Hooray!

It's not thrift shopping, but it is a fabulous deal! $49 compared to the $189 I would pay at retail!

I just ordered the J Brand "Love Story" jeans from Gilt Groupe. I really love these jeans in general but resisted the urge to buy them at work because of the cost and the wash not being exactly what I was after.

I actually prefer this wash to the one we have at work because I wanted a lighter wash bell bottom. I do love the Citizens of Humanity "Hutton" jean, but I have a bit more faith in these J Brands not stretching out. They should arrive sometime after Wednesday of this coming week.

J Brand "Love Story" jeans in the Loveless Medium Wash

Yikes.

I spotted this person as I walked into my university's main library. I can make my peace with the hideous UGGs, but what I cannot tolerate is the fact that she is wearing cropped leggings with them and then proceeded to roll the boots down! It's barely 30 degrees outside, gray, windy-- this is not bare leg weather!

Did you really need to feel the frigid breeze?

Leggings are a great thing for tucking into boots because they require virtually no manipulation of your pants to make them fit with a sleek, streamlined appearance. I myself am wearing thick, 2-ply leggings at the moment. They also happen to be full length and adequately tucked into my arguable more stylish black boots... it's not a gross enough day to place function over fashion, in which case I would have gone the route of my offensively unattractive The NorthFace boots.

Le sigh. I've worked really hard to train myself to not be critical of every choice I disagree with when it comes to style, but there is no question in my mind this person actively chose this ensemble as a result of what can only be deemed brain washing at my university. The number of girls I see in classes clad in similar ensembles (which are typically finished off with shirts so short I can tell whether or not they are, in fact, anatomically female) is outrageous. Obviously it is sensible to attend class dressed in a utilitarian fashion-- I can even tolerate the occasional sweatsuit-- but this outfit is anything but efficient. She must be cold. And no, she did not slip into that look to show how aloof she is, rather the concept of taking pride in one's appearance is lost on 80% of the female population here. The look she is sporting is not style, it's conformity.

I might be slightly more understanding if it weren't for the fact that last year I worked in a department devoted largely to contemporary suiting and worked with way too many young women who desperately needed help figuring out what was appropriate to wear to an interview/job. Perhaps if they started looking the part of a person who wants to succeed in the first place-- instead of like one who has yet to make friends with a product known as shampoo-- the whole What to Wear to Work debate would not be so complex to them.

That's my rant and I'm sticking to it.

Dress for Success... With Men?

At work today, a girl who works in my old department (Hi Abi) mentioned a blog called Man Repeller that she recommended I check out. I found the title extremely amusing as "man repellent" is my way of describing a certain brand of jeans at the store that is composed of entirely too much spandex, a zipper long enough to wrap around your waist (twice), and all too often is polished off with jewels or sparkles adhered to the rear.

While I appreciated a woman's need to find something that will come up over her post-menopausal pooch, every time someone would ask me where those jeans were I would have an image of an impenetrable shield pop up around her nether regions. Truthfully, the jeans are not designed in an appealing manner and the adornments do little more than create a target out of the wearer's behind... which may be attractive to some, but personally I prefer my suitor taking an interest in my face, not the shiny, sparkly things glued to my hind quarters.

"Mom Jeans" -- thanks for doing your part to raise awareness, SNL.

I did take a gander at the Man Repeller blog and found it amusing. The blogger and I have quite a few opinions and interests in common; for example a shared affinity for not-so-subtle sarcasm. That in and of itself is enough to make me like someone. Further, I love anyone who has the ability to laugh at herself; I laugh at myself a lot, with good reason. If you saw how often I fall down, you'd laugh too. I'm always flabbergasted when people look at me like I'm the crazy one when I laugh at myself. What, would you rather I cry? I don't have enough tubes of waterproof mascara to manage that kind of maintenace.

Anyway, that blog and my distaste for a Jean Brand I Will Not Name For Fear of Retribution got me thinking about style motivations. For a long time I have been of the opinion women dress for other women because for the most part guys don't seem to notice. They know what they like, sure, but when it comes to revving their engines the possibilities typically begin and end with things such as low riding jeans, thigh high stockings, and school girl plaid skirts.

