A little bit about me

I love fashion
I live breath work and think about it most of the time, really I cant even control it!
Although I have to say, it wasn't always that way... I wish I could say I was one of those little girls that loved dressing up their dollies and barbies but I wasn't.
I was a true at heart tom boy. I liked playing outside, collecting grasshoppers and playing with my stuffed animal dolls. I was never a little lady, I always came home with scraped knees and splinters in my hands.
not that I didn't have people to take example from!
Jon Bon Jovie
My mom always had a keen sense of style, dressing up and matching her makeup to her cloths accessories and the most importantly her earrings ( parrot earrings mostly, it was the 80's after all, and seriously she had like 30 pairs of them in any imaginable color!) and she had that marvelous glam rocker 80's hair do which I so wish would come back to style.
stevie nicks
And then there was my sister on the other side, who always liked picking her dresses ( and we had a a few! cute ones grandma sent us from Australia, usually from tartan and some looked like bad bridesmaid dresses which off course are every little girls dream) and playing with moms makeup.
One of the favorite stories that go around in family dinners are of how my mom dressed my sis' in a white dress for a birthday party. Sadly nobody told us that the birthday party was actually a bon fire and that the main food will be potatoes straight out of the fire!
At the end of the party my mom came to pick her up and all the moms told her how impressed they are. They said they never saw a little girl keep herself so clean, and they were right, Her dress was as clean as she left home with!
So as you can see I was a bit slow in the fashion department for all concerned. I would wear anything given to me, large purple jumpers with flower print tights ( yup a true story one of my oldest friends always likes to tell people) my hair was long big and knotted which was impressive but never added to the look.
When I was 13 I shaved my hair off. I had enough. I grew it my whole life and I couldt take the weight and the heat of it. To bad I couldnt forsee how I will look. It wasnt a good look for me to say the least, I was thin tall and I kind of looked like a boy without my hair.
I think thats when I learned big jumpers and tights wont work any more and wont stop people calling me "hey boy!" every time.
Thats when I discovered thrift shops and second hand shops.
I didnt have loads of money cause I had a certain allowance to keep up with so I discovered these cloths were cheap affordable and could be mended to fit.
Also I discovered a new world of quality. rich vibrant and full fabrics such as wool, knits and leather, with good tailoring and interesting cuts I have never seen before. Butterfly sleeved dresses, high waisted denim bell bottoms,  2 buttoned coats in dark bottle green Velvet, vintage adidas jackets that hadnt faded and the stripes and symbol were still attached.
I was extatic, to say the least.




Not only these were things that I havent known about ( in the simple cut 90's with straight lines and minimal additions to cloths it was like discovering the silk road to persia) I also found cloths I actually loved and made me stand out from the crowd which I desperatly wanted to. The cuts were feminin flattering and eye catching.
And that where I also learned about sewing.
While I was trying to learn how to fit the cloths to my size I started dismantelling them and learning how they are built. After a while I would copy the cuts and attempt to create the item from a different fabric.
As time went by and my fashion sence changed to the darker side, more black clothing, band t shirts from the heavy metal and black metal scenese of all the bands I loved. The problem was they were all cut for boys!!! The super rare t shirts I bought from covenant aka Kovenant ( nexus polaris, that album still gives me the chills), satyricon, korn, abigor and skid row,Cinderella, Twisted Sister (yup I know the mix sounds wierd but thats what I like!) drove me back to where I started, looking like a teenaged boy. Although I now had longer hair, (bottom half shaved off offcourse) I still wanted to have a feminin edge to my girl in a boys world image.

Shredded Chains Of Past Decisions top by Agoraphobix
I started slashing the tops, giving them skeletton slashes in the back, or a halter cut, or even just cutting it so I can tie it in the back , dismantling the tops into sexy little pieces I could wear with pride, look like a worrior woman but still distinct myself from the boys.


After that I got a bit more connected to old skull punk and death rock, Suzy and the banshees, the cure, Ausgang, the sex pistols, dead kennedys and toy dolls came into my life.
That was about the time I realised no matter how hard I try I will never find a store bought outfit that will represent all the things I love and will still leave room for my personality without leaving me looking like a hot topic fashion misshap. Sure with a few items from some great stores I could get some of it ( lip service, betsey Johnson, hell bunny iron fist and such) but I wanted cloths that represent a bit from every thing, not just a certain ganre.

the Sex Pistols
the Toy Dolls




The Dead Kennedys
the cure
Siouxsie And The Banshess
Ausgang

The Sex Pistols

Guns & Roses and Tartan pants by Agoraphobix
 Thats when I started sewing cloths for myself properly. Cutting, attaching, printing distressing and bleaching. I combined all my favorite technics from different style fashions into one. Why should my corset be either evil or cute? why cant it be pink and black with skulls? mix a bit of both! tartan skirt? sure why not? maybe add a lace trim on it, or a sweet satin bow? show both sides! I bleached jeans and printed bats on them. I tried it all.
and it worked! people loved it and kept asking me where my cloths are from.

polka dot and bat dress by Agoraphobix
So I decided to try and sell them on ebay. It was a wonderful time to start selling DIY, as some great sellers you may know started at that time, great designers such as toxic vision, Shrinkle, Supayana, turtle maggie and even Anti label came out. Since I had no job back then I had nothing to loose! people slowly started taking interest in me and my cloths and a few years later I am where I am now, with my own web site, a store in etsy and still that same old store on ebay. I make a fewer items than I used to so I can keep the quality at its finest.


People always ask me how I started my buisness so I decided to write this blog. I hope it will answer some questions, update you on a few things that go on in my life, give you some fashion tips and most off all connect me to the people I charish the most, my costumers that helped me grow into what I am. So hope you check back with me!
pink vinyl and bat pants by Agoraphobix
heart & crossbones vinyl corset by Agoraphobix



XOXO
Romi
tartan and kill skull top by Agoraphobix
spray Kill top by Agoraphobix

p.s.

I also have a facebook, and myspace for more info, so check me out there too!
tartan and skeleton hand print dress by Agoraphobix












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