Decline Designs

Posts Tagged ‘eye candy’

Light on links this week; heavy on eye candy!

Also, I just found this lovely jewelry at Sugar Mafia. About everything on the website is gorgeous, but these three are my favorites. Oh, the chandelier necklace. *drool

Hope you all had a great weekend and are having a fabulous Monday!

It all started when I saw the high waist Victorian plaid Steampunk skirt on SmashingDarling:

Do I even need to explain? No. I’ll just stare at the screen and drool.

So, then I looked up the designer’s website, and her ModelMayhem profile, and found even more goodies:

It’s a pretty perfect blend of whimsical Victorian fashion and punk influence. LOVE IT. She has an Etsy shop also!

In other news, Audi of Fashion for Nerds has finalled opened up an Etsy store with some of her gorgeous hats. And Winona at DaddyLikey is running a giveaway for a Shabby Apple dress. The dress in question isn’t something I’d wear, I don’t think, but I’m sure one of you would like it, no? And they have some other fantastic dresses, so be sure to take a look at their website.

Holy cow. I saw this bag at Exit 9 Emporium:

Which got me looking at the rest of their bags. And jeez. I can’t say “want” enough to cover it all.

The last two are my favorite, although I love the blue color. They’re pretty pricey compared to my normal handbag budget, but I’ve spent $40ish on my last…three or so purses? Just to have them fall apart after two or three months. Maybe it’s worth an “investment handbag” or whatever…hm.

The new VivaLaModa magazine is out, and it is definitely worth looking at! One of the designers featured is Bonzie, who’s a favorite of mine.

Love these neon cameos by KitschenSink!

Just discovered (via ads in the magazines I was flipping through) Leviticus Jewelry and I love it. Here’s my three favorite pieces:

draped death

winged key

pirate ships (silver)

Miss Elle over at Broke and Beautiful posted last week about her search for a new LBD…I immediately thought of her when I found this pattern (it even has pockets!). You can see some completed pictures of it at Pattern Review - if I end up buying it (seriously thinking about it) I’ll definitely post about how it turns out. I also found this skirt that I really like, I think I could probably construct something similar without the pattern, though.

Eclectic Eccentricity has some really cute things! (found, again, via a BUST ad) The combination of vintage bits and baubles with modern components results, in this case, in pretty romantic pieces that make me think of spring.

Winging My Way Back To You - White

Hand On Heart Monkey Necklace

This is cute, but it kind of reminds me of Mrs. Coulter’s golden monkey from His Dark Materials (which I reread over the last week…SO GOOD!) and thus, squicks me out a little bit.

Pieces Of Eight Trunk Necklace

Sew Much To Do Sewing Necklace

So cute…and so sold out. Much like the Pin All Your Hopes Vintage Brooch and the For One Night Only - Anchor Necklace.

Loving this photo shoot at Craftster. So awesome. (kind of NSFW)

Last but not least, I found this set of photos from the Circus Issue of Fashion156. (Can you tell I’ve had circus inspired fashion on the brain lately?)

So it’s been mentioned several times on the steamfashion community, and Doe Deere mentioned going to it, but I didn’t put two and two together until I saw the picture of Xenia in the photostream. And oh my gods, the outfits were GORGEOUS. Drool.

My favorites:

Blue hair FTW! God I miss mine. As soon as I can afford the bleach and hair dye (well, and it’s after the Easter get-together, trying to be nice to my grandpa…) my hair is SO magenta. And blue. And maybe purple. Maybe I can make it work this time?

Xenia!

I looooove how it looks like the front of her skirt is made of peacock feathers.

She looks like a gorgeous wood nymph, all ready to frolic!

And my absolute favorite…

I want that dress! Speaking of the dresses, several of them were done by Apatico - unfortunately the online shop isn’t up yet, but when it is, I’ll definitely be having a look.

In that vein (not really, but hey), I made a circus inspired Polyvore:

Ringleader - by declinedesigns on Polyvore.com

(That skirt? Now on my wist. As well as a silver mask from the same site.)

Oh, and Tatterdemalion Designs at ModelMayhem has some good circus-inspired eye candy as well. Enjoy!

Obviously, I would normally be doing several smaller posts with links interspersed but since I’ve been non-posting obviously that’s not an option! I have, however, been keeping track of things I did want to post about, so here’s a veritable smorgasboard of link deliciousness!

Ashe Mischief posted the first in a series called Curious About Corsets and I’m looking forward to reading the rest - there’s a lot of myths about corsets and informed consumers are always a good thing!

Guest post by Fay Grimm at Yes And Yes titled 5 Ways to Show Your Sewing Machine That You Love It - adorable! And yes, my sewing machines have names. Although I’m still working on naming the Rocketeer.

New blog to watch: The Demioselles. Definitely looking forward to reading what these ladies have to say, since standard sizing is a pretty sticky subject.

I don’t think I’ve posted about Clockwork Couture here before, but it is a fabulous new(ish) steampunk-themed clothing store. The woman who runs it, Donna Ricci, regularly posts on the steamfashion community and seems to be a super-sweet person, not to mention her dedication to getting cruelty-free products is admirable. They recently updated the store with several new items, many of which are ADORABLE.

Moulin Rouge Cabaret Thigh Highs

It is a LOT harder than you’d think to find a cute pair of vertically striped thigh highs! I’ve seen a few that were lacey in between the stripes, which is a good look but I’m so picky - these are a dead ringer for what I’ve been looking for.

Ladie's Ruffle Vest

Great layering piece, and I love the use of ruffles to add some feminity to something traditionally viewed as more menswear.

Ladie's Casual Cycling Capri Pants

I used to have a pair of plaid bondage pants - these capris remind me of them, except for a lot more, ya know, feminine. I love the dusty pink color with all of the buckles and etc…I really want a pair.