Of course, that's not true of all guys. Unfortunately, the vast majority of ones who actually do appreciate the aesthetic significance of high-waist trousers tend to also be the ones who have no interest in taking those trousers off, ya dig?

In addition to chats about bedazzled denim, this evening also yielded my very first time taking care of a 12 year old girl who weighed maybe 80 pounds soaking wet. She and her mother were shopping for an outfit for a bar mitzvah reception and they were struggling. Long story short, the girl was trying to turn a high-waist cotton/jersey blend skirt into a low riding mini and topping it off with as tight a tank top she could find. I was also informed her intended hairstyle would be "flat ironed!" Memories of lifeless hair and hip bone baring ensembles a la Mean Girls blazed through my mind and I felt a deep-seated need to help. After showing her the benefits of tucking a blousey tank into the skirt and adding a belt (as well as unrolling said skirt to make it a normal length for anything other than a napkin) along with topping it off with costume jewelry, her mother was smiling and the young girl looked stylishly young and fresh. Still, I could tell she didn't trust me.

From Mean Girls... this is how we girls often dress pre-Mom Jeans. Interestingly, this style never seems to die out from the high school scene... it just gets recycled and called "vintage" at your local Wet Seal.

Finally, I told her I was going to take the opportunity to do her a favor I didn't have anyone ballsy enough in my life to do for me as a pre-teen. I explained she was more than welcome to go to the event dressed like every other girl there and chance that one of the boys might notice her amongst the herd-- after all, that's the whole point of this wardrobe debacle, yes?-- or she could trust my judgment, wear the outfit I put together and guarantee a bit of attention. The boys wouldn't know exactly why she looked so much better, but she would have zero competition because clearly none of the friends guiding her fashion choices were receiving the same kind of wisdom. She would be in a league of her own, because no one would look as cool as her. I also suggested a teasing comb and mousse.

She went back into the dressing room, changed, and sent her mom out with the goodies I had selected. We also set up plans to shop this Friday night to put the finishing touches on her ensemble.

So is this whole concept something we develop in adolescence and it pours over into our adult years? And at what point exactly do we stop trying to be as sexually appealing as possible? Do we hit "go!" on the biological stop watch and race to the Fast & Easy sections of the store the minute puberty sets in, only to be stifled like a buzzer going off when estrogen production slows down?

My viewing of style is typically littered with costuming ideas, likely a direct result of spending a huge chunk of my life onstage. I have what I refer to as an overactive imagination and instantly start telling stories in my head when I see ensembles. My ideas of "sexy" can be very warped. If you show me a woman in a colonial era dress, hair piled on top of her head with a handful of loose strands and no makeup, I will begin spinning a tale of forbidden lust and a stable boy ravishing her in the barn. That explains the sloppy hair and, oh, did I mentioned a smudge of dirt on her neck?

Then again, I also have a tremendous amount of appreciation for all things Brigitte Bardot and she is a widely recognized sexy symbol. Apparently everything is fair game for turn-ons in my book.

Brigitte Bardot in her sex kitten glory. Hi, can I have your face?

So what is man repellent? I used to not consider myself worthy of dressing in anything more than jeans and old t-shirts. My ex seemed to prefer me that way, because when we got back together post-self-reinvention, he would often mention how he actually preferred my less "dressed" days. But you know what? The new me felt sexier, more confident, more capable. I wouldn't say I dress in a way that is especially outlandish, and more often than not I am described as being "cute", but expressing myself through style gave me that extra oomph. Of course, there is something to be said for a woman in nothing but a shapeless men's shirt, no makeup, hair loose... but how many of us walk the streets like that?

Now that he's an ex, other guys are noticing my style and not minding it at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure they like it... which has caused me to draw the conclusion that the definition of man repellent is directly related to the confidence of the man in question. The more confidence he has, the more likely he will appreciate those four inch espadrilles or your gold-threaded turban.

Perhaps it's not so much a matter of the woman's age or hormone levels as it is one of the maturity of the guys and the level of self-esteem both parties are exhibiting. Maybe we never have to give up our desire to dress for our own inner success if we stop taking an interest in guys who expect our greatest achievement to be our relationship with them.

