Halloween Idea: Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Naven "Jagger Dress" ($30, was $110)
I came across this shiny pink number while browsing some of the sale merch at Revolve, and this dress gave me a costume idea for Halloween - Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

The color and shine of the Naven dress is pretty close to Michele's; it would just need a little marabou feather trim which is pretty easy to find.

I did a cursory search for a Romy dress and found this tacky number on eBay. The color is a little off, and the fit is tighter, but with a little silver fabric and crafting, it could work. If it were me, I would make the Star Trek-like arrow first. Then cut a strip for the bottom and two strips to fill in the space between the straps.

eBay dress $9.11

If anyone is seriously considering this costume idea, let me know. I can continue the search for a Romy dress, and I would love to see pictures!

Three Days of Halloween

With Halloween falling on a Wednesday this year, I had three nights to celebrate. I hate ghosts, goblins and zombies, but I love, love, love dressing up.

Every Halloween is a reminder that my wardrobe is silly and slightly ridiculous, but this year especially!  This year, I just had to pick up a few plastic bones for my first costume.  The rest was already in my collection.

Look 1: Pebbles-Inspired Cave Woman

I love textures and interesting textiles, so over the past few years, I've managed to collect quite a few shaggy, faux fur pieces.  Put them all together with some leather, unpolished accessories and bones, and ta-da, cave woman!

HILARITY!!!....

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! I just wish the weather wasn't so crazy...I'm still floored that it snowed so much in October!  Anyways, I'm not the biggest fan of Jimmy Kimmel but this video is just amazing.... enjoy!

2+2 ALWAYS equals 5.

Now Wearing...

Over the weekend I DJed a couple of parties. One was a happy hour with my Dirty Diamonds partner K!O and the other the craziest dance party ever, Crooked Disco's Holla-ween 4 with DJs Kestar and Morsy at Le Poisson Rouge.
This Halloween I didn't have much time to prepare a costume, so I had to go with something already in my closet. Believe it or not, I already had this dress in my closet and I bought it last winter because I thought it was amazing - NOT for Halloween.

My idea was to be a superhero (or something like that). I feel like I accomplished it with a caped dress, two gold wirst cuffs and red lipstick. Red and blue always makes me think of superheros and comics. Looking through the photos I did a lot of wrist-on-waist posing. I think I was trying to get into character.
I met up with Jem and the Holograms, as well as my cave woman friend Debie. Debie actually poses with her wrists on her waist quite often. So much so that we jokingly refer to it as the "Debie pose".
Debie was sweet and let me borrow her signature pose for the night.

Did you dress up for Halloween? If so, what were you? And don't be shy. Link it up!

Now Wearing…

Halloween is important to New Yorkers. Perhaps it's just another reason to party or perhaps it's the escapist fantasy aspect that allows us to escape every day life for just a brief moment. Whatever the reasons I've been having fun dressing up the last four years and I've realized that it's not always an individual costume that can make for the most fabulous of times but a group effort that amazes you with the impact.

I was lucky this year to have my amazing friends so excited to transform together with into a Jem and the Holograms childhood fantasy come to life. We actually had about all the main characters down with the exception of Pizazz and Eric Raymond.

Introducing: Kimber, Aja, Jem, Shana (of Jem and the Holograms) and Stormer and Roxy (of The Misfits)

Plus what would a band be without a trusty Manager? Rio in the House :)

This was a DIY costume that involved much Ebay shopping, a little bit of crafting and some intense eye make up. Truly, truly, truly Outrageous!

Jem Star Earrings - DIY Cardstock, colored with marker, painted with nail polish, sprinkled with glitter and glued with rhinestones
Lurex Tights - Ebay
Glitter Mic - Halloween O Store
Pink Wig - Ebay but gave myself a nice haircut
Silver Jem Belt - DIY glued pieces of Grosgrain on an obi belt, bought decorative ribbon and uncurled it with my finger nail, then taped on the ribbon using masking tape.
Silver Studded Purse - Betsey Johnson
Studded Shoes - Nine West Zola, Courtesy of Nine West
Leather Jacket - Jodi Arnold
Dress - Jones New York, hemmed much shorter

Quick Fix: Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

It's Friday night. Do you know what you're dressing as for Halloween? If you're in need of a last minute costume, here are a couple ideas.

