Other Clothing

Twisted Sugar Jewelery are little pieces of unique and alternative beauty. The back story attached to these pocket pieces of joy really give it that extra factor when looking for a gift or individual necklace or pair of earrings to wear. Handmade and designed.

‘Each piece of Jewelery starts off as a sweet sugar lump.
With a drop of Princess Fairy Dew’s magical Elixir plopped onto the sugar lump,
It transforms into a wonderful piece of jewelery as sweet as sugar itself…’

The concepts of each piece involves so many diverse characters in our history as well as costume and entertainment inspired images.

For instance The necklace ‘Wilde absinthe’ holds an image of literature great Oscar Wilde, but also attached is a small green bottle with Absinthe label and Absinthe fairy charm portraying his controversial existence and his bohemian poetic lifestyle.

A similar concept is portrayed in necklace ‘let them eat cake’ based on historical icon Marie Antoinette. Then it ranges to creations based on Frankenstein’s Bride and The Munsters. Adding a kitsch and vintage theming to every original and creatively thoughtful item.

The prices ranges from a little as £2.99 for a set of earrings and peaks at a very reasonable £15.99 for the more intricate necklaces.
Extremely reasonable for handmade items as well as some necklaces that contain real swarovski crystal beads or droplet pendants.

Many members of general society believe that to be alternative it has to be gothic, but the range of jewellery twisted sugar provides, shows that this is not the case and the fantasy inspired collection really has a versatility for both a wide range of alternative fashions such as Punk ,Goth, Emo, Skater, Lolita’s to high street fashionistas.

A real cluster of treasures for any fairy or human to explore.

Please visit Twisted Sugar Jewelery to see more products and read the full story of Princess Fairy Dew.

The Line between fetish and fashion is becoming ever so blurred and merged, Influence from fetish wear and the materials used has seen a crossover into wearable fashion and alternative attire in this age of fashion.

I caught up with William G and Company Director Mandy Taylor from Honour clothing to ask them a few questions about the company and what they offer relating to the topic above.

What is Honour clothing’s customer focus?

Here at Honour we pride ourselves on designing and manufacturing an affordable range of good quality, originally designed fetish and fantasy clothing. We aim to be the best amongst our competitors which we believe includes having a market leading website and excellent customer service.

What fashion genre would you say the main focus is on?

Our focus is split between two main genres: Our club wear, chiefly in latex, lycra and PVC is striking and well renowned within the international fetish scene. Our lingerie and more intimate fetish wear comes in a variety of materials from lace to latex, but is usually worn behind closed doors!

What kind of products do you sell?

We sell a large selection of fantasy clothing and equipment which includes, corsets, lingerie, high heels, wigs, costumes, bondage gear, sex toys, and a wide range of his and hers clothing in PVC, lycra, leather, and latex rubber!

What is your price range?

We have clothing ranging from £5.00 to approximately £500.00, our PVC clothing is at the lower end of our pricing scale and some of the more complicated rubber garments are at the top end. We certainly have something for every budget!

What quality can you expect from the clothing?

We design and manufacture our own clothing and have been doing so for twenty years, so with this experience and expertise, I believe our clothing is of an extremely high quality. Items are all checked before they are sent out to our customers, and we don’t get many returns!

Where did honour originate from, founded by?

Honour was founded originally from our Waterloo shop (still trading today!). Our initial focus was on selling lingerie, but as the market took us further into the direction of fetish and fantasy wear, we were only to happy to cater to this demand.

When did the company start?

1988

Are their items for non fetish fashionistas also?example corsets?

As the lines between fashion and fetish have become increasingly blurred, we now have endless amounts of ‘cross over’ clothing that you might as easily see in a fetish club or on the pages of Vogue! Latex especially is now a lot more fashionable amongst non-scene people and is often seen in the media for music videos and shows. But certainly our corsets, costumes and lingerie are very popular and I believe are often worn in a non-fetish way if wished!

Do you have a large client base?

We have customers all over the world that use our Internet service and we send out our catalogues to an ever expanding group of mail order customers. With shops in Waterloo and Watford also we have a large client base and are always happy to welcome more customers!

Are you just on the web or are this outlets people can shop at or stalls at festivals etc?

We have a shop in Waterloo and a showroom in Watford, we also trade at the Erotica Show held each year at Olympia, London, this year from 18th -20th November!

Is you postage and packaging discreet for your more adventurous customers?

Our packaging is always very discreet, naturally this is of the utmost importance to a lot of our customers, so we take extra care to ensure that no one would ever know what was inside that parcel!

How personal is the service?example call centre operated or only a small team working for the company?

We have a team that works from our Watford Office and Warehouse, so we are very nicely contained and there is no call centre involved! Having everything and everyone at one location also means that we can trace and control issues very quickly in order to be as efficient as possible.

For more information visit Honour clothing.