Besides, women live longer than men and I'd rather live out the gray-haired days I spend alone surrounded by beautiful, interesting clothes instead of toiling over which pair of faded elastic-waist stretch denim I ought to wear that day.

City Mousetrap.

Today I hopped in my trusty Honda, aka Pheebs/Regina Phalange, with a plan and determination to find fabulous things at thrift stores and come home with a handful of great deals. I set a budget and, after grabbing a good CD to listen to for the ride, headed to an area south of town with a list of thrift and antique stores to hit.

Now, I by no means consider where I live to be The Big City. It's certainly better than some, but holds no comparison to places such as Chicago or NYC. Even so, I consider my area to have a lot of really great draws; wonderful, unique restaurants, interesting bakeries, quirky boutiques, good antique stores, a wide variety of art galleries. Though we are hardly on the map as a mecca of fashion glories, all it takes is a trip to the 'burbs or any number of other Ohio cities to know we are better off here than we would be elsewhere. The small victories count, at least to me.

It took about 20 minutes of driving before I said aloud to myself, "Toto, I don't think we're in the city anymore."

Suddenly great expanses of land had cropped up-- and yes, using the term "crop" here counts as a not-so-subtle pun. Still, I drove on, excited and certain there was some hidden jewel amongst the fields undoubtedly full of manure.

Upon arrival at my first destination, I had serious misgivings. First of all, it began pouring down rain as soon as I parked, which is annoying to walk in and out of stores in, but infinitely worse when those stores are thrift shops. Let me tell you, "wet dog" could be a perfume bottled and sold at thrift stores to escape the stench that surrounds you. That is certainly not true of all, but in the case of my first stop it absolutely was. Second, during the short walk from my car to the entrance, I saw three people wearing leather NASCAR jackets.

I moseyed in with a smile on my face and, despite my initial impression of disappointment, kept that smile glued on as I trekked over to the racks over which a sign saying "ladies" was hung.

"Classy," I thought naively in regards to their choice to refer to the area in such a polite manner.

I felt "silky tops" was a great place to start, so I circled the rack three times in search of the "XS" portion. My hunt was in vain. As I continued to discover as I inspected everything from jeans to blazers, the sizes 0 and 2 do not exist in some places. Even then, I tried to keep my spirits up and decided I would have alterations done if necessary.

It was right around the point when I was flipping through the rack of skirts and discovered one in the "better brands" section marked with a tag for Dress Barn that I started to lose faith.

I left and moved on to the next handful of stops. A couple were closed because of it being President's Day. The others yielded uncomfortably similar experiences to that which I had at the first store.

I was not raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. I do not live a life in the lap of luxury. I am, however, a woman who knows why I ought to appreciate legitimate silver over the metallic-gray frosted "fancy" plasticware used at some picnics, if you know what I mean. What I was finding today did not present opportunities to mix interesting pieces into my wardrobe. The merchandise I found was all bargain, no deal; it's not a great find if you'll never wear it!

Finally, slightly damp from the weather and feeling a bit worn down, I decided to throw in the towel. Perhaps $1 blouses and $3 pants were just not in the cards for me today. I went into my excursion with visions of peasant blouses and funky dresses dancing in my head. I left concerned about the nightmares I might have after spotting a pair of jeans from Weathervane that I'm 99% positive I owned in high school.

On my way home, I stopped at Northstar and devoted a decent chunk of my thrifting budget to lunch and a giant oatmeal raisin cookie. "Better luck next time," I thought. And that is my plan. I have every intention of continuing in my goal to become a thrift shopper and am already crafting a list of vintage and resale stores to hit. I am a woman on a mission.

Round two, here I come. Please do not involve more pairs of used Carhartt overalls than I can shake a stick at.

Weeee!!!

I am trying to amp myself up to go thrifting tomorrow. A positive attitude is key! I am going in, [water]guns blazing, ready to battle the racks and I will be successful!

Yes! I will find fantastic pieces to add to my wardrobe!

