here at second star entertainment many of you know we don't just do birthday parties and special events, we have also been producing an immersive concert series for the last 4 years. it is a one night only concert event that mixes music from broadway, the billboard charts, and film for a one of a kind experience in an intimate black box theatre. When creating the looks and the visuals for the show, we look to many muses. i think it's important to think outside the box when you design a show. don't just look for inspiration in the obvious places, look for it everywhere. One of my constant muses since she burst onto the scene has been Katy Perry. Since her first video for her single "UR SO GAY" i have loved her ever changing and quirky style. if you come to see one of my concerts i can promise you at least one if not several of the looks were in some way inspired by Miss Katy. Her latest tour was just as inspiring and wild as the last two. the Prismatic tour was a fashion dream, there are serious moments, cheeky moments, creative imagery, and what would normally be tired stereo types done in new fresh engaging visuals. Her costumes are brilliant, it was like one right after the next just got better and better. her level of showmanship reminds me of Britney, Madonna, and Cher. she is in league with some extraordinary female performers, and not many can reach the level she has reached. there are so many favorite moments in this tour, the firework dress, the graffiti bodysuit, the bright pink catsuit. each one so different, but each one perfectly in synch with Perry.
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soon enough once upon a time will be returning and with it will come the queens of darkness. The television adaptation of three of disney's greatest and most iconic villains. this isn't the first time they have been adapted though. i am excited to see more of these characters, through flashbacks as well as in new situations the OUAT writers will thrust upon them. In anticipation lets take a look at some of the many iconic disney villains that have already made the leap to live action. the one who started it all. Glen Close as Cruella De'ville was genius casting, and her vision of the wealthy fashion designer with an obsession with fur was spot on. But what took the film to the next level was the costumes, each more ridiculous then the next. I think the Glen Close version has almost become more iconic then the animated original. Her first look in the film was my favorite, it was classic, chic, and said i am one bad ass bitch with out her having to utter a single word. Once Upon a Time's Evil Queen Regina is one of the most delicious villains on television , and her wardrobe is stunning. Lana Parilla's layered portrayal of the Wicked Queen is perfection, and she is so well written. i have already done an entire post about her wardrobe, so i just decided to include my number one favorite look. Maleficent has been immortalized on the silver screen by Angelina Jolie, and on the small screen by Kristin Bauer Stratton. Both actors did an incredible job with very different interpretations. Angelina Jolie's depiction was subtle and graceful, her lilting voice managed to include power and strength as well as giving her a mystical sense. she also managed to inject a bit of wicked humor. Once Upon a Time has taken a different approach, their Maleficent, is older, wiser, and pure evil. Unlike the film version, their Maleficent is not messing around. She has rivaled with the Evil Queen, and this season she is going to take on happy endings. I love the costumes they have created so far.their initial look was much different from the animated counter part, and i was obsessed with, her return this season gives something that harkens back to her demonic look in the original animated classic. Jonathan Freeman the original voice actor behind Jafar made the leap onto the stage portraying him in the broadway musical adaptation of Disney's masterpiece. The costume is perfect, it is a more elaborate and lush version of the animated counter part, and who better to wear it then the man who made him so deliciously evil in the first place. Once upon a Time has tackled Ursula in two different ways, Regina posed as the sea witch and played wonderful homage to the 1989 classic film. they styled her very much to look like her animated counter part. now the Sea Witch is returning, but as her actual self and not Regina in disguise, and she has a much more unique vision as far as her costume. i am excited to see more of her, and how they bring her to life. Cinderella makes the leap to the big screen this spring, and Cate Blanchet is taking on the role of Lady Tremain. i can not wait to see how deliciously wicked she will be, the casting was perfection. i am already obsessed with the costumes for the film, the concept was a fairytale film designed in the style of a 1950s or 1960s cinematic masterpiece. the result has been in my opinion brilliant.
