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 | A Day in the Life of Elle |
 For our Halloween parties, we tend to go all out! From mid-September to Halloween Eve, Yeats and I thoroughly clean the house, re-arrange the furniture to make room for guests, and colour the lobby and party space with crazy decor. That year, we even made a Bat Computer room to play Wii games!  I used the Batgirl from the Animated Series as a reference for this costume. I love this persona best because of her youth, playfulness, and stubbornness  I start the process of costume design by measuring out the costumee. In this case, that was me! My costumes tend to be very tailored, so accurate measurements are needed. Luckily, I made Batgirl out of spandex, so there was a little bit of leeway. I sketched out the pattern in miniature form to determine how much paper and materials I would need to create every piece. Afterwards, I drafted up a pattern on pattern paper. I ended up buying 3m of black spandex (thinking I would have time to make pants, too), 1m of gold vinyl, a belt buckle, fabric glue, 1 sheet of stencil plastic, and 0.25 m of buckram. The stencil plastic was used for the ears and “fangs” on the gloves, and the buckram was used to create the eye mask.
The cowl took the longest amount of time. There was a lot of remakes. I know how to accurately draft up a form, but when forces caused by wearing come into play, my pieces don’t work as well as I would have hoped I will probably rip away the soles of the booties and make boot covers over a pair of heels. For the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, I kept tip toeing for height… I never found the time to make pants LINKS |
April was month jam packed with a little bit of everything, leaving me completely exhausted and physically bruised!
Two days after, I was shot in the Blossom 2012 collection for Aman Dhalay’s look book. I had a fun time working with Fela of Fela Photography. We spend an hilarious time trying to get me to twirl without making funny faces! Success? Yes!
The very next day, I helped launch the press releases for the first show this season for A Brush with Death - Calgary’s Ultimate experience of spirits, blood, magic, and macabre comedy. I sat down with Yeats, producer and host of A Brush with Death, to discuss the new layout of the website for the new season, the layout of the print media, media contacts, and places to advertise the show. During the video testimonials for A Brush with Death, one of the attendees complimented the layout of the website. She felt it conveyed the show’s feel and it was easy to find information on the show and performers. Yes……I flew up into the sky when I heard that! In addition, one of our giant posters was picked up and will be displayed in a local tattoo shop! In the same week, I participated in a shoot with Artists Within and Paulina Ochoa Photography. I was molded into a creepy porcelain doll and haunted the loading dock of the building for the photo shoot. I also was shot by DMacStudios for the promo campaign for Fantasy Warriors at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo 2012. We did some quick shots of my unfinished costumes – Amber from Sucker Punch and Batgirl from Batman – The Animated Series.
Right after the interview, I jetted off with Fela to Runway Monthly – a fashion event that took place at The Bank. Editor Picks Article: http://www.calgaryfashion.ca/2012/04/13/runway-monthly-april-2012/ At the end of that week, I dragged The Magic Assistant of A Brush with Death standee over to Broken City for Jumble Boogie. It felt very awkward to wrap the standee up in garbage bags, drag her to the Calgary Fashion booth, and display her being hung with red rope. At the end of the day, I rewrapped her in garbage bags and shoved her into my beetle. I felt like a psycho killer, but it was all in good fun to advertise A Brush with Death! Then I attended the Woman’s Show with Artists Within as a model! Amilee Hagon painted a pretty scene of koi swimming tranquilly on my body. It got pretty chilly prancing around in my undergarments, but it was great to be a living canvas for the beautiful work of Amilee! Now, we’re into the third week of the month! I got in touch with Maark of Pretty Hipster and interviewed him for Calgary Fashion. What talent and innovation! I can’t wait to start on my article for Pretty Hipster! Both articles for Catalaya and Pretty Hipster will be up this week. The next day, I attended the Dress for Success event at Southcentre Mall and Converge – Industry Mixer at Ubu Lounge. Dress for Success was a marvelous event for a great cause – helping disadvantaged women thrive in work and life. Centre court of Southcentre was beautifully decorated with trendy displays and garden