I will spend a minimal amount of cash!

I will find things that get me excited in the morning...

...and inevitably the afternoon and evening when I change my outfits over and over!

Considering I typically sell (and take an interest in) clothing that begins in the many hundreds of dollars range, this should be interesting.

The most important thing I will be wearing tomorrow is a look of determination.

Take another look.

I've never been much of a fan of Jason Wu. My dislike wasn't rooted in anything of substance; very little of it was a direct result of anything he has said or done. After Michelle Obama wore his one-shoulder dress for the president's inauguration, everyone was asking for a dress with one shoulder and referring to Jason Wu as if he had created the concept of such a thing himself. I got sick and tired of being at work and listening to women go on and on about how they were going to wear an Obama dress and... yeah, I'm just a big brat sometimes. I'd say my disinterest in Wu can be attributed far more to what some people refer to as "retail hell" than to anything he himself has done.

All the same, I have looked at a fair amount of his work and nothing has excited me. I mean, I can salivate over the Dolce & Gabbana pages in our look books at work for hours, but I'll spend as much time as it takes me to blink on Wu's.

That is, of course, until I saw this little gem. LOVE.

Jason Wu "Pam" Tulle Overlay Silk Organza Strapless Dress

Hi, that's gorgeous. First of all, it's not black and ivory, it's navy and ivory. So unexpected. Navy has been popping up in various lines for awhile now, but often I feel as though black is the fall back color. And the corseting, the ruffle... gorgeous. The layers upon layers of tulle and organza are so indulgent, yet restrained; the perfect combination. It leaves you wanting more!

The same refined luxury appeal adds to the tulle lying over the corset. It's a little bit mysterious and a lot fabulous. The Swiss dot detail gives it a sweet vibe, but can anyone argue with the innate sexiness of the bodice on this dress? A woman wearing this is telling the world there is more to her than meets the eye.

I would love to see this dress styled on someone with a pixie haircut with slightly longer layers in the front. Very Michelle Williams:


No necklace, please. With this dress, I'd opt for a pair of delicate earrings-- ideally set with blue topaz stones in a shade of deep navy. A few slim, rose gold bangles on one arm and a very nice manicure is all that would be needed otherwise; the dress says so much, keep it simple every where else!

While the heels pictured with the dress are lovely, a nude heel is my preference. That could be my 5'2" height talking, but why would anyone miss out on the opportunity to make their legs look a mile long? I say go for it and get glam (and great gams!) with a great pair of Stuart Weitzman pumps.

Jason Wu, thank you for proving me wrong. It was a pleasure fantasizing about wearing your fabulous dress!

Roughly translated.

As I begin to delve into the world of style blogging (and immerse myself in the madness of twitter-- follow me! lauraLdunstan), I am fast realizing I have to prioritize some spending habits so I can more adequately indulge my obsession with all things style. Either that, or find a leprechaun who will just give me a pot of gold, and by pot of gold I mean access to an endless expense account.

The thing is, it's all very well and good to saturate my mind with images of Ikat print maxi dresses and wedge sandals, but it's a lot more fun to actually have those things tangibly in my hands. This morning, while massaging my cuticles in a History of Art class, I started ticking off my irrational expenditures: regular coffees at Cup 'O Joe (which, in my defense, started because I had a gift card and then got wildly out of hand), cocktail after cocktail after work... actually, that's kind of where the list ended. Those beverages, while on opposite ends of the chain, are sucking up a pretty penny from my elephant gray faux leather handbag.

On my way home from class I made a stop at the grocery store and bought coffee grounds. I hadn't made coffee myself at home in well over a year, so I decided to buy some froo froo creamer to mask the failure if it turned out poorly. I also have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to start drinking well vodka when out and about and only drink Ketel One when cocktailing in my abode. I'm not sure who is going to be more upset about that; me, or the bartenders who are about to take a serious cut in income.

It's all in the name of style. If I am serious about this blog, I need to buckle down and devote myself to translating my interest in style to my life in style. After February ends, I'm going to start trying to add at least one interesting contribution to my wardrobe each week. I have to wait because not only do I know about 100 people born in February (and thus have already done quite a bit of gift giving and merry making), in the US it is a customary tradition [read: law] to fork over a chunk of change to renew your license plates. Happy birthday to me.

