Fur Hat, Fer Sure

I have begun working with the blue and purple long pile faux fur that I bought from Distinctive Fabrics.com. It is so awesome! The "dots" on the photo below are what the underside of the fabric looks like; it's almost as pretty as the fur side. Anyway, I took this material...



and made this!



I still want to modify the pattern a little bit; make the ears more triangular and the hat a little bit shorter, but for a first attempt it worked out pretty well. Can't wait to take it to Burning Man and either wear it or share it!

Steampunk

Next weekend, we plan on attending a steampunk event in the Bay Area with my brother-in-law.


Steampunk has really caught my eye, and apparently that of many many other people as well. It's a big hit at Burning Man and has a sizable following around the world.
For more on what steampunk actually IS, this author has a great write-up on his blog at The Clockwork Century. I'm pretty excited about attending this event in Emeryville and checking out the folks, stuff, literature, and "culture" up close and personal... I've begun working on our outfits, and think I'm falling slightly in love with this re-imagined Victorian/punk aesthetic. I'll post pics as soon as I get a chance. Here's an idea of what steampunk fashion might look like... if you were a model and had unlimited funds, of course.



The Heliograph has some cool fashion links, and I also found Ketutar's collages on polyvore.com pretty inspirational for getting ideas about men's fashion in the steampunk world.

Creating Armor

No, that isn't a metaphor for developing a better buffer between yourself and other people... I'm actually considering making a sort of shoulder-armor called a "spaulder." I saw it in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. We've watched a few episodes, and let me tell ya-- it ain't for the weak of heart. It's sort of in the style of 300, with similar special effects during fight scenes, lots of slow motion, and exaggerated and almost comic-book type movements at certain times. It is also directed squarely at adults, and makes no apologies for being strictly grown-up entertainment. I've only watched two or three episodes so far, and have blushed more times than I can count at the very mature content. Speaking of which: Holy moley, Lucy Lawless--I don't remember you acting this way when you were Xena: Warrior Princess! Sheesh Louise!!

Anyway... we're still watching it, but be prepared for lots of lasciviousness to go along with your basic gladiator mayhem. (And by lasciviousness, I mean this could sometimes get a soft-core rating; yipes!)

The main actor, Andy Whitfield, is pictured below wearing his typical gladiator gear. This photo really shows off his segmented leather (?) spaulder, which I want to try to replicate for Joel to wear during Burning Man.


I also found a less theatrical one for sale at ElvenForge, a company that makes armor and weaponry for everything from re-enactments to Hollywood. The picture below, from their website, will give me more of an idea of where to put the grommets that will attach each "scale" of leather together. And an even better idea of how much these things normally cost! ($195 + shipping, in case you were wondering...)


I'm planning to use old purses from garage sales, plus a belt, and keep it low-cost and more in line with the Burning Man DIY ethic. Can't wait to get started on it!

Fashion Inspiration for BMan'10

Amber Valletta as Angie in Gamer... this is the outfit she wore during most of the movie, and I think it is absolutely perfect for Burning Man. She is also wearing pale pink, calf-high, vinyl platform/raver boots with white knee-high white socks that have three red stripes around the top. I'm going to attempt to replicate it as closely as possible; the eBay search has begun!


Here she is again in another Angie costume; love the ice blue wig and the one opera glove. So classy in her lingerie ;)


I have also been wildly inspired by Lady Gaga's costumes in her Bad Romance video... Here is an overview put together by one of her New Zealand fansites:


But my all-time favorite was the red number she put on towards the end of the video... rroowwrrr!! Definitely want to see what I can do to create this look without spending thousands of dollars on couture lingerie. PS-- It looks much better in the video, where you can see it clearly (this image is blurry, but you get the general idea.)


ANYWAY-- Now that I have some inspiration, it's on to nurture and creation. Let the games begin!

Sew Many Projects, Sew Little Time

Preparing for Burning Man is something I seriously enjoy. I love getting the fabrics together, choosing crazy outfits, and figuring out how to funkify the clothes I already have dedicated to BMan (stuff that's stained or torn or no longer fits, and isn't suitable for donation). I'm on the hunt for ideas and patterns right now, though I already have in mind some specific pieces I want. Last year, I made some boot covers, a shrug or two, a skirt, and modified a couple of shirts to be more Playa-friendly.

This year, I want to make my existing boot covers a little more splashy and a little more furry, a la

These are from OsiVinylDoll's shop on etsy.com, and she has a bunch of other great cyber/rave outfits and extras.

I also want to try to make Joel some thin, "genie" style pants that he can wear during the day to keep out the heat and dust but still cover him up a bit; he's not quite ready for the Tarzan flap some guys were wearing out there. I also want to make him some more vests, his few from last year are pretty beat at this point. I'll be trying to make a couple of different faux-fur hats for our noggins, too, because right now we only have one and neither one of us wants to go sans chapeau.

Another thing I want to try making is a tutu, similar to the one below:

... except that I would be the one making it, rather than spending oodles of cash buying one. Although the one above by mtcoffinz called Neon Kawaii Trashy Tutu is pretty stinkin' awesome.

There's a free pattern for a no-sew version at this site, though I will probably stitch the elastic rather than using a stapler, and probably also cover it with cloth as well so that it doesn't get too scratchy on the tender tummy skin. Anyway, I'll definitely keep updating with pics of my projects. Maybe I should do before and after photos, showing my progress from start (pieces of fabric and miscellaneous gear) to finish (fabulous outfits that should probably be sold for ungodly amounts of cash)... we'll see.

Sew, you're saying there's a chance...

Sewing: Who knew it could be so much fun? I just got my first sewing machine, and I've decided that sewing could probably give my other hobbies-- scrapbooking, making DVD slideshows, even cooking-- a run for the title. It's awesome! I already made my first vest for Burning Man, and it was a blast. Okay, okay, so it's a little lopsided, and maybe a bit shorter than planned, and I somehow ended up "shrinking" it a bit, but luckily it's going to Burning Man, and none of that is going to be noticed. In fact, it might even be celebrated, simply because I made it with my own two hands. Oh, and the, uh, you know, sewing machine.

The vest, by the way, is a scarlet furry material that is going to ROCK the playa. Woo-hoo!

I will be posting up pics soon of my upcoming projects: The purple cloud material that is in some strange way vaguely reminiscent of cowhide, and that will become vests; the furry black & white skull & crossbone pants; the short, jagged edge capri-length pirate pants; the furry wrist cuffs, and the polka-dot shrug (with matching skirt), and anything else my inspired mind can come up with while staring at the material we have. Yard sale holders, beware: I'm on the prowl, and I won't take no for an answer!

Furr Play

FurrPlay is one of the vendors we saw at the Burning Man Prepare for the Playa event on Saturday. They were awesome! She had such a huge variety of furs, all different colors and designs and items, from wrist cuffs to hats to tops and coats. It was so cool, and the owner and creator Gwen was such a sweet lady, and very friendly. Along with several other vendors, she also volunteers as a Greeter at the gates to Burning Man, so I'm sure we'll see her again when we go. :)

Back to the costume extravaganza-- I was coveting so much stuff at the Grotto, it was ridiculous. I felt like I was one of those cartoon creatures, walking around with my jaw dropped and my tongue lolling out, just drooling over all of the amazing, beautiful, funky creations all around us. It was a good thing I didn't have any money or else it all would've been spent in moments. There were so many things to look at that I hardly knew where to turn! You can see the vendors' individual websites with their items here. Most of these are a bit out of my price range, but they are actually priced very well for hand-made, often one-of-a-kind artistic creations. At least we know they weren't made with slave labor from another country, I guess.