Filigree bat witch hat

Wearing my new bat embroidered witchy hat

I was at Michael’s during the pre-Halloween period and saw a piece of home decor with a filigree-style bat on it. The home accessory itself was nothing I wanted to buy, (For the most part I’m only buying things that have some kind of “use” beyond just being cool.) but I really liked the bat design, so decided to reference it to create my own filigree style bat.

I took a photo of the item from Michael’s (Unfortunately no longer on their website to credit) and went into Adobe Illustrator to try to come up with my own design referencing it. Mine is obviously not the same… but I still really like the final result.

Cauldron update

An updated cauldron that really fits my aesthetic better!

Probably the last home dec post for a while, but this is a super quick post about something else I recently finished and wanted to blog about.

Hot pink PVC hobble skirt

Lightweight hot pink PVC hobble skirt

After making so many different Courtesy Masks, I finally got the time to clean up my sewing space a little, and that really pushed me to finish up some of the “UFO”s (Unfinished Objects) in my sewing room, including this pink PVC hobble skirt.

Corset class – The masculine side of corsetry

Grommets for lacing with nylon cord

One question I’ve been asked that there doesn’t seem to be a lot (or perhaps just enough) information on is corsetry for men.  I have found that these inquiries generally fall into four  different categories:

• Men looking to change their figure to a more curvy, hourglass (stereotypical feminine) figure (either for cross-dressing, female illusionists, or female impersonation performances).
• Men looking to wear corsets but maintain a fairly straight or v-shaped (stereotypical masculine) silhouette.  (Taming that pot-belly for instance, or supporting their backs.)
• Men looking for the fashionable aspect of corsets. (Popular amongst  goth, emo, steampunk, cyberpunk, or fetish sub-culture fashions.)
• Men who enjoy the restrained feeling of being in a corset – like bondage you can wear under your clothes.

This, to me, comes down to two different styles of corsets – one that tries to imitate a desired ‘feminine’ figure for the male dresser; one with curves, and one that tries to enforce a more straight or v-shaped ‘masculine’ figure.  Those looking for fashion or restraint may go either way, depending on their own figure, their interests, and indeed, their own self-confidence!

Shoe makeover

Heel of the embellished shoe

While up in Edmonton in March I popped into a shoe store, and of course found a super-cute pair of shoes… but a bit too expensive. A bunch of other shoes were on sale, and I asked the clerk just in case…. and they were on sale too! Sold!

Of course, as cute as they were, I thought they were still begging for a bit of an upgrade…