsby Gals!
Croquet anyone?Authentic 1920s gown!These ladies were simply divine and playing a round of badminton!The swinging band!This chap had an amazing pair of sock garters!Yep, we ordered a pizza.Fashion parade!More fashion paradersSlacks on a woman? How modern!Costume Contest winners!
Today I bring you part 2 of Sam’s Style, featuring dresses custom made for my beautiful friend Sam by her personal designer; me! Part 1
Phineas and Ferb While out fabric shopping together Sam spotted this amazing cartoon printed fabric with characters from the show Phineas and Ferb and instantly fell in love with it. We decided it would be the perfect print for a new summer dress! The colours in this fabric are fantastic and the comic book window style with graphic text and action posed characters bring so much life to it. Because of the loud fabric we kept the design simple on this one. Just a plain black sash with bow at the back and a short t-shirt sleeve. Sam looks stunning in this creation!
Romantic Red This red dress was the first one I created for Sam. We began with the trim fabric, which is a delectable blackberry print, and then matched the red highlight in the print with a red fabric for the main body of the dress. I love the way the rich red and the purple blackberries balance each other. The cuffs on the sleeves have a little wing with a button that matches the buttons on the bust area. This dress also has some sweet pockets to keep your cell phone and your lipstick in! At the hem of the dress I added a couple of blackberry hearts and matched them on the fascinator that I also made to add to this look.
CLASSICALLY CURVY 