aestheticcontradiction

Dark unicorn

For a while now I’ve wanted to step away from the classic theme of the white unicorn, with its purity and rainbows and give it a bit of attitude. I thought that this was quite an obvious thought process for someone creative with a dark edge and unicorns seem to be everywhere at the moment so I was surprised by the lack of relevant images online when I decided to do some research.

This was ultimately good news as it meant there wasn’t much I had to tick off the list due to someone else having done it before. I still wanted it to be quite an abstract interpretation of the unicorn as opposed to a full on pony costume with a horn and as always I couldn’t decide on just one way to style it so I portrayed it in 3 facets. Pretty unicorn, warrior unicorn and queen unicorn.

I thought these were all likely characters for the dark unicorn to take on and Jamie Mahon did a great job bringing them to life and create the right atmosphere. I also borrowed some beautiful taxidermy accessories from Sophie Adamson to complete the looks. The wardrobe/styling was provided by Eustratia and the chainmail by Richard Ayres, as usual.

We also took the opportunity to shoot some other bits on the same day but I’ve decided to include them in a different post.

I wore a revised version of this outfit to Torture garden for Halloween and added ears to the headband which I thought looked much better.

For those of you who are unicorn fans, the selection of unicorn themed items on my site is growing! Grad yourself something at www.eustratia.co.uk

aestheticcontradiction

Accessory moment no.2

I know I’m way overdue with this so I’m going to try and post a second accessory moment at some point this week. I haven’t totally mastered fitting my blogging schedule around my other deadlines yet but I think I’m getting better.

Last weeks accessories were all about the spikes. I needed them to toughen up my otherwise girly and “safe” outfit.

1. Spike headband. I’m sure you’ve seen these all over the place by now but I decided I kind of wanted one so I DIYed it, It was very easy. I used a strip of leather but you could use whatever you want really, I just made some holes along it and stuck some spikes in. Then I bought a plastic hair band from my local fabric store and super glued the leather around it.

2. I’ve been getting really into statement earrings at the moment. Haven’t ever really worn hoops before but I love these spiked ones. I’m sure I could find some quirky boutique that sells similar for £30 but these are just off ebay for £6. The same shop also had some other nice ones which I had to buy while I was finding the link for you guys.

3. Chrome stretchy spike bracelet. This was bought for me a gift and is from NO:WEAR in Camden market but I’ve also seen them around online. I have a black variant which I wear more often but this one is also fun sometimes.

I’ve just noticed that the earrings look like they shine different colours in the light!

I also changed some of my body jewellery this week and found that Body jewellery shop is a great site to get blackline and internally threaded stuff.

aestheticcontradiction

Iphone case top picks

Since getting my iphone I’ve constantly been on the lookout for cool cases and as I’ve heard a few people asking for recommendations recently, I thought I’d share some of my finds.

I’ve gone more for design that functionality with these as there are other blog posts that are probably better suited to that.

1. Malady Charlotina “Serpent” from izozzi.com $34.95

2. Black and white damask £29.20 from www.zazzle.co.uk

3. Arnsdorf SS11 crystal pattern by RoandCo

4. Victorian bride £29.95 www.zazzle.co.uk

5. Steampunk cogs and gears printer nylon case $75.00 C Westbrook design on etsy.

6. Blue country toile £26.50 from www.zazzle.co.uk

7. Totally non-fuctional but awesome Omniscient Siri case by SaGa design. $90.00 on etsy

8. Victorian anatomy skull case £24.95 www.zazzle.co.uk

9. Galaxy case £25.60 www.zazzle.co.uk

10. Vintage butterfly £24.95 www.zazzle.co.uk

11. Studded case €16.00 by Crision on etsy.

12. Steampunk doll £22.75 www.zazzle.co.uk

13. Stripey fluer de lis case £22.75 www.zazzle.co.uk14. 3d Baroque inspired case $80.00 SaGa design on etsy.

15. Speck geometric case £29.99 via www.switched.com

16. Dragonfly case £28.10 www.zazzle.co.uk

17. Casetargam case- decorate a case using your pictures from instagram $34.95 www.casetagram.com and for a limited time only they offer free international shipping.

