sakura

When I first received these gorgeous sakura (cherry blossoms in Japanese) printed leggings from the always generous Shop Market HQ, I had soo many different ideas about how to wear them! I had a myriad of images swirling around in my mind and in the end, I couldn't stick to one look but extracted bits and pieces from each style. Here is the process I went through to achieve my final look:

One idea was the retro, pin-up look of the 40s and 50s, with big doll-like eyes encased by thick heavy black eyeliner with winged tips, and sultry red lips. As I've probably mentioned before on my blog my makeup skills are pretty shocking, so I only incorporated black winged eyeliner and toned down the brightness of the lips. Plus a defining feature of the whole retro glam 50s babe look is a voluptuous figure with enviable curves bursting out here and there, which is impossible on my frame and I didn't have the proper outfit to suit it anyway.

Because I was wearing leggings and most likely a long top I wanted to create proportional balance with a short, rather than long jacket. In my opinion there's something about the cropped fit and elastic waistband of this light blue denim jacket that reminds me so much of the 80s. I've never watched the clip but as soon as I wear this jacket, a mental radio switches on in my head and plays the 80s hit "Borderline" by Madonna over and over. 

And after slipping on the jacket I felt like I needed to match it with my matching light blue usamimi headband with silver star studs on it. Please don't question me on how bunny ears factor into the fashion timeline. A layered, chiffon white top then added a romantic, feminine vibe.

In the end, I'm really not quite sure I can say what era or style I was working towards, but like I've just described, I took various elements here and there to create a mish-mash of everything I had in mind. The final result is definitely a bit out of my comfort zone, but regular readers of my blog probably know already that I love to try different looks! :)

Usamimi headband: Gmarket

Layered chiffon top: zipia.net

Denim jacket: Sportsgirl

Sakura (cherry blossom) leggings: Bam Bam, courtesy of Shop Market HQ (currently sold out)

Heels: wholesale7.net

Caught a sunset that made the sky and ground look a bit out-of-this-world! Next time we're definitely heading back here with a matching electrifying and vibrant outfit to suit the background.

Oh and some of you wonderfully observant readers have already noticed the changes to my blog layout- all credits go to my friend Wayne! The tweaking you've done has made such a huge difference in professionalism and cleanness. Thanks heaps! :)