I do, however, recognize it is unrealistic to think I will be buying every beautiful thing that strikes my fancy. That is why I am about to delve into a world that I am generally not a fan of in Ohio: thrifting. When I lived in California there were thrift shops galore! Everywhere I turned I could buy an aged Aerosmith t-shirt from some tour they did at least a decade before I was an embryo. That's not exactly my style-- and neither is the west coast-- so not only is it going to be a challenge to do some quality thrifting here in the Great Lakes region, it's also going to be a constant quest for things that fit my aesthetic.

Which is...?

Honestly, I dabble. I like to entertain the idea of bouncing between styles and costuming myself. At the moment, my interests for casual wear are in classic American styling circa the early '70s with a touch of eclectic accessories and patterns. When it comes to a more dressed up approach, I'm finding myself drawn to a Daisy Buchanan type of femininity; soft, floaty, the wardrobe equivalent to whipped cream. Of course, Daisy did a lot of loose draping and on my body, tailoring is key. A little volume here and there is okay, but my dimensions do not allow for much. It's easy for me to end up looking as though my ensemble doubles as a camping tent, just in case I were to be stranded. In terms of hair, I am almost always attracted to a touchable look that can survive a little rough and tumble. Ideally, activity will only add to its appeal!

And truthfully, I love a bit of head to toe va-va-voom. I'm only going to be 23 almost 24 once! I don't want to be 85 years old and looking back at pictures wondering why I didn't work it when I had the chance.

The variety of fashion interests I have, paired with my lowly student budget, leads me to stand that much stronger in my opinion that style should absolutely not be dictated by trends alone. Things need to last season to season! When working with limited funds, it is important to prioritize and decide which pieces are worth investing in and which are not. I am also making it a goal to find as many fantastic goodies as I can via thrifting. With any luck, that combination of tools will help me move my style interests from the digital to the day-to-day.

All that being said... let's not even talk about the price tag on this ensemble:

Chloe

Yeah. I will accept that expense account, if anyone is offering.

Wear your style on your sleeve.

I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to play with style a bit more than I could if I worked at say, a bank or a doctor's office. Our dress code is not very strict-- they even acknowledge a statement necklace or scarf as a "third piece". With that said, we do have rules about sleeves. Anything we wear needs to at least go past the edge of our shoulder and cover at least a smidgen of our arm.

As I was browsing ModCloth this evening, I discovered a plethora of dresses with sleeves on them. Now, while some people may not consider that a hot commodity, anyone who has ever worked in fashion retail can appreciate the frequent frustrations of customers in search of "dresses with sleeves". Generally the only things available are dowdy or very Mother of the Bride-esque. ModCloth, however, embraces the need for sleeves and provides a bountiful selection. Here are some of my favorites.

Made in Jade Dress
(They say to save the best for last, but this is one of my absolute favorites and I'm opting to start with it! Aside from the fantastic color, I am loving the wrap style of this. So often I try on wrap dresses and wonder exactly what I am supposed to do about the fact that it is hanging open all the way down to my belly button. This dress is far more demure. The sash is very trend right for Spring and Summer but still looks classic. Faboosh!)

Sketching Memories Dress
(How delightfully lady like! This dress will hug every curve without giving away the details. I look it at and instantly see a woman of relaxed good taste; can't you imagine the loose braid cascading over her left shoulder with a handful of strands threatening to fall free? I would wear this with a nude sandal or pump and accessorize with navy and gray baubles.)

Art Collector Dress
(This dress is impossibly chic. I feel as though anytime a woman wears ivory, white, eggshell-- whatever variation on those colors you prefer-- she exudes a certain elegance that cannot be captured by black. That is coming from a girl who wears black in some shape or form, as The Beatles would say, eight days a week. This is sleek and polished. What would be really fun would be to mix it up with an extremely saturated burgundy pump and sheer black hosiery. That would play up the femininity from a completely different angle!)

