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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

glitterati



[ :: Faith21 top :: gifted SimplyBe sequin jacket :: gifted Torrid skinnies :: MaxStudio flats :: Isabella Fiore bag :: ]

Another piece sent to me by SimplyBe, and I am in LOVE. The sequins lay nicely on the fabric, which means the jacket isn't crunchy. It instead drapes very nicely and has lots of movement. You can honestly tell the second you pick up this jacket that it's great quality. It's also deceptively warm--I put this on after I had gotten home from work for some nighttime fun and was amazed by how toasty I got. Granted, it was still in the low 80's at night, but hey, I couldn't wait to take it out for a test drive! :D I'll definitely be using this a TON over the holidays! And for work...and play...and to go grocery shopping...

Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic

Top Ten: Fall Loves



I'm usually the one loathing the change of season from Summer to Fall (goodbye, warm toasty beach sand :(...and the tan that comes with it) but this blistering Southern California heat is making me crave Fall more than usual. 

Here are my top 10 reasons to love Fall:

  1. Crisp Fall mornings that make you want to bury yourself in blankets
  2. The return of Pumpkin Spice lattes.
  3. Cashmere scarves long enough to wrap around 4 times.
  4. Fall boots in every height, color, and texture.
  5. Nighttime beach bonfires with lots of blankets and marshmallows.
  6. Getting together with friends and family for the holidays.
  7. Putting cinnamon in e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
  8. Leather jackets.
  9. Being able to wear jeans or tights without that hot clingy feeling.
  10. Pie! Pumpkin...apple...pecan...chocolate (yes, I love chocolate pie).

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Louboutin Barbie shoes

The Louboutin shoes for Barbie finally arrived. The first photo shows the contents of the set: 9 pairs of shoes, 9 shoe boxes, 9 shoe pouches with print, and a stack of silk paper. As you can see in this picture, also the insides of the shoes are painted, which is unusual. The outer soles have the signature red of Louboutin shoes.


My favorite pair is the red one. It is also one of the two pairs that fit Silkstone Barbies as you can see in the picture.

The blue pair also fits Silkstones and is almost as nice as the red.

The rest of the shoes only fit regular Barbies. Here they are shown on a Fashionistas Barbie. I didn't even bother to try the shoes on my Hollywood Royalty Lana Turner doll, as her feet are wider than Silkstone Barbie's. As you can see from some of the thinner heels, these shoes are made of fairly soft plastic. That means bending heels, but otherwise the shoes seem more durable than the ones made of harder plastic.

The black pair with ribbons is my third favorite.


The ankle straps of the shoes have an opening to get the shoes on the doll's feet. I'm not sure which Barbie these were designed for, but the straps won't go all the way around Fashionista's ankles.


The straps of the pink shoes are closed, but it was fairly easy to get the shoes on the doll's feet. When I saw the first photos of the set, I didn't think much of these, but they are actually quite nice.

The upmost strap of these shoes is open on the back and the opening leaves a huge gap.

The opening in this pair is similar to what is used in boots and looks much nicer than the way the black pair was made.

Monday, September 27, 2010

FFFWeek(end)™ Update: DESIGNERS!


If you're anything like me, the part of Full Figured Fashion Week(end) you're looking forward to most is the Finale Runway Event! :) I was so excited when I saw the list of designers, which are:


Faith21+
SONSI (also the Title Sponsor!)
Sealed with a Kiss
Kiyonna
Igigi by Yuliya Raquel
Hips and Curves
DKNY Collection for Lane Bryant
Chan.nel Karama
Jill Alexander Designers
Plush Boutique
Sassi Rebel Clothing
Fashion to Figure Stores



More specifically, I'm incredibly excited to see what new designs Chan.nel Karama has up her sleeves, since her last show blew everyone away at FFFWeek in NY! :) I'm also thrilled to see that Hips and Curves will be showing--it's definitely going to be a hottt show! haha :)

If you haven't purchased your tickets yet, you can do so here! Let me know if you're coming--I'd love to meet you! :)

Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Making the left shoe

I haven't yet found the optimal doll foot for making shoes. A close one would be the Monster High doll foot in American Model size. I have also sometimes thought how easy it would be to just make one shoe, instead of having to make a pair of shoes that need to be mirror images of each other. I was thinking that especially with the recent cardboard experiments. So, I decided to take a slightly different point of view on making shoes. I am going to try to make some as purely sculptures and make just the left shoe.

