FIller Outfit #11

I got my clothes ready before work and went to make a cup of tea. When I got back, Chabi had staked her territory.

Me: Chabi, beat it.
Chabi: Don't make me beat YOU, betch.

After Chabi beat me up, she let me change clothes. You see why I'm always eating painkillers now? I'm back to costumes, as you can see. I haven't really worn those tights very much because I haven't been able to figure out what to match them with. When I wore them once last year, this little kid was like, "You look like a goblin!" Which was actually true so I couldn't shush that little brat.

Anyway, I thought since my Kookai shirt was so colourful, it wouldn't be too goblin-ish to wear the tights. I'm wearing an old DKNY suede skirt with perforations, and a red braided belt from ghetto Kwai Fong mall that cost like HKD20. I'm also wearing a pair of perforated Dolly Dimples shoes. I was a bit concerned that I would end up wanting to cut my feet off at the end of the day, but the shoes weren't as uncomfortable as I'd feared despite being on my feet for about an hour and walking around for another hour. I did get some minor back pain but it was soothed away by Beefeaters. I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but I notice that when I drink gin, my pee also smells like juniper berries. When I drink sake, my pee smells like coconut. I don't think any other type of alcohol changes my pee smell.

With my coat on. It was fairly cool on this day (um...two Fridays ago by the time this entry goes up).

FIller Outfit #10

As I mentioned before, whenever I dress girly, it's really more of putting on a costume and having fun dressing up, but I feel most like the real me wearing stuff like this. I had issues with gender dysphoria when I was a kid, and even though I have supportive parents and a lot of privilege, I think I'm still a little bit confused about my gender.

Anyway, everything I'm wearing is vintage except for the garrison belt, which I got at Portobello Market. You can't see it, but "I was young, I needed the honey" is printed on it. Clever, eh? The boots are ancient Fleuvogs that I got while I was still living in Canada a hundred boys ago. I love them but they're so hard to walk in because they're so clunky. I always end up tripping over my feet.

I styled my hair to look like a little boy's who just woke up and had to rush to school. I used to have short hair for years, but I got tired of always having to get it trimmed, plus it made me look REALLY young. I mean, not to brag or anything, but I don't look my age already, and having short hair made me look like I was a university student and no one took me seriously.

It's less of a concern now that I don't have a real job, but after I grew my hair out while living in Italy, I got used to having long hair. For the longest time, I was afraid to cut Bettie Page bangs because I thought it would limit what I could do, but it's actually a lot more versatile than I expected.

Filler Outfit #9

When I got dressed today, I was thinking, "What would I wear if I were Dee Snider testifying before the US Senate?"

This is basically just a remix of stuff I've worn before, but put together slightly differently. My leopard print trousers, Moussy boots -- this time pulled up -- and my mother's Byblos jacket. I'm wearing a white wifebeater that I love so much that I hardly wear it.

Do you ever do that? I have some articles of clothing that I like so much that I'm afraid of wearing them out because I don't know how to replace them.

The funny thing is, I usually wear girly stuff, but I feel most comfortable in these kinds of outfits. I mean, when I dress girly, I enjoy it, but it feels like a costume. I feel like I got more swagger when I wear trousers and wifebeaters.

My daily makeup routine is mascara and some kind of lipgloss or lipstick. Depending on the weather, my cheeks get red, just like those healthy ruddy-cheeked farm girls in the 1960s Communist posters. However, mine are kind of red in patches (and weirdly, my left cheek is redder than my right cheek), so I sometimes also rub in some rouge to even out the redness. (I use Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink because I'm lazy and don't want to use a brush. I highly recommend it. It's buildable and stays on your face all day, even through humidity. You also don't need a lot, so the rouge lasts for months.)

Anyway, I don't usually put on eyeshadow or anything during winter because my skin feels too dry. But when summer comes, I like to slap on the eye makeup. I felt like doing smeared black eyeliner today to go with the whole hair metal-ish look.

One of the cosmetic brands I would recommend is the drugstore brand, Bourjois, which you can find at Watson's. It's cheap but really good. This is their Volume Clubbing Waterproof Eye Pencil, and it's perfect for humid weather. It doesn't run as much as other eyeliners, the colours are really intense and it feels nice. My eyelids are quite oily, and the eyeliner creases on me, but otherwise, it stays on for hours.