Step Away from the Party Aisle. Step Away from the Party Aisle
If you’ve ever strolled down the party section of your favorite store, then you know what you will fin, a wide array of characters staring back at you from every cup, plate, & napkin. If you ask me, it’s a little overwhelming, and can be a bit tacky, oh yeah not to mention crazy expensive. It's gonna be ok, just ignore it and keep walking until you come across the solid/pattered party ware section. You can trust me on this one, A plain plate or a polka-dotted napkin is just as useful, probably cheaper– and a whole lot classier and stylish! Many stores and online sites, such as Etsy, offer a huge variety of printable or ready- made “character-inspired” sets that coordinate with just about any theme imaginable. If you get a little crafty, you can do alot with a simple idea. Keep it Simple Keep it simple and keep it subtle. If you can simplify all of your decorations, not only will all of your party prep be easier, but it also makes your party a whole heck of a lot cheaper. Instead of plastering every inch of your event space with tacky pre-purchased character products, let a few well thought out specific pieces be the focal points. Less is more when it comes to party decor. Incorporate Character-Inspired Colors & Patterns Every beloved character has very recognizable visual aspects to them – that is part of what makes them so popular with children. So lets take a minute and examine your child’s favorite character closely. Try and be more broad and abstract. Is there a color scheme, pattern or texture that instantly distinguishes that particular character from the rest? Great! Lets start there. See if you can come up with 3-4 colors, patterns or textures that represent the character and incorporate them into your decor. Use Related Motif So if you’re not going to be using character image, then what are you going to use? That's simple, lets think about an item or visual that relates back to the character. Instead of using Elsa & Anna clip art, use snow flakes, reindeer, scandanavian rosemaling. Rather than Minons everywhere, perhaps yellow hard hats could be an element carried throughout the party. It can really help to brainstorm several ideas and come up with a few things that might work, and then you can decide which one or two elements you like the best so that everything is cohesive. Use an Unexpected Color Scheme What i love most about ditching the tacky store-bought party goods is you now have the freedom to use any color scheme you want. If your doing a halloween party, you could use classic orange and black, but inject it with bright pink and gold, to give it your own spin. Not only does this give your party a very high-end feel to it, but just about everything can be reused over and over again. Change Up the Style Usually, the items you will find in the party aisle are all pretty much generic. Companies will take the same basic designs and just insert the different characters and a different color pallet. Unfortunately, not a ton of room for stylistic interpretation, or creativity. Luckily, in step one we decided to skip the party aisle and go for something a lot more interesting. Another benefit to using customized party decor is the ability to change up the style to make it suit your taste. Do you like a vintage vibe, use vintage elements and what i call a sorbet pallet. or maybe you like a rustic vibe try using chalkboard signs and a darker more subdued pallet. if you can add your personal style to it, your party is sure to be a success. When revamping a theme to suit your personal style, there really are no limits other then your imagination. Your party can take on a preppy, bohemian, vintage, rustic, or modern feel regardless of the characters or theme. another good trick is to have your party be inspired by a favorite clothing designer. It’s completely up to you. Use Items You Have Last but not least,and we touched on this the other day, take a look around your house. Chances are if it's your childs favorite character, then just maybe, perhaps you have a few toys or figurines of that beloved character that you can easily incorporate into your party decorations. This can be a very budget-friendly way to sneak that character into the party in a few more places and your child will most likely be thrilled to see their favorite toys being showcased as a part of the party. I've already mentioned my love for Ever After High, but let's take a moment to focus on it's flagship collection, the toys that started it all, Monster High. In recent years the characters from monster high have gone on a few adventures, to Scaris, Boo York, Londoom, Skull Shores, Boo Orleans, Hauntlywood, and they have traveled back in time. In 2015 we will be getting two new movies and several toy lines, i am most excited about the Boo York collection the dolls look absolutely adorable, the outfits have an over the top theatrical theme and it says it's going to be a musical adventure so i wonder if it will take place on Broadway or in a theatre. I can't wait until the movie comes out to see how all the new monsters are incorporated. another one of their collections coming out in 2014 is Freak Chic, now the only thing i love more then fairytales is the circus. This collection looks so awesome. the designers always come up with some of the best ideas, and detailed designs. So far it doesn't look like there is a film attached to this collection, but one can dream! Are you excited for the newest toy collections and dolls from Monster High? i will def be buying them for my god daughter, and maybe even a few for myself!
Once you have your theme chosen you can start getting the decorations for your party gathered together.
If you are like me, you can easily go over board, and over budget. Here are a few of the places i go to help me keep on budget. Dollar Tree and 99 cent store Daiso Market Michaels Jo Anne's GoodWill Salvation Army Target your Downtown wholesale district All of these stores have tons of things you can get for under 5.00 (some have everything for 1.00) you can also find a lot of things that are versatile and re-useable. i have a cabinet of party supplies i use almost every party or event i throw, and some of them I only paid 1.00 for, but i have probably used 15 or 20 times already. the other resource you have is your home! i am constantly using things from around my house to decorate for parties and events, and often times vases or other decorative pieces i use in a party will find a permanent home in my bedroom or living room. so take a look around your house and see what hidden gems you may have lying around, picture frames, plants, vases, statues can all come in handy. is it themed after your child's favorite tv show? i bet he or she has some toys, or stuffed animals or posters of the character, all of that can be put to use. just try and think outside the box, and you will have a great time decorating for your party. How to pick the perfect theme for your party.
