The Best Bargee Bar None

Knock on my door here. Irregular Blogger, minor fashion enthusiast, part-time human being. Sometimes I make posts, but don't hold your breath. Frequently asked Questions are here.

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Aaaand we’re back to pink. 

For all the disappointment I felt over whatever the heck ‘Tributes Gallery’ is, I actually liked a lot of pieces individually. It’s funny - once I removed them from their original context in the store and had them in my suite, I was much, much more inspired and actually went back for more. 

I’m terrible at choosing the optimal shoe and bag combination for my look, so I was actually fairly happy to have a tribute of both. However, separating the release over the two weeks felt like such a wasted opportunity. I think the fundamental failing of Tributes Gallery is not what was on offer, but it being served in a lacklustre store. I mean, comparing it to the triumph of Fendi and even the meh of Gucci, it feels like a mall...not exactly what we’re aspiring to here right?

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Well I am as surprised as you are. 

Something about last chance announcements just make me want to squeeze a lookbook out of what was a pile of potential, awful clothing combinations. As much as I love that rainbow cat jumper, it left so many colour options open. So many. 

I think the actual revelation for me was finding the Voile chartreuse silk dress in the bazaar - as soon as I saw it I knew it’d go perfectly with the PPQ floral jumpsuit that I never ever use and thus this lookbook was born. 

I’m very pleased with this considering I was so underwhelmed by the Gucci tribute as a whole. I thought every piece bar the belt bag was gimmicky (and lets be honest, the very design of a belt bag is a gimmick) and that use vs cost was completely skewed. Now I’ve completed this exercise, I might not fall over myself trying to sell it all at the bazaar just yet. 

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Well this was a little while in the making - I kept trying to push through with Gucci, but YSL was calling out to me. 

This lookbook contains a lot of glitter for someone who doesn’t like glitter. Hence the tagline for this lookbook in particular. 

Much like the Gucci tribute, I wasn’t actually taken with much that was on offer when it came down to it. I got rather sucked in, a bit like a magpie in fact, distracted by these shiny, new (expensive) things. I didn’t appreciate many of the shapes of things and the textures, while well done, are just not my bag. 

Out of what I’ve shown above, I’d say invest your money in the oversized coat, because it just has so much potential. Really what I should have done was show you four looks with just that coat because you can literally do no wrong with it. That casual cool stance just elevates everything to the upper echelons of street chic. A whole tribute of this please. Less glitter. 

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Yeah, I tried to do a Gucci tribute lookbook but it’s just turning into a sad pile. I think I’m just going to skip...

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*wakes up two weeks late* Guuuh what day is it? Is it tribute season already? 

Honestly, where did the time go? And how good was this tribute for a grand beginning? I bought loads of items, many of which I know I will use time and again, a few that I may regret later on. I am super on board with this aesthetic as it speaks to my nerdy soul in way that feels more authentic than the Gucci form of glittery eclecticism we’ve come to expect (I’ll get onto that later...)

The pieces I’ve chosen here are the ones I am the most enthusiastic about, the ones I see myself returning to and that I hope will strengthen the foundation of the wardrobe I already have. Well, maybe excluding the pom pom sweatshirt. Sometimes you have to allow yourself a little brevity. 

If you’re not sure what to buy, allow me to recommend the crisp white shirt as you can NEVER go wrong with a classic like this. The details are subtle and timeless - they are likely to age well and mesh with other genres seamlessly. 

Notice, I still haven’t managed to shake off millennial pink. This is just who I am now. 

Gucci is the next tribute up and I realllly don’t like it. Too many colours and things and not enough versatility. I did force myself to buy 4 things for the purpose of a lookbook, so provided all things are well, that one will be next. Provided all things are well ;)

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I just can’t seem to shake this pink and green moment...or this softness...am I going soft?

Discounting some of the Limited stores (and this gorgeous new Fendi Tribute), Voile was probably the last time I really splurged on a lot of items from just one release. So many good pieces that can be used so many ways! 

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Limited Edition was a bit of a mixed bag was it not? I took me a surprisingly (ha, no one’s surprised really) long time to find a common thread between all the pieces. This Millennial Pink and green theme is really speaking to me though.

I was going to work in the D&G inspired silk pyjama shirt, but, like several of the pieces I bought, it’s not a versatile as I thought it might be. It’s a shame because the graphics are lovely, but I don’t know how much of this I’ll be holding onto when they come up for resale. 

Also, side-note: some of the spellings of the price tags are...interesting. I used to type them however, but I just can’t stand it anymore. If I can understand what it means, then I’m correcting it...

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And at last - my greatest work! I attended my first Stardoll Fashion Week and it was a tad intense. 

I spent absolutely ages on my Day three look without even intending to submit a Day One or Two and yet somehow, I last minute decided to yank something out of the bag. Twice.

Looks are as follows:

Day One: AW17 Markus Lupfer, M2Malletier bag

Day Two: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Tartan Suit, Etro Choker

Day Three:  Caroline Kummelstedt Shearling Jacket, Dior Backpack

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Six months is an awfully long time in Stardoll Society so I’ve learned - I actually did attend some events during that time, but I never posted the graphics I made - crazy considering I think I produced some of my best work!