For that, I still need a foot last, so I bought some air-dry modeling clay and made a last that will be good enough. The most important part is the arch of the foot for forming the shoe sole.


Another good thing about this sculptural approach is that I won't need to think about how to get the shoe on and off the foot once it is finished. All I need is to remember to take it off the foot last before adding any parts that would prevent me from doing that.

I think this is going to be fun.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Real shoes

I saw these one time as I was window shopping. Wouldn't mind having them myself, if only I could use them. Now I just took out my phone and snapped a photo.


I've been thinking of making similar doll shoes. It shouldn't be too hard, although bending six identical figures from metal wire could be a challenge.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

drapery-ness







[ :: Faith21 dress :: gifted Simply Be draped PU jacket :: Jessica Simpson heels :: Isabella Fiore bag :: ]

I was so excited to come home from Viva Fat Vegas to a big package from Simply Be USA! They were generous to send me a bunch of items for review--I think they're fabulous and will be revealing them over the course of the week, so stay tuned! :) This draped jacket is definitely one of my new favorites! I love that it's so easy-going, and can be dressed up or down. I can't wait to wear it with a slouchy top and jeans tucked into boots! :D

This dress is one that I picked up with the Viva Fat Vegas ladies on our last day! We went to the Forever21 in Fashion Show Mall (supposedly the largest F21 ever??) and totally ravaged the Faith21 section. So amazing! :D I was immediately drawn to the abstract/random/warpedness of the print. It kinda reminds me of the old school snake game I used to have on my cell phone. :P

Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic

Sizes to Fit Dress Giveaway!

Hi loves! Giveaway time! :)

The lovely people at Sizes to Fit were generous enough to gift the Viva Fat Vegas bloggers with dresses. I chose the Two-Tone Satin Dress--it's a gorgeous cream and navy satin dress, perfect for the upcoming holiday season! :) I'd pair this with a gorgeous jeweled statement necklace, a fun clutch, and some super chic stilettos.


Size: 3X (Junior fit, best suits a size 16!)

To enter:
Simply be a follower of CurvyGirlChic, and comment with your name & email address! :)

*One entry per person, please!*
*This giveaway will run for a week (until September 30th) and is open to international readers. :)*

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Welcome to Vegas, Baby.


I can't believe how quickly this past weekend went. I met the most amazing/sweetest/funniest/snarkiest bloggers, and had such a blast! I can't wait until FFFWeek hits so I can see them again! :)

Our first night there we had drinks at Peppermill, courtesy of Figuresque. It was a great way to meet and get to know everyone, which totally didn't take long since we all stalk follow each others blogs! :D We had also received some awesome swag bags filled with goodies from Torrid, Sonsi, Jibri, Plush Boutique, B&Lu, Pambras, and Sizes to Fit. (THANK YOU!) We all had such a blast going through our swag bags--it was like Christmas morning in a house full of bloggers! :D
[ :: swaaaaag :: shoddy photo from iPhone, sorry! :: ]
[ :: the ever-adorable Jazamillion and Dannika of FashionPlus3! :: ]


[ :: Micaela of FashionPlus3, Monique of Curves and Chaos,  and Veronica of CidStyleFile, pre-Peppermill! :: ]
[ :: We finally got to meet! :D :: ]
[ :: Snarky BFD, holding up her new Sizes to Fit dress! :: ]

[ :: Sam of Stiletto Lipstik, Dannika, Beth of Pretty in Plus, and Sarah of Return to Sender! :: ]


More updates later on! :D

Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Monster High doll shoes with cardboard soles

These shoes for a Monster High doll are a variation of the Barbie shoes I made earlier. The pattern for these can be found on my web site.

The main difference is that I finished the outer sole structure first. The first picture shows the untreated cardboard structure.


Then I painted the soles, except for the bottom, which does not need paint as it will be covered with leather.

Then I made insoles from two layers of cardboard, attached the straps to them, glued the outer sole and insole pieces together to form a finished shoe, and glued the leather outer soles in place.


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Barbie shoes from Mattel

Here are a couple of particularly nice pairs of shoes from Mattel's Barbie fashion sets.

