Disclaimer: I’m going to try and not make this post just a boring “er, wanna look at my holiday snaps” kinda blog post. Try I sad…
One of my goals for 2012 was to push myself out of my comfort zone more, and to travel as much as possible. I’ve never been a huge traveller, but I strongly felt that in order to broaden my horizons and provide more well rounded and interesting blog topics that starting to do more of it was important. So when Japanese travel and goth fashion blogger La Carmina, who I’ve spoken to online for the past 4+ years, asked if I wanted to join her in Prague for a few days I disregarded my feelings of trepidation and nerves and said hell yes!
The trip was sponsored by Go with Oh who own rental apartments all over Europe. We were on the top floor of a gorgeous gothic-esque looking apartment building and despite the disruptive stag do over the corridor it was perfect! This was the apartment we stayed in. It was huge – a massive bedroom, two bathrooms, a reception area, a kitchen/lounge and an outside terrace! Especially after just getting back from New York and being hauled up in a teeny apartment, I felt like we were living like kings queens!
We had a view over the Vltava river and it was just a 10 minute hop skip and jump over the water to Old Town.
The view from Gala & Nubby’s suite at The Cosmpolitan. Not too shabby…
What time is it? What country am I in? How do I form sentences again…?
Greetings. This morning’s blog post comes from a head that still hasn’t quite got back on UK time. It may have been a week since I landed back at Heathrow, but I’m still finding it hard to get back on track! However waking up at 2pm and going to bed at 4am could work for me I reckon…
Those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook will have been lucky (or unlucky, whichever way you look at it!) to have been force-fed regular updates from my Las Vegas adventure over the past few weeks, but today I thought it necessary to put off getting back to work just a little while longer in order to share some of my favourite photos and fun times from Viva Las Vegas.
I’m sure some of you are sick to death of hearing all about it already…sorry about that…but for the rest of you I hope you enjoy this extra epic extra huge post dedicated to one of my new favourite places, the city they call Sin…
Glitter balls at Gallery Nightclub, Planet Hollywood
I visited Vegas primarily for WPPI with David & Lisa, however I was also lucky enough that my girls Gala & Nubby came into town at the same time so we were able to hang out and do fun girly things all week! Soooo what started as just another work trip was transformed into a magical holiday packed with full on adventure, sequins and giggles (oh so many giggles!)
Warning this is a really long and very image heavy post! I suggest a cup of tea and a hobnob or two while you have a nosy through…
Day 1
Excited on the plane (please excuse crappy front-facing camera phone photo!)
David & I arrived early evening on Thursday. Feeling a little worse for wear jet-lag wise we kept our first night simple. We went for a wonder down The Strip from our hotel, The Stratosphere, and ended the night with a few drinks in the hotel bar. I’ll be straight up honest with you, I wasn’t too sure about our hotel before we got there. It pretty far up Las Vegas Boulevard, right at the north end and just before you hit the downtown area, and wasn’t anything like the fancy smancy themed ones that everyone else we knew seemed to be staying in! However it was way cheaper than a lot of the other hotels, since we hired a car it was easy to get into the hub of Vegas, just 5-10 minutes… plus parking in all the hotels is FREE. Amazing! Hiring a car was the best thing we did as although cabs are not too expensive (about $15 + tip from one end of The Strip to the other) they certainly do add up!
Day 2
Oh, Hello there Kitty!
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right?! After a day of wondering around and getting our bearings (and posing with the locals see above…) David & I decided a proper night out was in order. We started off by meeting Erin of Knot Couture who I’ve chatted to a lot online, before heading to see…The Chippendale’s!
It wasn’t grown up, clever or classy but oh boy was it funny! The girls who were called up on stage to do ‘tasks’ with them were seriously brave (or just very drunk!) If you’re in Vegas with some like-minded silly friends I’d totally recommend letting your inhibitions go and seeing them. Perfect for an unclassy hen do!
We ended the night by dancing to the wee hours at a 24 hour nightclub (yes, only in Vegas could a ‘day club’ be as popular as a night club!) We felt roughidy rough rough rough the next day but it was worth it!
Day 3
Feeling slightly delicate, we took day 3 at a nice slow pace. We tried out the oxygen bar in our hotel which was surprisingly brilliant for our hangovers, followed by an IHOP breakfast.
After a well earned and strong coffee to settle our post-TV nerves, it was onto the next order of the day. A photo shoot! Told you I was busy didn’t I…?
The Photo Shoot
Megan had also arranged for me to do a photo shoot with local online magazine Esoteric Velvet (they also interviewed me which you can read here) to showcase her amazing dress. So after the TV slot we were whisked to Tru Salon & Spa where I was transformed into a cyber punk-esque goddess, complete with multi coloured dreadlock extensions, make up by a drag queen (I loved it – that dude knew how to do eye make up let me tell you!) and ripped up tights.
We then drove to what I can only describe as a deserted and slightly smelly field on the side of the freeway, complete with biting flies and a stagnant swamp. Oh the glamour huh!? I jest I jest.
