Anna Frozen Costume

 

So I realised that I haven't really shared a lot of costume related posts on here and I want to include it more. I spent three years at university learning the skills to create costumes and learning how to fit them to peoples bodies. I love clothes as it's obvious on here and to be able to use them to showcase a certain character fascinates me. Yes I'm a nerd when it comes to costumes.

 

I'm currently working part time in a supermarket and trying to find freelance work as a costume maker. Oh and job searching for full time work (failing miserably). My latest project was making a costume for a lady for a kids entertainer. I made a replica of the Anna Frozen costume.

 

 

The costume consists of a bodice, blouse, skirt and cape. It was a really challenging costume to make but I felt so proud when I had finished it. Obviously there are things I'm not happy with as I'm a bit of perfectionist. The bodice was the trickiest part by far. I chose to make it out of a stretch black velvet so it had a lot of give. At first I sewed it up at the back but quickly realised this wasn't practical so the back had to have fasteners down the back. I had some velvet and poppers lying around so had to make do with those. All the motifs on the front and back were machine embroidered freehand using my sewing machine, I love doing free machine embroidery. I did the front panel twice as the first time I did the embroidery was way too small. The most painful part was the ribbon around the edges, I need to do them better but I tired my best.

The blouse was actually relatively simple to make, I've had quite a few attempts at making shirts so this process was pretty quick. Again the pattern around the collar, cuffs and at the front was machine embroidery. The fabric frayed a lot so I had to finish it with a zig-zag stitching along the seams.

The cape and skirt took the most amount of time. All of the pattern on the cape was hand painted and took me hours and hours to do. I was so proud when finished, I painted over 4 metres of fabric. And finding the fur trim for the collar was challenging but managed to get a similar lilac shade. I also painted the pattern on the skirt and the purple at the bottom.

This is hopefully just the beginning of making more costumes in the future. Please do let me know what you think, I always want feedback.

I Finally Caved

 There's always that one thing that you want to get your hands on but costs quite a bit of money. I'm a bit of a nightmare to go shopping with. I'm so selective on what I buy as I come from a family that don't necessarily have tons of money. So my dad has installed the 'want it but do you need it' mentality into my brain. Well after Christmas I thought you know what Katie treat yourself, buy that sodding make up product you've wanted for months. I finally caved and made a cheeky make up purchase cause I bloody well deserve it.

Charlotte Tilbury is a brand I've heard so much about. The lady knows exactly what she's talking about and every time I go on the website I am amazed with how pretty every product looks. And there was one product I've wanted ever since first seeing it in some form of YouTube video, The Filmstar Bronze & Glow. Contouring and highlighting are two things I've wanted to perfect and I feel like this is the perfect start. Obviously I bought the shade light to medium for my pale pale skin. I actually haven't been that excited to receive a parcel as when this arrived. The packaging is an amazing metallic rose gold, a colour I have anew appreciation for. I've only had it for a few days but I am already falling in love with it. The contouring is so buildable and not that awkward orange colour that so many appear to be on my skin tone. I'm no where near master at contouring but I am seeing cheekbones starting to emerge which is a good sign right? The highlight is gorgeous and my face just looks so much more healthy with it.

If you're on the hunt for a face product that's on more of a pricey side then go for this bad boy.
Do I regret parting ways with my money, hell no. Do I see this being the start of wanting more Charlotte Tilbury products? No brainer, yes!

Time for a new start

Well here we are, another year has come and gone we're somehow now in 2016. I reached probably the darkest place I've been in a while at the end of 2015 (I've spoke about it in my last post so I won't dwell too much on it again..). I don't really like the bullshit new year new me that's bombarded all over Facebook, Twitter, basically every social media platform. But this year I am sort of joining the hype. I don't need a new year for me to change, it just so happens that new year has come at a point where I do need to make some changes.

