Outfit Details:

BOW – $2 Shop

Dress – Angel Sissi

Silver bat wing top – Tempt

Two tone fishnets – Columbine

Boots – Candy

Earrings – Equip

Total outfit cost – Less than $100.

Why Les Miserables? Well I think it is the ragged skirt that I love so much.  Something about this combo as I was putting it together, made me think of a Parisian Courtesan on her day off or a well dressed revolutionary marching the streets of Paris. This skirt has had so many appearances over the last autumn winter season and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.  Depending on how I wear it I can end up feeling like The Little Match Girl, Eliza Dolittle or like today, a Can Can dancer on her way to the shops! All that fantasy in one skirt? What a great buy!

(Some of you have asked for more detail of this skirt and this cardigan before, so prepare yourself for a gratuitous amount of photos)

The hair was done using my “Chic and Simple Updo” tutorial and takes no more than 5 minutes to achieve.

The makeup look has a tutorial on the way too.  I’m a little behind on the editing but hope to get it ready for you in the next week.  It is simple and soft, but can be amped up quite easily for an evening look.

Phew.. that was a lot of photos!  Now for the details..

Outfit Details

Skirt – Boo Radley

Cardigan – Friends of Couture “Daughters of Pleasure”

Teal slip – Anthropologie

Boots – Novo “Mali”

Hair Bows – My Little Rockabilly

Bow Earrings – Equip

Purple sequin bow clip – $2 shop

The first thing that occurs to me as I started getting these photos ready to post, is that I really need to allow more time before events to take some proper outfit shots! I always end up running out of time and then taking a few hasty shots during the evening that doesn’t really capture the detail of what I wore. Oh well, at least you’ll get the gist if it.

Saturday night was Circa Nocturna, the annual catwalk showcase of alternative fashion, and a place where so many of my loves can all be found at the same time in the same room!  I had planned to wear a particular vintage Gautier dress this evening, but the weather had other ideas with very high humidity and a storm that had cars floating down the roads and roofs collapsing!  So I had to do a bit of improvisation last minute.

I’d picked up these amazing boots (yes, a post on just these by themselves is coming) earlier in the week and was dying for an opportunity to take them out on the town.  Bit in the abcense of the previously planned dress, I had no idea just what I would wear them with.  So with an hour to go before heading out the door, I grabbed a pair of neglected black pants, chopped the legs off, whipped them through the machine and knocked up a pair of shorts!

It ended up being the perfect combination to keep cool in a very hot and humid evening, as well as dance the night away at the afterparty!

It wasn’t until I saw photos of myself with the lovely Hexotica, (who makes some stunning fascinators and accessories) that we realised how much we matched. In a sea of black, black and more black, a little white goes a long way.

Outfit Details

Black satin and chiffon shirt – Cue

Black buttoned cincher – CMK

Shorts- a quick creation from an old pair of trousers!

Thigh high boots – Novo Shoes

Faux fur collar – Target children’s wear! ( yes, the secret is out)

Silver clutch – Thomas Wylde

Earrings – Diva

Fingerless gloves – Forever New

Mini Tiara – borrowed from Miss 5

I’ve been looking for a good excuse to work some lace style nails (not that I need one) and this weekend proved just the time.  So I sat down on Thursday night and spent a couple of hours coming up with these beautiful modern, gothic lolita creations and couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out!

Each one is hand painted using a cheap black and white nail varnish from a discount store, and the lace type art work is done with a nail dotting pen found at The Face Shop.  They give a fantastic degree of control and with a little imagination you can create all manner of things.  I added some simple clear diamentes and my favorite – Cameo’s – to the thumb nails!

Total LOVE!

What is your Mr wearing this winter? Not that t-shirt that came free with a case of beer I hope! Some of you already have very stylish other halves, but some of them need all the help they can get.  Mr SKM has been very patient with me as I pop him into a kilt at Christmas and smooth him into a pink poppy print shirt for work, but I’m hoping that come this winter he may take up the sartorial challenge and volunteer to shop for himself.  So when Friends of Couture told me yesterday that the launch of their Men’s Winter 2010 collection is upon us, I was one mighty pleased lass.

I’m tired of the same old, same old combos that so many of the mass brands churn out, but  the other end of the scale doesn’t fit the bill for us either as Mr SKM has never worn a suit and tie in the entire 12 years I’ve known him! So what to do? Well, I’ll be whipping him down to Friends of Couture and sizing him up for some of these chic and comfortable winter style offerings.

The Friends of Couture Men’s  2010 range is all about the relaxed Gentleman.

“Menswear is inspired by classic Gentleman’s Country Weekend styling- Crushed Tweed vests, Thick Duffles with plaid linings, Pea coats, Heavy Flannel Plaid shirts and some soft relaxed basics thrown in for after hours lounging by the fireplace- grandpa long sleeves, soft polos and  super luxe woolen cardies…”

I love that they haven’t just thought about the basics of a gentleman’s ensemble, but rather how they want to feel in the clothes. It’s relaxed, it’s comfortable, it carries a vibe of effortless chic. Mind you, the image of relaxing by the fireplace with such a smoky eyed Gentleman doesn’t hurt one bit!

Even though I’d go AOT if I wore shoes like that, I love the styling in this photo and particularly the soft frindged scarf.

..And here is the super excellent part of the news; to celebrate the launch of the Friends of Couture Men’s 2010 collection they are having a three day sale!

So head on over and pick up some swanky new threads for your man.. and while you’re there you can even grab a little something for yourself for all that effort.

Just type in ILOVEJACKETS in the coupon box for 20% off all clothing and accessories.. even women’s!

I wonder if the model is for sale?