Sneakers are the best thing in the world and for those of your who have been following me on Twitter, you are probably really sick of me going on and on about something called “Sneaker Sunday”…

Sneaker Sunday is an invention by the super awesome Valerie from Dweam.com and the general idea is that for one day a week we all give our feet a rest from high heels and the ridiculously painful (but super pretty) shoes we tend to wear through out the week! I am totally on board with this because for the most part hime style demands over the top decorated heels, but I think that with the right outfit totally over the top decorated sneakers can be just as good!

I have been an advocate of sneakers for the longest of times, my livejournal username was even “Chucks_bitch” in homage to high top Converse Chuck Taylors which I practically lived in for several years. I even own Baby the Stars Shine Bright’s Lolita take on the high tops!!

So what’s Sneaker Sunday?

Basically each week Val and I will post something related to Sneakers each Sunday, we will also feature photos of our Sneakers and great ways to co-ordinate them, tips and tricks etc.

Our motto is “Looking cute without crippling foot pain!”

This is my first Sneaker Sunday Co-Ordinate!

My sneakers are plain old cheap ones from Big W, they were originally completely white but I wanted something cuter so I deco’d them! The pink sections are completely opaque with shiny shiny glitter now, there are diamantes, pearls, bows and ruffles. Perfect for when I’m on the run doing lots of things but still want to look adorable ^_^

This is where you girls come in, we want to see your Sneakers!

Every Sunday we want to see your posts involving Sneakers If you make a post about it we will add your photos to the new  Sneaker Sunday Gallery (which also has a place on my Snapshots page) with links back to your blog. If you’ve got a Twitter account use the hashtag #sneakersunday so we can find your posts!

If you want to submit your own photos just email them to me at: VioletLeBeaux@gmail.com!

Go have a look at Valerie’s first Sneaker Sunday post and I can’t wait to see yours!!

Quite a while ago I placed an order with Bodyline Japan for quite a few items as a belated Christmas present from James ^_^ A lot of you asked for a review of the items so here it is!

Website:

The site is very easy to use with a standard shopping cart and the ability to pay via Paypal or credit card. Shipping is offered via DHL at a flat rate of US$20 or EMS with a rate depending on your country. The site has a huge amount of items to choose from so it was a little hard for me to stay in my budget!

Shipping:

I chose DHL shipping to save money. DHL has a rather bad reputation from other people I’ve spoken to, depending on what country you live in *cough*America*cough* they have been known to expedite your package through customs and then several weeks after delivery present you with a bill for doing so. As far as I’m aware this doesn’t happen in Australia and it definitely didn’t happen to me this time. That said if I was ordering again and I was in a hurry I would spend the extra money for EMS because even though the “estimated arrival time” from Bodyline was arriving on a Friday the package didn’t arrive until 4:30pm on the Monday. The package made it all the way from Japan (via a bunch of other countries) to Australia in around a day and a half and cleared the airport customs very quickly and then it spent the better part of 3 days “on route” to my house. Considering my house is around 30min from the airport that was kind of irritating! Anyway not a big deal!

Here is the package that arrived:

Inside I ordered the following (not the real names but I can’t find half of the things on the site anymore):

• Music note JSK
• Argyle beanie (for James)
• White bow shoes
• Black hunting hat (for James)
• Short Ruffle Socks
• Spotty Headband
• Various eyelashes
• Stripey Candy Tote

James’s mini review of the beannie and hat is “very soft and nice”

Ok let’s do the individual reviews!

Spotty Bow

Price- US$3

Made from average quality ribbon, finished quite nicely.

On the site I thought it was a side bow but it’s actually right in the middle, now looking at it I think she’s just wearing it to the side. The plastic band it’s on is a little flimsy.

Over all: happy with the quality for the price. I’ve worn it several times now.

Short ruffle socks

Price: US$5

The lace is nylon but it’s still very very soft. The actual socks are incredibly soft. I’m really happy with these especially for the price, they are adorable!

Music Note Dress

Price: I think it was around US$35-ish I can’t find it on the site now but it was very cheap.

This is the packaging. Something about Bodyline’s international packaging has always made me happy.

The dress:

I fell in love with this print. It’s not top notch quality, up close the print gets slightly pixeled and one thing that irritates me is that some of the treble clefs are backwards… but unless you’re staring at it from 2 inches away and are a music nut like me I don’t see it as a reason not to buy.

