Too Many Tights!

A little afternoon update!

Hey guys!

Another blog post from me – let’s talk about all things BlackMilk related!

 

1.  The BlackMilk Christmas collection is coming!!! And we are thinking of doing something a little different. You know how at Christmas a lot of shops like to do this ‘extended hours’ thing? Well, we thought we might try something similar. :)

 

It’s really simple – we thought that instead of having a big collection day for our Christmas collection, we would have a big collection week!

 

You get more time to think about what you want to buy, and more time to buy it!

 

If you are not familiar with how BlackMilk collections work, we typically have a big release once a month where it all goes pretty crazy for 24 hours. It’s fun – but the problem is that it all pretty much dies off as our 48 hour products come down (48 hour products are guaranteed to be available for 48 hours from the time they go live). We want to change that a little: we want to stretch out the collection for a whole week!

 

So this is how it's going to work for our Christmas collection this year: a large number of the pieces that we would usually do as 48 hour pieces will be guaranteed to be available for 7 days instead. If they sell out, we will keep selling them and make them to order. No missing out!

 

Just got confirmation, we have 10 products in this collection that will go up as 7 day pieces.

 

So tell me what you think about that – sound fun?

 

 

(FYI, this is Krampus, he’s kind of like a horrific demonic version of Santa Claus, but like, instead of bringing children gifts and joy, he… traumatises them, apparently. Merry Christmas!)

 

2. Halloween was fun! So awesome to see so many girls rocking BM outfits. I suppose there are not too many other occasions where wearing a dress like this is socially acceptable!

 

@chloéwalker

 

You guys are so creative with your Halloween outfits:

 

@miss_hayhow

 

3. Hey, so how many girls out there got into this guy? The Reef Suit. It’s been a while… maybe we are due for another one? (It has a zip in the back in case you were wondering how you slither through that small hole in the top!)

 

@krystal_phillips11

 

4. Just putting this out there, I really think these long sleeved BFTs are underrated! Speaking as a dude, they are so good! These twins love them...

 

 

5. So a big thank you to all those who shopped from our latest Active collection, I hope you guys love your pieces. :) This was my favourite piece from the collection:

 

 

 

6. Let’s talk skater dresses!

 

 

So we have had a few (thousand) girls asking for more skater dresses lately. No worries! We can do that… 

 

I do want to reassure you that there is no anti-skater dress conspiracy within the halls of BlackMilk. In fact we introduced a new skater dress style in our last collection! We have done a few variations in recent drops as well – remember this guy?

 

 

But hey, if girls want skater dresses, who am I to say no? So we are planning something very exciting for a Fun Times Friday soonish. Stay posted, your vote counts...

 

7. SUPANOVA is happening this weekend in Brisbane! We will be there with a little booth. Come on down and say hello!

 

We'll be there all three days (Friday 10th to Sunday 11th November) and we'll have some exclusive licensed gear available as well – check out our recent Facebook posts and Instagram stories for sneak peeks!

 

8. By the way, one more note about the Christmas collection: it’s a collection that is what you might want to wear around Christmas time, it’s not a totally Christmas-themed collection. Important difference! We might throw in a couple of really Christmassy things, but that’s not what the collection is about. :)

 

9. This has been fun! Maybe we should do this more regularly… maybe we should even do a weekly video blog “Top Ten Cool Things Happening at BM”. Could be fun?

 

Ciao Belle!

 

xx

 

jL

I have very exciting news!

Hey guys!

James from BMC here, with a (pretty rare) blog post for you!

I have some very exciting news, which I wanted to personally share with you - our wonderful customers - before sharing it with the rest of the world.

As you are probably aware, the early history of BlackMilk is a classic start-up story. One guy with a dodgy sewing machine on the kitchen table making clothes purely for the love of it. I loved it for two reasons – seeing girls wear my clothes was such a buzz, and I didn’t have to get a real job!

Not much has changed there, to be honest.

But in so many ways so much else has changed. On this crazy journey that we have been on for the last eight years we have had our fair share of ups and downs. There were times where it felt like we could do no wrong and everything we touched turned to gold. There were other times where it felt like we just couldn’t get anything right, and everything we touched turned to… another substance.

