Categotry Archives: costume

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RAINBOWS ON THE SOLES OF HER SHOES

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Literally, people have pulled over on the side of the road to ask me where I got these shoes. They are attention grabbing and generate a lot of conversation, plus I think they’re fabulous.

rainbows on the soles of her shoes rainbow shoes

pre-rainbow shoes I got the tan cotton shoes at Payless for $10, and used acrylic paint to spice them up. The shoelace is a white metallic cording I had lying around, and it’s the perfect final touch.

In other news, I’ve been busy generating stock for markets and all your holiday shopping, plus a million little projects (and a couple bigger ones). I’ll get my Halloween costume posted before it’s completely irrelevant, plus I’ve been working on a great little party dress for our upcoming trip to Vegas.


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RAINBOW GOGGLES

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For some people, goggles are essential at Burning Man. Me? Not so much. I’ve gotten along fine without them, but I would like to have the option during a particularly dusty day. Plus, I’ve always thought those reflective bug-eye lenses look cool. I wear glasses, and while I am planning on using contact lenses* most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to have goggles that only work with certain eye-gear setups.

rainbow goggles Goggles in progress

rainbow goggles Painted, glittered, and relasticated, I’m one step closer to being ready for Burning Man.

Both goggles started off as standard plastic Dr. Peepers, which fit well over most glasses and have that bizarre alien look that we all try to cultivate. I taped over the lenses, front and back, and then covered them with spray primer (the key to having paint stick to plastic is to do several thin coats). Next came a layer of very shiny chrome paint–a great foundation for any project.

The decorations are done with a high-quality acrylic paint. I wanted the silver to still show through, so most of the acrylic layers were pretty thin. I wanted the two goggles to belong together without matching, so I used many of the same colors but in different places. I really enjoy painted in duplicate, because it allows me a chance to experiment with designs as I move between each goggle.

Goggles in progress Goggles in progress

I mixed different glitter with a water-based high gloss sealant, and I added a coat of Duplicolor Clear Effex glitter spray paint, cause I’m not holding anything back.

Goggles in progress Goggles in progress

One of the most crucial steps to achieving my look was the replace the boring black elastic. My sparkle rainbow elastic is a tiny bit wider than the original. At first I was concerned about not being able to find the hardware goggles detail to make my strap adjustable, but then I realized that the point of customizing my goggles was so that they didn’t need to be adjustable!

Minor additions were foam padding where I needed it (another benefit of really claiming an item as YOURS), and a few delicately placed rhinestones were unavoidable.

Last but not least, I added my name and playa address on the inside of the frames. If I were to loose these, I imagine I’d be pretty mellow about it–did I lose my goggles or is some stranger about to discover a really awesome gift? But still, I’d want the dusty stranger to know their story!

*Contact lenses are actually much easier than glasses at Burning Man. You find somewhere out of the wind to put them in, and you’re good to go all day without worrying about cleaning your specs or having them fall off!

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RAINBOW PLAYA BOOTS

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I’d been eying some retro spacey boots for a couple months, and one night randomly found them on Ebay. In my size. For $10. You know what happened next. As it turns out, metallic gold puffy boots are a little too subtle for me, so I had to modify.

the original shoe playa boots

Right away I ripped off the Rubber Duck label on the velcro strap. Anyone who knows me from my college days knows that I’m quite fond of rubber ducks, but branding is simply not part of my aesthetic.

The next step was to cover the gold-colored suede and rubber. My first choice would have been to use liquid paint and serenely cover the fabric while sitting at the kitchen table–just this thought greatly relaxes my costume-sewing-induced panic. But I didn’t have silver paint, paint pens looked incredibly crappy, and there was some nice chrome spray paint just wasting away in the closet. So I carefully taped around all those curves and happily painted my alley silver.

the original shoe playa boots

Surprisingly, the now silver-and-gold boots still felt a little boring. At this point I also noticed that the silver paint was not sticking to the rubber band between the boot and the sole. The best way to decorate this area naturally seemed to be rainbow elastic and sequin trim, which I attached via hot glue gun.

rainbow boots rhinetastic

There was no point in stopping here, so I also sewed some rhinestones where the tag used to be.

These boots are comfortable, very warm, and now totally bad ass. Definitely worthy for the playa, and they might even be the tipping point for getting me to venture to snowy climes this winter! I wore them to a Burning Man party this weekend and they were perfect. And I have to admit that now I want a pair in every juicy color.

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