The Superhero In You

After seeing The Dark Knight this weekend (and drooling endlessly over Maggie Gyllenhall's wardrobe), I've been back on my "superheroesareSOtotallycoolandIKNOWIhavemutantabilities" kick.

Then Fate got a hold of this and introduced me to Etsy seller Esta Sketch, who makes the most delightful superhero inspired art prints.

In a series titled, "My Secret Identity," Estasketch says her images depict

ordinary people who fancy themselves as a little out-of-the-ordinary. Their secret powers can range from always getting a bus first try during rush-hour, being the Pictionary champion of the family to being able to type at 92wpm without ever having taken a typing course. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it makes them feel 'super', and it's something they wear on their sleeves (chest, arms and back) with pride.

All of her pieces are created from old comic books: those with missing or torn pages, sans covers, or are otherwise destroyed. I love the way she layers various comic pages together to create color variation, depth, and pattern on each of the pieces.



What I find even better about the pieces is the super steal that Estasketch has them priced at: $35-60 each.

Etsy Designer: Catherinette Rings

It's been a long time since I have been able to carefully and casually peruse Etsy for fine & fabulous wearings.

And today I was hit like a load of bricks-- brightly colored, shiny, bricks that make me regress to an infantile "Ohhh Shiny!" state.

It could be that I'm already in a color coma from the fabulous and fantastically pink cardigan I'm wearing (with white space-dyed striped tank & starburst necklace); instead of putting away dishes, doing dishes, cooking, etc., I'm dying to share & show off the amazing 12 pages of candy coated jewelry that Catherinette Rings designs.



And maybe candy coated sugary goodness isn't your thing. She's got amazing steampunk inspired pieces as well!

Best of all, her pieces range from $18-24, so it's easy to stock up on the many gorgeous colors frequenting her shop to mix & match with your wardrobe.

Etsy Designer: Liza Rietz

If I had a cool $250 to buy myself an amazing birthday present for my 25th birthday (obviously $10 per year I was born, grandparent style), I would be heading over to this shop.

I'm lustful and desperately wanting the gorgeous gowns and garments from Liza Rietz's. Many moons ago, I discovered her site by finding the beautiful and stylish cloche hats she makes.

Since that time, she has updated her shop to include gorgeous dresses, tops, and vests, available in custom-sizing. I love how she takes classically styled gowns, and adds a modern twist on them, creating a beautiful, architectural garment.

If money were no object, I'd be picking up, without a doubt these two pieces:



These two pieces would be flattering on any body shape; I love the defined waist band (which is great on Apple figures like myself!) and classic A-line skirt coupled with the ruffled accent pieces. The neutral coloring further defines the amazing and standout nature of the dress.

She has lots of cozy knit gowns and tops as well, that look so yummy but oh so cozy, too.

The Pricing Conundrum: A Balancing Act

As an individual, as an artist/designer/craftster, and as an independent businessman or woman, how do you determine a fair pricing system? Both to yourself and to your potential buyers? Does an aesthetic of under- and overpricing create a successful brand & image, or are there sellers who just simply overpricing and underpricing their products?

As a buyer and hopeful seller, it is amazing to see the marketplace that has developed for independent & small businesses. With the launch of sites like Etsy, artists are no longer confined to selling to locals, but they can reach a global audience.

While I love that I can order a custom made bag from France (and still affordably, despite the exchange rate!), lately I have found myself questioning the cost of products from independent makers, especially given the context of how much work, intent, skill, and cost went in to making the final product.

Being active in the corsetry communities and having a bff/sister who designs & sells her own clothing line, I'm well aware of the standard pay-per-hour of many designers. I'm knowledgeable of the costs per production and bear in mind a considerable (or reasonable?) amount for mark-up. But what do you say, what do you do, as a buyer, or seller, to see someone under-cutting or over-pricing the process?


Which of these items do you think is the better bargain?

As a buyer, I tend not to complain as much if someone is underpricing their merchandise; in fact, there's good money to bet in saying that most of us probably don't. But what do you think or say when you see someone overpricing their merchandise-- particularly over someone with far greater skill, style, and abilities?

Am I wrong, as a shopper, lover of fashion, to be offended to see a seller misrepresenting their items? To sell an article of clothing as a "corset" when it is clearly a corseted style top; does it add more insult to injury to see that "corset" marked at $275, which is more than some esteemed corsetieres charge for their work? Or how about the cocktail hat trend-- there are many milliner's who create gorgeous pieces of head art and price those in the $100-150 range; is it an insult to their finely honed craft so see another designer buy hat bases, cover them in fabrics & ribbons, and charge $200+ for them?

Are we simply fools for the marketplace, willing to pay an exorbitant price for a good because the price tag suggests luxury over skill and craft? Is there a happy medium for independent designers, or should we create a marketplace cost and adhere to it?

I'm not sure that I have my own definitive answer. However, in the meantime, I'll continue to support the artists who recognize a realistic and sustainable cost & earnings system that is based on skill, material costs, affordable living, and most importantly, buyer accessibility.

Topsy Turvy!

When I find a new milliner on Etsy, who creates beautiful, bold, pieces, I get really, really excited. But I get even more excited when I can see historical reference in them, but they're modernized and made for extraordinary wear.

Enter Topsy Turvy Designs: they have have had an account on Etsy since July, but have escaped every search I've done for hats, cocktail hats, fascinators, peacocks, and the like. How could a designer like this keep themselves so well hidden?

