A Lovely Blue Thing at a Price That Would be District 12 Appropriate

It's funny how things work out. I was bummed that I wasn't gutsy enough (and was too broke!) to put a bid in on any of the items sold at the auction for The Hunger Games costumes two Saturdays ago. If I had my druthers, I would have tried to have won the Katniss Reaping dress and one of the hunting jackets, but then again, they probably went to the die-hard bidders who have the space and money to display the pieces properly in their homes.

My folks took me down to a vintage flea market in San Diego the next day and lo and behold, I found this beauty.

It was only $10 and it was in very good condition, despite the fact that similar dresses are usually missing the belt or are in bad shape with stains, rips, tears, etc. I'm not certain as to what era this is actually from, but I thought it was a good doppelganger for the Reaping dress.

I'm planning to work with my mom to try to transform this dress into my own replica of the Reaping dress. I'll post pictures as I start to progress.

The Hunger Games Costumes at the Hollywood Show

Hope everyone is having a fantastic fall so far. A few weeks ago, my dad and I made a trip up to the Hollywood Show to see The Hunger Games costumes on display before they go up on the auction block. They displayed some of the most prominent costumes worn by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Woody Harrelson.

Here are some of the pictures taken by my dad.

 The famous 'Girl on Fire' dress. This dress cost $25,000 to make, since the bottom hem of the skirt was created with Swarovski crystals.

 Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith suits

 Reaping Day outfits for Peeta and Katniss. Pink suit is Effie Trinket's outfit for Reaping Day and the white suit is the Peacekeeper's uniform.

 Katniss' nightgown and Haymitch's suit

 Katniss' arena outfit

 Katniss' hunting outfit

 Capitol apartment outfits

 Victory outfits

Peeta's Baking outfit

Pictures couldn't do the costumes justice. The fire dress had a second layer of ruffles with crystal work underneath the top layer and they are only visible when the wearer spins in a circle. Apparently the costume designer, who is known for giving Harry Potter his trademark round glasses, had a very limited budget to work with for costumes but she did an excellent job with what she had. :)

Haute Dystopia?

I've noticed that fashion designers lately have been creating pieces that have a look or feel that is very reminiscent of popular dystopian heroines in fiction.

Tris - High End Version by whistleforrue featuring a crewneck sweatshirt

Combined with the heather grey color, which is symbolic of the Abnegation faction, this sweater from McQ by McQueen is very evocative of Tris Prior's raven tattoos and her identity that she attempts to shed in favor of her new one.

Catching Fire Inspired Outfit by whistleforrue featuring vegan boots

This mesh top by McQ by McQueen feels very evocative of the arena uniform, donned by Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film adaptation of Catching Fire.

Valentino designed this $12,000 leather and lace dress for the Spring/Summer 2013 collection. The placement of fabric and silhouette is evocative of a dress that Isabelle Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments would wear.

And speaking of The Mortal Instruments, Dolce and Gabbana designed this flirty lace number, which is reminiscent of Clary Fray's dress she donned at Magnus Bane's party.

Is high fashion flirting with dystopia heroines to appeal to a current audience trend? Or is it simply a coincidence that some of the high end designers are creating pieces that are evocative of some beloved dystopian heroines like Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior, and the ladies of The Mortal Instruments?

Comic Con 2012 Saturday

Comic Con Saturday was hectic. An easier morning of picking jeans and Converse sneakers and getting some help from Mom lacing into the new corset we made out of 2011 Comic Con bags of the Justice League on the front.

I found that the DC Booth had a similar illustration on a display so I took a picture posed in front of it. 

Comic Con 2012: Friday

The second day of Comic Con 2012 started out rocky since I realized that I left my mockingjay pin up at my apartment at university. My mom was mad that I didn't plan things out in advance and it made for an awkward car ride down. Mockingjay aside, it was a fair day.

 Katniss Everdeen (I was trying to mimic her pose from a flashing display at Lionsgate)

Blog Entries to Come and Brief Apology for Hiatus

Hey gang, how's your summer going?

For me, its been a roller coaster of highs and lows. I've found cool items from boutiques and had fun scouring my grandma's basement but I've also had an added amount of stress put on me.

My laptop refused to log in properly after I rushed the shut down process on it during a flight. I took it to the Apple store to get it looked at. What started as a 15 minute appointment turned into a 5.5 hour nightmare as my computer was given new updates for Mac OS X Lion to fix the log in problems then the tech said that there was nothing else to do but wipe it clean and try to pull files off my back up drive. Then it turns out that because I turned on FileVault in 2010 for my back up drive, the backed up files became encrypted and impossible to unmount and put back onto my computer. The only set of files I could obtain were from September 2010. Now I'm hoping a file recovery company can restore my back up drive but it will come with a price. (I will be cleaning out my closet and cabinets of clothes and knickknacks from anime and manga I have so look out for them!)

Problems aside, I owe some of you a few picture posts. Expect the following posts:
Gokai Yellow Bandai Official Licensed Jacket with Pictures
BCBG Long Dress I bought secondhand
Some of the vintage clothes found in my grandma's basement
Finds from boutiques in Los Angeles
Maybe a Want to Buy or Help Find post or two
Comic Con 2012 pictures once July hits

Hunger Games Fans Out There?

Any fans of The Hunger Games on my followers list? I'm trying to knit district themed scarves and was wondering if I should add them to my new Etsy once I make a few districts. Currently I'm working on my district, District 12.