Monday, October 28, 2013

The Vaudevillians: Our Grayscale Halloween Costume.





This year for Halloween my husband and I decided to do something totally different. We are all about the scary costumes for Halloween. In fact,every year since we have been together has yielded an awesomely spooky costume. This year like many others we spent much time brainstorming ideas. Ultimately the main idea was thrown out by my husband. Grayscale film stars was the original idea. I have been intrigued by grayscale for a while so I loved the idea!!

 

I wanted to change up the idea just a little. While I love old time movies I wanted to go more in a stage performer direction. The Vaudevillians were born. I started researching grayscale costumes and didn't find that many sources. The few that I found were pretty insightful and it seems the key to correct grayscale is to have just as much gray or even more gray than black and white. If you're interested in trying a grayscale costume you might find taking a black and white photo of yourself is the perfect tool for reference. 


This is NOT a B&W photo. You can see the pinks of my eyes. I added a old time photo frame to this image that is all. 


In order to achieve a swinging grayscale look you have to be open to make-up. Any part of your body that is exposed needs to be gray. Your skin also has to be the correct shade of grey. I learned this the hard way when I bought monster grey Mehron make-up and it was much too dark. If your skin is too dark you will look like a zombie from Dawn of the Dead and not grayscale. Proving the right shade is very important. We ended up using Mehron's Liquid Make-up in White with a few drops of Monster grey. The make-up didn't hold up the best on our skin. I have dry skin and my husband has oily skin.  I wanted to use Kryolan, but it is very hard to find in Canada. The next time I will have to plan better and order it. The product I have seen suggested is Aquacolor in shade 32B.



Shading your skin will also play a big roll in a successful grayscale look. I would suggest shading with a dark gray shadow. I'll admit I'm not the best at shading. Most of the time I feel like I haven't got a clue. I need to make an effort this year to really learn how to shade my skin correctly. I took a stab at it anyway and I think it turned out alright. It could have been better. You want to make sure to shade cheeks bone's, around the hair line on your forehead, a little along the jaw and a shadow along the sides of the nose. Without the shading your face will fall flat. I also highlighted the areas that natural light would fall with white.


So let's talk wigs. I decided on black wigs for both my husband and myself. I have seen grayscale done with a grey wig and it's super fabulous. Either will work. I wanted to be able to use the wig again so opted for the black. I can't see having much use for two grey wigs. I love love love my wig. I loved it so much I used it for my last blog post. My husbands wig is just alright. I guess it is kind of hard to get a realistic man's wig, but I knew he would have a hat on so it did the job. Both of the wigs are professional quality wigs. I cannot do a costume wig. They are just so bad. I picked both wigs up for around $100 at Wig Secret.
I will totally use wig secret again. They shipped out the same day I ordered and got here super fast. 



All the props with the exception of the sign were picked up at a local costume shop. I spray painted everything  FLAT grey. You do not want to add shine to your props so make sure you get flat paint. The sign was made from a graphic I found online. I thought it was totally perfect for the Vaudevillians.


In all the think we banged out a dazzling display of heterogeneous splendor. I was very pleased with this years costumes. If you have any questions please leave me a comment below and I will do my best to answer all questions. Happy Halloween...

Stay Spooky,

Stina
xx
 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Trick or Treat Halloween Vintage Pin Up Skirt



Everything is totally vintage for Halloween 2013. I have been busy busy planning and working on my costume. For the first time in many years, I will not be going with a spooky or scary costume. Classic vintage glam is what I'm aiming for. I'm not going to reveal what my costume is , but you will know soon enough. I'm not sure if the skirt pictured above inspired my Halloween costume. There is a good chance that it was a contributing factor. I have plans to go to a costume ball this weekend and will take tons of photos so I can blog about it next week.