decor. I love the giant tree with the mannequin tree topper!! At Converge, I met new friends and even ran into someone who attended a previous showing of A Brush with Death! It’s always so good to hang with my fashion family to re-ignite that creative spark! That weekend, I assisted Yeats of Yeats Magic Co. for a last minute children’s birthday party. I helped bring in equipment, blow up balloons, and made a balloon flower for the birthday girl! We were told it was a party for kids 3 to 8 years old. There was one 8 years old girl and most of the kids were 3 -4 years of age…..a time where magic isn’t really understood or appreciated yet. So we made more balloon animals to entertainment the cute little kiddies! The next day, I helped style a photo shoot with The Swap Team. At first, I was EXTREMELY nervous about this event. So, I asked Fela to come and help style the outfits – I know Fela has great taste and that she would produce fantabulous results! I thought the event would turn into a styling competition between bloggers, but we all pulled together to create jaw dropping shots! Thanks so much Fela of Fela photography, Ashley of Lions, Lace and Lattes, Necole of The Creative Mixx, Glorife of Fashionsign Magazine, and Stacey and Vanessa of the Swap Team for all your fashion input! I had a super fun time on this project and would love to help out again! FINALLY! We’ve come to the last week of April…
Most of the week, I was rushing to get the zombie dress done for the Dead Mile pageant, which ended up as an unfinished disaster. Sadness…Lesson learned – An everything girl can do everything, but that doesn’t mean she actually DOES everything at once. Despite this downfall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Fantasy Warriors expanded to a three booth space this year, protected by Batgirl/Amber, Catwoman, Master Chief, a Fantasy Warrior, a Trill Borg/Na’vi, and Vampirella. AND LOOK!! Master Chief and I got spotted by Swerve! SPOTTED: http://swervecalgary.com/2012/04/30/the-comic-book-expo/ On the Saturday of the CCE Expo, I had to rush out early from the Fantasy Warriors’ booth to prepped the sound and music for A Brush with Death. The show was a complete success! All the theatre seating was sold out before the show and temporary seating was set-up around the perimeter of the room for more fans!
Cale White of Phocal: Immortal Images captured a picture of me in the sound booth! After teardown and video recording testimonials, I was able to slap in 4 hours of sleep for another full day at the Expo as Batgirl.
I ended the month off by attending the BLG awards as a Calgary Cultural Ambassador. The event was held to honour the best university athletes in Canada and to promote post-graduate studies at Canadian universities. Congrats to Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marc-André Dorion for winning the titles! Squeezed into this busy month, I still manage to fit in my day job as a web coder and print designer. But, all the additional stresses laid heavy on this tiny body. My knees fell out of their sockets more times than usual and they actually started bruising on their own!! Bah…..let’s see how long I can avoid the doctor’s….I still have to book a blood work appointment for my Graves’ disease….shhh shhh…. I will be taking May at a much, much slower pace. I find it difficult to say “no” to people, but I would rather finish a small amount of projects above expectations than to finish a huge amount of projects below grade. Good luck to me! LINKS |
 Photo by Doug Wong I arrived on grounds for the Peace Bridge Celebration around 12PM and was slightly concerned that only a few hundred may show up. When the bridge was open for the first crossing, thousands of eager Calgarians gathered around – all wanting to be the first to cross this beautiful structure. LINKS |
Calgary Fashion was invited to watch a screening of Shame – directed by Steve McQueen. It was probably a BAD idea going to the movie without any background information. It was even a worse idea to bring a guyfriend as company…AWKWARD!! SHAME TRAILER
My guyfriend spent most of the time rolling his head around the back of his seat, not because every five minutes was a sex scene, but Shame was an overall bad movie… Elle’s Review on Calgary Fashion: http://www.calgaryfashion.ca/2012/01/20/steve-mcqueens-shame-a-shame-on-shame/ |
