Tour Time

The post this week, is early, but I have a really good reason. For about two weeks, my blog will go unupdated... I know it is awful. But think about it in this way: In about 12 hours I will be on a plane to ITALY!!!!

Okay, so maybe that isn't exactly comforting to you, but I can't decide between hiding under my bed from fear or running screaming it up and down in the hall. You don't want to ask me whether that statement is true.


We basically start off in Venice, tour down to Florence (then there's a short trip to Pisa). Finally we will reach Rome in the bottom of Italy. Head over to Bari and board a ferry. The ferry takes us over to Greece where we sing in a small town called Preveza. After that it's Athens and then home...


I'm not going for a holiday though, so you can start to feel better. I'm going on a choir tour. We'll be singing continually and there is a strenuous choir competition at the end. To top it off the choir master is crazy and our clothing is horrendous...


No now I'm completely exaggerating. He's actually quite a good guy, deep down and we all love him. The clothes could be better, but really? It's a choir tour, you're not exactly on a fashion tour (though that would be amazing) we should at least be able to be having fun. All the hot guys will be able to tell we're tourists who need a proper education and tour-guide ;P


I have packed enough food to feed a small country, all the clothes needed and still my bag has only reached 16.5kg... Feels like I'm missing something. Hope I've forgotten nothing!!!

\And that is the long and the short of it! So it wasn't exactly short... But I never do things short or quick! See you guys on the "flip-flippity-flip-side".


Peace!


PS: Expect a strange blog feature when I'm back. I will be searching for the hottest guy I can find each day and post them here after! Wish me luck.

Turn it UP!!!

Okay, so I'm not going to lie to you. I have been extremely bored this week.. So I have pretty much nothing to say... But as you know me, I have the ability to say nothing in a very huge blog post ;P

But instead of saying nothing, I decided to do another music and band feature. Today I will be gushing about three of my favourite musicians :) Included with each is my impression of them and two music videos by them, s you won't be bored (I should be classified as clinically insane...)

1. This is a band that I only recently, and to my own great embarrassment, discovered. The band Dear Reader.

What took me by storm about this band, is the simplicity of their music. Don't get me wrong, it's not some easy little piece that you can just play, it's a lot more complicated than many other songs today. But there's an absolute magical quality to Cherilyn MacNeil's (the lead singer) voice. I loved getting carried away by their music to complete magical places and hiding in the crannies of their melodies.

2. The smooth and relaxing sounds of Katie Melua.

I am rather satisfied to say that I have at least known of Katie for a while longer than my stints with the other musicians mentioned in this post. I am a huge fan of jazz and blues and love to just turn her music up and float downstream in a steady flow of rhythm and beautiful lyrics. I love the subtlety of her music, but also the amount of emotion she manages to convey. She also has the most beautiful love songs I have ever heard...

3. Finally I bring you something slightly different... I love Paramore...

Yes, it is way different than the other two musicians, but I freak out when I hear a Paramore song. I just can't help it. They are one of my favourite ways to reach a catharsis (you know, emotional discharge?), whether I'm sad, angry or happy, Paramore has a song to bop my head to and scream lyrics from the safe confines of my secluded room. They are my own sign of independence as they were my first "rock band" (I was brought up in a very strict house and this was rebellion of the MAX!). But I really love them <3

   
 PS: Did you know Paramore comes from paramour which means secret lover? (yes I know they're the "twilight band". does it look like I care?)

Wow, it seems that I'm really into the whole female vocalist thing? Or maybe that's just what I want you to believe... Either way, I love these musicians and their music and I hope you will too. Lastly, no matter what your music is, be it Gaga or Bizet (yes, he's a classic composer) TURN IT UP!!!

And that was my nothing for the week.

Peace!

Phwl Designs : Dark Carnival Cocktail

So guess what!!! It's time for the second ever Phwl Designs ever! YAY! Get your bi-weekly official original fashion design dose now!!!!!! :D

Last time I asked the readers to comment whether they think I should continue. Well, I didn't get any, but at least that means no-one disliked it enough to let me know :) Hence I have created the second post!

