The Only Item of Clothing I Purchased In Burma

It's gawdy, it's sparkly, it's stretchy (that's why it fits me), and it features my favourite star in the whole world - Mazza (aka Miss Marilyn Monroe).

I saw this shirt in a shop window in Burma (/Myanmar), and I knew straight away that I had to own it. I walked into the shop with determination... even if it didn't fit, i'd turn it into a head scarf or something. I mean, images of Marilyn in sepia tones, with glittery sparkles and "glass" buttons? TRASHTASTIC! Must own. And so it was.


This week I met up with the fabulous Jacqui of Fashion and Pho (AND Pho Sizzle Threads), to talk fashion and life and eat some delicious food. She's such a talented babe. One of the main reasons I started blogging was because I wanted to meet and collaborate with like-minded ladies, and... it's happening! I'm getting my wish! Eeeee!

Skirt: Kmart Earrings: were my Nan's <3

I would really like to invest in some gold leggings/tights to go with my newly painted gold Docs. But in the meantime, i've settled for layering my yellow & black striped thigh highs with any type of non-solid black tights. Similar effect, 0% of the cost.

Jacqui and I had lunch at Hell's Kitchen, and then found this awesomely rad skull painted in the alley. I think it goes perfectly with my outfit, since Marilyn's corpse is all bones now... :P

Lunch date selfie ;)
Thanks to Jacqueline for taking the photos and being an inspiring babe!

SPLOOSH TUESDAY (Issue 5)

Oh my goodness it's been a while since the last...


I guess i've been so busy splooshing about things, I haven't had time to write about said things. So, here we go...

SUSHI CATS!


When I first saw these, I thought they were just costumes for cats. But, even BETTER - according to the website nekozushi.com:

Neko-Sushi is an extremely unusual life-form consisting of a cat on top of a portion of sushi rice.

Although several references have come down to us through history from various researchers and witnesses, their existence is still shrouded in mystery and actual sightings remain rare.

There are several academics who have devoted their lives to the study of  these creatures. According to a number of these, Neko-Sushi make use of gaps in space to come to us from an alternate dimension. Beyond these “gaps” lies the world of the Neko-Sushi in which, it is recently understood, lies the true identity of the cats that dwell with us here in the human dimension.

Not sure you understand? Watch this video, and thank me later.

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I have one word for you: HILDA. Do you know her? If you don't, you most certainly should. I'm pretty sure she's the only legitimately plus-size pinup in history. What makes her even MOAR adorable is a) she's a ginge! And b) she's an epic klutz, full of personality and playfulness. Check her out:

The artist who created her, Duane Bryers, had the idea that he wanted to make a calendar so he contacted the largest calendar company in the US at the time – Brown & Bigelow. They went with the idea, but thought it would be shortlived. I actually own 2 pages from the calendar, and an awesomely fun detail is the tagline used; “BULGING WITH VALUE, NEVER SLIM ON SERVICE”. I'm not sure how long the calendar was in print for (there isn't even a Wikipedia page for Hilda OR Duane), but it's certain that Hilda has stood the test of time.

She really came to light when an artist and art collector named Les Toil discovered a calendar of her pictures in an antique story, and decided to create a blog dedicated to her (HERE). He calls her a “zany redheaded maiden of mayhem”, and I couldn't agree more. Sadly, Mr Bryers has now past, but there's a great interview with him HERE on the Toil Girls website.


Just as an added little sploosh, you may or may not know that one of my favourite bloggers is Jes Baker of the Militant Baker. Well, she did THIS cute little post a while ago, in which she shows us how to achieve the 'Hilda style'. CUTE!

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 LANA DEL RAY vs. COURTNEY LOVE This is old news, but I only just found out about it. I also don't think this is a real spat, it's just Courtney being Courtney. But still – LOLS! So a couple of years ago, Lana Del Ray performed a cover of Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box in Sydney and a week later, Courts took to twitter to give Ms Ray a very public lesson in rock history.

If you want to, you can listen to the studio version HERE and think about Courtney's vag. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   I hadn't heard of this George Watsky guy, but apparently he's a really successful rap artist now. According to my friend who showed me this video, he started as a poet and has received a lot of attention about having a pretty pronounced lisp.  If you only watch one video on this post, make it this one: 

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 Last, but definitely not least. Candy Strike are now making SWIMSUITS!! Sorry, that was an understatement – CUSTOM SWIMSUITS! You choose your style, you choose your print/s (of the amazing selections), you provide your measurements, you live happily ever after as the most stylish babe at the beach. 

Go HERE and click Swimsuits and start designing! 