 From Teaser-Trailer.com - Sucker Punch Poster The CCEE is coming up in April and I’m gonna be hitting the event as Amber of Sucker Punch! Now I want to this costume to be 100% wearable for a full day (8+ hours) and to be as authentic as I can make it. Mission 1: Collect all relevant data on target. I have now collected over twenty high quality images of this Sucker Punch costume. Each image is a different POV, detailing every fabric used, seam stitched, and accessory created to make the perfect look. When examining each picture carefully, I realized that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. The costume work on the original is insane!! Michael Wilkinson, Amber’s costumer, put so much detail into her outfit that I get dizzy trying to follow where the seams and fabrics begin and end. I’ve decided to start the costume making process with the accessories – the belt, body harness, and weapon/ammo holders. Off to the sketching board to find out how much leather I’ll be needing for these accessories!! |
 Ruby Johnson with Jolanta, Gwyn Auger, Elle and other participants in "Walking in Sunshine Photo Shoot" Ruby Johnson, designer of Ruby Ellen Designs, organized a photo shoot on Sunday. A picture from this shoot will be featured on a poster for a fundraising event – Walking in Sunshine – on March 8th to support the Sonshine Centre. Photography was taken by Urban Couture Photography. A little over twenty people arrived photo ready, dressed in yellow, white and red. There were many familiar faces! Sunday Omony, a beautiful and talented plus size model and role model, along with Tessa of Fashionsign Magazine came out to support the cause. Brittany Robart, Calgary’s Songbird, also arrived on scene in a sleek outfit, and even The Magic Assistant – Gwyn Auger, despite her cold, flaunted Ruby’s fur coat for the photo shoot. I’m excited to see how the poster turns out! |
In October 2011, Fela Dales of Fela Photography prepared a contest where the person with the most votes win “The Model Experience”. Paola captured the most votes and, surprisingly, was offered a contract with Numa Models! Bloopers to come! Credits Special Thanks to Copyright 2011 An ENTM Production |
Once again, H&M makes luxury fashion affordable for the everyday fashionista. This spring, H&M will release their new collaboration with Marni, a collection for both men and women. For more details, read my article on Calgary Fashion! Calgary Fashion Link: http://www.calgaryfashion.ca/2011/12/07/marni-for-hm/ |
Flare4Fashion was a fantastic event! The hall was filled up with media and very supportive fans, all gathered together to raise funds for the Somalia Famine Relief. My day started at 11 am with the make-up artist, Navi Brar. This was definitely one of my favorite sleek looks. Brar outlined by eyes with a smoky darkness and exaggerated the corners for a gorgeous wind blown effect. Darker brows (my fault!) would have pushed this look to another level, but I like the overall pale look with the faded brows. It made the blue of my outfit stand out so much more and the star of the runway was the clothes afterall. Next, I made my way to Shelley Leung who performed super hair magic! At first, I thought she was having trouble with my wacky hair style. You see, I’m growing my hair out from my Victoria Beckham bob, which means my hair is pretty layered and difficult to pin up. This didn’t stop Leung from creating a work-of-art hair bun that lasted a full 12 hours without fraying. Even Cat of GypsyLane Make-up Artistry, super experienced HMUA, commented on the beautiful work of Shelley Leung. Other HMUAs who participated include Rupi of RoopStyle and Neelam of Encore Style. I have to, HAVE TO, comment on the etiquette of Aman Dhalay, designer of Javeda Fashions. Dhalay had a lot on her plate and even more on the day of the event, but Dhalay still managed to take good care of her models and crew. She fed us coffee and treats from Timmies, Subway sandwiches for lunch and let us munch on the event goodies after our show! She made sure our dressing room was secure at all time and did not allow outside people in while the girls were dressing up. You would think this is common practice, but no….I’ve been at events where boys and random strangers (who are not part of the styling team) enter the dressing or backstage freely during dressing. Yes, models may “expose” themselves for work, but we still need our space during our private times. I can understand events have a lot of costs, but if you can’t provide anything, then don’t pull us along with empty promises. Be straight up, so the newb models can be prepared. Experienced models tend to not be fazed by any hiccups She was honest and very professional in all her work. She expressed her concerns as they arose and personally thanked every model. One of the greatest feeling is being appreciated for your time and good work and I sure it was felt on both sides! I would definitely recommend Javeda Fashions, both as a working model and a future client. The clothing itself is extremely intricate and is available in so many vibrant colors and flattering styles! Javeda Fashions is featured at Crossover S’e: Link.