First, ankle boots, if you can call these boots. The doll wearing them is a Fashionistas Barbie and these do not fit Silkstones.



These came with Barbie fashion worn by the Alvin Ailey Barbie in the next picture.


The next pair came in a set of three outfits. The doll here is a Silkstone Barbie and the shoes fit very well.


The set these came in is shown in the next picture. The picture is small, but you can see the dresses well enough to recognize the package, if you come across it. The other pair of shoes in the package is also very nice.


Of the dresses, the blue one fits also Fashion Royalty dolls well.

Update: The set seems to be available in Amazon: Barbie Fashion Doll Clothes - A Night out on the Town!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Viva Fat Vegas!




Viva Fat Vegas in 1.5 days! :) I feel so behind--all the other bloggers have been packing and prepping and shopping and fancy-ing themselves up in preparation for Viva Fat Vegas. I on the other hand, have managed fall totally behind--I have NO idea what I'm wearing, and just tonight, made a quick run to Torrid and H&M to do some last minute shopping! :D 

Anyway, I can't wait to meet the other lovely bloggers and hang out in Vegas! Sarah and Stiletto planned a ton of awesome events so we're going to be buuuuusy. You can check out details here!

Yours,  Etc.
CurvyGirlChic


Fashion Doll Shoe keychain

I made a keychain using a photo of a doll shoe. The round design of the keychain meant that I had to use just one shoe, at least for this particular design. I may make more of these, if I manage to take photos that I'm happy with. Click the picture to go to the item's page at Zazzle.

Monday, September 13, 2010

FFFWeek(end)™ LA




Hi lovelies! :D


As NYFW chugs along, we in the Plus Size Fashion Community can start gearing up for FFFWeek(end)™ in LA! :D Sponsored by Sonsi, this 3 day long event will be packed with events! I'm most looking forward to the Silent Auction benefiting the LA Komen for aCure Foundation, the State of the Curvy Community discussion, and of course, the Finale show and Masquerade Afterparty! :D


Thursday, October 28
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Full Figured Fashion Week(end)™ Opening Reception and Silent Auction Fundraiser

Friday, October 29

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: The Voluptuous Woman Company, Inc® presents “The PLUS Side of Business” 
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: New and Aspiring Models Panel Discussion/Seminar
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: The State of the Curvy Community - A Panel Discussion
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Designer Trunk Sale and Shopping Event (I'm going to be ALL OVER THIS!)

Saturday, October 30

Semi Formal Finale Runway Event (Plaza Pavilion)
5:30 - 6:30 PM: VIP Red Carpet Arrivals and Cocktail Reception (by invitation only)
6:00 PM: Doors Open for General Admission Arrivals
7:00 PM: Runway Show Begins
10:00 PM: Masquerade After Party (The X Bar at the Hyatt Regency)


I'll be attending as part of the Curvy Collective (yay!) so will be keeping you lovely readers in the loop about FFFWeek(end)™ goings-ons regularly. I'm sure Twitter will soon be flooded with FFFWeek news--you can follow along with me at @CurvyGirlChic or checking out the #sonsifffweek hashtag! :)


Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic

Lasting a shoe by hand

I found a series of very informative videos that show the lasting of handmade shoes. I would never do something like this in miniature scale, but knowing how real shoes are made does help in developing techniques for making doll shoes. There are three videos, about 24 minutes in total.





Sunday, September 12, 2010

picturesque










[ :: Faith21 top :: Nordies tank :: AE shorts :: Asos backpack :: ]
[ :: H&M bracelet :: Urban Outfitters earrings :: Aldo boots :: ]

Took these photos yesterday while showing the bf around my area. I love that this place is a coastal but desert, and forest-y wherever the state deems it worthy of proper irrigation.

Love my recently purchased Asos backpack. It's all sorts of soft and slouchy goodness, perfectly worn-in, right out of the box. Still holding onto the last few days I can survive without a jacket--though I think the days of shorts are quickly coming to a close...I had goosebumps by the time 5pm hit, so I won't go into detail about how ridiculous this ensemble was for a late night date with the man. Let's just say, I practically had to defrost my legs.

Anyone else holding onto Summer?

Yours, Etc.
CurvyGirlChic