The Right to Bare Legs

I'm soooo sick of winter, I've stopped dressing even borderline appropriately for the weather.  It snowed and was grey yesterday, but I wore this out and about anyway!  Despite the weather and despite my cold...HA. 
And I had a fantastic day!  I made a haul at Goodwill and found the bag I have been searching for at Target! 

I saw it when they first put it on the shelves, and didn't have enough in my weekly spending allotment left to buy it.  When the next week rolled around, I moseyed over to Target to purchase it, and of course it was gone.  :( 
So I looked at other Target stores, came up empty; checked online, it was unavailable; looked at lookalikes (even designer ones just for shiggles), nothing seemed quite as right for my style (which was amusing to me)...and then--wonder of wonders--while running around half-naked like a crazy person in the freezing cold, I drove past a Target and thought, well what the heck, I'll just run in and check real quick. 
And there it was, in all its black and white glory, sitting on the clearance shelf.  :) 
How do I get so lucky?  (I'm totally staring at it right now as I type...)

Anyway, speaking of half-naked crazy-person moi, here I am:

There's nothing extremely fashion-forward about this ensemble; I'm just sharing it, because I think it's pretty doggone cute.  :) 
Hope you agree!

Dress: thrifted || Cardi: gift || Belt: thrifted || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Anne Klein)

 

Also, just so you know: there are pictures coming of my vintage runway modeling experience coming soon!!! 

The dress photographs very well: I'm very excited to show it to you!!!

 

THANKS FOR VISITING!

Dark Paradise

How ludicrously charming is this lil ensemble?  The dress with its little print and cute sleeve buttons...the Audrey kitten heels...the lace gloves...the back-seamed pantyhose...

I've worn this dress before, but this is the first time I had a crinoline to go under it.  I never even realized how incomplete this dress was without a crinoline!  Holy moley! 

The cuteness factor was raised by, like, a billion percent.

And I'm really feelin' it in these pics...Can you tell?  :)

Found a new place to take pictures: I can balance my phone on my nightstand and stand in front of my BLUE wall. 
Just a little bit blue, right?  haha Yeah, this crazy color is actually in my apartment.  For now, it's confined to just one wall of my bedroom, but I have a sneaking suspicion this happy color just might overflow onto the rest of my bedroom's walls soon...

Fall Mashup

Saying an official Goodbye to Fall,

and a Hello to Winter! 

Happy December, everyone! 

 

I decorated for Christmas yesterday, really trying to get into the holiday spirit!  How about you guys? 
So, in order to cleanse my seasonal pallette and prepare to start the holiday season afresh...

I'm clearing all the Fall outfits I had stacked up in the coffers of my hard drive 

and setting them all free

in one big blogpost explosion!!!

Kicking things off with a bit of leopard sass never hurt anyone, right?  Ready?  Here we go!

 Hat: H&M || Sweater: thrifted (orig. J. Crew) || Tank: H&M || Jeans: Charlotte Russe || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Steve Madden) || Scarf: gift || Gloves: vintage (grandma's) || Bag: Rosetti

And next, here's a comfy ensemble with the grey, ruffled suede boots that have never failed me, yet!

 Scarf: gift || Sweater: Forever 21 || Jeans: Wal*Mart || Boots: old (Payless?) || Jacket: thrifted (orig. Ralph Lauren) || Gloves: thrifted || Bag: thrifted

 

And now some fierce sequins and a red lip...

 

 Jacket: thrifted || Tank: old || Jeans: Forever 21 || Shoes: old (Payless?)

Wore this little ensemble to church to sing with choir.  Never thought I'd wear these shoes to church!  Much less in November...

 Shoes: can't remember || Dress: thrifted (orig. Mossimo) || Cropped Tux Jacket: thrifted (orig. Mossimo) || Fur Coat: thrifted || Belt: thrifted || Bracelet: can't remember || Bag: Rosetti || Sunnies: Marshall's (orig. American Eagle Outfitters)

Some crazy colors and the debut of my new statement necklace.  I've been wearing this necklace (I bought it in mint AND in coral) constantly since I bought it!

 Necklace: Charlotte Russe || Sweater: Wet Seal || Pants: Calvin Klein || Boots: Steve Madden || Arm Party: Charming Charlie

Here's a little bit of a blurry photo of a casual weekend look with boyfriend jeans, a furry vest, and flannel!  Woo, flannel!  Add some heels and the aforementioned statement necklace, and you're set!