So I was going through the photos and I saw it… the infamous fish face! Awww….my hard concentration (or relief!) on not tripping while twirling on the runway shone right through! I think I might have gotten away with it if I had much fiercer eyes Photography by: Wally Mah of Images by Design Photography
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It takes a lot of tears and sweat to make a fur coat (over 40 hours worth!), but most of us still leave these furry beauties in the back of our closets. We’re just too fashion shy to sport these pieces in full blast…BUT City Fox “approached the vintage fur conundrum with an entrepreneurial smile”! Read my full article on City Fox on Calgary Fashion: http://www.calgaryfashion.ca/2011/11/24/style-and-conscious-approach-the-fur-trend-ethically-for-the-winter-with-city-fox/ |
 The new Bond girls dressed in Echo Evenings & Bridal This Friday (November 25th), come down to Fashion Central for Designer Shopping Night! Local and fabulous fashion houses will be featuring their collections on the Fashion Central runway: Echo Evenings & Bridal, Emogene Couture, Ruby Ellen Designs, Bano & eeMee, Niche Handbags, ga.za.ba milano, and Jolanta Fashions. For that extra fashion touch, the Volume Beauty Bar and Mica Design will be styling the hair and faces of all the models.
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Taboo – Naughty … but nice Show: http://www.canwestproducti Hey Fans, I love working with Fantasy Warriors at their events! It all started at the CCEE last year, where I was painted up as a Na’vi. So many fans dropped by to get their pictures taken with the sexy warrior ladies – the perfect souvenir to bring home and show off! I’ll be doing it again for the Taboo, where I’ll be dressed up as a slave girl, servant to the new Queen of the Damned – Miss Talyn Stone! Come by and get a fantastic souvenir photo taken of you with us! |
 Day 1 of Mary Kay Regiment I received a three day sample of Mary Kay TimeWise 3-in-1 cleanser and Age-fighting Moisturizer and will be testing it out over the next three days. My regular skin regiment involves Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Mild – Dry Combination (morning), Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub, Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Restoring Cream, and Clinique All About Eyes Serum. I’m definitely a fan of exfoliants in face wash. My Clinique Facial Soap has none, but my Biore Scrub is filled with them. In comparison, Mary Kay Timewise Cleanser has about 70% less than Biore, so I feel like I have to spend more time scrubbing my face. While rinsing off the cleanser, both my face and hands felt pretty filmy – an odd sensation… The Mary Kay moisturizer felt very light and absorbed quickly, but my face did feel a little dry an hour later and I felt like I had to put more moisturizer on. Clinique Moisturizing Gel does feels more greasy than Mary Kay and a bit heavier. So let’s talk about my face! I’ve been pretty stressed lately with the amount of workload I have to work through in three days, so I have been breaking out. I have about three small zits on my cheeks and one big zit on my left cheek. My lip area is dotted with a bunch of tiny whiteheads from all the greasy KFC I’ve been smearing down my throat and little blackheads dot my nose. My whiteheads heal in about two weeks and big zits take about three weeks with my normal skin regiment. Also, without the right moisturizer, I have fine lines around my mouth – laugh lines. Let’s see what Mary Kay can do compared to my regular stuff! UPDATE AFTER FOUR DAYS: There WAS something very different with this new skin treatment from Mary Kay. It was definitely trying to change my skin chemistry… in good ways and bad. Using the products for four days, I noticed that it did move the healing process of new zits along more quickly. The big pimple reduced in swollenness by 50-60% and the little ones flattened out completely. I also noticed the “laugh lines” had faded. Now, the bad…my face always felt constantly dry, itchy, and kinda burny – enough for me to want to scratch my face constantly or to slather on more moisturizer. I can definitely tell the products were trying to drastically change my face chemistry way too quickly, which can result in big rashes and more pimples if I continued using the products (usually the result from past experiences with new products). Small rashes were already forming along my jawline on the right side (oh so itchy!). Normally, I wouldn’t classify my skin type as sensitive, so I have to say TimeWise is a “harsh” product. If I were to continue with TimeWise, I wouldn’t be able to confirm if it was right for me until 3 months of use, which would give me enough time for my skin to adapt to the new treatment. Unfortunately, I’m more afraid of the rashes spreading, so I’m returning to my old stuff.
