AVANT GARDE MEETS ANARCHY IS

NOW BLACKLIST.ONSUGAR.COM **

FUCKING DO IT YOURSELF

I love Seven, but there's no way I'd spend $395 on their Radioactive Flesh studded Levi's denim vest.  Leather jackets, sure, that's a lot of work, but denim is much easier to work with.  The hardest part of this project has been finding a denim vest that I liked. I wanted one with classic styling, a simple uncropped cut, nice wash, and reasonable price.  The vest I'm using was $22, and I bought 300 studs for $9 - factor in shipping costs, and this comes to about $45.  Sure, I'd like a darker wash for more contrast between the denim and the studs, but I like this light wash, too.  Above is the Radioactive Flesh vest from Seven modeled by my friend Elizabeth (I didn't take the photo, she modeled a lot of clothing for Seven a month or so ago).  They used shorter studs and placed them closer together than I did - it definitely looks more uniform and professional than mine, but the cost is nonetheless daunting.

This leather hole punch is useful for spikes because they fasten with screws, not prongs.  Also, if you use spikes try dabbing super glue into the hole on the spike so when you screw it on it stays put.

Jeweler's pliers are more skinny than regular needle nose pliers.  They're great for small studs, but they're too flimsy for larger studs which take more force to bend.

These are the pliers I used for the vest; they're strong enough for larger studs.

So far I've used exactly ninety nine studs over the course of one to two hours.  But I'm not done yet - I still have to stud the rest of the back and the other side panel.  It's likely I will need another hundred studs to finish the back.

I also must share this:  Elizabeth modeling more Radioactive Flesh for their website.  Love love love love love.  I just got my vest in the mail today, and a moment after posting this I saw this on her facebook.  Weird coincidence.

COUTURE F/W 09

Givenchy

I loved the studded pieces, but those are all you will be looking at on blogs for the next few days (Tommy Ton already has the most deliciously detailed photos) so I thought I'd post my favorite black pieces.

Dior

Galliano is never one to pick and choose statements; this season color, embellishment, and prints were present, all with a surprisingly ladylike execution of lingerie inspired details.

The shoes, seen in black and cream satin, were detailed with garter like straps and buckles.

YOU TAKE THE JEANS

I'LL TAKE THE BOY.

Let's face it.  Shredding denim like this is not something you want to do yourself.  It never looks like you want it to, and it takes forever.  The beauty of these Stolen Girlfriends Club jeans is the layer of denim beneath the shredded top layer.  You can slip them on without worrying about stepping into a slashed piece of denim and tearing the entire leg off - tell me I'm not the only one who has done this - and even  wear them in the colder months without freezing.  And I must add, they were smart to stick with similar washes to the jeans Margiela did for S/S 08 - that icy, pale blue and an ever so slightly faded black are perfect.  Available at i dont like mondays for $289.

If not for those fab jeans, I strongly suggest browsing their site just to check out this sickeningly hot model they used.  *Click for larger image.  ::faints::

MILEY IN THE F/W

09 RODARTE BOOTS

They really downplayed them.  For one, I have no idea why they aren't crotch high on her - she isn't exactly a 6' 2" runway model.  If I recall correctly, these will not be produced for retail sales, so this isn't just a shorter, commercial remake of them.  Two, they may as well be any other pair of black over the knee boots with her posing like that - they're quite obscured.  The star of this photo is not Miley, it's the boots what were they thinking at Elle?!