Written by Mizz Twisted Cherry

We Caught up with Francesco Calvano about the documentary, ’Realities of Fantasy’, he is creating on the fashion of Lolita and find out some interesting facts on this trend and where to source such apparel.

What is your documentary primarily about?

“Realities of Fantasy” is more of a vibrant magazine-style programme rather then being a traditional documentary. The concept is for ROF to be an entertainment show based around the current fashions & lifestyles of the Lolita movement. It will include a foray into the concept & ideologies behind the Lolita fashion but mainly will cover the dramas & fashions of the Lolita’s around the UK & Paris.

Throughout the three pilot episodes you watch me exploring/filming many Lolita events around the UK & Paris whilst interviewing & following those involved. We also follow a lovely young lady who goes from knowing nothing to blossoming into a delightful Lolita who takes part in a major fashion show.

There’s lots of indulgent shots of the clothes, the accessories, the tea events & beautiful locations (plus the odd shot of me getting into scrapes whilst making filming!) Not to mention many spoonfuls of nourishing detailed information about the clothes themselves are included.

Where shall it be shown?

Trailers and clips will be circulated amongst Bloggers and video sharing sites, plus the official you tube channel. Full programmes will be available for download on the official site & available in DVD at Conventions, Lolita events, certain high street shops in the UK and in France.

Certain episodes, clips and trailers will also be shown at film festivals in UK and France. Eventually we want to make it available in Japanese too and then other languages!

Where are the origins of the Lolita fashion come from?

The “Lolita” fashion (which is often given the full title of “Elegant Gothic & Lolita” ) is a street-fashion that developed organically in Japan from the 1970′s onwards.

The 1970′s saw apparel stores such as Milk & Pretty selling clothes that borrowed themes, styles & prints from period & vintage European fashions These designs grew in popularity, the companies involved expanded

The Lolita fashion did not have a widespread dedicated community or even its namesake until the Visual Kei genre of music in Japan started to explore it’s aesthetics in the early 1990′s.

Largely it was the guitarist called Mana from the band Malice Mizer that first began to experiment with Western period costume & infuse elements of (what are now) classic Lolita features; such as poofy bell-shaped skirts, strong Victorian/Rococo influences & Mary-Jane heels. At first his major inspiration appeared to be the French maid outfit, which is one such reason why the first incarnations of the Lolita fashion are so associated with the black & white colour scheme & abundance of (mostly machine made) lace.

Mana did not invent Lolita but he did hasten its development and uptake, however, the development of Lolita is a largely unexplored territory it seems, so we may never know exactly who else pushed it further!

What interesting fashion facts have you found out from filming your documentary?

I’ve found out a lot about the many different types of lace that are in-use, and how to tell the differences via looking at the patterns woven into the lace. I’ve become very aware of how Rachel (machine or chemical) lace has become so common, that consumers rarely consider soft, traditionally-made lace as an option – even on expensive outfits. Lolita has a strong connection to lace & a major appreciation for soft laces.

Special contact lenses called “circle lenses” have become popular to enhance the doll look of Lolita outfits. They make the pupils look huge, thus making them appear as they would on a doll.

Vivienne Westwood invented the Rocking Horse shoe, which has now become a major style of shoe to be worn with Sweet and some classic style co-ordinates. This style of shoe has a raised heel which is made of wood.

That Mana coined the term Lolita to describe the fashion, as he felt that the word fully realised what a Lolita should be – childlike, innocent, pretty & polite..

Their are male styles to the fashion which are based on Regency men’s’ clothes, featuring frock coats, breeches and waistcoats. “Kodona” or “Ouji” (both the same style) refer to a style which makes the wearer appear to be like a young prince. “Aristocrat” is a mature and gothic version, mostly featuring trousers. The prince styles are usually worn more by ladies than men interestingly, and are thus mostly sold by the Lolita brands alongside the dresses.

There are even Brolitas (of which I aspire to be) Basically guys who wear Lolita dresses, and often everything else associated with it. Lolita has a cheerful disregard for obeying strict gender roles as demonstrated by girls wearing prince outfits and males wearing dresses.

Is there a broad network for Lolita fashionistas in the uk?

Yes! Despite the English language version of the Lolita Bible ceasing publication in 2009, the scene in the UK appears to be growing (based on usage & new members on Live Journal communities.) Social networking appears to be the number one factor for fuelling the Lolita uptake in the UK, largely through the social side of Lolita wearing. The social side in turn is fuelled predominantly by Live Journal & Facebook.

Live journal communities such as “Daily Lolita” & “LoliGoth” feature a huge wealth of bang up-to-date advice & support on Lolita outfits and lifestyles.

Facebook tends to be increasingly where the meet-ups and events are organised & where Lolita’s go-to for info on the activities. Most major cities or counties tend to have a Lolita group (for example “Oxfordshire Lolita’s” or “Lolita’s of Leeds”)

Lolita “meets” involve anything from meeting up to sample tea and cakes at an attractive tea shop, to embarking on a trip to a quirky museum. These meet-ups are integral to the continuation of Lolita in the UK.

