Saturday, April 30, 2011

Free Domestic Shipping

Attn: All Blogspot readers,

Thank you so much for reading!

Receive free domestic shipping (in Australia) when you use the codeword "BLOGSPOT" at my Etsy store.

Click HERE to visit my store.

Sincerely,

Missing James by Marissa

Friday, April 29, 2011

The newest corset by Missing James is now FINISHED! This one was easy peasy - I must be getting good at this! The whole corset is made out of a gorgeous baby blue satin with a white lace panels down the front bordered by blue lace trim to emphasize the line of the body. Blue ruffles adorn the top and blue fringe adorns the bottom. It looks great when dancing! The fringe goes crazy! Sequins and beads add a little shine to the garment - perfect for a presence onstage.

Knickers to match will be made soon, however this garment won't be listed onto Etsy until I finish the photoshoot.

Photo by agentdeclan photography

P.S. The Lovely Lauren LaRouge wore a dress I designed for her last year to The Peel on Wednesday. She looked stunning in it! And it helped with publicity big time! Thanks, darling.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Blue Fringe Corset

Another corset down! This one is my favourite, I think. A gorgeous baby blue satin with lace panels down the front and lace trim emphasizing the lines of the corset. Adorning the top are blue ruffles with baby blue rosettes, and the bottom has a stunning fringe! It does up at the front with satin ribbon. I've also "blinged" the front of the corset with sequins and beads so it has a wee bit of a sparke in true burlesque form. To compliment this piece for "my line" will be a pair of fringe undies and gloves. Eek, how exciting!

I wore this baby to The Peel (a burlesque show for burlesque "virgin" performers) and it was a show stopper. Photos of the finished corset should be up on Facebook soon. The MC also wore my gorgeous World Dress I made for The Schelling Point last year. I got a great shout out and the publicity was unreal.

****

P.S. I found purple feathers, so I could finally finish my cover-up! I also bought some amazing patterned chiffon fabric off of Etsy this weekend - lips, bows and mosaic tiles. More cover-ups with great feather fringes are on the way!!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Inspiration

I got inspired. By Frou Frou, by Hopeless Lingerie, and by many more inspirations found through internet searches and books. I've designed the basis of a line - not just bits and pieces thrown together. There's a photoshoot concept (even an idea for a location) and 10 "looks" to pull off. About half of them are based on work currently finished - like the apricot corset, tie dye corset, la vie en rose corset, circus burlesque costume, mermaid corset and the cover-up. More cover-ups and corsets have been designed along with bloomers, undies, dresses, play suits and even a tutu. It'll be set in a plain room (a studio) with an antique chair, a white bird cage and an antique picture frame with the Missing James postcard in it.

Frou Frou Fashionista

The mother and daughter team that make up the Mademoiselles Frou Frou post all of the best lingerie photoshoots up on their beautiful blog, Frou Frou Fashionista, and even sell half of the stuff on their online luxury lingerie boutique Faire Frou Frou. It's amazing! So inspiring! I've gotten quite a few ideas for my line going through her archives. Cover ups and undie designs. Check it out!

http://froufroufashionista.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 24, 2011

DIY: Nipple Tassels

I thought I'd share my knowledge today and post some instructions on how to make your own nipple pasties. It's a bit of a "cat out of the bag" seeing as I'm also selling this babies in my Etsy store. But if you're cheap like me, you can probably get a result very similar to mine by making your own.

Step 1: Get all you materials together. You'll need some craft foam (choose a colour that either matches or will disappear behind the sequins - black or white is best), sequin tape, 2 matching tassels, glue gun, glue, good scissors, circle template (or coffee mug), tweezers, scalpel and "thread cutters"(easier to cut in small areas).

Step 2: Draw your circle using the template. You'll want to measure your nipple (embarrasing, I know) and then draw a circle about 1 to 2 cm bigger than that. I used a coffee mug for this tassel design so they'd be a bigger design. Normally I use an architect's circle template. You can also make a heartshape template by drawing two circles touching and then make the point.

Step 3: Cut the circles out. You'll need good scissors - I actually use fabric scissors. Don't worry, the foam doesn't harm your good fabric scissors like paper does. It's soft enough.

Step 4: Cut a "piece of the pie" out of the circle. You do this so when you fold the circles together they create a cone shape that snuggly "hugs" your boobie.

Step 5: Using your glue gun, run a small bead of glue along one side of the "piece of pie".

Step 6: "Fold" together the two edges of the "pie" and hold to glue together. You will have to hold it for about a minute to keep the edges from pulling apart before the glue sets. Don't worry about glue globs - they will be hidden by the sequins.

Now you've got your nipple pasties! It's time to decorate.

Step 7: Sequin time! Start by running a bead of glue around the edge of the circle. Quickly get your sequin "tape" and start glueing it bit by bit around the circle.

Then start to "spiral" towards the center, making sure not to leave a gap between rows. Once you get to the middle and finish, use the thread cutters to get a clean cut. Take the last sequin (which will probably fall off when you cut it) and glue that separately in the middle.

Then do the other one, but be sure to spiral in the opposite direction so they mirror each other.

Step 8: Tassel Time! You'll need your tassels, a scalpel and the tweezers.

With the scalpel, cut a small slit in the point of the cone. Make sure you go right through to the other side.

Step 9: Grab hold of the end of the tassel with your tweezers, and from the sequin side inwards, push the end of the tassel through the slit you just made. Pull out your tweezers without pulling out the end of the tassel (it's a bit tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it after a few tries). Pull the tassel through so the knot of the tassel falls at the edge of the circle of the pasty.

Step 10: Using a massive dob of glue, glue down the edge of the tassel to the inside of the cone.

Step 11: Using a bit of felt, cover the glue spot to make it look pretty and it's also soft on your poor nipple.

TA DA!!!

From these simple steps you can make any shape, colour, etc!

I need a photographer

I've been waiting too damn long to get photos taken, so I'm on the hunt for a photographer who's willing to work with me ASAP on a shoot for publicity purposes. I have a handful of models, and loads of corsets/pasties/dresses in stock.

If there is any photographer in the Sydney area willing to work with me on a "portfolio" basis - please give me a buzz. Facebook, comment, whatever!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hopelesslingerie

During my morning blog walk I came across this gorgeous silk and chiffon camisole from Hopelesslingerie, and then was forwarded to the blog that accompanies the company. The designer behind the brand is a "home designer" like myself, trying to start up a small lingerie business. Her blog, Spokes 'n' Daggers, explains how to set up your own clothing business step by step. It's very informative and has given me loads of inspiration and thought. I do suggest you check it all out - her work is stunning!

One of the main blog posts that really struck me was "Presenting your product." Her photographs on the blog and on the shop website are just stunning, and really makes me think I need to step up my game. Unfortunately, I'm a bit restricted to time, money and locations. I do have photoshoots organized (like my Marie Antoinette photoshoot), but they're not to the same scale as Hopelesslingerie, and they're not frequent enough.

I'm going to continue to follow her work and use her as an inspiring figure in the "small fashion business" industry. The main difference between her work and mine is that hers is a range with stock, as mine is all one-of-a-kind work (except for the nipple tassels and pasties). I'll take some of her advice and use it - hopefully that makes my work a little more professional.

feather obsession

Because of this whole caboodal with burlesque costumes, I've now become addicted to feathers! I'm admiring them left right and center, and I'm creating excuses to use them. Every costume I design now has some sort of feather attached to it - be it a collar or a skirt, or just a wee little detail.

To top off my feather obsession, I found a DIY feather earring kit at the dollar store yesterday. I picked it up because it was only $2.50 and I had to because it was feathers. I went straight home and put them together. It was just too easy - i only had to attach the earring bit to the feather bit. They remind me of these gorgeous ear cuffs by Style Hurricane, but a cheap and lazy version.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

First Cover-up

Here's the my first cover-up made from a gorgeous designer hand died chiffon and purple feathers. Unfortunately, I ran out of feathers and then all of the stores were sold out of that purpley colour (it's a red purple, not a blue purple), so I couldn't get more. (If you find this colour, PLEASE tell me where). Which means I'm stuck looking at a half finished chiffon jacket. But in the mean time I've started to sew on some sequins for a sparkly effect to catch the light onstage. A perfect item for a burlesque act.