White Trash
You'll need: a white garbage bag, tunic and leggings

I was white trash a couple years ago. I used a 13 gallon bag and cut out three holes - one for my head, two for my arms. The costume will keep you warm outside, but if you start dancing you will get super hot. So wear some real clothes underneath and make big arm holes to keep it breathable.


Stairway to Heaven/Hell:
You'll need: a angel halo or devil horns, black clothes, white masking tape

I got this one from my boss. Dress in all black, put some white tape on your sides and top it off with your headband of choice.


I've been super busy this week, so I haven't had time to make a costume. I might attempt to be a superhero of some sort with some gold cuffs, spandex leggings and my cape tee. Whatever I come up with it, it will definitely pale in comparison to the coolest Halloween costume ever...

I hope he keeps this costume forever and wears it every year for the next decade!

Drinks & Dancing: Lani Love's Friday Parties

I'm going to be spinning at a couple parties this Friday, 10/29. If you're around this weekend, come by one or both of the parties to kick off Halloween weekend!

Happy Hour at The Cove
Who: Dirty Diamonds DJs K!O and Lani Love
What: Drink specials galore! $5 Bud & whiskey shot, $5 Tecante & tequila shot, $4 wells/drafts and $3 Cove Amber pints
When: 7-10PM, Friday Oct 29th
Where: The Cove at 106 North 6th
Near the Bedford L stop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Facebook link

Halloween Dance Party at Le Poisson Rouge - say "Crooked Disco" at the door to skip the line!
Who: Crooked Disco DJs Kestar & Morsy and Lani Love
What: Dance party, costume contest, candy, and drink specials - $3 Rolling Rock Cans all night, $30 Six-pack “bottle service” + the very special “Bootsy Collins” cocktail. Come out and dance to a crazy mix of disco, electro, select hip hop & party jams!
Where: Le Poisson Rouge at 158 Bleecker Street
between Thompson and Sullivan in Greenwich Village
Facebook link

Official Lady Gaga Costumes

Lady Gaga's a savvy business lady. She's got not one, but dozens of icon looks, and now she's selling them at her official store. There are some small ticket items like sunglasses and wigs for $7-$10, but they're pretty generic and something you could easily find elsewhere.

The real noteworthy costumes are the dresses! I'm all for DIY costumes, but if you're out of time and got $50 + shipping to spare, Lady Gaga's got you covered.

Now Wearing...

Like Lani mentioned I try to use things I already have in my closet for real budget friendly Halloweening! I owned everything minus a pink shirt and red bow tie to be Billie Jean Michael Jackson, so I bought the pink shirt at Goodwill for $6 and made the bow tie with scrap fabric. Making my costume cost a grand total of $6! YAY! I meant to toss on a bit of bronzer but I ran out of time...Unfortunately that led people to believe A. it was my real hair or B. I'm the Asian version of Orphan Annie...until at least they saw my shoes :)

Pink Shirt - Brook's Brothers, via Goodwill
Red Bow Tie - DIY
Shiny Black Patent Jacket (I'm holding it) - Walter
Coated Shiny Pants - Stella McCartney
Spectator Shoes - Alexandre Herchcovitch for Melissa
Pink Socks - Uniqlo
Wig - Gift from my friend

A Jackson Sandwich

The Ultimate

Now Wearing...

My original plan for Halloween was to be a cave woman. I'd been wanting a faux fur vest/coat for awhile now, and I figured my costume would be the perfect excuse to buy one. I was unable to find an affordable piece that I was happy with, so I aborted the plan.

With some inspiration from my friend Christine, I decided to be Yoko Ono instead.


Looking at photos of Yoko Ono, I noticed a few common themes across all of her looks - sunglasses, hat, black blazer. In real life, she tends to wear smaller sunglasses on the edge of her nose, and on album covers and promotional materials, she tends to wear dramatically oversized shades. I of course opted for the bigger glasses.

with Karl Lagerfeld
In general, as much as I love Halloween, I try to buy as little as possible or at least only buy things that I will wear post-holiday. This costume was kind of perfect because the only thing I had to buy were the sunglasses; everything else came straight out of my closet.