And here we are, BlackMilk 2017.

I’m incredibly grateful for everything that we have achieved since we began BlackMilk. I really have been able to live out my dreams because of this great little company. I have had magical moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and for many of these moments you guys were there, which means a huge amount to me.

However, I still have a lot of dreams! There’s still a lot of ambition there. There’s so much I want to do with BlackMilk but I haven’t been able to.

I suppose the way I see it, although BlackMilk is more than I ever imagined it would be, it is still so far off what it could be! And that bugs me. I want to do better for you guys. I want to give you more! We want to improve in so many areas of our business where we don’t feel like we have done as well as we could have. We want to explore new opportunities and get really creative! But most of all we want you, the customer, to really fall in love with all the exciting things that we are doing.

So we have made a really big decision that I feel is going to allow us to be all that we can be and truly realise all the incredible potential that is in this company.

We have hired a new CEO.

This is something that I personally have been thinking about for a while now and I finally felt like the time was right this year.

The great news is that after a lot of searching we have found an amazing leader who we really believe is going to bring together the incredible team that we have and build a truly great, global business.

So I would like to give a very warm welcome to Sally Osburn – the first officially appointed CEO of BlackMilk Clothing!

I am really grateful for Sally coming on board with us, and I’m really looking forward to working with her. Sally has a huge amount of experience in the apparel industry and an amazing set of skills when it comes to building great companies. Above anything else she has an incredible passion for making BlackMilk all that it can be, and for me personally that is the most exciting thing.

So what does all this mean practically for us as a company and for you as a customer (or as a sharkie)?!

It means we going to get focused on giving you the best quality products that we can possibly make. It means we are going to get a vision for opening up exciting new categories. It means we are going to get excited again about growing!

Some of you who are wondering what all this might mean for me personally. Does that mean I will still be part of the company? Definitely! I will keep working with the design team, and I really look forward to working with Sally to build something truly spectacular.

So that’s my big news, I hope you’re excited about it as I am! :)

I do want to finish off with a massive thank you to all of YOU. Getting to this point has been an amazing journey, and I really owe it to you guys – incredible customers who have supported us through thick and thin and continue to be passionate about our products. You guys are amazing, and you’re the reason we do this every day.

So stay posted, you’re going to see some really exciting things happening in the near future!

Hugs :)

jL

That Website thing

Hey guys,

jL from BlackMilk here with a quick message for all the wonderful people who shop at BM :)

Firstly a massive apology from me for the unusual amount of issues we have had since June. We definitely bit off more than we could chew in the beginning of June and as a result we really haven't done a great job in looking after our customers. Our website has had issues, our checkout hasn't been great, and our postage has been unacceptably slow. For all that I'm really sorry. We love every single one of our customers and when someone has a less than amazing experience, for whatever reason, we really feel it! So if you are one of those people who has not had a great time shopping with BlackMilk since we shifted our website, I'm really sorry.

Secondly, a massive thank you to everybody who has stuck with us and been understanding during this really challenging time! Running a little clothing manufacturing business is not easy, especially at the hectic pace of BlackMilk, and there are always issues. So many of you guys have been unbelievably loyal to BM, and that means the world to us.

So why have things been so crazy? Well, after years of putting it off, we finally had to change our back-end in-house built inventory system. It was getting to the end of its life span so we had to make the tough decision to change.

It turns out that we couldn't just change our inventory management system because it wouldn't integrate with website so we also had to change web platforms. Very scary. Changing two huge systems at the same time was always going to be a challenging task and as usual, things didn't go perfectly to plan. We made mistakes, we tried to move quickly, we couldn't test as well as we would have liked, and we created a huge number of problems for you guys as customers.

The good news is that the team is working really hard to fix these problems! I know you guys don't see everything that goes on behind the scenes, but believe me, the BlackMilk crew is really going above and beyond to try to get this right. We all feel the pressure to do a great job for our customers and there is a huge amount of blood sweat and tears going into cleaning up this mess. The great news is that once all these issues get sorted out we are going to be able to do a lot more cool stuff that you guys are going to love.