18. Cameo case £28.10 www.zazzle.co.uk

19. Studded cross case $12.99 by studsrevolution on etsy.

20. Octopus case £26.70 www.zazzle.co.uk

I’ve included a variety of themes that I’m interested in so hopefully there will be something for everyone who might read this blog :). I’m also toying with the idea of having some cases made featuring my own art or custom decorating plain ones with some of my perspex designs…

 

aestheticcontradiction

Summery style

The recent rumors of a two week heat wave and general nice weather have started me thinking about a slightly more summery wardrobe update. Here are my top picks from the highstreet.

1. Zip front drop back dress £45, miss selfridge. This one is probably my favourite, I can think of places I could wear this.

2. crown vest £35, illustrated people at Topshop. You can never have enough vests and if the print is good, it’s a bonus!

3. Feather cape necklace £40, Topshop. I like a bit of tribal style for the summer, maybe it’s not quite hot enough for this yet but one can dream! I imagine wearing it to a beach party so I’ll probably have to wait till my holiday.

4. multistrap bra top £18, miss selfridge. Perfect for when it’s too hot for a real bra.

5. Stripe hotpants £35 Moto at Topshop. Practicals and pastel.

6. embroidered hem shorts £18, River island. Comfy and interesting, best summer shorts I’ve seen so far.

7. skull de jouy thoas dress £195, All Saints. Everyone needs an elegantly messy dress in their wardrobe.

8. Polkadot burnout crop £7, miss selfridge. Practical and interesting, at that price who can argue?

9.Lilac crepe midi skirt £34, miss selfridge. I love lilac but seldom find any clothes that I like in that colour so I probably have to have this.

10. Cross tights £8.50, Topshop. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to wear sheet tights in the evening!

11. sequin knicker £12, miss selfridge. I was imagining this being worn with the tights for a night out.

12. 90s shorts £28, motel at Topshop. I’m not sure if I would prefer these to be slightly lower waisted but I love the thick stripes.

13. Inverted cross plug, £10 for UK custom plugs. Very simple but I haven’t seem plugs like this before and they definitely work.

14. Underground triple-sole Wulfrun creepers. Not the most summery shoe but I’ve been looking for some casual platforms for ages and this I’m probably going to have to just give up and get these. I’ve never been a big fan of creepers, to be honest in most cases I find them ugly but these have exactly the right platform and I can probably customise the parts I don’t like :).

aestheticcontradiction

Style update: Long earrings

Since starting to stretch my lobes 4 or 5 years ago I hadn’t really been interested in “conventional” earring types. This may have had something to with the fact that I’m allergic to a lot of the cheaper ones and can’t wear them for long periods of time. When I was younger, I always had to find real gold or silver ones. As I got more piercings and moved over to body jewellery I found that I was fine as surgical steel and titanium don’t irritate my ears.

I recently realised that as I already have permanent body jewellery in the holes that doesn’t irritate me, it’s fine to put other “fashion” earrings through the same hole for effect. After experimenting with a few different types I decided long earring really complement my current style. I love them so I decided to share a few of my favourites with you guys.

1. Feather earrings

These were the first ones I got so the feathers are a bit battered now but I thought they lasted quite well. They are from Topshop and cost £18. They weren’t on the website but might still be available in store. If not there are loads of similar ones around, though I must admit I haven’t seen any I like as much.

2. Spike earrings

As you can see these aren’t both the same. They were custom made for me by Cloe from Life’s big canvas at Bird’s yard and I couldn’t decide which one I like best so I got one of each to try them out. I think asymmetrical earrings can look really cool and I’m glad I got them like this but matching pairs are also available. At £9.00 they are very reasonably priced, just like the rest of the life’s big canvas ever-growing jewellery collection. I find something new and interesting every time I go into that shop!

3. Long multichain earringsThese are pretty simple but also something I’ve wanted for a while. They go with almost everything and are a great compliment to other earrings. I made them myself and it was really easy, all you need it the earring hook, a jump ring and an assortment of chains in different lengths. For those who are too lazy to DIY there are available to purchase for £8.00 and will also be added to my site soon.

4. Bird claw earrings

These are definitely my new favourites and were custom made for me by the lovely Sophie Adamson. I’ve wanted some earrings like this for a while but couldn’t find anything like them. Obviously people sell the straight bird feet ones but I always thought they looked a bit naff so when I heard Sophie had some pheasants in the freezer (yes, they are real) I had to commission a pair. I only gave her a description and a really crude sketch to go by and she did a really amazing job. I would definitely recommend her for taxidermy accessories commissions.

Here are some pictures of what they look like on: