Fashion Friday: House of Mirrors

A view from behind me, looking up
View from the back of me looking up

Hi everyone! For the first Fashion Friday outfit of the year it was Pat’s turn. We didn’t have anything specific in mind, but he had recently been to the House of Mirrors installation in Hyde Park, which is a temporary installation for Sydney Festival. We decided to do a “different” kind of shoot there. It was just $10 to enter so we dropped in at around opening time. There were many people there already!

The whole thing was like a maze, and it was easy to get tripped out by some of the mirrors. They seemed to be cleaned regularly so you couldn’t see people’s fingerprints as clues to where the real pathway was. At first you think you’re going the right way but you can also run into dead ends.

Me leaning sideways against a mirror
You can see Pat in the background ;p

The House of Mirrors recommended allowing thirty minutes to go through the maze. Pat said that you can look up if you get stuck because it gives a few clues as to where the correct direction is, without you running into a mirror. It was a lot of fun exploring it. Apparently at night-time you can see some creepy characters in the mirrors and some music playing. 😦

No coincidence that this Fashion Friday post was due on Friday the 13th, either…

Speaking of that, though, I’ve been battling a sore throat, sneezing, and now a cold, since the beginning of the week, so bleh! It doesn’t make sense to be having a cold in this heat.

Me facing a corner of mirrors
Tripped out!

I bought the skirt recently from ASOS. I have only ever bought from ASOS once, and I find the ASOS-branded clothes to be pretty poor quality. This skirt is sold by ASOS but it’s from UK brand Warehouse. I bought it mainly because of the pockets and the style. I love anything with pockets because I’m pretty tired of women’s clothing not having pockets or having “fake” pockets. I was after a pencil skirt that wasn’t too short and this one stuck out to me. It’s actually a little bigger than I’d like, but it sits pretty nicely on my lower waist so it’s not too bad. This easily replaces at least a few skirts I have in my wardrobe that are similar but outdated or too big, and I do like replacing existing clothes, haha.

Full body shot of me leaning in a corner of mirrors
Leaning in a corner of mirrors

It was seriously almost a gross 40ºC (100ºF) or something, so I went for the same crop top I wore in White on White or Jasmine. I had paired the crop top with a white skirt and white shorts those times. Because the top is knitted, you’d think it would make me too warm, but it’s actually not too bad.

I always get compliments on these shoes! I love them and they look great but they are quite high and don’t have a platform, which makes them a little sore to walk in after a while. The inside is also of a soft leather, which is good and bad… it’s comfortable, but makes my feet sweat more than they should. Really weird, I know. Or maybe it’s because they are so high that my feet are working harder? 😂 Help me out here, guys.

Close up of pointy toed heels
These shoes get me compliments all the time!

I styled my hair with a hair curler to make it a little wavy. My hair tends to stay clean for days, so I only wash it twice a week. My whole life I’ve only ever washed it once or twice a week and I’ve never had any problems. 🙃 Second-day waves are not too bad, either – these waves still looked pretty good for a few days after I did them.

Oh and yeah, my purple hair has pretty much faded completely. :( It looks a little dark blonde now, a bit of a dirty brassy colour. I don’t even think there is a hint of purple-ness to it, or even red. Purple does fade fast and loses its vibrance very quickly. I guess the upkeep for purple hair is pretty high so it’s sad that unusual unicorn colours just don’t last that long. I’ll be happy to go colour my whole head my natural dark brown once I rack up the funds and can really be bothered.

Full body shot showing various reflections all around
Full body shot showing various reflections all around

I bought a new Pandora bracelet a few months ago and I’ve been filling it with some of my newest charms, which I got as Christmas presents. I got the ballerina one a long time ago but Nick bought me the strawberry charm. I’m incidentally eating strawberries right now! 🍓 They are one of the fruits I really enjoy even though they can be quite sweet.

It may be a bit hard to notice the Cinderella pumpkin coach charm but I love that one. Without going into detail about my opinions on some of the Disney princesses’ stories, Cinderella is the one I find the least stereotypical and possibly has the least controversy (and maybe Princess Jasmine, but anyway). I enjoy the story of Cinderella and I adore the pumpkin coach, which Nick got me for my birthday once!

Close up of my Pandora bracelet
Close up of my Pandora bracelet

The rose gold earrings and necklace were bought for me by Holland as a Christmas present last year! I organised a Secret Santa between me and some of my blog friends and it went pretty well. I didn’t know who got who, since I got Nick to help me out there. ;) But I’m very happy with the present from Holland, I still have a thing for rose gold and I adore Japan, so the paper cranes are only appropriate. The rose gold earrings go with my other ones too. The Etsy seller who sells this jewellery also creates them by hand, and it’s stainless steel so it lasts a really long time. :D I’m also opting for shorter necklaces since some of them go well with certain outfits as opposed to long necklaces.

Close up of rose gold origami crane necklace
Rose gold origami crane necklace
Close up of rose gold origami crane stud earrings
Close up of earrings – look at the tones in my hair too!

📷 All photography by Pat Kay.

Outfit details

Moody model shot
#mood
Me fist-bumping my reflection
Fist-bumping myself

Who is the evil twin, me or my reflection? 🤔

What’s your take on the House of Mirrors? What do you think of the outfit and the photos from this shoot? :D

Comments on this post

I remember seeing your tweet about this FF being amazing, and you’re right :D It is absolutely brilliant! What a neat idea to do an FF shoot in the house of mirrors! The reflections add so much to your photos! It’s almost sci-fi and surreal all at the same time :D

Your outfit is elegant! Love your jewelleries — even better that you’re wearing what Holland gifted you. Your Pandora bracelet looks so tight! Very pretty!

Sorry to hear you’re battling an illness. Get over it soon and feel better asap!

I loved seeing this outfit on your Instagram – you go, girl! The skirt is amazing, it really adds elegance to the overall outfit! I’ve been on the hunt for a longish, black skirt that’s not really pencil and so when I saw this one it caught my eye straight away 😍 Love the fitting on you!

I actually LOVE ASOS! I have their one-year subscription of next day delivery haha. I’m not sure if you can get that in Australia but we have it in the UK. It’s one of my go to shops because it also stocks my other favorite retailer, Missguided :P

I thought I recognized where your top was from (oops shopaholic over here) but it’s from somewhere different. There’s a very similar one from River Island I used to wear when I worked there! Looks kick ass anyway! ;)

“Or maybe it’s because they are so high that my feet are working harder?” Hahahaha. I would go with this one personally :P My feet sweat when I wear heels because of that added stress and I’m not used to it (trainers kinda gal) :P

Love house of mirrors! Wish we had something similar in the UK, right now it’s just my glassed wardrobe :P

Props to Pat – amazing photography right here! And super gorgeous model so 🙄❤️

I’ve been moving away from too-tight skirts so this one definitely fit the bill – also, pockets! Pockets!

I have a friend who has the ASOS subscription but I can’t remember what the benefits for Australians were. I don’t think the delivery would have been that quick, though. 😆 I got this skirt pretty quickly because I had ordered over $100 or something, so got express shipping for free! A couple of my friends told me about Missguided as well, but one of them said to be careful because their sizing tends to be inconsistent. ASOS has free returns for Australia now, though, so woooo. It says it’s under trial but I hope it’s here to stay.

Ahaha oh, you 💗

This has to be my favorite Fashion Friday post so far! Kudos to Pat for the awesome photos – he really did a great job on these.

The House of Mirrors sounds like it would be really fun, and it’s the perfect back drop for a fashion shoot because of all of the cool angles you get! (Also loving that last picture where you are fist bumping yourself! XD) And despite it being 100 degrees F (crazy to me because it’s about 15 degrees F here!) you look so cool in all of these photos. I guess it’s all the mirrors, but I really like the cool tones and it goes with your outfit!

Those shoes!! I have a pair of high black pumps that your descriptions reminded me of. They don’t have a lot of cushion so I can’t really wear them for more than a few hours before my feet are killing me, but I always get a lot of compliments on them, too! Why are the super cute ones so uncomfortable?? I have a different pair that make my feet really sweaty – not my favorite thing when I’m at work, but I haven’t really found anything to help with it yet. :/

Dude. These photos are so unreal. I love how the mirrors create such an interesting effect and you can see from so many angles. Very very cool. :D

I think the outfit is really fab and looks so nice. Your accessories compliment everything so well. :D

I hope you are feeling a lot better soon.