So that's where it's at! Make sure you check out our FAQ page with all the up to date information.

Thanks again for you patience and faith in us. These issues will get resolved and the road should get smoother in the coming weeks. You definitely want to stick around this year - it's going to be fun. We have some incredible collections coming up, including Pop Fiction next week, Dreamweaver Part 2 (the Alien Rave) and of course a massive Halloween collection (working title - Salem A.D.). Oh... and we also have a collaboration that you guys have been asking for for YEARS ;)

Hugs and nylon.

xx

Fantasea: Behind the scenes!

Is this the real life?

Or is it just Fantasea? ;)

Photo shoot gal Alex here to tell you why I pretty much have the best job in the world…

Because of this:

And this:

And this:

Yep, basically because I get to do things like spend time hanging out in Byron Bay with an awesome photo shoot team, bringing the campaign for our Fantasea collection to life!

Since this shoot was all about the beach, we put together a total beach babe team: our photographer Carly and hair and make-up artist Phoebe are both based in Byron, while two of our models (twin sisters who are probably better known as ‘DJ Twins’) are Gold Coast gals. And of course, we also had our gorgeous third model Roxy (she’s from the UK, but also works in Byron frequently!) marketing boss-man Matt, social media boss-lady Michelle and myself.

Oh, and jL, who tells me he should be considered an ‘honourary beach babe’ ;)

We first worked with Carly on our Wonderlust shoot back in February – such an awesome campaign, and still pretty much my personal fav. We really wanted to capture that same outdoor magic on this one, so we were super excited to bring Carly back to the BM fold. It did mean moving the shoot dates around a bit, as she was booked to do some work in New Caledonia (such a hard life, right?) but we love her so much we decided to make it work :)

I mean, remember these?

Yep, that’s why we love her!

In the days leading up to shoot, I was running all over Brisbane sourcing all the props we needed to create our castaway-esque set: tiki torches, coconuts, shells, scuba gear… and one giant treasure chest. I then had to pack all of this (and Matt) into my not-so-spacious car the night before the shoot. There seriously wasn’t an inch of space left. Did I mention I’m pretty good at Tetris?

Once we got to Byron, Matt and I immediately went out to scope out the beaches for a good location. We decided that Wategos Beach would be the best option – despite the fact that it’s pretty much the busiest spot in Byron Bay. We never did like taking the easy way out!

The next day started bright and early, with the whole team squeezing into our little beach shack motel for hair and make-up. Phoebe pulled out all the stops to get dem siren vibes – and absolutely nailed it.

One thing about shooting in a natural environment is… you have to deal with the natural environment. In this case, that meant battling the freezing cold winds all day – it might be Byron, but it was still winter! Our models were absolute champions about it – despite having to sometimes wear shorts and swimsuits, they dealt with the cold like pros. Looking at some of the pics, you would think they were basking in summer sunshine.

We also had to work around the tides and the weather… in particular, the torrential rain that we realised was forecast to hit our area around 2pm. Panic stations! We went into overdrive mode trying to get all our shots in as we watched the dark clouds get closer and closer.

We must have done something to please the photo shoot gods, because 2pm came and… nothing but sunshine.

With the clouds passing and the forecasted rain never eventuating, we decided to use the rest of the afternoon to re-do some of the shots we had rushed through earlier in the day, to make sure we got everything absolutely perfect.

jL got us through those last few hours by keeping us entertained with coconut juggling and Tom Hanks impersonations. And a bit of beach Olympics… Rio has nothing on Byron!

Eventually, the tide came in and we were forced to call it a day, but we were really happy with the number of shots we ended up getting through. Just goes to show what you can do when you have such an awesome team to work with!

With cars packed again – including taking half the beach back with us thanks to the amount of sand now covering the props and clothes – the BM team reluctantly said our goodbyes to Byron Bay and headed back to HQ.

It was a long, exhausting day, but as always, totally worth it. There really ain’t no photo shoot like a BlackMilk photo shoot! One week we’re creating the magical world of Unicornia, then we’ve got sirens on a beach, and next… well, you’ll just have to wait and see ;)

Until next time!

Love, Alex xx

Pssst: if you haven't actually seen the collection yet, check it out here!

Unicornia: Behind the Scenes

Your friendly neighbourhood copywriter here, hijacking jL’s blog (shhh, don’t tell him)!

So, yesterday was kind of insane, huh?

All those unicorns. All those sparkles. All that pastel dreamy colour magic goodness. Yes, we’re talking about the one and only UNICORNIA!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the lookbook here and the collection here!)

Wanna know how we created a whole universe within the walls of BMHQ? It involved an epic photo shoot, about a million different props, three different sets, and SO MUCH SUGAR.

And, of course, the dream team to end all dream teams: Matt (Marketing Director / Shoot DJ / Fan Holder), Alex (Shoot Coordinator / Organisation Queen), Kristina and Claire (Models / Professional Babes), Elizabeth (Photographer / Scaffolding Gymnast), Maria and Zoe (Hair and Make Up Artists / Magicians), Tom and Matisse (Videographers / People Taking Embarrassing Footage of Everyone For the Vid), Faith (Inflatable Unicorn and Doughnut Wrangler), Jools (Set Designer Extraordinaire), Michelle, Shelby and Sam (Social Media Taskforce), and me (Copywriter / Person Taking Embarrassing Photos of Everyone For This Blog).

The first order of business on shoot day? Picking up eight boxes of freshly-made doughnuts from our buddies at Doughnut Time. Eight boxes, each containing six of these creamy, iced beauties. To put it another way, that’s 48 doughnuts. And let me tell you, you might think you’re prepared for the sight of that many doughnuts. You might also think that one little photo shoot crew wouldn’t be able to make much of a dent in that number. You would be oh so wrong.

So.

Many.

Doughnuts.

Before the Great Nommening, we had to actually create the Great Doughnut Flatlay. So Kristina settled herself on to the ground (which was actually freezing, sorry Kristina!) and the team worked around her to create what might be the world’s stickiest – and tastiest – photo shoot set.

Once everything was in place, Elizabeth climbed up onto the scaffolding (this girl tends to perform some serious acrobatics in the name of getting awesome shots) and the first shot was officially underway.

The next scene was supposed to involve both of our models, but the road to Unicornia didn’t run so smooth. One of the girls was really sick with tonsillitis, and it quickly became apparent that she wasn’t going to be up for the shoot that day. So she headed back home to her bed, while Alex frantically called around to find a replacement.

Luckily, the gorgeous Claire was able to come to our rescue, and after some re-imagining of the inflatables scene as a one-model shot, we were back on track.

Which meant a lot of testing of poses, of course.

I know it doesn’t REALLY get cold in Brisbane, but I gotta say, I think we were all incredibly relieved that the rest of our sets were indoors – none more so than Kristina, who had to spend an inordinate amount of time wearing swimwear while laying on freezing cold concrete.

Models are tough, y’all.

We actually had two sets running inside, so we could actively shoot on one while some of the crew set up props on the other. That way, we didn’t have to lose time re-setting between shots.

And Social Media had their own mobile HQ as well:

It was time for our model got her cowgirl on for the Western World scene – complete with a vintage hairdryer for a six-shooter.

By the way, those adorable cactus earrings Kristina is wearing? They were created by Laura, one of our uber-talented Graphic Artists, along with all these other ridiculously cute pieces.

And then – with Claire now on set and ready to roll – we ran away to join the circus.

Some of us were more ready for that life than others.

Every job on set is an important one, even if you are balancing a broom on your head.

Oh yeah, that’s Michelle there rocking one of the fabulous wigs Maria brought to the set.

By the way, did you know that models tend to be tall?

Like, really tall.

(Oh hi there, jL!)

Our next scene was all kinds of fun to set up. We had raided prop houses all over Brisbane for the giant lollipops, carousel horses and crazy inflatables necessary to create our magical Unicorn Castle. The vibe we were going for here was part Willy Wonka, part Katy Perry music video.

Between the doughnut sugar high and general delirium that usually happens by this time on a shoot, the mood was sufficiently hyperactive enough to capture that vibe pretty well.

Meanwhile, Jools, Zoe and I were working on the second set, wrestling giant printed sheets of vinyl into place to create a scene straight out of the seventies:

The Galaxy Emerald background went a bit more smoothly – probably because we realised it was much easier to line up the two halves while the vinyl was flat on the ground. (In hindsight: duh.)

Maria worked some sparkly magic to make Claire and Kristina shine:

She was pretty excited about it, as you can see.

Meanwhile, Matt had a little lie-down (he said he was controlling the wind effect via the fan, but we know better).

For the last couple of shots for the day, Matt took his turn in the spotlight, demonstrating poses to Claire. Even the pros need a little help sometimes.

And that was a wrap!

Every shoot we do seems to prove the same thing over and over: that to create entire, magical worlds – which we try to do for every single BM campaign – you need two things: a creative, hard-working, totally dedicated team (check) and a pretty obsessive attention to detail (check).

Put those things together, and you’re gonna knock it out of the park every time. And end up with pics like this:

And this:

And this:

Can’t wait to do it all again soon.

Until next time!

Love, Talina xx

Well, Hellooooooo Beautiful!

Hey guys

James from BMC here. Time to chat about cool things - because life is too short to talk about uncool things. :)

First up I need to give a MASSIVE thank you to all the peeps who have shopped with us this month. Hot Little Goths was huge, our last Museum Sale was huge, Fun Time Friday was huge. There was just lots of hugeness, and for this I am truly grateful! We were particularly psyched with the Hot Little Goths collection. It was really cool. I guess it was a return to our gothy roots.

If you're not familiar with our roots, back in the day we did stuff like this:

And this:

Hmmmm... I think I'm going to make that bell sleeved bodysuit again! :)

 2. Let's talk about Pinterest!

Last release we tried doing our Pinterest drop a little earlier than usual. For those who don't know, we show our collections on Pinterest before actually the actual release. It gives our customers a chance to figure out what they like and what they want to buy so they can be prepared on release day (the happiest day of the month. :) Last release we tried dropping Pinterest 11 days before the collection launch. It was an experiment. There were a few benefits to doing things that way and a few drawbacks.

We had a bit of a chat about how we felt it worked and have decided that we actually think it's more fun doing it a bit closer to the release date.

There are a few reasons for this. First, it gives us a chance to have a bit more fun with sneak peeks leading up to the collection and we get the opportunity to romance it a bit more. Second, it means that we can avoid having to keep giving updates when things change before the release date. Believe it or not, a hell of a lot goes on in the week before a release. Products get added, pulled, changed, etc. and it's just exhausting (and annoying) when we have to keep communicating al the changes that are going on to you guys. Better that we just get it all sorted out in that week and show you the finished product!

Of course, you will still get to see all the awesome products in the release in one place, it's just a little later than usual.

Hopefully you're excited about that. My apologies to anyone who preferred Pinterest a bit earlier, hopefully you'll still be excited about the awesome collections we are going to be dropping. :)

 3. Urgh, I love this crop.

4. That reminds me, I talk to a lot of girls who say that they would like to wear BM, but they can't because they have bewbs.

We have bewbs:

5. So I found this pic the other day. If anyone remembers the story behind this, please remind me! Was it a No Pants Train Ride? (Lol, I was in NYC last month and forgot to ask these girls....!)

 6. Statues be creeping like...

7. So our next collection is called Unicornia. It should appeal to girls who love pinks and pastels. Yeah, I know you're out there! ;)

 

 

8. Although, there are girls who manage to combine that goth and pastel thing...

 

9. So I was going through some old photos the other day, and I found this - the first ever pair of Spartans! 

 You'll notice that the gold panel is much larger than in Spartans we make now. I might try this guy again. Time for the next version of the Spartan cut.

10. Alright - that's it from me! Thanks for chilling' with me, and I can't wait to show you Unicornia. :)

xx

LIMITED STRATEGY

Okay so a few girls have asked me why we at BM - the crazy little clothing company we know and love - have decided to have a stock strategy where pretty much everything except staples goes up limited. Is it part of a huge global conspiracy? An evil, malicious, nefarious scheme, designed to make girls all over the world suffer?!

 

Pretty much.

