Tiny Dancer's FASHIONOSOPHY

THOSE DESIGNER ORIGINS

It's that special time of the year again when sale is on at Netaporter with lots of luscious items and some relatively tempting prices. So as I was browsing hoping to track down a bargain, I discovered those Miu Miu Purple satin T-bar sandals with gold glitter heel and panels and some huge rignestones. I stop for one second to think. Hmm..don't those rhinestones look very familiar? So those were the origins of my "Happy Feet" shoes. Still once again the high street has saved my little pockets with a refined and improved version of the 80s-disco-vibe (and not so much my taste) Miu Miu ones. God bless!

 

THE UNLUCKY EBAY PURCHASE (THAT SORT OF TURNED LUCKY)

Slam shoes and thick stack hills have totally changed my life. They somehow make legs much more slender, are far easier to walk in, and they seem to add a certain twist to an outfit. My passion for pointed stilletos has since then somehow diminished and I have never looked back. And when I spotted a certain distressed gold leather pair on ebay, I was so thrilled and determined to pay whatever spicy price just to be the lucky winner of that secondhand (but only worn-twice) pair. And when a Tiny Dancer decides to fight she gives it all, so after a wicked battle I won.

The shoes arrived about a week and a half later only to turn my enthusiasm into great disappointment. Apparently the person who sold them to me had sprayed them with gold paint, probably to hide marks or dirt. I just couldn't believe I had given all this money and paid more than their retail price plus shipping for that. After a series of messages with the seller I was given a full refund and got to keep the shoes for free as a way of an apology. That was something, and to me the most decent way to tackle the incident. So now I 've got a free pair of slams that don't really look that bad, and I have already been getting a lot of wear out of them. So maybe ebay purchases are a risk to take, but when things go wrong they sometimes turn lucky too.

Ps: The following pictures are not of the pair I won but of another similar pair I tracked down on ebay.

ANOTHER EBAY RAID

My latest ebay purchase, a lovely pair of cream bow-detailed New Look flat ballet shoes.

And hopefully my next one, a lace-detailing See by Chloe top, in a shimmery dusky pink.

COULD IT GET ANY WORSE?

I 've also set my eyes upon a lovely TopShop floral dress, again from MoonGirl Fashion Paradise, a RiverIsland silky, royal-blue top from RoxxaneChambers that I think could work really work for the layering effect, and an Urban Outfitters Tassle Shemagh indie wrap scarf from Missoni24.Now, that's too much ebay going on here!

URBAN OUTFITTING

And then there came this lovely limited edition Urban Outiffters seafoam top, from Always_SpringClean. To some, Urban Outfitters may not sound like the most orginal choice to make, but for Cyprus, well it is certainly a t-shirt in a unique design that no one else will be wearing. I actually almost bidded on it by accident, but I think I 'll be giving it some proper wear when the weather starts heating up.

BIDDING AND BIDDING

After a few months of ebay bidding I thought I 'd give it a go move on from accessories and buy  actual clothes. Thus, I bidded on two dresses from Moongirl Fashion Paradise which I won, and there came my first ebay unlucky purchase. I received the dresses that looked absolutely gorgeous, only they were a size bigger. Actually, I thought size 10 would fit fine and I also did the necessary inches - centimeters conversions, but apparently I am a size 8. Hopefully they can be made smaller, so I 'll try to get my granny to rework them.

Going back to the old and safe accessories option, I also bidded on this lovely pair of earrings from Fairy_Fanatic, which I won, but eventually there was a problem with postage so sadly I will not be getting them.

THE BIBA EXPERIENCE VOL. I

The arrival of my butterfly necklace may have infused enthusiasm into the freshly arrived New Year but what would really lift my spirit would be the arrival of this collectable BIBA poster. Coming straight from the 1970s with a gold printed Biba Logo at the top left hand corner, the poster that never saw the light of the actual shop was my triumphant purchase a few days ago, after a five-hour-long ebay digging and trawling.

BIBA may be unknown to quite a few but back in the 1970s the label was very happening. Barbara Hulanicki's (founder and designer of the label) brilliantly original, disposable cheap-and-fast-fashion-for-teenagers concept, made BIBA loved-a-plenty to the public and turned it into a whole culture and lifestyle. That was until the BIBA label closed down in 1975 following the moto "live fast, die young".

The buzz has however been building up after the label's re-launch and re-invention with designer Bella Freud (yes, she does have some famous background with her grandfather being the very famous Sigmount Freud). Freud's Biba is reemerging in a completely different context with with sky-high price tags and a designer concept behind it, something that caused intense reaction from the vintage BIBA fanbase and Hulanicki herself. 