The jewelry section is definitely worth looking through too - there’s gems like the Absinthe Necklace, Compass & Keys Charm Necklace, and the Laboratory Chaterlaine. Want? Yes, please.

There was a fantastic post on Craftster, showing off clothes that a Swedish design student (see her website here) made in her fashion curriculum. Definitely worth checking out - great eye candy!

Also, a random site from an ad I found in BUST - B & Lu. VERY cute fashion, starting at a size 14. In fact, I kind of want half the things from the website. The testimonials are absolutely glowing as well, and it looks like they have good cause to me - affordable, cute fashion for bigger gals, I’m just wondering why I haven’t heard of them before!

That’s about it for now, although there is of course, more to come. In my laptop-lacking boredom, I took on an old-school papercraft project (which will be posted as soon as I get it all finished), which meant going through my huge stack of old magazines. I found a lot of stuff I’d found before and forgotten about, and just a lot of neat stuff, so I’ll be posting all of that too.

There’s a lot of duds (IMHO) in the McQueen for Target collection, however, there were a few items I really liked.

This black studded shirt dress is pretty cute, although I would probably be wearing it over a shirt and pants or as a shirt by itself, tucked into a poofy skirt. I’m not sure if it’s $40 worth of cute, I might wait for it to go on sale…

I need no words to justify this.

I love the harness/belt…thing detail on this dress - sheath dress normally aren’t my thing, but I like this one.

I went digging around and found a few other things I like as well.

I’ve been wanting a vest lately - this isn’t too dressy, but isn’t a tacky denim vest. I’m not 100% for sure though, it seems like something that I would either absolutely love or really, really hate in person. I probably wouldn’t purchase it unless I could try it on, since vests seem to hate my boobs with a fiery, fiery passion.

This blazer is cute, but too similar to a jacket I already own to warrant a purchase.

I’m 75% sure this would be totally unflattering on me due to the sleeves. But look at the COLOR. Why can’t people make things in that shade of purple more often?!

Similar top. But see how this shade of purple is made of so much less win than the purple above? Sigh.

Pink blazer. THAT is a winning combination, my friends.

I also re-looked through the Ruche site after being reminded of it and found some yummy things there too…

*swoon* I’m not sure I could handle that heel. But um. Don’t care!

Another flowy-ish top I like. What’s the deal with that? This, though, I’d buy a size smaller since it runs big, I’m thinking it’d be cute form-fitting.

If only I wasn’t a. broke and b. restraining from spending any money. LAME.

I want this dress:

wycinanki dress

Actually, I don’t really want the dress so much. I’d probably be better off getting this top and skirt, so that I could actually wear a bra with it.

wycinanki top

wycinanki skirt

*drool*

I have a wishlist about as long as my arm right now. Too bad my tax refund has to go to silly things like rent and bills, hmm?

Let’s start with hats:

Femme Fatale Black Victorian Riding Goth Burlesque

Femme Fatale Black Brocade with Veiling and Bow

Top Hat Gold Black Spectacularly Gothic and Steampunk

Black Stripey Top Hat with Cameo Victorian, Goth

LOVE that hat. Don’t know how often I’d wear it, although I’m pretty sure if I had it I’d make an occasion to do so EVERY DAY!, and lord knows I can’t afford it right now, but oh I want it.

Top Hat Canvas/Leather Lace- Up

And that hat, I know I’d never wear, but it’s certainly a neat idea, no?

Tall mini top hat crystal/glass with beaded band in silver/gray

And now for some tricorn hats:

Angelique Mini Tricorn Hat

Alice Mini Tricorn Hat

It’s PINK. With a cameo. And feathers. Want!

There’s a lot of other neat stuff at Retroscope Fashions, incl. several skirts on this page that I want! I’ll probably end up making my own version though. And this pinstriped blouse/vest, although I have my doubts as button ups + busty gal doesn’t usually end well. Or flatteringly, ha.

There’s a lot of good stuff at the Kambriel store but I think this is my favorite:

Cabaret Bustle Jacket

I don’t think I’ll have the spare cash for that any time soon, unfortunately, but the TV410 pattern at Truly Victorian could probably be modified into something similar. I think it’d look great in pink and black but if I’m going to spend that much time making something, I’ll probably want it to match everything I own, haha. Also, as I’ve recently discovered while trying to find fabric for a corset, pink and black stripe fabric is a BITCH to find. I had to get b/w striped at Hobby Lobby and I still need to attempt dying it. I might just leave it b/w…

Gloomth has some good stuff too, and at very reasonable prices, although a lot of it is just a little too Gothic or Lolita ish for me.

"Mon Chou" Versatile Victorian Bloomers

"Chatoyant" Color Shapeshifting Blouse

Now THAT is a top I can wear.

"Avarice" Victorian Inspired Shrug

I very much like the shape of that shrug, although I’m not 100% for sure which color I’d order if I was going to…the red/wine would probably not match anything I own but the black might, again, look a little gothic. Then again, if it’s topping off a hot pink corset maybe not.

These boots come in black:

Baci - Essence at 6pm.com

and brown:

Baci - Essence at 6pm.com

and are stinkin’ cute.

I’ll wrap things up with this video, because it makes me giggle.

So my laptop cord broke on Thursday or Friday evening and my laptop died soon thereafter. I did get a replacement cord in the mail today though, so no worries! You would think I’d be able to blog from the desktop, but I kind of don’t know the URL for the login page. Yup. I’m a smart one.

I ordered some corset supplies on Friday (maybe Saturday?) and the boning is already here! (I will never get used to using “boning” in that context. I feel dirty every time.) Dragontown Corset Supplies is pretty awesome, I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

Also: Sequoia Emmanuelle Photography. Eye candy galore. What a talented gal!