Meet my alter-ego, Miss Nomer, a babe with that retro-vibe going on that is just SO cool and with it. She is so-named because her clothes are actually BLAND…. and yet so NOT bland. Confused? Well, that’s my default setting so join the club *grins*. I shall try to explain.
Rachel Breaker and Chave Paderborn are the designers behind BLAND, a store that is new to me (and new-ish to FashCon I believe) . Yet Chav I am aware of, as she is the creative genius behind Steamstress, the tongue-in-cheek victorian steampunk shop that brought us the fabulous Skypirate Hat. It took me a little while to work out where I knew the name from as Chav’s new venture couldn’t be more different, yet it still retains it’s subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) underlying humour.
When I visited the store and subsequently approached Chav to request some review items, she asked me what I would like. My reply could only be “all of it” – I felt like a kiddie in a candy store with so many cute, gorgeous and quirky clothes to choose between. I eventually whittled it down to a few outfits, two of which I am going to show you today. But really, you should go and look for yourselves as this is merely the tip of a very lovely iceberg.
Image 1 :: BLAND Bee Dress
I’m not sure how the retro-thing came in. BLAND is not, per se, a retro store and when I started out I certainly wasn’t aiming that way, but it just worked. The hair (by Ingenue), the funky 12 ” vinyl record bag, the Mary-Janes… if I’d had more time I’d have not felt out of place hanging out at a 60’s diner chatting up Marty McFly. Yet the bright yellow is bang-on-trend for this season and would look just as fabulous with a cropped jacket and pumps for a sexy, modern office look.
The Polkadotty Dress I fell in love with immediately. The ultra-short puffy babydoll style has echo’s of the Beatlemania era when skirts only just brushed the underside of your butt (I’ve seen pictures of my Mum – obviously I’m far to young to recall this :p), but the bold, bright polkadot’s are bring it right up to date.
Image 2 :: BLAND Polkadotty Dress
I wanted short hair for this look, and eventually went for a male wig by ETD that I’d bought in one of Elika’s fabulous sales. There are very few men’s hairs out there that don’t suit women with just a few tweaks, so don’t be shy of picking up hair bargains meant for men and giving them a try. The fabulous purple lipstick is courtesy of the Jadzia Noxious skins from The Abyss. These are one of my top two favourite skins (the other being Starley Therian’s Vogue skins at Celestial Studio’s) and come in packs with a variety of bold shiny lip colours – a set seriously worth saving up for, you will get much use out of them. Together, this edgy modern-retro look is just begging for a party to boogie-on-down at – sounds good to me!
:: What I’m Wearing ::
Image 1 ::
Skin:: The Abyss – <TheAbyss> Jadzia_Noxious_SR[1]C
Shape:: my own
Hair:: Ingenue – Ingenue ~ Bombshell ~ Natural Black
Eyelashes:: Cake – Cake – Deco lashes – Tintable
Eyes:: Random Freebie Box – Emerald (no named creator)
Manicure:: Tete a Pied (now Fleur) – TaP Reverse French Black & White nails
Dress:: BLAND – Polkadotty Dress
Shoes:: Digit Darkes - Digit Darkes’ Mary Janes-Gingham Check-black (boxed)
Belt:: Armidi – [Armidi Gisaci] Courtney Side-Tie Belt – Leather (Black)
Bag:: Digital Eyes – Digital Eyes Bag – Mote Evolver 12″ (vinyl record)
Jewellery:: Pushbutton Industries – *PBI* Legohead Set
Spectacles :: Artilleri – /artilleri/ gladys glasses *yellow*
Image 2 ::
Skin:: The Abyss – <TheAbyss> Jadzia_Noxious_SR[2]B
Shape:: my own
Hair:: ETD – ETD Brian – Blonde
Eyelashes:: Cake – Cake – Flutter lashes – Tintable
Eyes:: Random Freebie Box – Emerald
Manicure:: Skin Within – [SW] Vixen Manicure
Dress:: BLAND – Bee Dress
Shoes:: Shiny Things - (Shiny Things) Lulu pumps – pearl/black
Jewellery:: Carnaby Street – Mod Disc Earrings & Bracelet (Colorable)
Seen In World :: Yes
Review Copies :: BLAND dresses
Friends List :: No
