Ride The Light(ning)

Hello everybody! It's been a while since I made my last outfit post, but, after a few busy months and tons and tons of failed attempts (I still have about half a dozen yet-to-be-posted outfits patiently waiting in line T_T), I've finally gotten to the painful task of writing a full blog entry!

I started this outfit from this Metallica long-sleeved T-shirt. I don’t even remember where it came from, but I think I’ve had it for more than six years already. I had never used it before, mainly because it has a quite a strange shape, and it’s not exactly suitable for all sorts of weather. However, it fits my body really nicely (a bit too nicely, I have to say – I still feel kinda strange in tight-fitting clothes since my ballet days LOL), and it looks great with my Road Rage nails.

The T-shirt was obviously asking for an edgy punk look. I immediately came across this extreme Harajuku punk outfit I had discovered a few weeks ago. Of course, the overall concept was a bit too extreme for me (even for me LOL), but the idea of an unorthodox necktie with a certain S&M vibe really got me. I didn’t know what to use for that purpose, so I tried a couple of things until I found this grey belt from Mango. I’ve had it for a couple of years already, but I had never used it until now. It feels like suede (even though I don’t think it’s genuine leather) and has a nice concrete colour. I tried it just to see how it would look, and I really liked it. The combination looked quite powerful.

I didn’t have a specific idea of what I wanted to get (aside from the punk thing), so I just started messing around to see what would happen. I discovered this jacket from Mango still in its shopping bag (I keep there with a bunch of stuff I bought the same day because I want to make a shopping post about that at some point, even though I don't know if that's ever going to happen LOL). I didn’t even remember I had it, but it looked awesome straight away. I love its peculiar slightly-oversized shape and its unusual waxed paper texture (which turned out to be a great advantage, considering the fact that I had to deal with unexpected rain on that day T_T).

With these three elements in place, my Menkes cap was a natural choice. I knew I was slightly repeating the concept of my Road Rage outfit, but I didn’t care. This cap is so versatile I just can’t get tired of it.

I was starting to see another biker look coming... But this one was going to have a pilot twist.

Once I had the top, I had to go for the bottom. I didn’t have a hard time picking up the jeans because they came to the look quite naturally (once again, I was reusing a Road Rage element e_e’). However, it was a little harder with the boots. I tried on my brown cowboy booties and my studded biker boots, but neither looked good enough, so I decided to take a risk and see how the whole thing would look with the über-cool cowboy boots I used for my A Cowboy In The Court Of Louis XIV outfit…

I wasn’t too sure about it, at first. It took me a few minutes of analyzing myself in the mirror to figure out if I liked how the boots looked or not… but I did! And, the more I looked at them, the more I started to see a certain Bill-Kaulitz-ness in the whole thing LOL This outfit certainly reminds me of Bill’s 2010 Audi A1 photoshoot look. However, I have to say that, for once, this similarity was not intentional :P I didn't even remember  this particular look while I was styling my own - I promise! 

The whole look was already kinda finished, but I was still not completely satisfied. There was something missing in the middle section, and I couldn’t really tell what. I spent another half an hour (not literally LOL) staring in the mirror trying to understand what it was, until I finally got it.

I always thought that there was nothing in my body I particularly disliked, but I was wrong: I do dislike my hips. It’s not that I dislike them in absolute terms, of course, but I don’t like the way certain trousers fit on them. That probably explains why I always feel the compulsive need to add big belts to my outfits when I’m not wearing oversized looks, in order to give them some extra structure. And that’s exactly what I did this time. I tried on a few belts, but none of them worked like the classic Commando/Goth For One Day leather belt did, so I just put that one on and, after a few adjustments, the look was ready.

As I said above, I had to deal with heavy rain (you can see some of it in the instagram collage bellow) and cold wind on the day I originally wore this outfit... which wasn't exactly the most exciting experience in my whole life (LOL). I had to wait one whole week for the rain to stop in order to to be able to actually take some pictures of the outfit, but, thankfully, there was a nice afternoon sun shining on the day of the photoshoot that created some really curious effects on the pictures ^^

As you can see, my boy Quicksilver wanted to be in the pictures too ;)

And, now that we're done with the fashion, let's get on with the music!



Metallicaaaaaa! \m/ ;)

T-Shirt: Metallica

Jeans: MNG

Boots: Vogue

Cap: Menkes

Scarf: MNG

Belt: vintage

London Calling (Punk In The Park)

The outfit I bring you today is one of my big, big classics.

I can’t tell you how I came up with this look because the truth is I have no idea of how it happened. I remember myself standing in the bathroom trying to decide what to wear, and then my memory just skips to the point where I’m already dressed up like this.

I personally describe this outfit as a very British punk/dandy look done the Harajuku way.