This is what it looks like after 5 hours. Not bad, eh?

I found out about Bourjois from Pixiwoo, and although I haven't tried anything other than the eyeliner, those girls really like the eyeshadows and mascara. I might try getting the mascara when I'm done with my current.

Filler Outfit #8

One of my gay friends told me that this is his favourite outfit of mine, and I was kind of bemused by that. I mean, obviously, I like it enough to wear it, but it's far from being a favourite.

If anything, this outfit is so...I don't know...Internet style blogger. It's the kind of outfit some chick who has an Etsy shop selling vintage clothes and twee mid-century knickknacks, a photographer boyfriend, a dog rescued from the pound, a flat that looks like it belongs in Apartment Therapy with framed prints of skinny girls and flowers, plays the guitar, and loves brunch. You know what I mean? That's all very nice, but it's just not me.

But anyway, this outfit was good for Tuesday's weather, which was a bit damp. It wasn't warm enough to wear a sleeveless shirt, but too warm for a jacket.

Ugh, my legs are so swollen here, I'd spent the entire day on my feet. Another remix of the shirt that I got at the Manique sale, the belt and tights are from H&M, and the skirt is vintage. I don't know if I'm just fat, but it keeps riding up on my butt so I don't wear it as often as I'd like.

Close up of the skirt pattern.

Filler Outfit #7

I wore this on Monday when the weather became really hot. By midday, I was tempted to just wear the slip underneath, but I was at work, so...

It's one of my lazy day outfits. The dress is an ancient Betsey Johnson, paired with an H&M belt and a really cheap pair of wedges. I think they were like HKD80 or something. They were the only size left, but they were really comfortable anyway, so I got them. I also have a pair in red (also a size too big). These are kind of my daily summer shoes because they're so comfortable and so high.

Alamak! Pardon my raggedy pedicure. I've got a fresh one now.

A closeup of the dress. It's stretchy, transparent lace with gold shimmery stuff on it. As you have probably noticed, I love glittery things.

Actually, on its own without the belt, the dress reminds me of those old Italian ladies going to church on Sunday that I used to see in Florence. I mean, they didn't wear it so body hugging, obviously, but they did love their lace and their glitter, too.

Filler Outfit #6

Another outfit with pink, leopard print and distressed elements. I'm really predictable, dudes, but it was Saturday, and the news from Japan was not making me feel like wasting too much time thinking of clothes.

I'm wearing a bunch of stuff that I've had for ages. A black Giordano tank top underneath my cobwebby Hysteric Glamour sweater and a Betsey Johnson lace skirt. Funnily enough, it's the first time I've actually combined this sweater with this skirt. See? Even after 8 or so years, you can still find new ways to wear clothes.

A rather weird angle, I know, but this is what the right side of the sweater looks like.

Filler Outfit #5

Note: As I mentioned before, almost all the entries up to mid-April are scheduled in advance, but with the continuing problems in Japan, it really makes me feel embarrassed that I'm putting up pictures of clothes when there's radiation leaks.

I don't know...I guess things will still continue as planned, but this makes me really uncomfortable.

*********

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to hate this outfit, but I gotta tell you, I really liked it.

This is the bottom half of the riding jacket that I always wear. Did I ever mention that I bought it off the designer himself? A very, very cool black dude named Tony Phillips who has a lot of business savvy. The skirt is actually a wrap and closes with Velcro so that you can get fat and still wear it. Also, you can't tell from my contorted body, but the pleats on the skirt are actually at a diagonal. Very cute. Tony has a stall in Portobello Market, and if you're in London, I urge you to go and check out his goods.

Anyway, I was still feeling that western vibe, so today's theme was 1950s Actress Playing a Schoolmarm in the Wild West. The 1950s part comes from the way I styled my hair but since I don't show my mug on this blog, you'll just have to imagine it. Well...actually, the skirt stops mid-calf, which is also quite 1950s poodle skirt-ish, I guess. I was originally planning to have a curled ponytail, too, but I ran out of time because I had to scoop Chabi's poo.

I'm wearing a Nice Claup sleeveless shirt that I've had for a hundred years. This used to be my favourite shade of green. I think I bought it mistakenly thinking that I would try to wear normal clothes for work, but in the years I've worked, I've never worn a suit or a single normal outfit, I don't think. The rest of the stuff, you all have seen before, right? Yes, that's a necklace that I made.

