all day everyday

The new project I mentioned briefly in yesterday's post is surely not such a huge secret to you, my dear readers.

Last October, I replicated a Lady GaGa outfit from scratch and outlined the process on this blog, and never did a "proper" photoshoot for it. As I brainstormed ideas for a photoshoot that would be interesting and distinct, I thought of presenting the costume in a series of "everyday" shots (I kept in mind that Lady GaGa dressed in costume 24/7). I pitched the idea to my friend Mike about it, wondering if it would seem "interesting", and he suggested that it might be MORE interesting to actually take photos everyday, of seemingly mundane activities that every regular Joe and Jane has to partake in--chores and whatnot. This turned into a discussion on making a website, the title and the numerous activities I would participate in.

I was fortunate that Josh, the photographer from my lingerie shoot back in December, was willing to shoot the first set of photos for me. I had started planning this back in January of this year, and Josh joined me in March. We spent a few months corresponding back and forth via email on activities we wanted "Everyday GaGa" to do.

Finally, after months of working discreetly on this project, and poking around the web to make sure no one else had done something like this yet, I was happy to unveil my latest project, Everyday GaGa, last Tuesday, June 1st.

Just one day in the life of GaGa

The site is updated everyday, at a different time everyday, to correspond with the activity of the day.

You can follow the site on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/everydaygaga

On another note, since my costume-making and Everyday GaGa have now sucked up the remainder of my life, I will no longer be updating the TUMBLR. I simply do not have the time to properly post on it anymore, and I'm not the type of person who likes to half-ass anything. It's 110% effort from me, or 0%, so while the tumblr will still exist, there will no longer be any updates.

lady gaga in west hollywood

Well, here's a teaser from me strolling around in West Hollywood posing as Lady Gaga, with other Lady Gaga's....

Got my fortune told...

but most importantly, I found Elmo!

This girl said she was dressed as Lady Gaga's #1 fan...

Tranny make-up?:
(the only things I actually went out to purchase are the powder and eyelashes):
Brushes: NARS eyeliner brush, Sephora refillable powder brush, Sephora blush brush,
Chanel eyeshadow brush, Chanel eyeliner brush, Sephora lip brush
Lipstick: Chanel Rouge Allure in Passion
Foundation: Laura Mercier (not pictured)
Loose Powder: bare minerals
Eyemakeup Primer: Urban Decay
Blush: Nars Mata Hari
Mascara: Chanel Inimitable
Eyeshadows: DiorShow 5-color Iridescent Shadow, Nars Duo in Pandora
Eyelashes: Hollywood Wigs
Nail Polish: Rimmel 60secs in Delicious Dark, Rimmel Top Coat

"Official" full body pictures to come tomorrow evening, check back later!

gaga for gaga: final days

Well, this costume did take a lot more out of me than I thought... I woke up with an eye infection yesterday and had to sleep for most of the day, skipping out on work and such... :(

Anyhow I did manage to finish my costume... I leave you here with some teasers...

(Cardstock)

Using the good old glue gun again.

Unfortunately the glue gun also leaves a bunch of scraggly residue that must be picked off.

gaga for gaga step 8

Well, we're winding down to the last days and it's time for me to add the finishing touches.

Saturday is the big day! Who else is as psyched as I am????

Hot cocoa with mini marshmallows has been helping me get through this...

Cutting the centerpiece, I used a thick black board (not poster board), then covered it in lame fabric. The lines are drawn simply by permanent marker...

I also used lame fabric for the center front portion between where the "skirt" is.

Putting in the boning...

The dress is stitched together but I have to run and buy another zipper foot later today (it's 2:26am right now :( ) to fix my center back.

The rest of the wiring must go into the skirt as well...

And the silver squares shall go on tomorrow!

gaga for gaga: step 7

Taking a little break from sewing, I started making the mask....

The mask I bought is a cheapo $6 mask from the costume shop, and it wasn't the exact shape of Gaga's, so I cut some cardstock to make the shape I wanted.

For this entire mask I used a hot glue gun to affix everything, sounds tacky but it works!

I then started applying the foil tissue, cutting it to fit... I felt like I was a hairdresser for a second and attending to someone's rollers...

(Technically you could use aluminum foil too, but I have to use the foil tissue for something else. I think the foil tissue is a bit more shiny, anyhow.)

After the entire surface was covered, I trimmed the excess foil, and then started with the "cracks". I decided to replicate the broken-mirror-glued-together-but-with-pizazz look using the hot glue gun and silver glitter. The glue from the glue gun would give more dimension than regular glue, but I had to work very quickly.

I'll have to do a massive vacuum job after this project...!

gaga for gaga: step 6

Short post on the progress of my costume as I spent most of today running around scrambling to find fishnets. Not a good idea to buy them the week prior to Halloween, as I went to 4 different Victoria's Secrets, a few Nordstroms and 1 Bloomingdales. I ended up buying 3 pairs, as I didn't think the holes in the net were that of a regular fishnet but not as wide as an open net. Also, the nylons don't look black-black, more like a dark brown.

I stopped by Michael Levine again this morning to pick up grommets and 2 more strips of boning that I forgot to buy last time. (the back of her ensemble is a lace-up back)

Self bias binding (for the skirt hem)

Remember my trials with horsehair and boning? I solved the issue of "molding" the skirt into the shape I wanted with this purple wire from my last post. And remember the electrical tape? I used it to finish off the cut edges of the wire. You can also use wax but I didn't want to buy wax simply for this purpose...

Tomorrow you will find out what I intend to do with this foil tissue and cardstock...