On those days (I’m talking about early 2007), I had just landed my hands on three books that changed my approach to street wear almost completely: Fruits, Fresh Fruits and Gothic & Lolita, all published by Phaidon. Those books are basically a collection of photographs from Fruits Magazine and some other street snaps from Harajuku and Akihabara. I had been a fan of the Japanese culture (and extreme looks) for a very long time, but when I saw all those boys and girls wearing things that would have been impossible to find in Europe at that time, they immediately became my fashion heroes. It didn’t matter what style or subculture they represented. I loved the freedom, the fantasy, and, of course, the sense of humour that were present in all their stylings.

I could have never imagined, back then, that one day I would be getting daily news on Tokyo street fashion and have the chance to get in touch with the current trends! :P

However, back then, all I had were those three books and my imagination.

(Source: Fruits – some of the looks that inspired my outfit)

It all probably started with the T-shirt. I’m not a fan of The Clash, but a T-shirt with such an iconic design was just begging to be a part of my wardrobe (:P). I was probably planning one of my typical punk outfits… and then inspiration struck me, and I just said to myself: “why not wearing this with my striped blazer instead?” I don’t know if that’s the real story or not, but that turned out to be a great idea.

I suppose the rest of the outfit just came along :P

The white platform creepers are the other key element in this look. This pair of shoes is, of course, one of my all-time favourites. They are as close as I can get to the wonderful Japanese shoes I keep dreaming of. Shoe design is one of those things at which the Japanese will always be light-years ahead of the rest of humanity. If I ever get to go to Japan – I mean: WHEN I finally get to Japan (:P), I swear I will be taking a huge extra suitcase with me just to fill it up with shoes!

(Source: TokyoFashion)

…and the golfer socks are the extra-funny detail that rounds up the mocking mood of the whole thing :)

What I specially love about this look is that it feels extremely teen. I’ve always liked the idea of taking adult elements (like blazers, golfer socks or dandy hats) that somehow represent the establishment and mixing them with pieces that look casual or even trashy to show that you just don’t care. Taking concepts defined by society and giving them new meanings that respond to your individual view of the world; creating your own rules – that’s what punk is all about, right? And that’s exactly what teenagers do, or at least it’s what I believe they should do.

I did this photoshoot a month before my 18^th birthday, and that is right what these pictures represent: the promise of never getting too old to do the things I like. And that includes swinging until my legs fall off! (LOL)

That’s a promise we all should keep, don’t you think? :P

T-shirt: Fruit of the Loom

Jeans: MNG

Socks: unknown

Shoes: BCN Shoes

Blazer: MNG

Hat: MNG

Choker and chain: dog collars (purchased at Auchan)

Goth For One Day!

I thought it would be a good idea to start this blog by reviewing some of my very first looks. I didn't take many pictures or notes of my everyday outfits during my school years, so many of them just got lost in the way. But some others didn't...

This one is actually the first aggressive look I ever created. These pics were taken in 2005 but I came up with the original outfit back in 2003.

I don't even know how it happened. Mango just had this fancy punk winter(?) collection (I always shop in outlets, so it wasn't the latest season when I got my hands over it) and I really loved these three pieces: the "Punk for one Day" T-shirt with silver print, studs and a zipper on top, the asymmetric skirt that also had matching zippers on the side and this really curious long-sleeved T-shirt with laced-up sleeves (I call it "Scissorhands" because it reminds me of the clasps on Edward's suit :P).

It's curious that this particular collection caught my attention that much, because I wasn't even into punk or heavy metal at that time, but all of a sudden I felt the need to look dark - really dark.

I remember I was choosing what to wear on the first day of term (it was September in Spain - way too hot to be wearing THAT! LOL). I had bought these clothes just a few days earlier and I was dying to put them on - even if it was still summer. I really wanted to make a statement. I wanted to look as menacing as I could.

I didn't want to choose between these two T-shirts, so I decided to put them both on at once - I think that's how I came up with the idea of layering them. The boots were also a relatively recent purchase (I'd had them for a year or so) and I liked the slightly medieval touch they added to my just discovered goth-self. But I still didn't have enough. For the first time in my life, I felt the need to add more and more and more to my outfit. I rummaged through all the drawers at home until I found that huge vintage leather belt. It was too big for me, but I didn't care. I liked the idea of it hanging lopsided on my hip. It was all so punk!

I can't remember if I already had the chains and the choker at that time or if I added those later, but even without them I bet the result was more than convincing.

Unfortunately, when I woke up the next day the wheather was even hotter than I had expected, so I had to give up on my dream of making a shocking entrance and ended up wearing a lighter summer-adapted version of my outfit.

You can't always win, and being a full-time goth in Spain is not the easiest job...

All my admiration goes to them ;)

Collar and chain: dog collars (purchased at Auchan)

T-shirt: MNG

Long-sleeved T-shirt: MNG

Belt: vintage (Italy, 1991)

Skirt: MNG

Boots: Bata