Dolls Kill project

If you’re into current and quirky fashion, chances are you’ve heard of Dolls Kill.

The thing that appeals to me the most about the brand is the fact that they have dolls/muses that represent the styles they cater for. I decide on the items I put into production for my own label in a very similar way!

dollskillLinks to the dolls and their current ranges can be found here.

I was approached about selling some of my products, that had a Dolls Kill vibe, through the site so I made a board with a selection of Eustratia products for each of them.

Mercy.

Mercy

Willow.

willow

Darby.

darby

Coco.

coco

Outfits to fit each doll’s style were then selected and I created illustrations to show how they would look together.

mercy & darbywillow1coco1

I then went on to create the garments!

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After a lot of faffing around with couriers and customs the garments finally arrived and were added to the site.

Screen shot 2013-02-06 at 20.08.18 Screen shot 2013-02-06 at 22.40.00 Screen shot 2013-02-06 at 22.41.24 Screen shot 2013-02-06 at 22.41.34There is now only one outfit left on the site and hopefully they will stock a small range of Eustratia products in the near future.

I don’t usually do such “worky” posts but it’s something I’m thinking of introducing so let me know what you guys think. I would have loved to be able to read about other people’s projects while I was at uni. so I hope others will find this useful.

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Accessory moment 6.

I haven’t done one of these for ages! I knew this would happen at some point but I’m going to try and catch up by posting a few old ones as well.

What I used:

feathersno1. Rubber coin purse £6 Arcanum Accessories

2. Silicone plug about £3.50 from just about anywhere.

3. Cross plug, £6 sick plugs

4. Feather necklace £15 Richard Ayres

386616_10151351853165365_984596871_ncd50c43a4fb411e2bec722000a1f8c33_74e87495c4fb511e28ad722000a9f1498_7These are some of my favourite every-day things. I wear this feather necklace all the time but for some reason it’s just hard to get a good picture of!

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Accessory moment no.1

Knowing how to accessorise is probably more important that knowing how to dress, what you choose to accompany it could make or brake an outfit.

I think accessorising for those going for a very simple or classic look or who follow “safe” trends by the book is pretty straight forward but if you’re looking to adopt a more edgy style or experiment with more runway inspired looks getting the balance right can be hard.

Obviously I don’t expect everyone to agree with the combinations I choose but I get asked about it often enough and have decided to introduce a new, hopefully weekly, feature with everyday images of how I wear my accessories and the ones I’m most into at that particular point in time. I think it will be a fun way to keep track of my influences and also give others some new ideas to try out.

This week I’ve been wearing a lot of black chain stuff!

1. inverted cross pendant £15, Eustratia

2. rune rings. I wear this all the time and have done for the last 10 years or so. They are from a shop called past times that has now unfortunately closed down.

I know they aren’t clearly visible in that picture so:

3. Long chain earrings. I mentioned these in my previous “style update” post. They are from an upcoming range at Eustratia and retail for £8 a pair.I love them because they as so versatile I can wear them with almost everything.

4. Aesthetic contradiction logo necklace. I only made a few of these for myself and the giveaway that I did a few months ago but I have ended up wearing it quite a lot as it’s slight smaller and more abstract than the stag necklace that was my previous favourite.

5. chain drape headband. This is probably my favourite accessory of the month. I’m hoping to release it in the same range as the earrings, just waiting to get some professional pics back. I’ve had a lot of compliments when wearing it out but no one could agree on the style it evokes. A friend told me I looked like a princess from a far off galaxy which was probably the most thought out comment I received but I see it as more urban tribe than sci-fi myself.

6. Moth hairclip. This is a lot smaller than most of my regular hair accessories. I’ve been wearing a lot of headbands recent (more info in the next style update) so I need smaller hair clips to fit in next to them without my head looking overcrowded.

And to finish off, a pic of what I look like wearing said accessories!

 

Demons

I wanted to plan a shoot to better showcase some of the accessories from the Chimera collection and had an idea for a demon series. Though not totally related to the inspiration for the collection, I felt like the concept would work well with specific pieces in mind.

I had a few different ideas about what the demon would look like and a few different types of make up in mind that I thought would be appropriate for the shoot so I decided to do a series showcasing the different styles. This gave me the opportunity to try out most of my styling ideas and create a gradual light to dark effect in the images.

I shot the set with Jennifer Byron as the final part of our accessories project as I thought we needed a set with darker thematology, most of what we have previously shot has been quite light and colourful. All chainmail components were created by Richard Ayres.

With regards to the editing, I wanted to make sure it looked different to the other sets Jenni and I have collaborated on so I thought of making the characters look statue/gargoyle-like with a stone/marble-like texture. I think Jenni did a great job with the editing and the texture in the background really ads to the images.

For the last two images, I used a hair-piece that I made as part of my Halloween outfit for TG. There has been some interest in the hair piece so I’m going to include a brief tutorial for anyone who would like to make something similar. To save making this too long, I’ve decided to put it in a separate post, here.

Personally, I am most pleased with my hair for the first two looks as its an unusual look for me. I have seen similar styles in a few magazines recently and was waiting for the opportunity to try something like that for myself. The look was achived with gel and white hair spray. I have found white hair spray to be very effective at making roots look better during shoots in general.

Featured products:

First image- nutmail cuff, nutmail cross (chainmail chain), organic lace bustier.

Second image- studded cross necklace, O-harness, studded cross gloves, crystal spike pasties.

Third image- inverted cross necklace, nutmail choker, O-harness (back to front), trophy pasties (black latexlace).

Forth image- shield necklace, chimera bra, chain garter (on forehead)

All items can be purchased from www.eustratia.co.uk (If you can’t find the item you are looking for please get in touch via the order form and we will do our best to help)

Chimera: Behind the scenes

I recently found some behind the scenes shots from the chimera shoot and decided to share them as I think they show off some aspects of the garments that weren’t that evident from the final images. The majority of these were taken by Phil Nicholls and a couple by myself.

The garments featured in the shoot are available to purchase at www.eustratia.co.uk. Sale on till 22.1.12 so hurry!

I also took this opportunity to better showcase some of the accessories from the shoot with some still life images as I feel most of them didn’t stand out enough in the final images. These will be added to the online store as soon as I have some more suitable images back

Certain items from this range are already available at Birds yard in Leeds and all will be available very soon at www.eustratia.co.uk .

The will be priced as follows and can also be ordered via email to enquiries@eustratia.co.uk.

Perspex inverted cross necklace: £12.50 on black chain or £16 on thick gunmetal chain (pictured).

Latex, studded inverted cross necklace £20

Latex, studded cross hair clip £18

Latex, studded shield necklace £20

Nutmail choker £50

Nutmail cuff £38

The nutmail chocker and cuff are available in two styles, one solid and one with holes through the middle. All aspects of this item, down to the smallest links are hand-shaped! A truly beautiful item, worth every penny.