 

It’s like this - when I was young, the cute girls were mean to me. They laughed at my haircut and my skinny legs. I vowed revenge. I would create beautiful clothes for women, only to release them for an unreasonably short time, preferably on days they weren’t paid, and thus exact my cruel revenge.

 

Okay, that’s not exactly true. Except for the part about the cute girls laughing at me. I’m pretty sure that actually still happens.

 

So it’s more like this. We have a certain amount of money, which we need to spend to keep things ticking along. What should we spend it on?

 

- Buying old fabrics and making old clothes

- Buying new fabrics and making new clothes

- A tiger

 

Now I know what you’re thinking: “Buy the tiger - duh!”

 

But think about it - if we keep restocking old stuff, all our resources get tied up in that, and inevitably we hit a point where everyone who wanted that piece has already bought it and we're left with a whole bunch of clothes that nobody wants to buy anymore. 

 

Meanwhile we have girls crying out for other products, which we can’t make because our resources are stuck in these older products. It gets to the point where we can’t even keep our BM staples in stock, because we’re stretched so thin. And if staples aren’t available, there are girls who might miss out on getting something as essential as BM black matte leggings. I know, I shudder at the thought. And through all this the BM warehouse is overflowing with stuff that we designed years ago.

 

So we have made the decision that to make it fun for you, and us, we’re going to keep it fresh!  Of course, we will do our best to make enough of things, because at the end of the day - if you want to buy it, we want you to buy it! We’ll keep making new stuff, which means that we get to keep being creative, and you’ll always have something new to look forward to! You’ll get the opportunity to try lots more new fabrics and new cuts. To me that’s what fashion design is about. Trying stuff, mixing it up, experimenting.

 

And you know what they say about sharks, right? Always moving.  ;)

 

xx

 

jL

 

BMLA News

Hi guys

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Alright, I have some big news for you about the future of BM. Unfortunately, it’s not the exciting/fun/cool kind of news... it’s the other kind.

So I’ll cut straight to it: we’ve made the decision to close BMLA and merge the US webstore back into the AU webstore.

It goes without saying that this has been an unbelievably challenging decision to make. In getting to this point there has been a lot of discussion, a lot of emotion, and a lot of sleepless nights. It’s really not a decision we wanted to make but we’ve had to make the call. I know this will affect a large number of our customers so I wanted to write this blog post to keep you in the loop. 

What has lead us to this decision?

1. The drastic drop in the value of the Australian dollar

When we first opened the US store, the Australian and US currencies were pretty much valued the same. We knew there would be currency fluctuations and we expected them, but we didn’t expect the spectacular dive in the Australian dollar that we saw last year. For some companies this is not a big deal, however, for a place like us that manufactures and distributes locally it really messed things up. US customers ended up paying more from the US operation than from the Australian operation. We found ourselves in the absurd situation where it was cheaper for sharkies in LA to buy clothes made in Australia than to buy the exact same garment made 10 minutes down the road.  

2.  The US site is too expensive for the Aussie and international sharkies to shop on.

On the flip side, after the drastic currency drop, US prices soared and it became an extremely  unaffordable for Australian and international girls to buy from our US store.

This meant that any products we sold only on the US site would simply get passed over by most sharkies. The US only products sold, but they just didn’t sell as many as they could have or should have. Even though many girls wanted these pieces, they were reluctant to actually buy them, knowing that they were paying a lot more simply because they were being made in the US.

This meant we couldn't split our product range across both sites and had to replicate every single product across both operations. Not particularly efficient. 

3. The US customs issue has (pretty much) disappeared

Something very important happened on March 11th 2016. The US government raised the minimum for customs taxes on products going into the US from US$200 to a very respectable US$800. Basically, the US government figured out what the boys in Las Vegas have known for years -  that if you’re going to fleece someone, you might as well fleece big spenders. The upside here is that the only US customers who are going to get hit with taxes by buying Black Milk from Australia are those putting in individual orders for over AU$1000, and that doesn’t happen often. 

So that’s where we are at - we have been making the exact same clothes in two different locations and selling them at two different prices. Now that the customs thing is no longer really a thing it really doesn’t make sense anymore. We will start winding the operation down next week, so Off Beat will be the last collection produced by BMLA.