Breaking up from my first relationship has knocked my confidence hugely. I worried before that there was no one out there who would ever want me.To finally find someone and then for that to just drastically stop after a month has just made me doubt a lot of things. I guess I've just dwelled on why I couldn't make another human being happy. But hey ho as I keep getting told plenty more fish in the sea and all that.
My weight has fluctuated over the last year and its making me so unhappy. Well I'm changing that, I have to so I can hopefully start to feel good about myself again. I've firmly established I will never 100% love myself as that's not how my mind works. But if I can increase the self confidence only slightly I'll feel a whole lot better. But I think mainly I just need to stop, dare I say giving a fuck what people think. I've learnt that you'll never please everyone and there will be people that simply don't like you.

Everyone has a different story. Mine took a negative twist currently, but I plan to create some happy memories in 2016. I hope to thrive upon new opportunities which I hope involve a full time job that gets me out of the retail hell I'm currently stuck in. I want to travel more, I need that thing what's it called.. oh yeah a holiday! I haven't been on holiday in years so to get away would be simply amazing and it's going to happen. Also to get what is an actual social life and go on more nights out, I don't even know what a night out is anymore.

Let's see what the next 365 days has in store for us then shall we :)

My Current Favourite Dress

 

 

Dress- New Look

Jacket- George at Asda

Shoes- Topshop

Fedora- Asos

Rings- Empty Casket and random market stall

Bag- New Look

 

Hoorah an outfit post, it's been way too long. I'm trying to incorporate more dresses into my life again as I'm living in jeans as always. Now everyone knows I am a tartan and shirt lover so when I saw this dress I fell in love. It's loose and a decent length, I just hate a dress that just rides up. Plus its made up of a lovely dark shades of blues and reds. I feel really fashionable when wearing it and it's so easy to just put on add a leather jacket and you're ready to go.

My newest purchase is my navy blue fedora, the hats I'm loving are getting bigger and bigger. At first I was a bit scared to wear just caused its really wide brimmed, but I absolutely love it. Plus navy is a classic. The witch ring is an absolute gem, from my favourites at Empty Casket it just adds a hint of my personality without being over the top.

 

And my shoes, showing my love for burgundy, seriously I am obsessed at the moment. They fit in perfectly with the reds on the dress. I bought these thick soled brogues from Topshop as they reminded me of the Dr Marten brogues that I would love to get my hands on but a fraction of the price. Plus it makes a nice change from the mountain of black shoes I own. They are really well made, not the comfiest but I need to break them in a bit more. My small bag is something I always reach for. I call it my gig bag as its perfect for taking in London, its has a zip and folds over so there is no way my belongings are going anywhere out of my site.

I really like this outfit and think its perfect for the Autumn/Winter weather we're experiencing. It makes me feel girly, stylish and a bit grungy, so everything I like then.
Apologies about the bin in the background, not the best thing to look at. Honestly annoyed me so much when editing these. Well I'm off to work for the afternoon, the retail world is getting so busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas, help me!!

Boutique Candy by Next

 

 

After having a pretty stressful couple of weeks with juggling so many things at once, I felt like it was time to do a bit of retail therapy with my mum! So on my payday I hit the shops and well may have spent a little bit of money (I think it's what girls do best). 
Perfume is something I always ask for as a gift but don't really buy for myself I have no idea why. I mean I am obsessed with perfume as knowing I smell nice gives me a boost of confidence, is that weird??... Meh but some of them are just so expensive and I don't want to wear something that cost me more the my weekly food shop. But I got to a point where I had no perfume left what so ever.

Whilst shopping in Next the mother and I came across their Boutique fragrance range and decided to have a sniffing session (sounds dodgy but couldn't think of what else to call it). And I really liked a lot of them. There were three in the range and immediately I knew which one I wanted. Plus with only one box of the scent I wanted left, it was sign that I had to have it in my life.
I went for Boutique Candy. As soon as I sprayed this on my wrist I fell in love and it just had to be mine. The description of fruity and floral sums it up perfectly. It's sweet but not overpowering and it's just really refreshing to wear. And for the price of £6.50 you can't go wrong. Hello stocking filler fro Christmas.
The packaging I really like as well. The bottle is small and dainty. Now with a name like Candy, pink would somehow be involved but I think it they have kept it from looking like a tacky perfume aimed at young girls by added the hints of rose gold.

