Sweet Tooth Suicide

Be prepared for a lot of photos in this post, 'cuz it's basically two looks.  "Basically?" you ask. "What's that supposed to mean?"  Well, here, I'll show you:

 



Coat on.

Coat off.

Haha  :D 
It's amazing how a look can change when you put on outerwear.  It's amazing what properly accessorizing a winter coat can do for a dreary day!  And it's amazing what wearing fishnets can do to a girl's self-confidence level.  AND it's amazing that black is the new black again this year!  There is no substitute for black.  Black is amazing.

Anyway, now that all that amazing-ness is out of my system, let's take this one more time, ladies and gentlemen.  Ready?  Three...two...one...

Coat on.

Coat off.

I called this post "Sweet Tooth Suicide" (lyrics from a song by Shinedown), because I loved the juxtaposition of the ice-cream sweet outerwear look and the black ensemble that lay underneath (like a sweet-faced person trying to hide a dark soul...or something a little less cliche).

Never thought I'd wear baby pink and fishnets together. 
Never thought I'd wear fishnets to church, either. 
Well, I did both of those things on this illustrious day.

Mmmm my backseamed fishnets...I feel like the high neckline and knee-length hem of this dress kept the overtly sexy nature of the fishnets from really presenting itself, which is why I felt comfortable wearing them out of the house (to church, nonetheless).  They added a little edge, but--more importantly--some neccessary texture to the outfit. 

Lots of textures, here: fishnet, patent leather (belt), suede (shoes), fine knit (sweater), silk (dress).

I took inspiration for this outfit from Audrey's all-black ensemble in "How To Steal A Million."

Expect to see a lot more all-black ensembles from me in the near future.  All-black is trending right now, and I'm of the opinion that there is never a chicer color palette.  So be prepared for me to take advantage of this fashion fad while it's around!

Really quickly before I go, I need to shine a special light on these, my marvy-fab new shoes:

Found them on clearance at JCP for $12.00.  $12.00!  Who lets shoes as gorgeous as these Cosmopolitain for JCP heels hit final clearance?!  Well, luckily for me, all the other shoppers at JCP did.  :)
Also: my coat was thrifted from Goodwill for $4.00.  Shop Secondhand First!

Dress: thrifted (orig. GAP) || Sweater: ancient || Belt: White House | Black Market || Tights: old || Shoes: Cosmopolitain for JCP || Coat: thrifted || Scarf: old || Hat: thrifted || Bag: thrifted

Christmas Eve (Subtitled: Holly Jolly Dotty Hottie)

Had too much fun editing my photos...again...and wearing a flouncy outfit...again...

Wore this outfit on Christmas Eve.  :) 
I had to hide it under a robe while I sang with church choir, but at least my festive shoes peeked out from under the hem!  (I took the hat off for church, of course...as much as that hurt my heart!  I found this hat last month at the thrift store, and knew immediately that it was meant for wear on Christmas!  Isn't it magical?)

I save this Louis Vuitton bag I thrifted for special occasions.  It's in pristine condition, and I'd like to keep it that way.  I think it's vintage...isn't it beautiful?
I also broke out the Armani perfume my hubby gave me for my birthday, so I felt like a cloud of special followed me everywhere.  ;)

How about them tights?  And do you like my polka-dot dress?  It was a gift from my grandma years ago.  My first "real" nice dress.  I had felt terribly underdressed at a wedding, and confided to my grandma in the ladies' room that night.  Two weeks later, she showed up at my door and proclaimed that no granddaughter of hers should ever have to go through that and whisked me to the mall.  :)  My grandma is precious.

Anyways, my loves, stay tuned for more Christmas outfits!  Not quite 12 days of Christmas, but I had 3 days of Christmas this year!  3 days of my favorite holiday...Marvelous!

Chapeau: Goodwill || Dress: White House | Black Market || Belt: thrifted with a diff. dress || Gloves: gift || Tights: thrifted || Shoes: Target || Bag: thrifted VINTAGE LOUIS VUITTON || Earrings: Bangles and Bags

 



All-Out EDGE---the day of Dance

 

Can y'all handle this little change of pace?
From your normally vintage-lover poster girl comes a taste of the extreme other side...the wild side.

 I haven't gone out clubbin' with my girls in awhile...but we heard about free cover and cheap drinks at a local club if you were to show up in an LBD.  IRRESISTIBLE.
Since the dress was pre-decided, the rest of the outfit needed to pack the punch.  
I bought new shoes for the occasion.  Quite the shoes, eh?  Inspiration for this outfit comes from Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj (I was thinking the theme song for these shoes is "Pound the Alarm"), and Anna Dello Russo.

My kicks are siiiiiiick!

Loving my Arm Party.

Edge isn't something you see from me a lot, but--as with anything--I stand by the old adage  

"GO BIG OR GO HOME," 

especially if it's something unusual.  

"There's nothing sexy like excess." 

--Anna Dello Russo--

Did my nails to match...you like?