Hat with feather ball - vintage (seriously one of my most prized possessions)
Sunglasses - $10 from Saint Mark's, pretty sure they're normally $5-7 normally, but whatever
3/4 sleeve blazer - Rampage (gem from high school, baby!)
Textured blouse - Urban Outfitters
Dress pants - Express
Flats - secondhand Matt Berson (thanks, Karen!)

with MJ & Kanye

Trick or Treat: Not just for Kids

Sure we all know that ubiquitous McQueen Skull Scarf that is everywhere and even at one point imitated by Topshop. But what about checking out other sources for your creepy fun fix?
Whether you dress up for Halloween or not, these pieces grab my attention no matter what time of year it is. Maybe it's the somewhat Gothic imagery, pieces that are not so obvious what they are, or tongue-in-cheek factor here are some of my picks that work for more than just Halloween.

Paraphernalia - Anatomica Red Heart Necklace $25

I've loved Paraphernelia ever since it first launched on Etsy, but this red heart is a great new twist on an old favourite piece.

Button Diva - Anatomy Bones and Brains 1" Pinback Buttons $6.85 on Etsy

These black and ivory illustrations of anatomy would look super fun pinned on the lapel of a jacket or tote bag.

Jessica Hicks Web Earrings $250

This is a bit more of a splurge item but there is always some sort of beauty and strength in spider webs. These web earrings would definitely make a statement with whatever they're paired with.

Giles & Brother - Hook-fastening leather bracelet $125 on Net-a-Porter
This bracelet is so simple, but the knots and the fun hardware look anything but grim.

Michelle Chang Jewelry - Baby Skull Earrings in Sterling Silver $44 on Etsy

I've admired these studs for sometime, but previously they only came in a diamond eye version. Fortunately for the more budget conscious these skulls are well within reach.

Neurotica Bat Drape Dress $135 on Pixie Market

Neurotica always has fun prints and silhouettes, this Bat Drape Dress is no exception. The bats are definitely bats up close but from a distance look almost abstract.

Get Sewing: Where the Wild Things Are

So if you are like Lani and wanting to get into the Where the Wild Things Are action and not pay Opening Ceremony prices? Don't forget about DIY:) I randomly just spotted this rather adorable craft project on Instructables.com posted by jessyratfink. If you want to get ready for a Halloween costume or movie premiere option, time to get sewing! What do you think? Yay or Nay?

Happy Halloween!

Hoping all of you had a most fabulous and fun Halloween last night!!!
Truthfully, I love any excuse to dress up, but didn't want to spend much money on a costume that I would only wear once, so I found things in my closet to transform using a little sewing power & trim!
Turtleneck - C&C California, I wrapped Eyelet trim around myself because it seemed too stark black
Satin Jumper - Erin Fetherson for Target, that I sewed polka dots & eyelet trim to the hem
Houndstooth Purse - Vintage
Gloves - Borrowed from a friend, and I sewed bows & embroidery on
Ears - Had them hanging around my house, I think they are actually meant for a pet
I also wore black leggings with bows sewn on the ankles over yellow hose and black patent Mary Janes!
Dancing Machine Costume - crafted by Lani & her co-worker
Shoes - Pour La Victoire
Don't you love Mugatu? It was hands down my favorite costume of the night!
"Obey my dog!"

Now Wearing...

Black dress - Jonathan Saunders for Target
Purple scarf - is actually a jersey sash from a dress

Yesterday my office celebrated Halloween early with some candy and a costume contest. Guess who won Most Creative? That's right, I did!


Click for more robot rock!
I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend Chris, who is going to be Kirk Lazarus, Robert Downey Jr's character in Tropic Thunder. We custom made my costume from a heavy duty cardboard, measured every dimension, cut out ergonomic arm holes and spray mounted tin foil.

Cardboard box - off the street
Aluminum foil - Duane Reade
Computer mother board - roommate's dead computer
"Dancing Machine" and energy gauge - drawn in Adobe Illustrator

Headphones - Panasonic and actually connected to the mother board
Cream fingerless gloves - Urban Outfitters
Yellow bangle - no name
Gray Fleur-de-Lis leggings - Romeo & Juliet Couture
Sneakers - Creative Recreation

Trick or Treat with a Hindwitch

Anya Hindmarch is letting you unleash your inner child. Trick or Treat on her site for your chance to win a prize including a handbag, clutch or key ring. 4 winners will be chosen at random. Contest is ongoing until November 1, 2008.

My email confirmation?

You've got a trick!

Balance a handbag on your head and walk down the street cackling like a witch.

But don't despair winners will be announced 1st November and you could still be one of them!!!