 I ordered this skirt about a month ago from Rebel Downtown. Janette, the owner of Rebel Downtown, is absolutely amazing. She is very active on Instagram and is always posting new fabulous fabrics. While peeping her IG page, I came across this glorious print. Halloween Pin Up Girls...Heck YES!!!!  I love me some girls, so Halloween girls equal boner! To order, I just sent Rebel Downtown an Instagram comment and worked with her to have something made. I love Rebel Downtown because for starters, the customer service is fantastic. Janette is always very accommodating in custom making sizes. Secondly, she never ups the price to have her items made plus size. Third, she gets the work done super fast and shipping is great. I totally respect this girl who started her business to save up money for her wedding. She is the bomb! Give her some love and check out her designs. She specializes in purses and make-up cases.


The top I paired with the skirt came from eShakti. I ordered this item custom sized. I pretty much always order custom when the item is made of poplin. Custom sizing is one of the perks of ordering from eShakti. You can order this item with or without the embroidery. I opted out because as cute as the hearts are, the shirt is a lot more versatile without them. I love the back of this shirt and wish I had taken a photo. Take a peep when you click on the link. Totally adds a touch of sexy. 



My legs are covered in We Love Colors. I hate that I had to wear these red leggings again. I really didn't plan too much ahead or I would have ordered a really bright yellow pair, the color of the moons. The red worked better than the other colors I currently have so I went with it. My shoes are American Eagle. I picked these shoes up probably seven years ago from Payless. I still love them. Classic black patent leather shoes are always in style. 



I finished off my Vintage Halloween Pin Up outfit with red lipstick, a blue bow and a Halloween pin up necklace. I designed the necklace with the skirt in mind. It was not very difficult to find a matching image online. In all I totally love this outfit and will wear this skirt all year long. It's too perfect to just wear for Halloween!!!


"Boos are just applause from ghosts" - Sharon Needles.

 Happy Halloween.

Stina

xx 

 


We are a collective of plus size bloggers coming together to post on the same subject. This month we each have a post on "Halloween" so check them out by clicking on each link.

 

Hell Bunny Plus Size Sweater or How I Learned To Love Spiders! 

 

Happy Halloween 

 

Halloween Costume Flashback 

 

Halloween: The Fat Girl's History 

 

I'm a Ballerina! Plus Size Halloween Costume for the Girly Girl 

 

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Hell Bunny Seth Dress and Spider Cardigan


Seth Dress and Spider Cardigan (Size 4X) from Hell Bunny

 

I'm going to make this post short and sweet. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. I did a post earlier in the week about a different dress/cardigan combo from Hell Bunny. If you are looking for details you can find it here ----> Hell Bunny 50s Bat Dress and Vampire Cardigan.
Both my Hell Bunny Halloween outfits were the same size and style. Just the patterns varied . 

All the Hell Bunny clothing in these two posts were purchased from Sweet Echo Plus. Use coupon code "TAKE10" this month to receive 10% off your order.


Spider Cameo Sweater Pins by Everyday is like Halloween

 


 

 Boots by Torrid (Size 9). Second hand and no longer available.

 

 

 Hat from Spirit Halloween Stores 2011. 

 

 

 

 If you liked this post please leave me a comment below. I love feedback. Please feel free to ask questions and make suggestions for upcoming posts. Thanks everyone for taking the time to check out my blog. Almost 7000 views in a couple short months. Woot Woot!!!

 

Stina 

xx

 


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Hell Bunny Bat 50's Dress and Vampire Cardigan



It's October and I'm so crazy excited Halloween is almost here!!! This past weekend I enjoyed pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee and a pumpkin donut. It was Thanksgiving here in Canada so I can totally justify the pumpkin overload. Pumpkin might be my second favorite thing about October. The first, being Halloween of course! With Halloween comes awesome spooky horror prints and no one does it better than Hell Bunny. I hope my readers are not totally getting sick of Hell Bunny posts because I have just a few more for this season. You will only get a break until the Spring/Summer 2014 collection comes out;) This girl can't help herself...LOVE.


Before we get into the killer fashion, I would like to take a moment to thank my husband Graham. He totally set this spooky scene and shot the photos. Best husband ever! Halloween has a special place in both of our hearts. We were married October 31st, 2009. Enough with the lovey, lovey, mushy stuff. I love him with all my guts!




This outfit is totally a tribute to vampires and the macabre. My Vampire cardigan designed by Sarah Cake for Hell Bunny was the perfect piece for this look. I don't think these photos show just how great the details on this cardigan are. There is a beautiful female vamp embroidered on the front. What is a sexy vamp without a coffin?  The bottom left of the sweater features a cross carved coffin and fluttering bats. Each sleeve has a single black bat embellishment for an extra eerie touch. I wish I had taken some photos of the sweater closed. If you're interested in seeing it closed for sizing check out my Sugar Skull Cat post. My vampire cardigan is a size 4X.


My Hell Bunny Bat 50s dress comes in sizes XS-4XL. I think it is totally amazing you can get it in such a broad range of sizes. I'm wearing a 4X in this dress. In a perfect world all clothing companies would follow Hell Bunnies lead. The 50s Bat dress is available in three color combos. They are red with black bats, black with white bats and of course black with slime green bats. I fell in love with the green. I don't wear a lot of red because I feel it's too much with my hair. I can't survive without a little my red so you will notice it's always added somewhere to my wardrobe. I almost always style with a red lip. 


Peek-A-Boo!! There's my red. I'm also a big fan of petticoats under dresses. I find that Hell Bunny carries some of the nicest. I'm wearing a petticoat in size L-XL in their regular sizing. It wasn't until this most recent collection that Hell Bunny offered petticoats bigger than that. The L-XL is tight on me. I have to wear it higher up on my waist. I've made this size work in the past, but I'm super excited to order one in their plus size. I know it will fit much better. I was not keen on the colors they released for fall. I think I will be happier with the spring summer color choices. If they release more. Fingers crossed.


My Vampire cardigan, Bat 50's dress and petticoat are all from Sweet Echo Plus. They are a Halloween promo currently running for 10% off. Use code "TAKE10" and having fun spooking...I mean shopping! 

Stina
xx

Sunday, October 13, 2013

ASOS New Look Inspire Ghost Sweater

 

This Club is a Haunted House..Love Ms. Needles



It's my favorite time of year and that means being able to find awesome Halloween themed clothing. There`s a fine line between super rad and totally lame-0. While searching ASOS two weeks ago I came across a super spooky sweater. To be honest I went back and forth on this sweater. My first instinct was to love it, but then I questioned if it was too much of a youth style. I showed it to a friend and she said it was very Quacker Factory. I had no idea even what that meant. I looked into Quacker Factory and found their clothing to be embroidered, stuffy, mature styles. This totally helped me see the asos ghost sweater was in fact super awesomely cute!

 

After wearing this outfit on the weekend to go Halloween costume shopping for my children, I can tell you I am in love. This sweater is super super soft. I hate overly thick scratchy sweaters. This one is incredibly  light yet still very warm. I ordered it in a size 24 even know I normally order a 22 from ASOS. I could have probably ordered a 20. This sweater runs very big. It`s all good I can rock an oversized sweater just the same.

 


I considered wearing this sweater with just a pair of leggings. I think it would work awesome with them. Then, I remembered I have this great black and white checkered skirt also from ASOS. I was crazy excited to finally have the right item to wear with it. The skirt is super long so I had to do the double roll around the waist. Anyone else have to occasionally roll clothing at the waist? I have a couple skirts I have to do this with. I guess I should just hem them cause at 39 I'm not getting any taller. HA! 

 

 

I finished my outfit off with one of my creations. A white Ouija planchette necklace. This is one of my best selling items at Everyday is like Halloween. If my ghosty was going to come out to play I had to summons him with the right tools. OUIJA BOARD, OUIJA BOARD!

 

Boo! I scared you. Hahahahaha


Monday, October 7, 2013

They're coming to get you Barbara OOTD






This past weekend I got the gift of zombies! My wonderful husband got us tickets for Night of the Living Dead Live. Night of the Living Dead Live is classic zombie fun. It is showing now in Toronto and runs until October 27th. NOTLDL is produced by the original crew, Romero, Russo and Streiner and is presented by the Hammertown boys of Nictophobia Films. If you are in the area I would urge you to check out this show. It's one of the best shows I have ever seen and is full of spooky campy awesomeness!


It was a no brainier that I would need to wear my Iron Fist Zombie flats. Iron Fist offers this design in many styles. I have seen creepers, flats, heels and even rubber boots. They have expanded this design into clothing and accessories. I own both a purse and wallet. I think it is totally fun. I kind of worked the outfit from the zombie shoes up.


I just recolored my hair this week so I think my brain was still grooving pink and red ombre. This groove totally took over my outfit. I didn't really even notice until I looked at the photos. I'm wearing We Love Colors tights in size E Scarlet Red. I'm totally loving the We Love Colors. I ordered seven more pair of tights this week for winter. They truly are the best fitting tights ever! I can't wait to blog all of them for you.


My dress is from Forever 21+ and is a size 4X. 4X weird right? I wish I could explain this to you. I did message F21 on their FB page to inquire if they would be carrying 4X on a regular basis. No one got back to me. BOOOO! 
The dress is super cute and I love it so much. It's a 4X, but I would'nt say it's a big 4X. It is only a little bigger than I have found their 3X. I can fit into some of the 3X dresses depending on material. I think it would be totally amazing if they started making larger sizes at F21. I think their pants stop at size 20:( 


Last the Hell Bunny cardigan. This one is called Little Kate and it's part of their Autumn/Winter collection. I'm wearing a size 4X. It has a great deal of stretch and the material is really nice. I love that this one is girly with a little touch of spooky. The hot pink stitched anchors with skulls and polka dots are so very. Each sleeve an embroidered  hot pink bow..adorb. I picked this sweater up at Sweet Echo Plus


I felt super awesome in this whole outfit and would suggest all of these pieces to buy. If you have any questions about anything please leave me a comment below and I will totally get back to you. 

Stina. xx

Friday, October 4, 2013

Hell Bunny Mika Coat in Plus Size

Hell Bunny's Mika Coat in Size 4X

 

I picked this coat up a couple weeks ago from Sweet Echo Plus. Hell Bunny put this design out last winter, but did not make it available in plus size. This season it was released to fit us plus size beauties. I thought it was totally adorable with the little bear? mouse? ears. I keep referring to it as my bear coat. My children correct me saying "I'm Minnie mouse's mother". I'll take it! It is a little Minnie mouse and it makes me happy.

 

Like usual I was a little worried about the fit of this jacket. The size chart for this item is much smaller than what my measurements are. I had a good experience when I got Hell Bunny's Mille coat so I figured I would give this one a shot. I would say this jacket fits similar. This coat might be a tiny bit smaller in the bust. This coat fits pretty good everywhere accept though my chest. I really could use a couple more inches. It does up fine, but if I put my arms back it does pull though the bust. This will not stop me from wearing the jacket. I love it too much. My bust is 52" 


This coat is exploding with cuteness!! We have the adorable ears attached to an oversize fur lined hood (ears are detachable), additional fur trim on the sleeves, pockets and along the bottom, shiny black vinyl hearts stitched beside the closures and hood strings with fuzzy pom poms. EKKKKK! AWSOME!

 

I'm super happy I picked this coat up. This coat seems to be a bit thicker then the Millie coat. It has a little bit in lining and is lined in satin. I will have to wear a cardigan under it. It gets quite cold here in Canada. I won't be able to wear it outside for a long time if I want to stay warm in the dead of winter. It will be perfect for everyday running around.



If you are interested in ordering this coat you can pick it up at Sweet Echo Plus for $110. 2X and 3X currently in stock.