The quality of this dress is fantastic for the price plain and simple. No it’s not the same quality as AP or BtSSB but it’s still better than the average dress you would pick up at Supre or even Target. All of the seams are finished well and though there is no lining every stitch is in it’s place. *edit* I also forgot to mention that this jsk comes with bow ties for the back and shirring with ribbon so the size is quite adjustable. The bow ties are not detachable unlike other brands.

The quality of the lace was as good as any brand piece I’ve seen, no nylon at all.

It came with 2 detachable bows on the collar which I totally love. They are the perfect size to use on my beret or just in my hair. The only problem I had (and this is really nit-picky) was the clips were put on backwards compared with everything else I own so I put them o upside down a few times out of habit ^_^

Eyelashes:

Price: US$1-3

I was really happy with the lashes, here in Aus lashes are usually $8-10 which I think is quite unreasonable. These are a great price and decent quality. They also offer many many different styles.

This was my favorite pair:

Diamantes!

Shoes with bows

Price: US$37

I can’t express how happy I am with these shoes, they are exactly what I was hoping for! I bought them so I would have good walking shoes for Melbourne, the reason I chose these ones is because the front platform is almost as high as the heel so there isn’t as sever slope as appears. Apart from rolling my ankle once they did their job fantastically and I didn’t have any major dramas.

I picked the non-shiny version. They are very sturdily made and surprisingly light. I went through two airports with them and didn’t set off security so I imagine they are made of hollow plastic.

The heels are thick and the bows on the back are so cute!

One feature I really liked was the fact that the top buckle is on a snap closure. This means when you have ridiculously long nails you won’t have problems with putting your shoes on

The tread on the bottom was a nice touch too that a lot of these style shoes seem to miss out on.

The only problem is that being white they do scuff quite easily. That’s not a design flaw, it’s just how white shoes are so if you’re going to get some you should get some shoe polish too.

Stripe Candy Tote bag

Price: US$6

I was a little disappointed with the colour of this one, on the site it looks like a very pastel blue but in reality it’s about half way between my photos and theirs.

The pattern is so cute!

For some reason the straps are made from a shiny slightly stretchy almost cheap vinyl fabric. It’s a very strange choice because it feels so much more flimsy than the rest of the bag. That said I used it to carry my heavy laptop to and from Melbourne and all around the place and it still hasn’t broken. It hasn’t broken yet but I still think I want to replace the straps just to be safe.

It’s lined with pink cotton. For $6 you can’t really go wrong though.

So what does it all look like on? Well it looks like this…

The skirt of the dress has lots of room for a good sized petti. Without the petti it is the perfect shape for hime style.

And co-ordinated slightly differently. Also don’t worry I haven’t forgotten that you all want a tutorial on this hair style, I’m just a bit behind at the moment *_*

Overall I’m happy with my purchases. I think it was great value for money and I was able to buy a lot more items than I was expecting.

Bodyline had such a stigma in the Lolita community because of quality issues many years ago, since then they’ve worked hard to change their image. Yes you will still find maid style items and no not everything there is good BUT if you are prepared to do your research and study the pictures carefully it can be a great place to pick up well priced lovely items.

I will definitely be ordering from them again

Yay Bodyline!

This is a super easy tutorial on how I modified some old sneakers. I find that I need shoes that I can just slip on to run to the petrol station for an ice cream or the corner store for supplies, for times when you just want to get going as fast as possible having complicated shoes really isn’t practical, no time for laces… but I still want to look cute!

Enter old beaten up leopard print sneakers.

Materials:
-Old crappy sneakers
-Ribbon
-Elastic
-Sewing thread

First off clean your sneakers if they are dirty, no one wants to handle muddy shoes.

Then remove the laces.

Now you need some elastic which is roughly the same width as your laces were. Colours are optional, I decided to go with plain because I’m probably going to be trekking through mud in these and I didn’t want to waste anything too nice!

Pull the elastic through a bottom hole and tie a knot at the bottom which is big enough to prevent it from slipping through.

Bring the elastic over the top and down through the other bottom hole.

Continue to the next hole, it should look like this once you get to the top…

When you get to the last hole cut off the excess elastic and then tie another knot. Before you cut the elastic off you should try the shoe on to make sure it’s not going to be too loose or too tight. You should be able to slide your foot in with no problems.

Repeat with the other shoe!

Now get some thick ribbon and thread your needle. Fold it in half with the join at the back and pleat the middle into a bow…

Sew it in place:

Now use some thin ribbon to cover the stitching and sew that in place.