At 25BP with a 7.50 BP for postage the poster doesn't come cheap but considering it's historical and fashion worth I would say it is a great investment and memorabilium. As for BIBA, expect a more extensive reference soon in another post, but by then you can check out the entire designer collection at Style.com.

SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED

Nemo, the little disney clown fish, expected the east australian current to get him back home. I on the other hand expected another australian current, coming straight from Sydney, to give me a different type of heart shivering.

Finally, yet not through a tsunami of waves but via the post, the lovely intercontinental surprise arrived, just a few days ago. The vintage-style, celeb-inspired butterfly necklace, my latest ebay cheap-thrill purchase, reached its destination looking even more beautiful than the online picture.

I am feeling particularly prowd of myself as have slowly been learning the tricks of the trade, or should I say the tricks of the bidding, yet after a few unlucky purchases. I am a little wary of ebay bidding as quite often things don't look the way you expected or they may look less impresive on the actual body. An ebay search can get you a plethora of results, but you need to be a tad careful on what you 'll eventually bid for.

I should also say that Kymaha's Kit, the ebay-shop where I got the necklace from, ranks highly on my ebay-preferences and I 'd definitely recommend it for those on the the lookout for unique one-off handmade jewellery.

ASOS SALE

One of the reasons I love Christmas so much is because just a couple of weeks afterwards the winter sales hit the shops. Discounts counting from 30% to 70% (especially at the end of the season) are unbeatable and a great opportunity to bag up more clothes with the same amount of money, or to get hold of that designer garment you would never have imagined buying under normal circumstances (and price tags). Until the sale period officially begins though, I will have to drool over the shop windows trying to minimize any purchases and save up for the bargain days to come. It is however tres difficile to tame a wild shopping spirit, so there was not a better timing to find out that ASOS has taken the lead, beginning the festive period with an up to 75% sale marathon! 

For those not aware of ASOS, I should make a proper introduction by saying that its name stands for As-Seen-On-Screen, which is in fact the concept behind this online shop. It is the site that does exactly what promises: gives great as-seen-on-celebrities garments just for a fragment of the price. The ASOS products are available at reasonable prices and rather than getting the highly-expensive designer versions of whatever your fave celeb is wearing you can get the ASOS alternatives without breaking the bank. Over the past year ASOS has also incorporated some lux high-street brands like Firetrap, Morgan, Rock and Republic and French connection that are more expensive but on checking out some of the sale items I must say that there are great bargains to catch.

I have already set my eyes upon a few things like this gold plated butterfly necklace reduced from 26 to 16 BP. I should resist though as I have already bought a similar one through ebay just a few days ago, and I 'm expecting it to arrive through the post one of these days. 

Among others, I quite like this woven and jersey belted top that comes in two colours, grey and cream, and is reduced from  18 to 12 BP.

This lovely French Connection tulip coat from 160 to 112 BP, also seen on Paris Hilton, is something I 'd really like to add to my wardrobe. The price has dropped considerably yet it's not on the cheap site, so maybe I 'll wait just a bit more for further reductions to say that I have grabbed a real bargain. Hope it doesn't sell out though.

I was also attracted by the glam rockabilly style of this "Red or Dead" cropped faux fur jacket with an impressive stud and chain detailing on the sleeves, reduced to 72 from 140 BP, which would look also amazing with this Rolling stones baseball style tshirt only for 22 BP dropping right from 40.

It's an odd thing I must admit that no shoes are included in this post, as I normally go shoe-crazy. What I 'd really like to get though is thefake fur leopard skin jacket, in the style of Kate Moss. At 30 BP (reduced from 50), it comes quite cheap, and is extremely fashionable, as animal print has made a great comeback this season and is a top-favourite in celebville.

SOLD OUT

Another AdoreVintage post. But how can I help it?! A little bit of the styling with a hint of Rodelle' s cute face, flirty moves and playful kitten look, gives character to the shop's clothes, makes my lust grow and inevitably makes me want them even more.

I have just checked out the new arrivals, and I have to say I' m once again stunned, especially by the dresses. New items are placed on a coming list a few days prior their availability to the shop. Since i laid my eyes on i had fallen madly in love with this black dress. Normally most items wait for a few days until a shopper grabs them. But this time, things were different. The gorgeous black dress vanished in no time.

Another favourite, also vanishing at the blink of an eye, is this babydoll mini dress from the 1960s. Despite my huge devastation, I still have my eyes on a few dresses coming soon to the shop.

(Lavender fields dress, priced from the 1970s priced at $54)

(Cordon bleu dress, circa 1970, priced at $54)

(Down 5th Avenue dress, priced at $54)

(Midnight affairs dress, from the 1980s, at $58)

And just to break the "dress code"

(Victorian pastimes top, priced at $35)

And may I just say that I love the quirky names that Rodelle selects for the dresses? Rodelle has her one stylediary page as well which you can check out.