Flowers of Romance Dress
(Could this be any sweeter? I love the cornflower blue and marigold colored flowers on this. The shade of red is perfection and has just the right amount of orange. My favorite part is the neckline; it's low cut without being vulgar. That translates to a little cleavage without advertising the color of your bra... unless, of course, you want to. LOVE.)

Cover Charge Dress
(I realize this is not a sleeved dress per se, but I LOVE IT and think it would make a fantastic birthday night out dress for moi. I definitely have birthday on the brain since that special day is fast approaching.)

I'm taking donations.

I love Lauren Hutton a lot. It's not because I have crooked teeth or something and identify with her. In fact, my mother works for an orthodontist, so these babies are straight straight straight. I do, however, LOVE the gap in her teeth and the fact that she did not feel the need to have it "corrected" in an effort to fit in with traditional standards of beauty in our society.

I feel kind of similarly about teeth as I do about hands. As long as they are clean and maintained, I'm a fan of whatever makes them different. Hands in particular can tell a story about where a person's life has been. Teeth, however, are something we are born with and inherently "us".

Physical beauty aside, I adore Lauren Hutton's style. She's classic American with a twist. Often I see pictures of her in hats and think, "I really wish I could pull that off." Hats just aren't my thing. I like to blame it my opinion that my head is excessively large for my body, but the truth is I am constantly on a quest to add more volume to my hair and hats are not the way to do that. No matter how many magazines publish articles claiming they've found a cure for hat hair, not a once have the tips worked.

Getting back to the subject at hand-- Lauren Hutton-- I would like to discuss a fabulous pair of jeans I discovered today at work. Based on their name, I'm assuming she was the inspiration. While wandering departments to pull looks for an appointment, I came upon these little gems and fell madly in love.

Citizens of Humanity "Hutton" Trousers
(Paradise wash)

Holy. Macaroni. I would love to pretend I reacted in an ultra cool fashion and simply grabbed them in my size to try on, but my reaction was a little more on par with how many people respond to hearing they're pregnant. I felt as though I had just found an extension of myself and responded accordingly:

"OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. WHEN DID THESE COME IN?! Oh my god. I love them! BE IN MY LIFE! I need these. Watch my department, I have to go to my fitting rooms. Ahhh!"

To some extent I wish they would have looked like crap so I would feel a lot less inclined to drop, ehh, more money than I typically do on denim. They did not look crappy. In fact, they looked as though someone took my body, made a mold, and these jeans were sculpted on it. Very rarely do I discover pants that fit both my abnormally skinny legs and my adequately plump hind quarters without any alterations. The only problem was length, which I am accustomed to dealing with, and was certainly aided by the fantastic Vince Camuto "Mimis" sandal I tried them on with... I have a problem.

Let's be honest though, I wear pants very rarely and jeans only make appearances on occasion. Spending a sizeable chunk of change on a fabulous dress is way more excusable. With that said, I would be happy to wear these all day and sleep in them all night if that is what is necessary to own them. I also am willing to eat ramen noodles every day, two meals a day, to justify the hideously irresponsible expenditure on my Student Who Works (and drinks expensive vodka) Budget. I realize I could downsize the cost by cutting my cocktail intake, but I'm not willing to do that, so that's not even worth lingering on. Food I am much more willing to tighten my purse straps on.

So now I am wrestling with my choice to purchase them and rationalizing away the irresponsibility in my head because they are called "Hutton," a throwback to a style icon I love. Obviously it's meant to be! I really love them. The "paradise" wash is perfect. While I love the J Brand "Love Story" jeans, I don't love the wash I tried on because it's a lot darker than what I'm after. I love how fantastically faded the Citizens are. They embody that relaxed, 70s casual vibe I'm after in a bell bottom. Give me those and a blousy white button down and I will go to town with that ish.

Ahh. I want. I want I want I want!

A Little Whimsy.

Fred Flare is a great little website. Granted, they offer an inordinate amount of hipster goods-- does one really need bacon scented band-aids?-- but they also have all the funky accessories and outfits a boy or girl could ask for. I tend to gravitate toward the accessories because I am not a huge fan of ordering clothing online, but alas, that is another topic for a separate entry.

