Tag: fashion blog

How To: Do-it-Yourself Multi Glitter Flats

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Glitter is not the enemy, as the “Send Glitter to Your Enemies” movement would have you think. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When used properly, glitter is the perfect companion. It can add color to a drab and dull outfit, or it can be the sparkling centerpiece on a gorgeous star-studded outfit.

For example – I wear my glitter shoes to work with a matching Katiebowhead glitter bow bracelet to match, because it dresses up my casual conservative dresses and skirts. I also wear my glitter shoes to formal events like my friends’ graduation parties, because it adds to the overall pizzazz of my outfit.

This summer, I set out to make myself a pair of glitter shoes, and after I perfected my technique, I used it to make a second pair of shoes, a glitter hat hair piece, and two glitter frames.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to apply glitter to a pair of flats to make the perfect sparkling flats – but this methodology can be applied to any type of shoe and to many other surfaces, such as fabric, paper, cardboard and more.

Glitter Shoes

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Featured Small Business: Bow Bracelets, Glitter and More by Katiebowhead

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Today’s post is more than a review of a product; it’s a shout out to a small fashion and accessories boutique that’s more of a kinship between customers and the owner, Kaitlin Kendall of Florida, than it is a company.

I found Katiebowhead a little over a year ago through a contest that was being hosted by my favorite tulle skirt shop, Space 46 Boutique. Space 46 asked readers to list and tag their favorite shops on Instagram for a chance to win a skirt. I was browsing through people’s responses in hopes of finding a new place to shop – and I found a brand that I would ultimately fall in love with.

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HairExtensionLove’s Hidden Halo Extensions: A Review of Miracle Wire Hair

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Recently, I reviewed my Lord & Cliff hidden halo extensions in a post. I think miracle wire hair extensions, also known as halo, hidden halo, and hidden crown, are my favorite type of extensions. I’m a former user of clip-in’s, and I have to say–I can already tell I’m never going back!

I just got a new set from HairExtensionLove on Etsy, after looking into their options in detail. I really wanted a set that was thicker and double drawn, so that the ends of my extensions would be nice and thick. I talked with the shop’s customer service, and she suggested this set of halo extensions that she sells. The set is double drawn from amazing quality Remy hair. I also purchased the priority service so my extensions would be made quickly; I wanted to wear them to an event, and I wanted to have time to get them trimmed first.

Handmade

Why did I choose to look for a small, handmade shop in my search for another set of extensions? Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Lord & Cliff’s extensions. They came layered, and they fit in well with my layered hair. But what I love about small, handmade shops is that there are so many options for customization. Since their products are made-to-order, you know exactly what you’re getting and you can ask for changes.

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Lord & Cliff’s Hidden Halo Extensions: A Review and Discussion of Miracle Wire Hair

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What would you say if I told you that a set of hair extensions could be:

  • easy to put on in 15 minutes or less
  • easy to store
  • itch-free
  • not painful
  • nearly impossible to tell from your own hair
  • comfortable
  • non-damaging to your natural hair

A week ago, I would have said that sounded like an infomercial pitch. And when I read up on miracle wire extensions, at first, it all jived with what I know about infomercials. Hair extensions that take 15 minutes or less to install and worked by placing a thin, undetectable wire around your head? All that can be yours for the low, low price of several installments of $19.99! Call now!

Except it’s not an infomercial. It’s all true. The more research I did on hidden halo style extensions, the more I found that supported how great they were. And I purchased my first set, in 18″ layered by Lord & Cliff.

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Dressing up Neutrals: How to Wear Neutral Colors Without Feeling Boring

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Before I get into this post about wearing neutrals, I wanted to apologize to all my readers for not updating my LGBThursdays recently. I’m currently in the processing of adding autism advocacy to this blog, and LGBThursdays will switch off every other week with those posts. For now, I apologize for the lag, but I want the new addition to be as smooth as possible.

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I love color. Color is my go-to when it comes to wardrobe. Color and glitter. I’m well known for wearing all-rainbow outfits, or daring colors that draw attention to me. But I also use neutrals a lot, and I own a lot of neutrals. I wanted to talk about how, as a unique fashionista, I navigate the problem of making neutral colored clothing fun.