Hahahah fist bump it. <3

Wow, that place is crazy! I like the one of you fist bumping yourself! And you look lovely to boot! Really like your crane necklace and earrings! *checks out their etsy* XD

Also feel better! NOW!

i have mixed feelings about house of mirrors in general. there was something like this too in our local theme park and it was so dark inside (because it’s indoor and all) and sometimes a theme park staff would out of the blue surprised the visitors. i don’t know why they demolished it but i remember entering the attraction once and didn’t complete it, not because i was scared but because inside was so crowded and filled with people screaming and overreacting when there’s nothing inside. (because it was just a maze, nothing else. it’s not like there’s someone dressed up as jason vorhees chasing the visitors in order to mislead them) my cousin once told me that she got lost inside and cried for hours before she was helped by the staff or something. i personally find house of mirrors like this interesting, though creepy at times. it reminds you of a setting in a stephen king’s movie! Haha

correct me if i’m wrong but your feet do look tired in those heels! how tall are they? just curious about that. this is why i never wear heels that do not have platforms. i love platform shoes and wedges since they’re friendlier and more comfortable. on the other hand, i have this scary imagination that heels with no platform will one day cause a strain in my ankle, make me fall or worse, cause me to break my ankle. *shudders* i’m always amazed at people who can wear crazy tall heels / pumps. why torture your feet for such grace!? Hahaha. i do think your shoes are cool though, albeit that they’re not something i’d wear.

I LOVE YOUR HAIR CURLED! I’m so jealous that your hair can hold curls. mine just won’t hold curls at all. i don’t like tight curls or anything and i prefer loose, beachy waves but you see, normal people usually create this beachy waves style by using, say a 1-inch barrel but for me, if i were to instantly style my hair in loose waves, these waves will then go back to being loose straight in a matter of hours which is why, in my case, i have to use a smaller barrel – like 3/4 inch for instance. over time, the curls will then form into the loose beachy waves that i want. it’s such a hassle to have such straight hair! i envy people whose hair can have texture / carry texture and is not broom stick straight.

it’s also sad to know that your purple hair have faded :( did you use purple shampoo? i’m not sure if purple shampoo keeps purple / red hair intact but people say purple shampoo works great for bleached blond or ashy hair so maybe it’s worth trying? i remember when i was a blonde, i didn’t use purple shampoo at all and my hair went brassy fast. blergh. your hair still looks pretty nonetheless but a full dark brown head will be gorgeous too! i’m actually thinking of going dark brown but eh, not sure if i can commit to dyeing my roots every month again :s

This House of Mirrors is pretty innocent during the day. It’s only at nighttime that it would be scary. I’ve never been to another one so I have nothing to compare them to.

It could be the angle? I’m standing a little unnaturally for the purpose of the shot.

If you’re concerned about heels injuring your ankle then I think you’re more concerned that you can’t maintain balance. I don’t have a problem walking in heels, the only pain I get is on the soles of my feet from just standing in them for long periods of time. And I guess you have to watch the ground you’re walking on to avoid rolling an ankle.

You probably have thick and/or heavy hair. My best friend’s hair will ever stay curled, gravity will bring it back in about twenty minutes. :P

I used a colour shampoo but there is only so much purple shampoo can do. I washed with very cold water but the colour still ran after the first wash. :( I would go dark brown so I don’t need to colour my roots. It’s my natural hair colour. :P

These are stunning photos! Props to Pat on them! My favorite is the full body shot and also the “tripped out” one. They all came out great though! What a cool idea to do the shoot at a house of mirrors :D The last time I went to one was actually in Japan. It was part of an attraction at Tokyo Tower, and it was pretty funny to slowly walk through and feel for mirrors.

I really like that top and how it’s knitted. That’s good that it’s not too warm. Also yay for skirts that actually have pockets! I wish that’d be a more common thing on both skirts and dresses. Aahh, I love the earrings and necklace too. I really have a thing for paper cranes. Holland picked a good present for you!

I also hope you’re feeling better!

I can see that this top is your regular favorite these days XD. I can see those muscles on your arms! Keep on bossing at the gym ;).

I’m not a fan of those fake pockets @__@. I can see that the designers want something for the fashion appearance and not have the sides bulge out from the pocket but still.. I’m still trying to figure out how to reduce feet sweating from wearing high heel shoes XD.

The little curls on the tip of your hair look legit. I can see your Pandora bracelets building up ;). The necklace that Holland got you is cute!

I think having a shoot at the House of Mirrors is genius. Many sides of you can be captured thanks to the mirrors ;).

OMG I love the mirror background is awesome! This is my second favorite photoshoot you have done! I love how it feels parallel to yourself and shows your inner self. Maybe a darker version of yourself exists?

Wow! The House of Mirrors looks really cool. I also love your outfit too. The shoes are so cute. :)