Anyway, if you're looking for fun ways to liven up your wardrobe, Fred Flare may be the place for you to go. It's a little bit kitschy, a little bit juvenile, and a whole lot of fun. Below are some of my favorite things on the site right now. Please note, my birthday is in less than two weeks. Hem, hem.

Disney Couture "Drink Me" Necklace

(Now, I am the last girl to jump on the "OMG I LOVE DISNEY!!!" bandwagon, despite appearances considering my last entry referenced my intense love for a Belle costume and this one also contains Disney-related merchandise. There are a few things I like about this necklace. One, my love affair with vodka is hardly a secret and it's just plain funny. Two, the bottle is stoppered with a fabulous black bead that sets the whole thing off. Three, Alice in Wonderland is less so a princess success story as it is a tale of a girl who wondered down the wrong path and made some interesting choices. Oh, how I can identify...)

Alice Time Piece Watch Necklace

(There is something distinctly nostalgic about watch necklaces that gets me every time. I feel as though the watch necklace is the female equivalent to the watch fob. My mother inherited a wonderful watch necklace when my grandmother died a little over a year ago and I have subtly given many hints that I hope to receive it someday. Mom, if you're reading, make a note.)

Sheer Dottie Socks

(I would never wear these with satin "dye to match the dress" shoes, which is what this image seems to suggest... but I do love these socks. I'd likely get them in a light blue or soft pink and roll them down a bit. And just to be a brat, I'd wear them with sandals... because in my book, socks and sandals can be alright when they aren't Gold Toe cotton socks paired with Birkenstocks.)

Rose Tapestry Dress

(I love the neckline of this. I love the shape of the bodice. I love the slightly watercolored appearance of the flowers. To me, this dress screams hot summer day. Paired with chunky, charcoal gray sandals, a black, wide brim hat, and any of the Harry Potter books, I feel as though I could comfortably read the day away in style. I'd add a true red lip, though.)

Butterfly Effect Dress

(This totally reminds me of those Paint 'N Swirl toys that were popular in the '90s. I always wanted one! I don't love the shape of this dress, but that's mostly because it's not flattering for my figure. I'd add a tan, woven belt and a pair of rusty red, faux leather sandals to it.)

Styled by another lifetime.

When I was little, I was very obsessed with all things retro and/or vintage. This was before Dita Von Teese was wandering the streets looking as though she fell out of a pin-up calendar. It was before the days of Rachel Zoe and Nicole Richie strutting around in caftans. It happened for me sometime around a time in my life in which playing dress up at home simply wasn't cutting it for me, so I started wearing the bell bottoms my mom made for a Halloween hippie costume every day... including to school. My fashion choices generally did not fall in line with what the cool kids were wearing and I still remember finding my sister's John Lennon-esque sunglasses and wearing them on the playground only to be berated by other students.


"What are they thinking?!" I'd ask myself internally. Obviously I was a picture of cool. First of all, the sunglasses belonged to my older sister, who clearly must have been wiser than me to own them, just not smart enough to wear them in every day life. Second of all, they had a rosy color to the lenses-- which in hindsight is both ironically amusing and a little sad. Still, however, I often felt it was only a matter of time before the popular kids saw things my way and started wearing what I wore.

Those incidents were certainly not isolated to my infatuation with all things "make love, not war" (a concept I wasn't entirely informed enough on to be saying anyway). In kindergarten I wore my Halloween costume pretty much every day until fitting into it was no longer a negotiable task. This was at a time in my life in which my mom kept me in check enough that I would wear "normal" clothes to school and come home and change into my gown. I was Belle from Beauty & the Beast and I was lucky enough to have a mother who made my Halloween costumes from scratch, so the look was priceless. Not only did my dress look infinitely more chic than the ones you could buy at the Disney store, it also lacked the annoying "BELLE!" gem hanging from the neckline of store-bought versions. "What is that?!" I always wanted to know. In my opinion, my fabulous costume and air of five year old well-read sophistication should have been enough to communicate who I was portraying.