I've got crazy nails, a fierce topknot, studs 'n spikes, dark eyeliner, and two-tone lips.  I'd say that qualifies as "excess."  What say you, ADR?

Anyway, the reason this post is subtitled "the day of Dance" is because I danced from 5:00PM until 1:00AM!  It was soooo much fun...

I used to go Swing dancing downtown twice a week and clubbing on the weekends, but when I got married to a non-dancer my own dancing streak kind of came to an end.
Luckily I can get my dancing fix now that my friend, Emilee (who has been featured on this blog before) is taking ballroom dance lessons!  On this illustrious day, she got me into her studio for an individual ballroom lesson, a group line dance lesson, and a dance party (and remember, all this was followed by going out clubbin').

Before I sign off, I want to share the following two photos of my girls and I us at the studio's dance party.  It was a Wizard of Oz theme.  Can you guess what our costumes are?

ANSWER: I represent...the Lullaby League!

ANSWER: Em is Glinda and
Piera (who also has been featured before) is the Witch of the East (lol)

You should've seen me Cha-Cha and Rumba in this makeshift tutu...it was poofing and flipping all over the place!  (Fear not: there were no wardrobe malfunctions.)  Phenomenal.

EDGY LOOK

Dress: Forever21 || Belt: Express || Arm Party/Rings: thrifted & gifted || Shoes: Paparazzi || Earrings: ShopKo

LULLABY LEAGUE COSTUME

Tank: old || Skirt: Forever21 || Petticoat: Hot Topic || Tights: thrifted || Shoes thrifted

Rockabilly-Style BBQ

Dear readers, I apologize for my extended absence! 
My uploading process (meaning: emailing my photos from my phone to my online email account...woo! fancy) has been failing me lately (luckily, my phone is up for upgrade in about a month!  I'm looking around for one with a better camera to hopefully give you better quality photos). 
So forgive me, my friends, and I hope you enjoy this simple little summer ensemble featuring my: 

Cute Little Rockabilly-Style Halter Dress

A friend of mine was all like: "Those are, like, girly Michael Jackson shoes!"  I was flattered.  :)

These photos were snapped at my folks' house just before dinner on Sunday evening.  You can see the smoking grill just behind me...mmm...

I'm communing with my mother's plants; trying to convince them to stay alive!!!  Mama is a serial plant killer [and she doesn't wear jewelry, and she's allergic to perfume...we can never get away with buying her cliche gifts!  thwarted, again].

Looking at these photos, I'm pleased to see that my tan is fading a lot.  :)  I can't seem to help wanting to tan for summertime when my thighs are hangin' out of shorts/bikinis (*shudder*), but I always feel more like myself when I'm paler. 
What about you guys? 
Do you tan even though it's bad for your skin (like I do)?  Do you like how Hollywood stars and models seem to be turning back to "pale is pretty?" 

Dress: thrifted || Brooch: thrifted || Necklace: gifted || Shoes: thrifted || Watch: thrifted || Bag: Aldo

Sofa, So Good.

Yes, that punny title for this post was COMPLETELY necessary.

My dear readers, I have discovered a new means by which to take photos: piling up a basket, a decorative vase, and a book and then placing my camera (albeit precariously) on top of all that lot and setting a ten-second timer.  That allows me to take photos of me laying and sitting on the couch.  By adding another book and shifting the camera from there, I can get me standing next to the couch.  YAY for ingenuity..? 

PLEASE let me know what you think of these shots: I was quite pleased with the results of my little photographic experiment.

opening things up with my favorite shot

Soooo church ended up--SURPRISE--being held outdoors today so they can do some remodelling.  You should have seen me teetering around on the grass in these shoes.  I spent the whole sermon furiously fanning myself with the bulletin, because the dress is black and a poly-blend that doesn't breathe at ALL.  Classy.

Getting "so SEXUAL," as Jenna Marbles would say...

Then there were a few shots that required more editing than simply being cropped (as all the above were).  The following photos were either that whole model-y "I have NO idea what she's doing, but I guess it makes the clothes look pretty cool" thing (you know that you've paged through magazines and thought that), or just...wanted some added filtering and arty stuff.

Really, though...what WAS I doing? 
Gimme a break: I only had ten seconds every time to press the button, run back to the couch, and get in some sort of pose.  Every once in awhile, I'd remember to set my face.  Not this time, though (hence my cropping it out of the frame).

My purse demanded some limelight.  It was unfortunately stuck in a dark spot for most of these photos.

Anyway, this was a fun shoot on a hot Sunday afternoon.  I did all of this in about 20 harried minutes; I wanted to be finished before my husband got home: he would have laughed at me something fierce for the bizarreness of my setup and coquettish posing.

Anyway, farewell my loves, until next time...

(...which should be Monday!  I've got some photos my friend, Emilee took of me and herself from a concert.  We look amazing, if I do say so, myself!  :)  Be excited!!!)

Dress: H&M || Shoes: Target || Bag: Aldo || Bracelet: Maurices || Belt: Express