Attach them to the elastic with a few tight stitches and you’re done! When you’re attaching the bows it’s a good idea to do it while you’re wearing the shoes so you know they will end up in the right position when the elastic is stretched out. Be very careful not to hurt yourself with the needle though!

And there you go!

Quick comfy shoes that are good in a hurry.

Very little effort involved, I think this took me around 20 minutes while I was watching a movie. It’s amazing what adding a bow can do

Hope you enjoyed the super quick tutorial, I’m off to take some photos of the deco I did over the weekend for you guys! Only 2 days left until we go to Melbourne so I’m in crazy packing/planning mode

This was my outfit for dinner the other night. I hadn’t tried doing the bow hair style for a while but it works muuuch better now my hair has grown a bit. My bow is giant!

Outfit details:
Skirt- Hand made
Top- $2 pink tank top from an opshop
Cardigan- Free from my mum
Jewelery- Random stuff from Diva/Annie K
Stocking- Myer
Shoes- Modified from Payless or somewhere

I think that my favorite thing about this outfit is that it’s cute but still really casual. I actually didn’t feel over dressed for once at dinner but still got compliments!

Also thank you all for your lovely comments on my/James’ Nuffnang entries, comments like that make me really love blogging <3

Firstly thank you all for your well wishes while I’ve been ill! It made me feel much better every morning to wake up to everyone’s lovely comments I’m all rested up now and should be fine to blog 3 times a week again!

Unfortunately I’ve run out of jewels to finish my decoden tutorial at the moment but I’ll be right on it when the next batch arrive! My next post will be some of the things I’ve been deco-ing lately so you can all get your rhinestone fix Actually I did something a little bit funny with my deco while I was sick… I’m going to keep you guessing until next post though!

Now on to my outfit… OMG I love these shoes. They are incredibly painful but they look so pretty! Here is a close up…

Sexy right? The cut out bit is velvet so they even feel nice.

This brings me to today’s topic… shoes. It may be hard to believe but up until about 6 years ago I was the biggest tomboy you imagine. I refused to wear skirts and you would be hard pressed to find me in anything other than my scuffed old pair of converse chucks. In fact that’s where my old screen name chucks_bitch came from.

These are my newest acquisition. Cute but still comfy so I can shop all day, oh and work etc. They were a birthday present from my Mum, thanks Mum!

So long story short I missed out on those years where young girls are supposed to learn to walk in heels and I’m just doing it now. I got the first pair that I regularly wear last Christmas and haven’t been able to stop since. So much pain though! I’m very stubborn so I picked the highest most ridiculous pair and assumed I would be fine… I have now learned my lesson and am easing in much more sloooowly.

Now a couple of people have asked me how I did this. It really couldn’t be simpler.

Step 1. Buy cute simple shoes on sale.
Step 2. Buy matching flowers.
Step 3. Get some thread and a needle and sew the flowers on to the shoes. Note, don’t sew through the leather just in case you ever change your mind!
Step 4. Enjoy your new awesomely cute Hime-Style shoes

See easy…

Lastly are any of you guys who use Nuffnang having problems when you log in? I can log in but I my stats won’t seem to show up just question… Just wanted to know if I’m the only one before I go and bug tech support!

Anyway it’s good to be back!

Currently this is my faaavorite outfit! Most of that has to do with the fact that it includes my awesome shoes! They were on sale, so I bought them and added flowers to make them Hime style. Much cuter!

I also found opaque stockings on sale a Myer for $7.50! And they are *actually* opaque.

James also surprised me with this belated “Un-Birthday” cake. He made it himself, how cute is it? Btw yes my real name is Nikki but I’ve been Violet online so long now that I prefer it!

Loooove it! It was so sweet and yummy, we could only eat a tiny bit because it was so rich.

This is just a quick snapshot, see I’m not glamorous all the time
It’s getting cold here in Aus so at home it’s comfy pj’s and jumpers all the way!

Ah I have the best boyfriend ever

So you guys remember how much I LOVED these Jesus Diamante shoes? Ah well I can’t afford the $120904 they cost but I was inspired enough to transform some shoes I already had into something vaguely similar…

Ok it’s not exactly a replica but still cute I freaking love them! They are the most comfortable heels ever.

I’m still learning to walk in high heels, I have such terrible bones that most heels just KILL me. These ones are ok though, I’ve even managed to walk all day around the city in them without wanting to kill myself and every slope in path.

Everything needs more bows.

So what do you think? Y/N?