In conclusion, I want to mention a couple of really important things:

First, a massive thank you to all the US team. I always loved my visits to LA and you guys gave it 100% every day. I will definitely miss you guys.

Second, an equally massive thank you to all the sharkies who supported BMLA, you stuck by us, and that means a lot to me.

Lastly, please understand that we are certainly not giving up on our US customers. No way! We will continue to promote BlackMilk in the US, we will simply be directing all our US customers to the one website.

And, don't worry, we will continue to do events and fun stuff in the US - parties, pop-ups, cons, and more. Promise. :)

All the best.

jL

P.S We've made a list of helpful FAQ's, check them out here.

Getting High On My Own Supply

Let the blogging begin!

1. There's a fun little story behind this little bad boy:

And when I say bad boy, I mean the jacket, not the dude (who may - or may not - be an actual bad boy, I just don't have that kind of information at hand).

So the story goes like this, one day I decided that I wanted a deconstructed blazer. If you know your fashion history you'll know that the great Giorgio Armani changed fashion forever by deconstructing the men's blazer.

Of course, being BM, we had to spin it in a BM way, and that means a beautiful vibrant print. And there are not many prints as vibrant as the Teal Galaxy! So we made this!

I loved it, however, I was a little concerned that due to the galactic vibrance of the print people would mistake me for a magician. I'm not sure why that was such a big concern for me - after all, it's hard to imagine too many downsides to being identified as a magician (disappointing young children when they learn the truth perhaps?), but for whatever reason it ended up in a sample sale, where it was procured by the gentleman below:

 

I'm working on a women's version as we speak. :)

2. You know what I think is the coolest thing about this bomber? The sheer fabric makes it look... ghostly. :)

3. If you haven't yet followed Black Milk's Periscopes, please do so now. :) You get to see cool stuff. Not to mention a lot of weird stuff, if that's your jam (I bet it is.) 

4. Did I mention that the inspiration for 2016 is 'Girl leaves Woodstock and heads over to Studio 54'?

Of course, if you head from California and head out towards New York, you are going o have to pas through Nevada. And you don't drive through Nevada without stopping off at one place...

And I'm not talking about Barstow.

Of course, we're not stopping on the way... BECAUSE IT'S BAT COUNTRY, DAMMIT!

5. Anyway, I don't want to give away too much about the March Collection, but I will say this - just thinking about it puts a smile on my face. :)

I have no doubt you will absolutely love all the clothing...

5. Speaking of Nevada, last week, I went to Vegas.

 

Sin city indeed...

If you, however, prefer the darker side of things... yes, you'll love March - but you'll just die for June...

You know who you are... be ready.

A massive thank you to the crew from Uncle Joe's who smashed out the most awesome coffees imaginable at our last Sharkie party in Brisbane:

And I'm not just being nice for the sake of being nice - if you're a coffee lover and you haven't had a latte from Uncle Joe's, then your bucket list is not yet complete. Of course, I'm speaking from experience, on Saturday I may have had one or two lattes. And by one or two I mean... definitely not one or two.

Expect to see more fun in the BM Cafe next year. :)

6. Even though Black Milk is based in Australia, I don't want to play up the whole 'Oh look what big scary animals we have here" thing.

But seriously, last week this is what one dude saw on the side of his house when he came home from work.

  

These are the kind of risks we are willing to take for you, dear customer. That's why clothes manufactured in Australia cost so much more - danger money.

7. Remember the Vegas cut swimsuit?

We made a version where we eliminated the seam at the bottom of the bust straps. I made a houndstooth version of the it, and I liked it but didn't love it. So I canned it.

  

Okay, maybe I love it now.

8. Sometimes in the middle of all the ups and downs, the frustrations and the hard knocks of running a less than perfect clothing company you get to the point where you ask yourself why you do what you do.

I suppose that if we can make every girl who dresses in BlackMilk smile like this - it's worth it. :)

  

9. The Pamela Swim... why?

Why not, I say.