The shoot was awesome and the team filled me with inspiration. I got to set fire to a guitar (well they did, I just posed and tried to concentrate on whether the heat I was feeling was coming from the blaring sun or the fire by my fingers) then release some pent up aggression and smash it up.
The shoot was super fun and the results are pretty damn wicked non? I’m in AMERICA baby!
After the whirlwind of walking the catwalk at Omaha Fashion Week you’d think I might deserve a rest no? Well erm…no apparently I didn’t. The following morning we were up bright and early for another busy day!
The TV Appearance
As most of you will have already seen, Megan & I were invited onto The Morning Blend breakfast show to talk about fashion week and blogging/Rock n Roll Bride. I sure will have woken up some sleepy Nebraskans with my pink ensamble huh!? Gareth took some behind the scenes type photos while we were there. And if you haven’t watched the segment yet (I seriously cringe every time I watch it back but hell, I was on American telly yo! Who cares if I fluffed up a few answers and misread the damn auto cue?!…) you can see it here!
So I’ve been home from my American Adventure™ for a couple of weeks and after finally catching up with my 800+ emails and writing the magazine articles that were due like, the day after we got back…oh plus helping to organise and attending the amazing Feather Love Photography workshop in London (phew) I can finally sit myself down and try to begin to process the experience I had on the other side of the pond.
Quite simply my mind is blown. I’m not sure any of my write-up posts are going to make a whole lot of sense actually. You know when you have such an incredible experience (like getting married I guess!) it’s sometimes really hard to turn everything whirring around your head into a conscious stream information when telling people the story?! Therefore I apologise for any future rambly blog posts on this subject!
So, the whole reason I was in The States was down to the incredible Megan Hunt AKA Princess Lasertron. She emailed me a few months back and asked if I’d like to come visit her in Omaha for their fashion week…but also if I’d like to walk the catwalk to model her latest party dress collection…oh and if I could wear a dress that she wanted to design specifically for me and the readers of this blog! No pressure then.
the models’ shoes. photo by me
I’ve loved Megan and her work ever since I first discovered her on a wedding forum we were both members of. We both got married around the same time and I definitely had/have a girl/wedding crush on her. As our plane was about to touch down in Omaha I turned to Gareth and squealed “Oh shit…what am I doing?! What if she doesn’t like meeeee?” I need not have worried though. We were greeted off the plane with a beautiful handmade (pink and glittery!) “Welcome Kat & Gareth!” sign plus a whole round of giant hugs, and my inner tension was immediately irradiated.
Our first evening in Omaha was spent eating sushi, drinking cocktails and watching that night’s fashion show. We were jet lagged and overwhelmed but it was amazing. People were coming up to us all night to say how excited they were that we were there, and even though I was bloody tired I didn’t want the night to end. We flopped into our amazingly comfortable bed at The Magnolia Hotel about midnight (erm…8am UK time!) and I realised I’d forgotten all about being nervous about what was in store over the next few days.
This was my second catwalk experience but was by no means less terrifying than the first. Not only was I in a country 3000 miles away from my own but I was there to represent the work of a designer that I’ve adored for like… forever. The usual notions of “OMG what if I fall‘ were of still there but this time they were joined by their buddies “What if all the ‘real’ models hate me,” “What if I’m a big fat disappointment to Megan who’s invited me all the way out here” and ” What if the dress doesn’t fit?!”
OK so luckily I didn’t have to worry. The models were all lovely and normal (well except the fact that I felt like a midget who should eat less pies next to them) Megan and I got on like an actual house on fire and the dress was perfect. No, more than perfect! I fell in love as soon as I saw it.
The day went past in a beautifully colourful blur. We spent the day getting pimped and preened, rehearsing and gossiping about American television. The Princess Lasertron show was the last of the night so we spent a long time stood behind the scenes, listening to the whoops and cheers of the audience in response to the other collections. Then, at about 9.30pm, it was finally our turn.
I was at the end of the line of models (the grand finale as Megan called me!) and as ‘Gucci Gucci’ blasted out into the audience I sauntered (…ish thank God Megan gave me comfortable wedges – which she’d spray painted in neon colours – to wear) down the runway to a roaring applause and approximately a million flash bulbs going off.
And here are a few photos of me doing my thang, taken by various photographers (there was a sea of them at the end of the catwalk!) throughout the night. Remember the blog post I wrote about ‘How to Pose’? well all the rules are being broken here…I was so nervous! Coupled with the fact that most photographers were shooting from a low angle, below the catwalk, and it’s ‘oh hello double chins and chubby thighs!’
This is just a little teaser of what’s to come next week…
I’ll be sharing my stories, photos and videos of my week in Omaha with Princess Lasertron. Nope, I can’t wait for you to see it all either. PLUS and this is a big plus, I’ve got a seriously amazing Lasertron deal for you all…want a free felt bouquet? Well you can all have one…yeah you heard me!
Be here on Monday at 3pm for the first hit of loveliness. Happy weekend!