This time I decided on a bit more of a practical wearable dress, but still verging on wacky funky feel. The spooky, but sexy Dark Carnival Cocktail dress! This also came from a friend who said she wanted to go to a party with the dark carnival theme but had no idea what to wear. The rest is, well, modern history :)

So I must admit. I unfortunately cheated. It ended up with a much more Halloween feeling than a "dark carnival". But I'm not disappointed (or sorry) in the least. The Feathers in the mask are supposed to be the ends of peacock feathers (yes my shading is horrendous). Further the silver sequins on the black mask help to create a striking contrast. The mask on a stick reminds of a renaissance effect, another era I am in love with. Purple is one of my favourite colours and I really enjoy using it, especially for a dark, dramatic or ominous effect. The glossy black sequins on the dress were inserted to work with the sequins of the mask to add more of a carnival effect, but keep it dark and shadowy. I absolutely detest spiders, but for some reason the chest piece just screamed spiderweb at me: It's almost a netted spiderweb in front but two simple chords across the back. The jack-o'-lanterns on the bottom hem of the dress add a fun and eery effect to the dress, while contrasting with the dress itself (through the clash of orange and purple). Finally the huge, leather, belt with it's prominent buckle created a wonderful focal point to the design and also helped to give it a very definite shape.

And that would be that! The inspiration behind this spooky, wacky fun dress design :)

Peace

(due to the low amount of feedback I will again be asking you what you think and whether I should continue... Please let me know what you think)

Fashion vs Function

Ah yes, the age old debate of Fashion versus Function. Do you design something that is useful or do you design something that is aesthetically appealing (in simple words "pretty").

What inspired this question recently in me is that, due to our cold winter and short money supply (sending me to Italy for two weeks has pretty much bankrupted my parents) my mum had suggested that I wear my sweaters on alternate weeks. The thing is... One of them is totally a cool sweater and the other is an ancient fleece hoodie that should not be seen in public....

Okay so I might have exaggerated it's awesomeness,
but it's way better than...

...this. I mean, look at it!!!

She doesn't seem to get the reason for my strenuous objections to this statement.

Now back to the subject at hand. What is more important?

If you ask any girl (and these days a few guys too), they'l l tell you that function has obviously taken the back seat. Okay wait, now I'm stereotyping. Any person who cares what someone (including their own parents or partner or that one weird teacher at school... I seem to be giving all the wrong examples...) thinks of them, should answer you in that way. Probably the best example of this are the shoes we wear!

Gals you know what I mean! Heels are torturous!!! but you have your reasons.... just look at the various torture devices at my friends blog: Under the Sun http://underthesun-marli.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-woman-torture-themselves-with-high.html It makes no sense, but hey we do it.

My friends are however concerned that my designs border on crazy, something they would only wear to a huge formal event (like a red carpet event or a matric dance). The problem remains, do I live out my dreams and fantasies (brought on by an overdose of fantasy literature) through my designs, or do I design things people will actually want to wear?

Strange...

Normal?

Stranger...

Casual?

I guess it's the challenge for each designer (and consumer, YES THAT MEANS YOU!) to find their own middle ground between fashion and function... Will you opt for the more crazy, or do you prefer something normal and practical? You choose... 

What is... 

... middle ground? 

Thanks to the guys who actually read through all the girly stuff :) Peace off!

Autumn and Balthazar

So today's update is almost a double feature!!!!

Firstly I have to splurge about fashion. Right now I am nearly freezing to death. In a country of warmth and sun, a day where the temperature does not exceed 12 degrees Celsius and the wind nearly blows you away is considered extremely cold. And it's not like we had a nice period of adjustment. We don't have inbetween seasons (like autumn or spring) we have an inbetween weekend (or week if you're lucky). We hop directly from the heat into the cold. This has had an immense effect on our fashion and style. Mainly that Autumn colours are still worn to almost the beginning of spring...