 

10. SYDNEY SAMPLE SALE!

We're coming back, and we're bringing boxes upon boxes, upon boxes (upon yet more boxes) of samples with us, for all of you to enjoy. All the details are here - so check them out, we wanna see you! We're even going to be hanging out at the Pool Bar at the Ivy from 6pm Saturday night. Excited to catch up with some Sharkies and show you some upcoming sneaks... so be there, or be... missing out on all the fun, I guess. 

 

jL

x

 

 

And then... THIS!

Hello Black Milk luvvas!

Welcome back to the blog where we talk about all things related to the tight + shiny clothing brand that we know and love. :) 

1. He just looks so damn happy...

 

2. Shiny fabric info!

So as you might be aware, we have got a new  fabric for our shiny leggings. The kind of stuff we are known for - silky smooth, shiny, and stretchy. Pretty much happiness for your legs. If you were one of the many peeps who snagged a pair of shinies from our Doctor Who collection, there's a pretty good chance you already have that goodness on your legs right now. If not, I hope you will in the near future. 

In the next few weeks, we are going to see a return of a whole bunch of classic BM shiny leggings in this new fabric, and I think you are going to love them!

A few people have asked me "Is it sheer?!"

Let me put it this way - if you are looking for a fabric that is ultra light and stretchy which will stay 100% opaque while you bend over in front of a spotlight wearing your favourite pink leopard print undies.... yeah, that isn't going to happen. The solution is simple -  seamless nude knickers and avoid bending over in front go bright lights if it's washing day and you are down to your last leopard print undies. :)

And on a side note, I do know that there are some who confuse sheer fabrics with fabrics that show VPL. For the most part, the whole point of a stretch fabric is to mould to the shape of whatever it covers. In this case, your legs. Of course, these fabrics will also fit to the shape of your underwear. So the larger the bumps in your underwear (seams, binding, folded over fabric, etc.) the more visible they will be on a tight shiny fabric. Again, simple solution, some nude seamless knickers and your booty will be... safe as milk. :)

Anyway, the most important thing is that the shiny is back, and I'm very excited about it. The fabric has an amazing hand feel and is unbelievably comfortable.

All our shiny leggings that we release from this point on will feature this fabric. :)

3. Sharkiecon news!

First, the bad news. Unfortunately we are not currently in a position to do a full blown, knock your socks off Sharkiecon/birthday party this year in Brisbane. I wish it weren't so.

A massive apology from me to all those who were excited about coming along this year, unfortunately we just haven't had the resources to really do it well, and so we are having to postpone.

Now the good news. :)

One the weekend when we were planning on having Sharkiecon, we are going o be having two special events. The first will be a 'Donuts and Coffee' shopping experience at BMHQ where you will get access to an exciting new swim collection as well as the December collection. 

You might even see something special from this super talented dude.

And there might be another little special event happening that day. 

But what's the point of buying an adorable swimsuit if you have no glamorous swim pool party to wear it to?! So we have one of those happening as well.

(You don't have to wear your swimsuit to the party, just whatever BM you feel like rocking. But it will be stinking hot...)

And the last good news (drum roll, drum roll) in 2016 we are really going to start getting serious about Sharkiecons. I have already started scoping out hot spots in Bali.... ;)

4. Because sometimes 'fitting in' is just not that high on the priority list.

 

5. We have done a LOT of mermaid in the past... I wonder if there is room for one last mermaid. Just one... 

6. Maybe we need to do a winter Sharkiecon somewhere snowy? 

That view is truly breathtaking.

7. NEW SWIMSUITS ARE ALMOST HERE!!!!

And I am rather excited about it. 

100% reversible bikinis? Yes please. 

8. Apparently we "just have to" make this dress...

So we did. ;)

9. Do you even Periscope?

So Periscope is this cool new thing that Twitter have going. Basically it's a live streaming app that allows you to MASSIVELY OVERSHARE EVERYTHING - WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!

To be honest, I'm not sure how much longer we will use it. It's kind of fun, but is a little bit overshare-y.

If you want to join the party, check it out here. 

10. I have begun work on the new collections for next year. I think you guys are going to love what we have coming.

The inspiration is 'Woodstock babe heads to Studio 54'. :)

Ciao belle!

jL