Topsy Turvy Designs are luscious and decadent. This Civil War/Victorian Riding Hat has bold, contrasting colors, delicious fabrics (velvet, feathers, and jacquard!). It's the perfect hat to wear while horseback riding through the woods, cape billowing behind you.

Another piece I love is this peacock brooch/fascinator. When an accessory can play double duties, it becomes instantly more attractive. This piece can be a feisty hair piece for a romping burlesque show or can be a bit of flair on a simple dress at a black-tie affair.

Cocks and Tails, and how do they fit in hats?

Do you ever have a designer you love, that you've bookmarked the heck out of, that you're keeping your eye on those one or two special items, praying and hoping that no one buys them before you? And maybe, just maybe, if you're a blogger, you don't write about them JUST YET, because that may increase the chances of someone buying that coveted and desired item?

Well, Tricia from Bits and Bobbins recently ousted one of those designers. I was trying VERY hard not to post about them here or on Miss Malaprop, despite peeking at my favorite items at least once a day.

That being said, I'm glad to see amongst the fashion blogs that cocktail hats and other hats are beginning to make a comeback. I've loved wearing fascinators and frilly hats as costume and club pieces for years, and would love to incorporate them more in to other aspects of my wardrobe. Designer Boring Sidney is one of those fashion designers whose pieces I can see myself adopting in to my wardrobe. Her designs are classic in structure, calling to an earlier part of the century, while utilizing fabrics and adornments to make them modern and chic (or cheeky). I think her Dorcas Wensell hat is an ode to architecture and color. The piece reminds me of the abstract sculptures that adorn the Indiana University campus.

Now that I've divulged one of my favorite shops, you'll have to be crazy to think you'll get an answer out of me as to which two I intend on buying.

Corsets and Crinolines

In a typical fashion, I find myself coveting another (new) corset. My current two are a couple inches smaller than I'd like them to be, which makes perfect sense in my own mind as to why I should by new ones!

If money were no object, I'd buy this beautiful corset by Etsy Designer Gifling. The corset looks as thought it were made for me: the carnivalesque ruffles along the bottom, the original artwork that has been printed on to glove leather, and it's even my size! Sadly, at $680, I doubt that I'll be able to afford it any time soon.


While I save up my hard earned pennies, I may invest in one of Louise Black's corsets. They're amazingly affordable for the work that goes in to them, and share the same style of front art design that Gifling's Carnival corset does. I'm particularly fond of her new Peacock design, which I think would look amazing customized with red velvet and the cream/burgundy striped cotton. Louise Black has added several beautiful new designs to her corset shop, and they're the perfect opportunity to experience a custom-made corset at an out-of-this-world price!

Decadence

There is something about decadent clothing, similar to these turn-of-the-century-spats, that I find myself coveting lately. The dark eyes, the bold lips, and barely flushed cheeks, highlighted by tight curls, unraveling brocades, crushed velvets, and antique trims, it leaves my head spinning and reeling like I've just smoked one too many cloves.

There are two designers on Etsy whose clothes I covet and pine for more than almost anything lately: Louise Black and Boudior Queen. Both designers create one-of-a-kind pieces that are whimsical, dramatic, luxurious, and sinful.

This dress by Louise Black, her Silk Rose Tea Party dress, is a site to behold. I imagine it in a 19th century high-end home, with heavy velvet draperies, women with hair so big to heavens (only for it to hold all of their idle, malicious whispers). Perhaps the woman who wears it is muttered to be a harlot; she's youthful, lively, likely to change social dynamics and interactions with a mere flick of her wrist. She's a Party Girl Vigee-Lebrun, who has a tongue of foreign tongues and wits to harm a man.

Meanwhile, in a silver turban and Boudior Queen's Innocent Claudia dress, we have the coquette small stage star, drinking of the green faerie, trolling around with vagabond artists and petty lords. Her dress begs of men and women to whisk her to their boudior, rolling in beds of silk dupionis and incensed tobacco smokes. She'd set her most tempestuous lover's poems of love and intensity on fire after a heated and devastatingly dramatic quarrel.

Both gowns are for women who storm the room in a flurry of passion and energy, to captivate their audience with coy glances and carnal knowings, but tease the viewer with an unanticipated modesty and class.

Fashion for Fabulous Young Ladies

I recently set my awesome 14 year old niece up with an Etsy account; I figured it would be a good way to buy her birthday and Christmas presents she'd like, while encouraging her to support independent artists and designers (while nurturing her sense of individual style and fashion). And look out! It seems the girl is a mini-Miss Mischief, bringing attention to designers I could have only wished to have found myself!



One of my favorite designers she found is French designer Mathieu Missiaen's shop therage, based out of Toronto. Missiaen takes vintage shoes (customized by your choice of size, heel height and color) and creates beautiful street-art and graffiti inspired works on the shoes. He designs them with oil-based paints and then varnishes them to ensure long-lasting design. My niece is fond of the design Pick Me! (pink, featured on top), while good old Aunty Mischief much prefers Off the Air (pink, featured on bottom).

Another great designer my niece picked out is bag-maker Tinkerbelle ; Tinkerbelle's bags are brightly colored, vibrantly patterned, and pleasantly sized for younger bodies. Her favorite pic was this red flowers shoulder bag made with Marimekko fabric. The design is great for a young lady who may need to carry around house keys, a lip gloss or two, and maybe a couple of notebooks.

While my niece may be hard-pressed to find her aunt buying her heels before her 16th birthday (the year I promised her a pair), I love to see that she's inheriting my sense of style ;)