This was an idea that randomly came to me when I was considering how to construct a cosplay outfit, so I decided to give it a try.

Billy Kaplan, who goes by the name Wiccan, is a member of Marvel Comics "Young Avengers". He is probably my favourite comic book character out there along with his other half Hulkling (another day's review).

Originally, Billy went by the name "Asgardian" and his costume was influenced by his hero, Thor. The original looked like this:

Probably my least favourite aspect in the original was the wings on the headpiece - they seemed a rather pointless embellishment that didn't necessarily make him look any better - if anything, it probably detracted a bit from his superheroiness...

Fortunately, when his costume was revamped, they were the first thing to go!! It was also mutually decided by the characters that a young gay guy with the name "Asgardian" was just... too easy... hence the name change to "Wiccan".

The new costume was a lot sleeker and the cape/robe seemed a little shorter to me also. What do you think? :

Overall, I love the textured black bodysuit - reminds me of a LaCroix sleeveless top I blogged about not too long ago.

I also love the robe/cape combo - it's very well draped and cut. Also, without the wings attached, I really like the headband, which has an engraved pattern which mirrors the one on the bodysuit.

So, that Wiccan and the reasons I love him. What do you think of his outfit? Also, what's your fave comic book hero costume?

P.S. - If you want a source for wiccan fandom besides the usual wikipedia or marvel websites, I suggest fuckyeahwiccan.tumblr.com!! :P :D

No... despite what you may have thought, I have not been caught off guard by a wayward velociraptor, or chained in a basement somewhere... I've been busy with a couple of hands on projects.

The blog is just one aspect of what I'm doing at the moment. I'm also trying to get some real-time experience with some practical work. Ideally, this would be taking some of my sketches and turning them into real-life pieces. For the moment though (mainly lack of money, fabric and a sewing machine) I'm starting out with some basic clothes and giving them a bit of an overhaul a la Joey.. :P

So far, I've jazzed up a pair of jeans, and two tops. It's actually been a great learning experience... I usually find the best way to learn is to make the mistakes yourself first anyways... and I've managed to try a few ideas that were nagging at me for a while.

The jeans were probably the least work, since they didn't involve any actual sewing - here's the before and after:

I sanded the knees down a bit with a sander, and tried bleaching (with not much luck). The biggest change I made was the distressed areas...

Next up was a blue v-neck tee - using pieces from a basic black tee I had for parts, I made this into a blue/black sleeveless top with a hood. Before & After:

Lastly, I finished with a stripey tee - this one was interesting to start with, but I made it sleeveless and added a zipper for a bit of an unusual twist... I actually forgot to get a before pic on this one, unfortunately, but it had sleeves and no zipper, so use your imagination!! :P :)

 

Next on my list, I have 2 vests I want to alter and glam up a bit, and a pair of jeans I have to mend, so I'll try to work in a style whilst I'm at it...:P :)

Ok, so I'm a LITTLE late to the bat on this one, but I thought I'd give a quick rundown of the notable Grammy Red Carpet fun.

My personal fave is a showdown between Little Red Riding Minaj, and Terminator Sasha. I'll start with little Nicki.

So, Ms. Minaj trotted down the carpet in a great big Versace cloaked number complete with matching pope.

In the other corner, we had Russian singer Sasha Gradiva. She wore quite a beautiful, muted, flowing gown with a little... embellishment.

So... no one anger the Russian Asassin...

When I first saw Taylor Swift I was POSITIVE she was NIcole Kidman promoting Moulin Rouge... but either way, I do LOVE the detail on this piece...

Meanwhile, I think Jessie J destroyed a Disco Ball and rolled around in the pieces to get this little number. She really shines, doesn't she?(!) Of course, I do love it, even if it is a bit mermaid-esque.

Rihanna definitely looked as tho the black material had crept up her legs and covered her like Venom from Spiderman. Considering how simple the dress itself was, she wore it beautifully.

 

There were many, many more looks around, but I'm gonna finish with my personal fave - Katy Perry.

I've always thought she had a very distinctive style - very 50's with added colour. In her red carpet look I really felt like she gave us something new, and yet with a coy or demure elegance to it. And dyeing her hair to match was literally the icing on the cake.



So... who was your fave?

Anyone who knows be but at all, knows that I have a particular fondness for sleeveless tops on men. I just think they look damn awesome and there are by no means enough of them around.

 So, I was thrilled when I stumbled across the Christian LaCroix spring/summer 2012 collection.

The first little number I found irresistible was a leather-looking piece with an intricate pattern and corset style lace-up back.

















There was also a jacket in a similar style (below) which I was equally pining over.


Another notable piece here was somewhere between a suit jacket and a waistcoat - I'm gonna call it a suit waistjacket. And I think I want one.

 Next up on my list of faves was this little old-school LaCroix gem. A denim sleeveless with plenty of... personality!!

















As you can imagine, at this point I was pretty much foaming at the mouth... but wait... there's more...
Yes, yet another suit waistjacket appeared, this time in a kind of eggshell or off-white colour - this seemed like they wanted to tone down the usual LaCroix glitz on the garment, so they relocated it to the model instead... in saying that, I can already picture guys this summer walking around with glittery cheeks, probably in an effort to blend this with Twilight!! But as for the fashion in question, I quite like it - maybe even a little more than the black alternative and I think a good number to end the show on.

So, today I had a little look at what's in the Dolce & Gobanna line for the guys this fall. D&G had a lot going on in Milan... and I don't just mean the boys. 

In particular I liked the look of their long sleeve tops - they had varieties with no buttons, just a few on the neck and some like this pic (maybe not the best pic ever, but they were fitted very nicely indeed).

This was mirrored in a lot of pinstripe and other assorted vertical lines. The buttons were also a theme with button trousers and even something that I was unsure about, but they were either shorts or boxers... What do you think?

Another style that caught my interest, though which would perhaps need to be edited a bit was this one. There was quite an amount of these black garments, some with fur mixed in, but all with gold embellishment - almost like Russia meets Chinese Royalty... I like it, but I can't see it going much further than the runway... but then again, you never know what people are going to warm up to in winter, so I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Overall, it was a collection well worth seeing, and it echoed a great man with their final statement...

...BOW TIES ARE COOL!!

I've been re-watching old episodes of project runway when I came across Jay Sario and remembered how much I loved him on the show and how devastated I was when he lost to that Monotone Mila...
But wouldn't you know I stumbled upon his Spring 2012 collection and Jay's still got it... what do you think?

Cue the Imperial March, because here comes Balenciaga's Spring 2012...

The perfect accessory for a Solar Flare or a stroll along the Death Star, Balenciaga introduced this... well, apparently it is in fact a hat. Personally, I don't understand the shape, the style or even the point. However, most people agree on one thing... WE ALL WANT ONE!!