Certainly there are no major brand backed events, such as the ones that are staged in Paris or San Francisco, but there is beginning to be more Lolita-specific attractions at large-scale events such as Cosplay conventions and Japanese Culture festivals such as Hyper Japan.

Where is the best place to shop for Lolita fashion?

Depends on what type of Lolita you may want to be or what aesthetic you want to explore. For the first option – eBay is a good start, plus many cosplay sites on the net. Just watch out for duff sellers!

For the second option – some good quality outfits can be bought from stores such as Sai Sai and GLP in Camden. The outfits in these stores range wildly to cater for those wanting different types of Lolita. Some Cosplay is sold, some Visual key inspired Lolita and some contemporary Lolita that wouldn’t look out of place in one of the ‘Bibles.

To know which is which, simply surf the net to get clarification & touch the materials to ascertain the longevity implied. The plus side in shopping in Camden, is you can try the outfits on and ask the fantastic staff! I was advised by a lovely lady named Francesca in GLP, she was highly knowledgeable and very sweet.

For top quality, cutting edge Lolita clothes from Japan – buy brands like Angelic Pretty, Metamorphose, Baby, Moi Meme Moitie, Victorian Maiden (though you’ll need to remortgage your house to buy them) h.Naoto, Juliette et Justine, Mary Magdalene. There are others, but these are the head honchos. You can rarely go wrong ordering from these guys.

Good quality (but a lot cheaper) Japanese & Chinese off-brands like Bodyline, Rose Melody, Putumayo & Infanta. Some great bargains & lovely outfits, just usually not-as-fine material.

But don’t forget the many excellent British Lolita online retailers who have a good standing in the community & produce beautiful outfits. Such as StockingShock, & RockingHorseDesigns which can be found on Etsy.com. There are many others and its very much a cottage industry, so please support such home grown yet beautiful quality cutting-edge Lolita companies.

Bring&Buy events are fantastic for sourcing wonderful items at discount prices, plus you can usually try items on..(and haggle prices!)

Its worth remembering that many Lolita’s make their own items, sourcing fabrics from local fabric shops & from online. Despite the plethora of companies making Lolita clothes & shoes, Lolita will always have respect and a welcome for those who pour their love & skill into making their own outfits for themselves and for others.

In five words describe the key factors of Lolita fashion?

Delicate Feminine Decadence Made Modern.

For more information on Lolita and documentary ‘Realities of Fantasy’ check out The Telegothika channel now and the official Realities of Fantasy on you tube which will be open soon. For more information email Francesco at realities.of.fantasy@gmail.com

Written by Mizz Twisted Cherry

As Halloween draws upon us, this shall also be my first wedding anniversary. This leads me to discuss alternative wedding fashion and where to shop for such apparel.

My pagan hand fasting had an Avante Garde theme (Surprise!) and so needed to be visually memorable and dramatic. We also focus on Bex and Gary Benson who had an alternative wedding in July 2011.

Halloween Wedding Hand-fasting 2010

Bridal outfit:

Custom size corset and Ball gown skirt from: www.fairygothmother.co.uk (Amazing outfits although customer service was very poor as my dress did not arrive on time and they would not give me a date it would be ready by? Plus I found a dozen dress makers pins still in the skirt! Eeek )

Grooms outfit :

Black and white stripe jeans from: www.sohos.co.uk
Brocade black pirate coat & cheese cloth shirt: www.sharpe-designs.com
Black military waistcoat: www.violentdelights.co.uk

Ushers Outfit:

Military gold chemical jackets by criminal Damage: www.violentdelights.co.uk

Bridesmaids Dresses:
No other than……… www.katesclothing.co.uk (Amazing customer service as they knew it was for my wedding and when I needed to change various sizes , they were more than accommodating.)

Bex and Gary’s wedding july 2011

Bridal Outfit:

Bex sourced her dress from Ebay, the designer is: Ian Stuart. Although this is very more a traditional wedding dress, the fact she accompanies her dress with Aviators , a skull neck scarf and her tattoos on display, not to mention her fabulous Riggers boots really shake it up and produce a beautiful yet eclectic Bride.

Her Boquet was incredible! Made using felt and other DIY crafts Bex created this herself and it really enhanced her ‘rock star ‘ bridal image.

Grooms Outfit:

Gary’s apparel is also interesting on the eye . Mainly purchased on the high street but with a vintage waistcoat. The use of layers differ you focus from his casual denim Producing a ‘country gentry style’ enhanced by his handlebar moustache, grown specifically for his big day!

The couple have got the balance perfectly for the summer weather and perfect to create a big entrance at their reception (Nozstock festival 2011)

Written by Mizz Twisted Cherry