My Halloween costume this year was an embodiment of Candyfuture: a Pearl-Horn TWOnicorn! I wore it to the Dances of Vice party; I don’t think most people got my costume and I had to keep telling them I was “a girl from the future”. :)

• Top: Betsey Johnson
• Skirt: reconstructed out of a vintage dress
• Tights: We Love Colors
• Shoes: customized by me, as seen here
• Crochet neck piece: by Princess Sara
• Makeup: Lime Crime

We managed to squeeze in a photoshoot right before the party, so more photos + makeup/hair tutorial coming soon!

Mark was Alice Cooper. He was even more convincing in real life, it was kind of freaky actually. Every time I’d see him out of the corner of my eye, I’d think, Alice?? I’m a huge fan – but then again with my penchant for all things over-the-top and theatrical it’s no surprise. :)

My pink coat ruined what could’ve been a perfect shot

Sarah made her own wig & her friend made the dress!!!

The bad news is that our camera’s battery died before the party even began (how lame!). The good news is that we weren’t the only ones with cameras! In typical DOV fashion, the costumes were truly out of this world – I’ll link to more pics one they become available. If you were there and would like to share some pictures, feel free to post a link to your album!

Deerlings: what did you do for Halloween?

• NYC Halloween Parade, 2008
• New York Couture 2009 at Webster Hall
• Dances of Vice – the Spring Ball
• Voltaire & Jayme’s Goth Wedding
• (Un)Orthodox Christmas
• Las Vegas – Day 1
• Christmas Expedition
• Britney Spears concert
• 1970s Skating Rink adventure
• NYC Against HIV fashion show

There was a Polyvore contest going on and I completely forgot to announce it on the blog. :\ I feel like such a bonehead! Well – thanks for participating, whoever did find it! The challenge was to capture the essence of Candyfuture in a collage and among the 90+ entries, we’ve had everything from sweet, to kooky, to downright bizarre. :D All submissions without exception were absolutely magical and it was nearly impossible to pick a favorite. In the end, I went with this:

Sweet Dreams by SenoritaLauritaXoXo on Polyvore.com

A sea of cupcakes, balloons, lipstick and a rainbow spilling over the edge? Yes please! This is exactly how I picture Candyfuture! Everyone did a fantastic job and if I could award everyone with a free lipstick, I would… Until then, there will be contests – about which I promise to report diligently from now on!

None Found

I was eager to show off my Candyfuture fashions to the world, so I made my own outfit for the New York Couture appearance. This is how I explained it to press: *points up* “Candy!” *points down* “Future!” Think they got it? :)

Countessa Fluorescent lipstick

The candy hat was constructed out of a plastic ball sliced in half, wrapped in iridescent film and secured on with a string. I lined the bottom with felt so it stayed on pretty well. I got many complements on it, made feel all gleeful throughout the night. :)))

Posing next to my makeup – what a cheeseball!

• Dress & hat: handmade
• Tights: Ellen Tracy
• Handbag: thrifted
• Lipstick: Lime Crime in Countessa Fluorescent
• Shoes: Charlotte Russe (shown here)

• Style Diary: polka dots & unicorns
• Style Diary: penthouse party NYE ‘09
• Style Diary: Believer Brunch
• Style Diary: black lace & gold heels
• Style Diary – my first Candyfuture outfit
• Style Diary: ModCloth rocks!
• Style Diary: Hummingbird outfit
• Style Diary: double Deere
• Style Diary: Pearl-Horn Twonicorn
• Style inspiration: Minnie Mouse

Sometimes most unexpected things make the best accessories! Take cupcakes for instance: what can be more glamorous than walking through the streets with a cute box full of chocolate mint minicakes?!

This laser-cut unicorn necklace was made for me by CupcakesAndMace!

Those beads look like candy, yum!

On a side note, in case you haven’t noticed – I LOVE PURPLE! Everything I wear recently has to have at least something purple – even if it’s just lipstick!

• Dress: from Canal Street in New York
• Unicorn  necklace: CupcakesandMace
• Belt: from Etsy
• Purse: thrifted; I customized it by adding beads to the handle & painting them pastel colors
• Shoes: United Nude (visible in this post)
• Makeup: Lime Criminal magic dust, Airborne Unicorn lipstick by Lime Crime.

Deerlings: what is your color of the moment?

• Style Diary: ModCloth rocks!
• Style Diary: Hummingbird outfit
• Style Diary: black lace & gold heels
• Style Diary – my first Candyfuture outfit
• Style Diary: Candy+Future!
• Nothing but yellow + purple!
• Style Diary: Believer Brunch
• Style Diary: double Deere
• Style Diary: penthouse party NYE ‘09
• Daily Outfit – November 7 2008

Have you ever been told to pick something and stick to it? A look, a hobby, a career? Pursue it till the end – even if it’s a dead end? Linear mentality is as common as it is stale, and will get you nowhere except the Mundane Lane and the Frustration Station.

We are taught to view life and career as a linear progression: start out at point A, locomote towards point B – like a choo-choo train. The advantage of a choo-choo is that once set on track, it’s virtually unstoppable and will get you to point B eventually, wherever that might be. Its limitation is that it can only go where there’s rail, cannot make any detours or U-turns, and the minute it’s out of steam it stops dead in the tracks and becomes absolutely useless.

How many people do you know who’ve choo-choo’ed their way into a dead-end job? Linear approach is dangerous as it allows for minimal flexibility – unless you consider switching to another ‘track’ a viable travel option. I’m often asked why it is that I have my fingers in many professional pies all at once. Is it out of boredom, for lack of focus or just some form of ADD? If you asked me this a couple years ago, I wouldn’t be able to give you an answer. I did things intuitively, knowing that the choices to which I was most drawn would be where I’d succeed most. In reality, I was simply practicing the mosaic approach.

Mosaic by Stephen Poff

What is the mosaic approach?

A facet of Candyfuturism, mosaic approach encourages multidimensional development and acquisition of a diversified set of skills for future benefit. It gets its name from mosaic, an art made of small bits of colored glass arranged to comprise a bigger picture. The more pieces and color variety, the richer the mosaic. Mosaic approach is similar insofar as it’s a collection of feats & experiences that integrate with each other for a very specific purpose, paint a specific image. As I go along exploring fashion, beauty, blogging and many things in between, I seek to create a bulletproof resume of kaleidoscopic intensity. Ultimately, the mosaic method is more fail-proof than linear as it allows more room for error. If a piece didn’t come out the way you wanted, simply move on to the next one – the quality of your final image will not be affected.

Versatility is everything. Versatility mixed with a passion is your ticket to success. Our ability to be passionate about things tends to decrease as we age – so embark on everything you feel a connection with, now. Love & cherish your mosaic, pour your heart and soul into each piece. Don’t worry about spreading yourself too thin – you can handle more than you think. By embarking on several complementary career paths you become more self-sufficient, expand your set of skills and improve your chances of becoming successful. The mosaic approach is very economical; it doesn’t let any of your experience go to waste. Nothing ever gets discounted or lost, only inlayed into the mosaic.

The world changes, and so should we. To achieve the goal of creating our very own Candyfuture, we must stay flexible and be prepared to grasp the opportunities coming our way. Sometimes that involves laying down the tracks, but never should it involved hopping aboard a one-way choo choo.

Deerlings: do you practice a mosaic approach?

• Architecture of Candyfuture, Pt 3
• Architecture of Candyfuture, pt 2
• Architecture of Candyfuture, pt 1
• Summer infatuations
• Polyvore Candyfuture contest winner