The CT Awards took place back in February and I had the honour of being nominated Graphic Designer of the Year at the Old Hollywood inspired Nominees Luncheon. I was super flattered but absolutely out of my league. For my look, I attempted to serve a bit of Marlene Dietrich in SS17 Lanvin and hair inspired by Bottega Veneta. 

The theme of the actual awards ceremony was ‘Artistic Flair’ and after several attempts, I settled on this gorgeous Jean-Charles de Castelbajac dress. This is possibly my favourite make-up look ever, though I’m really fond of the close ups for all these looks.

Finally, the after party was hosted by The Stardoll Lookbook with a classic ‘Neutrals for the Night’ theme, which suits me down to the ground. Pun 100% intended, because I will take any opportunity to wear a Haider Ackermann suit. Any chance. The earrings are by Alison Lou and I though they added a quirky touch to what could have been a very sterile outfit. 

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mmm. tumblr’s resizing kind of makes it look like the lookbook I just posted was made on a potato. Maybe it’s time to migrate this all over to another platform?

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Well hello strangers...

Now now, don’t get too excited! It’s been six-ish long hard months and this is but a toe in the waters of a potential return!

I haven’t queued any more lookbooks up as such - I just really needed to unwind after what has been a truly awful week and the end of what has been a personally very trying few month.  I’ve also had a few messages recently about how people miss my posts, and you know, I really miss making them. 

I chose the new Fever release as my guinea pig for a couple of reasons:  

1. If anyone follows The Stardoll Lookbook, you’ll know that look three was my entry for this week’s We Wear Hotbuys section. I was so pleased with this look that I had to do something with it. And so hatched a tiny fledgling lookbook.

2. I genuinely thought it was a very cute offering for Summer and I like enough of the items to fill out four looks 

I also bought the lovely J W Anderson yellow dress, but I just couldn’t get that to fit in with the vibe I had going. It almost makes me want to resurrect Haul again...almost.

From what I’ve displayed in my lookbook, I’m particularly fond the Pineapple print dress, although I wish they had gone with the original shape from the Altuzarra runway. It loses a little elegance in the translation, but gains some not unwelcome sass with all those ruffles. 

Weirdly, the piece that has come out on top for me are the Valentino inspired flip flops - or ‘slides’ as they seem to be called now (?) These are so not my usual MO, but for some reason, I just can’t seem to stop using them. 

Hopefully, this is the lubrication that my creation-gears have needed and could be the start of a new season for me. Watch this space, who knows what might happen...

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The final look I completed for Allure was for Chanel Taylor, looking lovely in Dolce and Gabana. I probably spent the longest I have ever spent on a graphic for this, but I hope it paid off!

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Where there’s an event, there’s a look for AudreyHepburn., this time in Michael Kors for Allure. I’m a seasoned professional at fur now, but I’d be happy if I didn’t do it again for a while, ha.

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I hope you guys have been having a wonderful festive season! I’ve been working all holiday so I’ve not had a lot of time for lookbooks and such. 

I did however attend the Christmas Eve event by Allure, which had a wonderfully cosy theme - I went with Chanel, from the iconic Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection which is one of my favourites!

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Time is starting to get away with me so I’ll be doing the next few lookbooks out of sequence I think. I wanted, however, to get this Stardoll Feat. lookbook out of the way and ticked off on my list. 

Note that everything I picked came from Frankieiz12′s floor which stylistically speaking was much more my taste. I tried so hard to get those clear plastic boots in this but I just can’t find a way to style them that I like. I wanted to like plenty of the collection as a whole tbh, but just...couldn’t. It’s frustrating really, because we’ve had such great graphic releases and then...this. 

This inconsistency really narks me because it’s so pronounced and this collection should have been Stardoll doing right by their users. I often defend Stardoll probably well past reason because I get frustrated by a lot of immature expectations that are so freely thrown around, but even I was a disappointed with this. Well...c’est la vie I guess.

I’m not 100% sure which lookbook I’ll start on next, but it’ll be Antidote, Gucci or the Gift-o-Meter. I haven’t decided which way makes more sense yet. 

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I love primary colours, they make me so happy :) 

After a short lookbook break, here’s my offering for the Mr. release. 

Although I use the ‘feminine’ body base for my doll, I am a frequent shopper in Mr. Sometimes you need to really jimmy things around before they will fit nicely, so adequate command of the resize glitch would be useful to you, but often you can cover bits that don’t match up with a good old fashioned jacket. The pieces on offer are usually great staples with interesting prints or simple accessories. If you’re a fan of more gender neutral dressing then you’ll want to stock up for sure. 

This recent release was very satisfactory and i hope (in vain no doubt) that we might see an increase in menswear or clothing shapes to accommodate both body bases in the plaza. I am a fierce believer that clothes have no gender, but the resize glitch can only go so far...

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And here’s another Spotlight festival graphic, this time with JessPoynter looking like the queen of serene in a gown of her design (with a few of my twiddlybits) to fit the ‘Under the Sea / Neon’ theme. 

I generally work from reference, but this is a mixture of gowns by Yulia Yanina and Del Pozo. I’m really pleased with the lightness as I usually do dark, textural looks. I was worried the coral shoulders might look a little hokey, but I think they do their job nicely