 Now don't get me wrong. I love the colours of autumn. Vibrant reds and oranges, yellows that grab attention and subtle browns that underline it all beautifully. But I absolutely detest them when thrown together in a nightmare of "seasonal fashion". Can we please reconsider this awful trend? Mix the "autumns" with darker winter colours or brighter summers! Not only will you look better but also feel better!!! (it's proven, summer colours give more energy and winters bring tranquility!!!)

Now on to part 2:

Last night I received a "musical education" from a very enthusiastic friend. She introduced me to a whole range of bands, from Ashtray Electric, to System of a Down and some Creedence Clearwater Revival. She even got me to watch a Rammstein music video (I'm not a big fan of metal you see). But the band that impressed me most, was Balthazar.

This band, that can only be described as alternative, has a very unique feel to their music. I can't even explain what drew me in, but soon enough my head was nodding to the beat and my feet were tapping. No wait, now I make them sound "dancy" and "beaty". There is a lot more focus on melody and lyrics. I\ll admit, they are strange lyrics. But strange lyrics have a tendency to stir the soul.



 I hope you enjoyed the music video!

Just goes to show you never ever know enough about music...

Peace peeps!!

Phwl Designs : Elvin Queen

 Okay! hay Blog followers! it is now my wonderful privilege to bring to you the new bi-weekly feature to the phwlofthenow blog!!!!!!!!!!!!! Introducing.... Phwl Designs! (too much?)

Okay! so from now on, every second Friday, I will post one of my fashion designs and explaining the motivation and creative exasperation behind them.

So, to kick it off, I thought I'd start with one of my personal favourites. The design is called elfin queen since that''s exactly where the idea came from. This is actually a commission I did for a friend. She asked me what an elvin queen would wear and I said DESIGN CHALLENGE!

I love the whole medieval-feel to the long drop sleeve and the high collar.  Another fun part of this design was the linking motif of the netting closed off by the leaf, on both the dress and as a "veil". I also played around a bit with the concept of exposed vs. covered with the slit in the bottom, the sleeveless side and the white glove. I loved using all the green and brown in this one, especially with the two layers of the bottom half.

So that was the story behind the Elvin Queen dress!

Peace!

(ooh, I'd really like to know whatcha think and whether I should continue with this feature! so drop me a comment below :D)

I will NEVER understand...

There are some people in this life that I will just NEVER understand.

Like idiocy and stupidity (I get very irritated with those). Or those people who look horrible in a shoppingmall (did you not look in the mirror before coming?). Or doctors for that matter. You have to be insane to be able to handle everything you see every day.

But recently I have discovered a new kind of personality that I cannot understand.

Frequently when we finish school for the day, my mum can't come fetch us immediately. So we stroll to the local library. Recently we have been joined by a fourth person in this pilgrimage to the library and home (he joined our lift club). Darren*.

The other day we reached the library as usual. This is usually the best time to do homework, because I don't have a lot of time at home and there's wonderful referencing materials. So I pull out my books and quickly run through my maths and science. (okay, maybe it didn't exactly go quickly...). After finishing my homework, my favourite library activity is to forage between the rows of books for a new discovery, that I have yet to read. Finally  find a tempting specimen and grab it off the shelf, not really intending to borrow it, just to read as far as I can. I make my way to the table where I did my homework and there it hits me.

There is Darren*, sitting with his body spilling over the far too small chair. Sitting there in a room FILLED with books. Full of other worlds, full of interesting personalities, full of breathtaking adventures. A treasure chest of  literary gold. There he is, sitting smack-bang in the middle of a library. On His Stupid Ever-Present CELLPHONE!!!

I nearly fell over dead right there. Have children just not learned to read. Do they even know what they are missing. Is our world so illiterate that we would rather "txt" and "game" than pick up a good book and read the hours away?

Come on peeps! prove me wrong!!!!!!!

*name has been changed for fear that he will be persecuted by book lovers internationally.