(Please note the tiny image of Belle's face hanging from the neckline of this store bought version)

In fifth grade I did a huge thesis project for G.A.T.E. called "Teenage Culture of the 1950s," and not only did I embrace the subject with a fervor, I also decided to bring my Halloween costume into the daylight yet again. After being a Pink Lady for Halloween, I proceeded to wear pedal pusher capris on regular basis and I distinctly remember this being around the time I bought orange cat's eye sunglasses at the GAP at Tower City mall in Cleveland. Sunlight be damned! I wore those things all the time regardless of weather.

It wasn't until middle school that I really started to crumble under the pressure of being a nerdy weird kid. It could have happened for any number of reasons. Not to say elementary school was a walk in the cool kid park for me, but middle school was really the time in which I discovered just how much of a loser everyone else considered me to be. Like many girls my age, I recognized Limited Too was the place to be shopping. Though I'd long been a wearer of GAP Kids clothing, I knew I needed to cut ties with all things associated with being a kid. Convincing my mom to deck me out in American Eagle was not really an option, but Limited Too was still childlike enough that she would put up with getting me a few outfits there. The days of wearing Halloween costumes on a random day in April were long gone.

Until now.

While I have no intention of going to class wearing the black pleather catsuit I purchased for my Cat Woman Halloween costume this year, I am loving the throwback trends currently being featured in magazines everywhere. Late 1960s/early 1970s fashions have been some of my favorite looks for a very long time. Give me hot pants! Give me bell bottoms! Give me flowing silky blouses and long, glamorous locks of hair! Pulling off the late 1970s punk look has never worked out well for me, but those other things I can do. Those other things identify with both my inner nine year old hippie and the glamazon dying to get out a la Jerry Hall.

Of course, wearing time-defined trends head-to-toe is not my idea of style. The idea is to integrate your favorites into a modern look, perhaps pairing it with a handful of other eras and bringing everything right up to the present.

All the more reason I need to own a pair of these 1950s-inspired Prada Rectangular Cat's Eye sunglasses. Ooh, be still my heart be in my life!

Style?

"BE IN MY LIFE!" is my automatic response anytime I see anything I love and want. In this case, it is applied to a discussion of style-- yes, style, but not specifically fashion or trends. Though those things may come up quite often, it is first and foremost about style, that personal embrace of an expression of self that so many of us work every day to develop.

While style may be largely influenced by whatever is hot on the fashion scene, the truth is it is not led by trends. "Fashion" is not synonymous with style. Style is what happens when you wake up every day and walk out the door feeling like what you are wearing is either a) matching how you feel on the inside or b) matching how you want to feel on the inside!

Style should be an expression. It's hard to mess up for precisely that reason; you see, style is whatever you want it to be, not what anyone else tells you to do. It is ever-evolving and limited only by, well, you. Sure, there are people who can help you develop your style and guide you-- uhh, I pay the bills doing that-- but really, it's as easy as allowing yourself to explore. Sometimes, however, having a little push from someone else helps you to say, "Hey! I do love wearing gray booties with tights and a pair of cuffed shorts!" when you would have blushed at the mere mention of such an ensemble in the past.

Style is about trusting yourself to know what is good for you. Just as in school or work, you have to put in a bit of effort to have that confidence-- how sure of yourself would you feel if you had to stand up in front of a class and give a presentation on a topic you only just learned how to pronounce? That's why you have to be willing to invest a bit of yourself into learning how to embrace your personal style. Besides, style is fun. It's like playing dress up with a much better set of options than plastic high heels or your dad's ugly ties.

And for those who want to disregard style and fashion and everything that comes along with those things as superficial: would you say that about the tribe people in Africa who use body art to make a statement? Do you look back at Japanese warriors and think, "man, they were so stuck on themselves." Painted faces and emblazoned helmets are every bit about style as our own choices for apparel, accessories, makeup, hair, and shoes. It's just a matter of whether or not you want to make those things count the way a woman who is covered in piercings in Africa does.

That really is the [tofu] meat and potatoes of this thing; style is what you make of it.

So... what are you making of it? What needs to "be in your life!"?

Those are questions worth asking and the ones I intend to explore.