first is your theme more general? is it a color combination? is it based off of something like a book, movie, character/celebrity, or an era in time? if your theme is more general are there elements and specific colors that are associated with it? patterns? types of food? for example a party with a Jungle theme could use the color green for table clothes, and mix animal prints like tiger, leopard, and zebra prints for paper goods like napkins, cups, and plates. and for food you could do a lot of different things inspired by jungle animals, you could do tropical fruit, meat kabobs, different desserts that use coconut, pineapple, and other fruits. the more specific you can be the easier it will make things. also are their ways you can personalize it ( after all it is your party, make it about you!) if it's a color combination why that combo, are there things you associate with that combo that are the reason that you chose it. try to ask yourself these questions once you have picked out a theme, and it will make it alot easier for the next step in party planning the decorations! Favor Bags are a great way to finish off your party, thank your guests for coming, and give them a fun memento to remember the event by, but they can also be a bit of a hassle to put together sometimes. Where do you find items? How do you fit your theme? how do you stay in a budget but still have something that is fun and memorable? That's where Second Star Entertainment can help. Let us create them for you, our team goes to stores all over southern california looking for cool items that fit in to every theme, as well as using our online resources. Let us take the weight off of your shoulders to help make your party or event easier so that you can enjoy your party instead of stressing over ever detail. Also Favor bags aren't just for little kids parties, they are great for weddings, bridal showers, teenagers parties, everyone loves to have a memento to remember your event by. And there are so many options, we can do plain bags, canvas bags, custom designed bags, metal lunch tins, or even metal buckets. They can also be filled with a variety of things, journals, puzzles, jewlery, masks, stickers, tattoos, coloring books, story books, make up, nail polish, lotions, perfumes, the possibilities are endless. It all just depends on what you want. Below is a sample of some of the items we have available, we are adding new stock every week and some items are not able to be restocked. Items in your favor bag may vary depending on theme, number of guests, and items in stock, but all of our items are top quality.
Mattel gave us the gift of Barbie, the worlds greatest fashion doll, but in recent years they have expanded to other doll lines, first there was the highly successful Monster High, which features the children of famous monsters. in 2013 they debuted Ever After High, which is a prep school in a magical land where the children of famous fairy tale characters are sent to carry out their destinies. The Designers of the dolls are genius, the attention to detail is amazing, and the interpretations of fairy tale fashion mixed with modern high fashion, and lolita style is on point. While all of the dolls are amazing, and i am pretty obsessed with all of them, especially Raven Queen the daughter of the Wicked Queen, the dolls I love the most are the Wonderlandians. Alice in Wonderland is a personal favorite of mine, and their vision of Wonderland is one i would gladly visit. the original wonderland trio featured Madeline Hatter who has aqua and lavender hair, and a wonderful mix of wonky patterns and lolita fashion, Kitty Cheshire with lavender tinted skin, two big pony tails and a black hat featuring cat ears, and Lizzy Heart, who may be my favorite, this is one of the best and unique versions of the queen of hearts i have ever seen, her red and black back length hair. playing card inspired lolita dress in red, black, and gold. Now they are adding Bunny Blanc, Alistair Wonderland, and are creating a special collection of over the top wonderland inspired outfits. These could def inspire a perfectly wonderful party this spring!
Here at Second Star Entertainment one of our favorite tv shows is Once Upon a Time, we love the creative and unique interpretations of fairytales and literary characters. It was so cool to see a twist on the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as their take on Neverland, and Ariel from the little mermaid. This season brought us a unique twist on the characters of the disney mega hit frozen, it was so cool to see Anna and Elsa brought to life, and have an extension to the story that came to a close in the end of the movie. i also loved that they incorporated a second Snow Queen who had many more similarities to the original Hans Christian Anderson story. i loved the the spell of shattered sight that she cast was very similar to the spell the original snow queen cast on Kai. They had a great blend of old and new elements to the Snow Queen lore. i am really looking forward to how they incorporate Ursula, Maleficent, and Cruella into the second half of the season. I alway enjoy the flashbacks on the show. While the plot and the actors are reason enough to watch (Regina has the best one liners ever!) My favorite reason for watching is the costumes, specifically Regina's Evil Queen persona. No character has ever been so deliciously dressed. All of her fabrics and textiles are so detailed and gorgeous. She is so drippingly evil. Every week i wait to see what she is wearing and how they dress her. I recently costumed a production of Macbeth, and Regina was one of my main inspirations for Lady Macbeth. Regina and Raven Queen (from Ever After High) also have a lot of similarities in their styling and wardrobe choices (Raven is my favorite as well). Here is a small sampling of a few of my favorite Regina Moments from the past 4 seasons.
we are so excited to debut our Snow White and Snow Princess costumes, they had a lovely day in the park today. both girls are in custom designed dresses, and each dress is adorned with swarovski crystals. the wigs are by Laura Richards ( www.facebook.com/TheCharmingViolet)
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Kirk Stefferudis the creative mind behind second star entertainment. he is an artist and a dreamer. this is his dream. Archives
September 2015
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