I've moved on...
...to a different domain. Why, what were you thinking? The truth is, I just woke up one day and decided it's time for a change—a metamorphosis, if you will; or, in layman's terms, if Britney can shave her head, then maybe so can I? Nevertheless, it's been a rather handsome 10 years of talking to you, and thank you for putting up with all my moodswings and terrible dad jokes. Fear not! The hormonal imbalance and jokes are more terrible on CUBICLE, see you there.

Outfit: Top – DIY FCUK, Skirt – Storets.com, Shoes – H&M, Furry pouch – ASOS, Long vest – Gmarket; Prints by La Boca as part of promotional graphics;

Don’t we often say ‘I know it’s really bad, but what do you think about…’ just to put a cushion down first before a potential bad review? Black Swan did exactly that in the first 10 minutes into the film. “Done to death” was one of Vincent Cassel’s lines describing Swan Lake in the movie, and there he beat me to the chase – the cushion was laid and I had to hold my tongue about the genericness of the subject. And from that point on I had to accept that the film was not going to be another box standard dance school flicks where the climax is when the protagonist is grounded by her mother. Gladly I’m tough trained in blood & gore after years of being steeped into war movies, but I really couldn’t stop the chills running up and down my body during the screening. Well I guess that can be called ‘refreshing’.  The Ballerina trend is indeed done to death but I think this time it’s going to be different because Black Swan was very little of the dainty feather muffs and white tutus, but more of the saturated evil of the dark swan twin that we always seem to neglect.

The pre-screening event was another one of Robinson Pfeffer‘s bountiful functions, including a Barre class held at Frame studio in Shoreditch. (If the screening came before the class we’d have expected our reflections to move on its accord) A generous dance kit was provided by Bloch, and a smoky-eye makeover by MAC Cosmetics, and off we went hobbling over the bars clutching our butts that were spilling out of the leotards… At least whatever I lost in that class got returned to the rightful owner while shoving down fistfuls of popcorn at the Aubin cinema during the screening.

Thank you Pascal for the outfit shots

Jacket – Courtesy of H! by Henry Holland for Debenhams, Black shirt with back-hole – ASOS, Orange top – La Moxie, Scarf – FCUK, Jeans – Uniqlo, Boots – Zara

Leave it to my brother to book things way early in advance – he’s got paranoia-duty in my family and is infamous for backup plans ranging from B-Z and travelling with one too many papers to prove that he is indeed who he is. Alright, I guess he’s not that bad since we both found ourselves severely broke this month, but he’d bought a pair of tickets to the Tennis ATP Finals live at the O2 area a few months ago, along with his weekend ticket to London (erasmus in Spain at the moment). I’ve never experienced anything like that, to tell the truth, it was exhilarating walking into the arena – full to the brim with thousands and thousands. Thankfully, the gentlemanly nature of tennis seems to plant a somewhat civilized behaviour in the said army of onlookers and apart from the occasional GO ANDY (Roddick) I LOVE YOU it was such a pleasant crowd experience. Who knew a tennis match would rekindle my (lost?) hope for civil manners? A roar of clapping never sounded so gentle and encouraging.

Scarf – FCUK, Sweater – Mum’s old, Jacket – Monnari, Leather Pants – ASOS, Shoes – Gmarket, Green dress – H&M, Bag – Courtesy of Chanel

After Chanel Pressday near Green Park #teenvogue

London’s sporting bittercold wind lately, looks like Winter’s at the doorstep. Funnily, I was perfectly warm at the top despite the hole-punched glory of the jacket, but my legs were absolutely freezing in the leather pants. Turns out the pants had ‘breathing holes’ and let wind in like a mosquito net…
Speaking of Holepunch… Doesn’t it remind you of when you’re young and in school you try punching through a thick wad of paper but because the holepuncher is from a  Tesco and previously used by your brother to punch through lego it only does half a hole? Then you end up having to tear out each hole-flap but it comes off with a tail and all the holes look like teardrops… good old days. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, YOU SHOULD’VE STAYED IN SCHOOL.

Thank you Nadia for the photos!

Maxi Dress, Leather Jacket – ASOS, Shoes – Office.co.uk, BagBelt – Angels’ Sale, Eagle Belt – Vintage, Faux Lambswool – Gmarket, Scarf – FCUK, Turquoise Ring – Spitafields Market

I’ll write more about the Angels sale soon, but this leather pocket-belt thing is one of the few gems I ran off with! On day 5 a PR came up to me and asked where it was from, and when I told her it was vintage military costume and that it still had dirt in the pockets and she actually yelled THAT IS SO COOL, DIRT FROM A REAL WAR!! No no no no, dirt from some movie set. Perfect pockets for spare batteries and memory cards… although it’s still kind of like burying them in soil.

Prepare:
Victim top, 10mm knitting needles, kid mohair (50%+) yarn in any colour (Rowan has great yarn range called Kidsilk Haze perfect for soemthing like this albeit slightly pricey. Another option is to ebay for mohair) , thread matching yarn colour, needle, measuring tape.

Measure from the collarbone area to shoulder blade with a measuring tape. This is the size of the ‘wing’ that will sit on your shoulders.

The knitting:
Cast on 44sts. (If you’re an experienced knitter, you could always do a tension swatch and calculate how long you need it to be)

1st row: Knit (K) entire row
2nd row: Purl (P) entire row
3rd row: K2tog, K to end, k2tog last 2 sts.
4th row: P2tog, P to end, p2tog last 2 sts.
5-last row: repeat 3-4 until work finishes in a triangle.

Repeat again for 2 triangles

Stretch & straighten work near first few rows and adjust to make a perfect triangle.

Pin and secure knitting onto top of choice and using a needle & thread sew. (Sew into or close to neckline, where the fabric is slightly thicker)

Optional finishing touches: Attach additional decoration – studs, chains, sequins…anything!

Top – FCUK, Jeans – H&M, Necklace – Polish antique market

Sorry for disappearing like that for 6 days, I’ve relocated to London and so far the only recordworthy thoughts are: I would rather live in a cave or a treehouse than this craphole and That’s not a kitchen, it’s a cupboard. I’ve been househunting for the past few days, and who knew London seriously lacks quality studio/1-bedrooms? Although, I think I’ve found a great one in Chiswick, fingers crossed.

Back onto the DIY – I’m sorry this is for those with knitting experience – but I think this could be a good opportunity to learn, what with winter coming up and all, don’t you think? This project requires absolutely no extra knitting skills, just the basic knits & purls. Refer to this Youtube channel to learn the basics & other tips. (Also, Ravelry is a great knitting community where you can get all kinds of help and share your knitting projects.)

Hope that stirs your ideatank for more shoulder decoration DIY ;)