 Sunnies: gift || Necklace: Charlotte Russe || Vest: old || Shirt: American Eagle Outfitters || Jeans: Charlotte Russe || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Anne Klein) || Bag: Rosetti

 

Finally, here's a look I wanted to have a real photoshoot with, but ran out of time.  I was pretty proud that I put this risky, colorful thing together the day after I had a minor surgery haha (just an endoscopy).  Me in a beanie; who'd've thunk?

Beanie: thrifted || Sunnies: old || Jacket: old || Sweatshirt: thrifted (orig. GAP) || Jeans: H&M || Shoes: thrifted || Necklace: thrifted

Hope y'all didn't mind the casual outfit explosion...did you have a favorite?  Let me know in the comments!   :)

Femenine Foodie

Found this food-patterned dress at Goodwill in the Halloween section.  :)  That makes me giggle... 

I fell in love with the bizarre pattern and the line of dainty buttons right away, and then--after a trip to the dressing room--I knew it was destined to come home with me: a tailor couldn't fit it to my figure any better!

I had been watching Paris When It Sizzles (starring Audrey Hepburn and William Holden) when I first found this dress, and putting it on made me feel as though I could walk right onto the set and look completely at home.  Of course, I'd have to have my hair done, first, but I'm completely inept in that category.  Anyway, the cut of the dress is very Audrey (dingdingding HUUUUGE selling point for yours truly), and the muted colors fit in with the Givenchy clothes Audrey sported during the film.

With the addition of some very Audrey kitten heels (she had big feet just like me!), and a bag in a truly bizarre shade of green (but it's an excellent quality bag), I'm ready to float down staircases with killer elegance.  (This dress totally billows out like a huge, pillowy cloud when you sweep down stairs!!)

Classic lines join the modern era with the addition of a fun pattern...

I actually woke up this morning intending "not to look cute."  Like, I didn't want to put any effort into my look that day.  But this outfit ended up being truly effortless!  It just...happened. 
It renews my hope that it really is simple to look chic if you have good pieces to work with.  I'll doggedly continue in my search to fill my closet with quality and timelessness.

 Dress: thrifted || Hat: Forever 21 || Belt: thrifted || Shoes: old || Bag: thrifted

Crow Theory (subtitled: Fishnets and Thi-hi's)

I'm flat on my back with a stomach bug, but I'm already one day late posting, soooo I'll just throw a little bit of prose at you and then give you the photos I have. 
Forgive me, dear readers!

This is my other bestest friend, Emilee and I at a concert one of our friend's bands played ("Crow Theory" is their name, and they rock.  Look them up!!!).  Em and I were each other's date, and kinda lolita style: she was the girl, and I was the boy (haha).  We even walked down the street with her arm through mine. 
Lolita? For a concert? you may be asking (jusifiably).  Why, yes.  See, the music ranged from punk to screamo to girl bands to everything in between.  So, really, there was no way to dress specifically for the event.  We just decided we'd wear whatever we wanted, and if we made a scene, so what?  (People who know us are not surprised by this news.)
Luckily, when we reached the venue, there were all different types of people and outfits, so we didn't stick out too badly.  AND THE GIG WAS AWESOME.

Speaking of making a scene, though, we definitely had to snap these photos inside of a Cousin's Subs restaurant we ran to for dinner between bands...heh heh...


Heeeeeere's EM!  Ain't she pretty?



See?  I had to be the boy.  I have a tophat and tailcoat.

Look! My fishnets are backseamed.  Cute, huh?

Thi-hi's over fishnets with combat boots.   [YES.]   Never thought I'd wear that out of the house.

Anyway, I can't give you much of a rundown of where Em's stuff is from.  It's mostly ordered online.  I just wanted to point out that her skirt is an asymmetrical hemilne called a "phoenix"-style (in case anyone whats to look one up).  She's wearing a full petticoat and zebra-striped stockings.  Her corset was bought online, and then she altered it slightly (like a BOSS: she's a sewing whiz).  Her arm party is from T.J. Maxx, I think.

Hat: little shop in Cedarburg, WI || Coat: booth at an anime con || Skirt: Forever21 || Fishnets: Victoria's Secret || Thi-hi's: ? || Boots: Wal*Mart || Fingerless Lace Gloves: Hot Topic