Prom Time

Over in North America (my home land), young high school graduates are preparing themselves for the most important night in their short lives - their Prom. I had a prom, I was actually the organizer of my Prom and I did it old school style. We decked out our school gym in large curtains, fairy lights, and a massive dance floor, with 20 tables to seat all the grade 11s and 12s. Caterers and photographers were brought in to make the night rememberable, and every girl got a white rose when she walked through the door (my touch). It was a gorgeous night, although I don't remember much. We had hidden a bottle of vodka in the girls bathroom and kept swigging it. By the time I had to make my speech I had to cut it short in hopes that I wouldn't have to stand for too long.

My prom dress was a beautiful dress from 1910 that was given to me by my Mother's best friend. It was a GORGEOUS dress, and very different. Black chiffon with a high neck, empire waist line, a slit down the back and a fish tail. I had to wear nipple covers because it was see-through. Ooh, scandalous! My favourite bit of the dress was the fishtail, but by the end of the night my steel heeled stilletos had made a nice gash through the hem. Darnit! Easy fish, though - it was through the seam.

I was so particular about having this event be a TRUE PROM that I even held a fashion show a few months before hand to inform girls what was "formal attire" and what was "semi-formal attire". It always bugged me that girls wore semi-formal dresses to their formal! They're too different things! Boys dress differently, why don't girls! arg...

So here I go again, informing y'all what a perfect prom dress should be. My idea of the perfect prom dress are those gorgeous 1960s full skirted dresses. They're classic, beautiful and incredibly flattering on any shape. There is an amazing store on Etsy that sells the most perfect examples of these dresses called VintageVortex. Please check it out - the skirts on those babies are the biggest I've ever seen!!! I love them and wish I had a reason to buy one and wear it.

Vintage 1950's 50s Strapless PINK Embroidered Tulle Lace Party Prom Wedding DRESS

Image from Listing:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63940307/vintage-1950s-50s-strapless-pink

Monday, April 18, 2011

girls with leopard print coats always get rides in cool cars

I can't wait for winter, as I can't wait to bring out my leopard coat again! Every girl needs a leopard print coat. This gorgeous version from Wheels & Doll Baby has made me jealous. But I really have no reason to be, as I bought this stunning vintage number last year! Remember? I wore it all across Canada this Christmas, and everyone was jealous of it! I got so many compliments. It was a miraculous find for only $50! Leopard coats, because they are rare and incredibly in style (and sought after), normally go for an unexplainable amount of money! But I got an amazing deal off of ebay.

Image from Doll Baby Girls

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhsijjlHyA1qhna51o1_400.jpg

Scrimpton Couture Sale: Judy and Jane Aldrige

One of my favourite blogs is Sea of Shoes, and that's because this girl has the most AMAZING vintage designer wardrobe. So it's unreal that some of her collection is up for sale at Shrimpton Couture. Not like I can afford it, but at least some of the items can be inspiring, and I can dream about them. Here are some of my favourite items that were/are for sale. Some were snapped up quickly, and I can't blame anybody.

1970s Tiger Print & Feather Chiffon Dress

1990s Moschino Couture Venice Jacket

1980s Studded Shoulder Thierry Mugler

Spring 2009 RTW Gold Foil Prada Runway

1970s Bill Blass Feather & Silk Dress

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Robes, Dressing Gowns and Cover-ups

I've started sewing my first cover up - a gorgeous silk tie dye number with feather cuffs and collar. I've been thinking of a few other items to make and include in my Etsy store, and what better item than a beautiful burlesque number to cover everything up!

Below are a few ideas I have in mind. Some very vintage, some almost on the verge of porn-star-esque, but all incredibly classy. Of course because they're for burlesque costumes there will be a lot more sparkle and pizazz.