The clock’s long been ticking for anything bright, bedazzled, or Balmain-iacal. Now, it strikes midnight. Sexy is easy. The real dare? Wearing long black layers with flat (yes, flat) ankle boots—a newer, intriguing way to vamp. Because bad girls come in threes, we spirited away a trio of friends (two of them, Laura-Lynn Petrick and Petra Collins, keep a killing photoblog at www.fatale-femmes.com) and played dress up for a few witching hours.
LOOKS 1-2-3:
1: Canuck-born, London-living Jean-Pierre Braganza drapes the coolest antidotes to your average Little Black Dress. Petra’s swingy, strings-attached number, $365 at Carte Blanche (758 Queen W,
www.shopcarteblanche.ca), is layered over a Cheap Monday sheer-sleeved bodysuit, $199, also at Carte Blanche. Shit-kicking Jeffrey Campbell boots are worn with the model`s own ripped tights. And even a real witch might drown in a heavily chained choker by Ssspeech (
www.ssspeech.com), $149.99.
2: Laura-Lynn shape-shifts in an asymmetrical Lundström Signature dress, $329 at Eleven Boutique (116 Cumberland, 416-966-3935). A line of X’s mark black nylons, $1.99 (The 1999 Shop, 536 Queen W, 647-348-6196), and Bloch makes booties for grave-dancing, $350 at Chasse Gardée (1084 Queen W, 416-901-9613). For magic (or, ahem, modern) potions, she wears a Ssspeech pouch necklace, $129.99 at UPC Boutique (128½ Cumberland, 416-929-9209). The canvas tote is from our shoot location, Playdead (1233 Queen W,
www.playdeadcult.com).
3: Tendril is the night in this slinky noir gown by NADA (
www.nadadesigns.com), with its neckline adorned in long fabric curls. But it really could work for day: here, Anna wears it with Brandon R. Dwyer’s hand-knit shawl, mostly merino with a splash of cashmere, $1,300. A flat, laced pair of Jeffrey Campbell boots, $175 at Chasse Gardée, keep it insouciantly casual.
ALMOST-BLACK LIPS (pictured above): “It’s perfect that we get to celebrate the dark-lip trend this Halloween,” says makeup whiz Cait Mizzi (
www.caitmizzi.com). For staying power, she applies concealer to lips, then sets them with translucent powder. When it comes to the colour — here, it’s “Faultlessly” by MAC (
www.maccosmetics.com), but she also digs their “Smoked Purple” and “Black Knight” shades — Mizzi uses a small lip brush for super-
precise application.
Here, Laura-Lynn wears her own earring and a black feather boa, $10.99 at The Public Butter (1290 Queen W., 416-535-4343), cowled around her neck.