Me? I think I want this one:

Available from size 2 – 28. What a boss.

Sensational Senegal Skirts! (Aussie Curves)

Hello lovely people! I've been absent. It's been a thing. If we're friends on Instagram, you will know that, basically, i've been on a weird rollercoaster ride of excitement and regret over having gotten rid of my dreads. When I was fresh from the hairdresser I was all like "YAY!" and then after the first wash I was all like "FARK WHAT DID I DO" and then i've been mildly cycling between the two ever since. 
I know, i'm a vapid bitch. 
So this has been contributing to my lack of posts, because i've just been feeling so unmotivated in the personal style department. I've missed a couple of weeks of Aussie Curves challenges, but I decided I NEEDED to get back on board this week. But - it was a tricky week to get back in on! Luckily, I remembered these photos from very recently - I was actually a quarter of the way through brushing my dreads out at this point (not that you can tell).

I was STUPENDOUSLY honoured and excited when the gorgeous Jacqueline of Fashion and Pho (HERE) asked me if i'd like to play dress ups in her very first shipment of plus sizes, from her indie label Pho Sizzle Threads (HERE)!! 
Lobster Tea Skirt & Bolero available here
These gorgeous pieces are made from the funnest and most colourful fabrics of African Wax, which (I believe) are sourced mostly from Senegal. If you follow Fashion and Pho's blog, you'll also probably know that this is where her fiancé lives - *swoon*. 

This skirt I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE WITH, which is kind of funny because I am a self-professed "don't do pink" girl. The times, they are a changin'... 
It's a pocket. A REAL pocket!

I'm gonna leave y'all with THIS demented face photo. Because I can. Let that be a warning to ye! And if you want one of this babies, I suggest you get your hurry on because I know that there is very limited stock at this stage. :D

Plus Size Pin-Up for a Day

Nobody likes an obscenely long essay, so i'm peppering this post with photos from the shoot. BUT you should totes defs still read about my experience because it was pretty darn amazing! <3

The Curvy Couture Roadshow back in March was such a fantastic experience for so many reasons. (If you missed it, HERE'S my post about it all) But probably the greatest thing I took away from it all was the amount of incredibly talented, beautiful and like-minded women that I met.

One of these women was Lexi DeRock of Voluptuous Vintage Vixen.

We passed each other lined up outside, and exchanged compliments on each other's hair, and I knew right then that she was a fierce babe and I wanted to be her friend or collaborate with her on something. Well, it seems I got both!

After reading each other's blogs for a little while, she invited me to test-drive a new pinup package that she has only just started offering here in Melbourne. Being a vain bitch I jumped at the opportunity, but as the day got closer I found myself growing more and more nervous, for a number of reasons.

Put his what WHERE?

One reason was that she had told me not to bring anything because she had heaps of vintage clothes to play dress-ups in. Well, I grew up always being the biggest out of all of my friends, and i've never had an experience where I could swap or share clothes with anybody. As a result, it's made me feel like a bit of a control-freak about my wardrobe, and as much as I consciously believed Lexi had clothes that would actually fit me, underneath that I was losing. my. shit. Regardless to say, she not only had things to fit me, she had AWESOME things that fit me! We only ended up shooting in 2 different outfits, but I tried on heaps and there were a few pieces of hers that I would have happily snuck home with me :)

Serving you 60's air hostess realness

Another thing I had hesitations about was doing the “pin-up” thing. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE that look. From a pretty early age I became obsessed with old Hollywood starlets, particularly Marilyn Monroe (but that's a post for another day), and so my perception of beauty and glamour is strongly linked in with a vintage aesthetic. But i've never felt entitled to persuing that, because I don't actually look like those women. It was such a struggle to come to terms with that as a teenager, and now that i've finally accepted that my style is a mish-mash of all sorts of loves and influences, it was a bit confronting to be taken back to something I felt i'd (begrudgingly) said goodbye to.

Fact.

Sorry for the psycho-babble, I just want to really explain that as excited as I was about this photoshoot, I had a bit of crap that I was processing about it all. And I think that's fairly normal. We all have our things, right?

"Look at me, i'm Sandra Dee"

So, I get to Lexi's place on the day of the shoot, and she is nothing but warm, friendly and welcoming (at this point we've only ever met briefly once before), and her gorgeous little pup was a tonne of fun and excitement. As she started my hair and makeup (Lexi is the full package) it turned out we have really similar taste in music, so she popped some of our favourite artists on as we chatted. My anxieties totally melted away as she navigated her way around my dreads like a pro, and ever so careful applied mascara (i'm weird about my eyes). When I looked in the mirror, I felt like a million bucks. Honestly. I don't even know HOW she took my mangy old rainbow dreads and fashioned them into something that made me look like a retro babe. But she did.