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LGBThursday: Is There a Such Thing as “Gay Fashion Sense?”

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If you’ve ever looked at an effeminate-looking guy with excellent fashion sense and thought to yourself, “He must be gay,” then you’re guilty of doing what I think we all sometimes do – stereotyping based on clothing and appearance. I’m no stranger to being on both sides of this, so today I’m going to get to the bottom of the “gay fashion sense” debacle, debunk some myths about how LGBTQA people dress, and discuss how my fashion style plays into my sexual orientation.

Two things that are near and dear to me often come together in the same sentence – being LGBTQA and my fashion sense. I’m openly bisexual, and most people who encounter me on a personal level know that I am. I also wear as many colors as I can in a day, and was known as “The Tutu Girl” at my high school. I never thought of these two things as connected, but it’s strange how often people ask about my orientation simply based on what I wear.

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Fashion with a Heart: Wearing to Support Non-Profits and Social Justice Organizations

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There’s only one thing I’m more passionate about than the arts – and that’s helping others. Whether it’s through donating my time or my money, I love non-profit, service work and social justice organizations that are dedicated to helping someone else. (Even if – okay, especially if, that someone is furry.)

I remember when my obsession with helping people and animals really began. I was eight at the time, and I found a local cat outside who looked hurt. His ear was bleeding, and he was scared. I suspected that his owners – my neighbor – abused him, so I coaxed him into my arms and snuck him into my house.

When my mom found me with the black-and-white ragamuffin a couple hours later, it warmed her heart that I cared so much – but she told me that we had to return the cat to its home. Fortunately, several weeks later, the wife showed up on our doorstep holding the poor cat. “Can you guys take him in, please? My husband says he’s going to drive down the highway and drop him off on the side of the road if I can’t get anyone to take him in.” The cat looked worse than before, and we instantly said yes.

We nursed our new cat, Drew, back to health and kept him safe. He was always afraid of certain things, like yelling and people raising their fists, but I was just glad that we could help him. Because of this, my love for helping animals and people alike was born.

These days, I’m known by those around me for my writing, my fashion sense, and the way that everything I do is really colorful and sparkly. Only the people who have actually spoken to me know how much I still care about helping non-profits. But the absolute best thing is when I can have the best of both – when my fashion and crafts can also be supporting causes that I care about.

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“Love Always:” Incorporating Late Loved Ones into Fashion

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I mentioned in my previous post that one of the ways I cope with losing my mom at a young age is incorporating her into my fashion sense. I really wanted to expand on how I do this, and how you can find creative ways to do this with all of your late loved ones – and maybe even loved ones who haven’t passed away, who you just adore and miss.

Incorporating your loved ones into fashion isn’t hard to do, it’s just about thinking creatively. I don’t replicate my mom’s style. I don’t think I could. On a daily basis, she wore oversized cat sweaters and Mom Jeans. She didn’t wear makeup and wore minimal jewelry: just her claddagh ring and a locket that I gave her. But I do find ways to implement thoughts of her into my daily style, and that takes creative flair to do.

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Wigs: Pros and Cons and a Discussion of “Natural Beauty”

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I wore wigs pretty much every day for 2 years. I started in May of 2012 and stopped in September of 2014. Now, I wear extensions sometimes, but a vast majority of my hair is naturally mine. In that time frame, I learned a lot about wigs, extensions, and society’s definitions of acceptable beauty.

It all started with why I chose to wear wigs. This was the most common topic/question in conversations revolving around my wigs, more likely with people who know me somewhat than with strangers. When I started wearing them, I wasn’t suffering from any type of hair loss. The only thing I was “suffering” from was a bad haircut decision – I had gotten a pixie cut that I now wanted to grow out. Research told me I couldn’t do much–clip-in extensions would never work, and the kind they attach at the salon are often up to $700 or more. Wigs were my solution.

Alaina braceletsCatears2

(Two photos of me: on the left, I’m wearing a 50% human hair and 50% synthetic wig; on the right, I’m wearing my natural hair with human hair extensions)

It was during these two years that I learned all about the pros and cons of wigs, what questions people would ask, and the way people would either be impressed or judgmental.

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