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 Fashion Trouble at 11:11's Designer Shopping Night Congrats to Eleven:Eleven Boutique for hosting another fashion fun filled event! Both upstairs and downstairs was packed wall to wall with eager fashion fans waiting to see collections from local designers, but it wasn’t a traditional fashion runway show! Oh no, no, no! The models mingled with the crowd, allowing potential clients to view the fabrics and detailing up close, and of course I was the first to jump on the models to feel the fashion goods of three local designer collections: Ruby Ellen Designs, Pout Clothing, and Bano & eeMee.
It’s the same dress from Ruby’s Lunchbox Social (as worn by Xenia and photo taken by Aduro). At the Lunchbox Social, the dress exuded an aura of playfulness, but suddenly with lace bottoms, the dress becomes elegant attire for any fashion angel (model: Savana). Ruby Ellen Designs showcased outfits from her recent lookbook (which I had the honour to model for!). Delicate floral designs and flowy fabrics graced the floors of 11:11. Two very snazzy jackets also made a debut. Mirroring the colors of autumn leaves, a silky, green lined jacket was paired with the above white gown. The jacket was adorned with a ruffled collar and tiny sunflowers dot color block pattern. The other jacket was a vibrant purple fashion spectacle. Both collar and sleeve cuffs were accentuated with 3D rose designs.
It’s my Bondage shirt!! Well….not really Pout Clothing’s featured line screamed comfort. Stretch jersey knits and tailored, but loose fitting designs proved Pout’s skill in marrying style and comfort together in a beautiful ready-to-wear relationship. I have the lightweight version of the Cloak Jacket by Bano & eeMee and absolutely love it! This beige version is thicker than the grey one I have and much more winter ready I would describe Bano & eeMee as “executive” wear. I imagine that women of power would be all over this collection! I love the fur leg warmers paired with the cloak jacket Need more information?
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I was finally able to log into my Hotmail account this morning and was going through my Junk Mail Folder. I came across this email and it just made my morning. Do people really fall for this stuff and why do they always pick Nigeria?? “I am Ms Annabel Okem. A computer scientist with central bank of Nigeria. I am 26 years old, just started work with C.B.N. I came across your file which was marked X and your released disk painted RED, I took time to study it and found out that you have paid VIRTUALLY all fees and certificate but the fund has not been release to you. The most annoying thing is that they cannot tell you the truth that on no account will they ever release the fund to you. Please this is like a Mafia setting in Nigeria; you may not understand it because you are not a Nigerian. The only thing I will need to release this fund is a special HARD DISK we call it HD120 GIG. I will buy two of it, recopy your information, destroy the previous one, and punch the computer to reflect in your bank within 24 banking hours. I will clean up the tracer and destroy your file, after which I will run away from Nigeria to meet with you. If you are interested. Do get in touch with me immediately, You should send to me your convenient tell/fax numbers for easy communications and also re confirm your banking details, so that there won’t be any mistake.for phone converstion,please call me on +2348155605982. Regards, Ms Annabel Okem” |
Although I dressed up as Batgirl for CCEE 2012, Batgirl was actually designed for our Batman themed Halloween party in 2010.
In the end, I have a cowl that doesn’t fit the way it does in the sketch, BUT I don’t mind having my ear pop out. I do appreciated the ability to hear properly 
At the start of the month, I was returning from 
The following week, I interviewed Jen of 
Miss Anita poses in a dazzling pink wonder!