When we started taking photos, I was still a bit nervous because i'm really only an epic poser when it's just me and Sam. But Lexi just kept chatting to me, telling me awesome stories (this lady has had one HECK of an interesting life) and making me laugh whenever she wanted a natural smile. I really loosened up and she gave me some really helpful feedback about tendencies I have when striking a pose, and taught me some authentic pin-up poses (side note: those poses look effortless, but MAN! they are a serious test of the core strength).

We had such a great time, I hung around and had a wine with her afterwards. It was such an amazing experience that tested some old, residual and unnecessary boundaries that I have, but in the most positive and re-affirming ways. And seriously, just check out the photos!


I would also like to say that although I received a service in exchange for this blog post, I was in no way obliged to write good things. This was a truly exceptional experience that I think a lot of women would enjoy and/or benefit from. The fact that Lexi herself is a plus-size, vintage lover is the sweetest cherry on the top!

If you want to check out her other stuff, her main website is here:
http://www.lexiderock.com/

Her blog can be found here:
http://www.voluptuousvintagevixen.com/

Go on, take a peek! :)

My LAST OOTD With Dreads!

I wanted to do this OOTD post because A) I felt super cute in this outfit, and B) because it will be my last post with dreads for quite some time! I'm currently in the final stages of brushing them out, and feeling really fricken nervous, a bit excited, and rather nostalgic for all the dreadfully good times.

But I digress, please don't stress, my hair's a mess, but here's my dress! <3

Dress: Roadside Attraction from Modcloth

Cardigan: Target

This belt buckle is official merch of one of my favourite bands - CLUTCH - and it's kind of a random choice for this outfit but I love how it makes all the yellow in the dress pop.

Corn earrings, to enhance the yellow theme.

Crazy eyes just for funsies.

*insert cliché striptease music*

Can we just take a second to talk about how bangin' this print is. 

Far out I love quirky prints!

The back on this dress is perfection - and my bra never shows.

So, I have 11 dreads left to brush out. I've so far spent 27 hours, and lost this much hair. Approximately 11 hours left to go. Eeeeeeee!

TV remote for relative sizing purposes. And entertainment.

Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (Aussie Curves)

Ermagerd what a week! The first of my uni break, but it was barely even noticeable. With the exception of yesterday, in which I spent the entire day in bed watching The Nanny and Ru Paul's Drag Race. Life ain't all bad!
This week's Aussie Curves challenge was leather. It was also the first time in a long time that I wasn't hanging out with Sam to do photos, and it was not nearly as much fun. Sam, my love, come back to me!
(Note: Sam and I aren't really a couple, and he did not leave me. Just yet.)
It's kind of hard to tell in some of these photos, but these are the snazzy wet look leggings from 17 Sundays.  I wanted these so much after I saw them at the CCR and they really haven't disappointed. They are quite firm, and not quite as elastic-y as traditional leggings, but I expected that based on the looks of them. My favourite thing about them is that they are worn quite high-waisted, which is a big plus for me in terms of comfort factor.

This was my first purchase from 17 Sundays, and it was such a good one. The ladies there are so damn lovely, and really super passionate about PS fashion and the industry in general. <3 <3

Top: City Chic

I often feel a bit self conscious about my booty - I wish I had more of it.

But these leggings make me feel pretty damn bootylicious. 

They cling in all the right places.

This jacket is from Target years and years ago, and is actually an everyday item of mine.

I wear it when I ride my scooter.

This is said scooter, her name is Black Betty II - also known as "Thief Repellent"

because her predecessor was stolen last year. Jerks.

Also - heaps better photo of the leggings.

I gave my Dr Martens a makeover this week!

Leather stripper and leather paint from the shoe repair man - total cost $15.

Please pretend i'm not in my driveway, i'm just being totally badass.

Wanna ride?

It was so epically cool to meet some Aussie Curves ladies at Tess Munster's Meet & Greet this week! It was such a fun night, and seriously - the room was just PACKED with amazing babes in phenomenal outfits. Filled my heart with joy and love. 

Thanks to those of you who stuck around to see my band, Zombie Scooter Club. We wrote a song called What Would Tess Do, and although I forgot to ask someone to film it, I think the lady herself did! I'ma see if I can get a copy, cos I think anyone who is a hardcore fangirl will totally be able to relate ;)

Photo courtesy of an amazing babe I met that night, Catalina Colie.You should follow her on instagam HERE