I thought it was kind of funny that I was wearing this and listening to Odd Future on my iPod. I'm still addicted to Tyler the Creator's latest single from his upcoming album. I've embedded the video below. I mean, I'm dressed so ladylike and yet I'm nodding my head and saying "Hell yeah!" to Tyler rapping:

And I'm Wolf, that was me who shoved a cock in your bitch
(What the fuck, man?) Fuck the fame and all the hype, G

Anyway, hope you enjoy the video!

Filler Outfit #4

A remix of a dress that I've previously posted up. I wore it a bit goth-y before, but since I'm about to start making silver collar tips like the ones cowboys wear, I was feeling something more country/western on Thursday. I guess the theme for the day was kind of 1980s Grade 6 School Dance in Calgary. I pinned my bangs away from my forehead to the side for that extra-junior look and smeared blue eyeliner on.

Except for the belt, you all have seen everything I'm wearing already. Don't you love remixing stuff and finding new ways to wear them? It's more fun to me than shopping. Also, I seem to be wearing pink a lot lately.

I got the belt from that Kwai Fong mall for like HKD25 or something. I'm planning to go back in a couple of weeks, so hopefully, I'll be able to find some nice ankle socks (I don't actually approve of wearing socks with heels, but I have to cover up the tattoos sometimes for work) and maybe even a nice, cheap outfit or two.

Filler Outfit #3

Finally, the weather got cool enough for me to wear this sweater on Wednesday. You can see that I really like asymmetrical stuff that also looks like it's falling apart. I normally don't wear a wifebeater underneath the sweater, but I had to go to work that day. Er...I fixed the sweater bulge over the belt after the picture.

The sweater is Jan & Carlos, and I bought it years and years ago at the Swank Shop when they still had good buyers. They used to have really excellent selections from Plein Sud (I'd better wear my Plein Sud dress before the weather gets too warm), but it seemed like their choices got a lot safer and more boring after a while. I don't know if that's changed recently. I haven't bought any clothes from them in years.

I'm wearing the sweater with my mom's vintage pink skirt that goes with the pink suit top that I wore previously with the brown dress. Yes, I like to match brown and pink. The waist cincher is from H&M, and I'm wearing these Dolls shoes a lot lately, it seems. You might be shocked to know that I don't have leopard print tights, something I hope to remedy soon. These are actually over-the-knee socks.

Oops, you can see my granny bra strap. I seriously need new bras.

I also wore my Helmut Lang jacket. To keep the proportions looking nice, I couldn't button the jacket up. Otherwise, I'd look like a Napoleon ice cream: strawberry, chocolate and...cement.

Yes, I know the leopard print makes me look like I have cankles.

I never showed you the heel of this shoe before. I love how cute it is. I notice a lot of shoes recently are starting to do this sort of semi-wedge heel. These shoes are so comfortable, I ended up walking for a total of 3 hours that day, and my feet didn't hurt at all.

Filler Outfit #2

The weather was kind of weird on Tuesday. We had intermittent drizzle but sunshine at noon, and then it was overcast the rest of the day and kind of chilly at night.

I had to be out all day for work, so I decided to layer up, just in case. My riding jacket -- did I ever mention that this has a matching skirt? I bought it off this independent designer in London, and the outfit was damn expensive, but considering how well made it is, and he sewed it himself, I figured it was worth it. The sleeveless hoodie is an old Cosmic Girls one, and I wore a yellow and white striped vintage shirt underneath. The plaid skirt is vintage, and it's one of the few ones that look nice with a petticoat. I unfolded my Moussy boots and wore them up.

I don't know why the colours look so washed out in the pictures.

I love how the jacket closes with a tie rather than buttons.

I took this picture to show the yellow shirt underneath. I love pairing stripes and plaid.

I don't really wear hoodies, but Little Demon got this for me. I guess you can see why.

Filler Outfit

It was 21 degrees Celcius when I wore this outfit on Monday, and I was really tired. I just wanted to be as comfortable as possible. My shoes are Beverly Feldman and super comfortable despite being so tall. I wore them to set off the gold shimmer in the fabric. It's not clear in the sunlight, but in artificial light, the dress looks amazing.