I couldn't rave enough about these scents, so perfect for a present. A beautiful scent at a beautiful price. You can't  go wrong really. I'm actually considering buying another bottle already...

Fall/Autumn Wedding Inspiration

Recently I came across The Black Tux, a tuxedo rental company, and decided to come up with some inspiration for an Autumn/Fall wedding.

Being my favourite season by far I jumped at the chance as if I were to get married I would want it to be around this time so I felt it'd be interesting to see which direction I would take it. I'm a long way off from getting married but it's fun to think about it and what I would like. Come on girls we all think about it a little bit...

I think my choices are kind of obvious but the leaves really are the main inspiration for this beautiful time period.  I picture a very rustic and warm feel to it, even with the terrible weather we experience in England. Plus I live with a very busy lifestyle of travelling to London a lot so I think it would be nice to escape to a more chilled rustic atmosphere for the day then the suburban hell we face most days.

The Holden Outfit

 

I had to start with what the bride and groom would wear as it's the main focal point. I don't know what it is about a navy suit but I just fall in love with them constantly. I picked the Holden Outfit from Black Tux as I think it just looks very polished with the hint of edginess I love. The rich navy with black accents and crisp white shirt. Match made in heaven! The perfect thing about this is you can rent the whole outfit from Black Tux including the details like the shoes and cufflinks you literally don't have to worry about buying the extras.

 

 

Now for the bride immediately I thought about lace and sleeves. They're are both things I've always envisioned myself wearing but for Autumn particularly in England I just think you need a sleeve for practicality as it will be freezing. It also fits with the gothic Victorian lace trend that being seen in many high street stores. This dress is just gorgeous!

 

Burgundy, Oxblood, Berry whatever you want to call it seems to be everywhere and in particular featured a lot this year. Therefore it was the obvious colour scheme choice for me as I am lusting after anything in this shade currently. It's such a rich and sophisticated colour and just adds that vampy edge to everything. They are all traits I like to portray in my style choices and I would definitely want them shown on a wedding day. Plus I think it is a shade that suits all skin tones so would be perfect for bridesmaids. I think the key with this colour is to keep everything else pretty simple seen with floral arrangements this colour is the focal point keep everything else neutral like with the boquet above.

Check out the Black Tux website here

All images sourced from Pinterest unless stated otherwise

An Instagram Update

 

 

@katielmales

 

 

Instagram pretty much shows my life so thought I'd share with you some of the snaps taken during October :)

 

1. Check out my pumpkin carving skills... Yeah not that great eh. I always leave it till the day of Halloween and I of course did this again. Fyi a couple of parents of trick or treaters said my pumpkin design was their favourite, just saying.

 

2. Best film ever was watched multiple times, if you haven't seen it. No I just can't... The boyfriend hasn't seen it before this will be changed soon!

 

3. Last Friday consisted of Camden, alcoholic beverages and seeing Nothing But Thieves. I urge you if you're looking for an album to buy, please buy theirs its so damn good! My 4th time seeing them this year and I just can't explain the love I have for their music.

 

4. I bought a new fedora from Asos, it's even bigger and I love it!

 

5. The selfie where I look like the female version of James Bay

 

6 & 7. Costumes I've been working on from a voluntary project I'm currently involved with. They are actual originals from the 18th and 19th century. Simply beautiful

 

8.Always catching trains to London, lately have been experiencing the early morning rush hour. It's um not fun. I actually nearly fell asleep standing up on a train last week...



 

I miss writing on here, I really do! But do you ever feel like you've just hit a brick wall and literally have no idea which direction you want take something in next?? Yeah that's how I feel currently. I have all these amazing ideas of what I want to do on here but need to be realistic in how I can achieve them.

Hope everyone had an amazing October and Halloween!! :)