This dress was possibly one of the first outfits I ever bought when I first moved to Hong Kong all these years ago. I found it at the late, lamented Beverly Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, a rundown building that housed dozens of little shops run by independent designers and kids who just wanted to sell cool things. It was the original inspiration for Island Beverly in Causeway Bay.

But the more Beverly Centre became popular, the higher the rents got and most people moved out to Mong Kok or Rise Commercial Building. I wonder if there will be a renaissance.

This dress has an early 70s vibe to it, so I usually wear it with lots of blue eyeliner and hair parted low on the side. Now that I have Bettie Page hair, it's a little bit tougher to get an appropriate hairstyle. I really was too tired to do anything beyond an easy updo, but I think in the future, I'd do a kind of 1970s pageboy look to my fringe like so:

Taken from here

I'll put up a picture next time. The whole process involves using a hair rat and a combover.

Anyway, to return to Beverly Centre, I also got this faux-leather bag there. Both the dress and the bag were really cheap, under HKD200 each. My awkward pose is to show you the leopard print on my shoes. And for those who are wondering, the tattoo is based on a Tang Dynasty design. During that time, soldiers would have animals engraved or hammered onto their shields, hoping that they would be able to express the qualities of that animal during battle.

I liked that soldiers used the image of a tiger to represent not ferocity but honour in battle, so I took it as inspiration for a pair of tattoos.

Buttonhole

I used to live across the street from Buttonhole in Soho, and to be honest, I used to give a lasercut-side eye at the staff all the time because they would use the very narrow first floor landing of my building as a place to repair and sort out incoming stock.

Oh well, I'm not such an asshole anymore, I think. Buttonhole is famous for selling designer stuff at quite a low price. The clothing is aimed for an older market, but you'll see quite a lot of nice stuff there, as well. Would you believe that sleeveless white dress with vintage print is a Roberto Cavalli?? That dress is so me, but I decided not to get it because of that reason. I don't want to be stuck in a style rut.

Tsk! Look at this dude walking into my shot. I wanted the Other Dude to go and kick her ass (the OD is an amateur kickboxer who's recently won a fight), but the OD wasn't in the mood.

The OD bought this Alexander McQueen coat. Beautiful, isn't it? She got it for about HKD1800.

I was touched when I told the OD that I liked this Herve Leger dress, and she said to me that I was better than that.

The OD: That's so not you! Herve Leger is for rich Desperate Housewives-type women who are trying too hard to be sexy by looking like strippers.
Me: Well...that kind of sounds like me, minus the rich part.
The OD: You're just skanky, but you're not a wannabe.

Aw, I was seriously touched! But I actually would wear Herve Leger. But I think I would wear it more like a goth stripper after an eight-hour shift, with a crazy bouffant and my bondage cuffs.

Some of the things I've purchased at Buttonhole. I got this straitjacket sweater years and years ago. It was rather expensive, if I recall correctly, it was about HKD300 or so. It used to be blindingly white, but it's gone yellow with age, which I actually like. This outfit is just a casual look, with vintage plaid skirt, bondage collar and my red Michelle Mason clogs. Sorry for the awkward posing. I was perching on the table again.

Oh, I love those shoes so much! I got them at the now-gone Sistyr Moon in Central almost 10 years ago. They are terrible to walk in but so beautiful.

And I got this Manoush dress for HKD419. The price is really good, isn't it? Such a pretty dress!

I'm wearing Costume National beige slingbacks with a silver heel. These shoes are obviously a size too big for me, but they were on sale at On Pedder for only HKD150. For Costume National! I had to get them, and anyway, with gel inserts, they fit okay.

I feel like a Tord Boontje lamp in the dress.

Image taken from here

Actually, when I wear it out, I think I'll take my inspiration from Alan Moore's Swamp Thing (does anyone have a copy of the whole Alan Moore run they can lend me? I only ever read a couple of issues). I'm thinking...braids wrapped around my head, my silver crown of thorns, red eyeliner. Don't you love thematic dressing?

Taken from here

Can I just take this moment to declare how amazing I think Alan Moore is? And he supports libraries and goldsmiths!

Taken from here

Buttonhole is at 68-70 Peel Street in Soho, at least for now until the crazy rents drive them away.

ps. A little bit of Chabi for you: