the girl with the temporary tattoo

Sweater - PaulnKC, Tank top (underneath) - American Apparel, 

Jeans - American Eagle, Wedges - River Island, Headphones - Atari

This is my personal take on weekend wear if I were Lisbeth Salander, from Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Of course, it's just compiled from clothes I already own, and extensively toned down.

I remember going through a Gothic Period in middle school... As you can see, it didn't really take,
but I have still always loved darkness in fashion - studs, leather, general badass-ness.

My love for black clothing and accessories never managed to dwindle, thankfully.

I still buy most of my clothing in black, dark grey...

Gawd. I freaking love these shoes!

P.S. The jeans are not sold cuffed. I buy short sizes from American Eagle, but they're still too long.
Go figure. Therefore, I sometimes cuff them when wearing boots or here, for a certain look.

Photos by Colin

barbie nails

I had fun bedazzling my nails with glitter and stars...

like a crafting party in the 90's, minus the danger of hot glue.

The nail polish is Wet'n'Wild in "Kaleidoscope."

The craft stars are from the Dollar Store, and can probably be found at most craft supply stores.

crimson petal and the white

It's a Victorian/Edwardian-inspired look today.

Well, it began as Victorian, but my wardrobe limited me to the twentieth century, at best.
And of course, I'm not pretending they had such short skirts either, outside of dance halls...
A contemporary hemline helps update the antique-style collar.

So, not really very historically Victorian, although my winter complexion is positively vampyric.

I might burst into flames... lol

You've probably guessed I've been watching a lot of historical dramas lately. 

The costumes are fantastic, but I appreciate indoor plumbing. And the right to vote.

P.S. The golden soles of my Ted Baker shoes have the loveliest inscription:
"Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life."

These are some kick-ass Cinderella shoes.

Outfit:

Black Satin Scallop heels - Ted Baker

Hi-lo skirt - Iris

Top - Costa Blanca (old)

Pantyhose - Secret "Au Naturel"

Vintage cross-stitch pendant, worn as brooch at collar

Vintage tapestry clutch

Photos by Julie

russian doll

I'm mostly stuck indoors today, as it's sleeting outside. 

I did attempt to venture out, but it was so windy I decided to lug my camera equipment back inside.

So it's just portrait-style today!

Sweater - Smart Set

Vintage dress (worn as skirt)

Pendant - Skanda boutique

Vintage fur collar

I was inspired by Slavic influences for this post:
Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible (above), Doctor Zhivago, Russian fairy tales.

In hindsight, unconsciously relating back to the Sochi Olympics, I suppose!

Weather-wise, I'd love for the wind to die down, and for the snow to be light and fluffy.

Then I could be a snow bunny...

For anyone out there, dredging through this West Coast weather, keep warm!

Inspiration images via:
www.liveinternet.ru
www.theredlist.com

such a teese!

I'm still very much enamoured of the lovely Dita Von Teese's Von Follies lingerie collection, 

which seems most fitting for some reason during February.

Perhaps it's being surrounded by glitter and roses, and lots and lots of bling.

Or possibly, I find it secretly thrilling that under the layers of wintry sweaters, 

lumpy and scratchy though they may be, I know that I'm wearing glamourous knickers,

(matching bra even, if you're not catching me around Laundry Day, tee hee).

I purchased Starlift in light blue (similar), and Savoir Faire knickers in nude/black (similar) from Asos.

There's now an even wider selection of styles and colours on Asos.

This collection is all about Dita sharing the magic of her retro glamour and femme fatale cool.

It's very hard not to feel burlesque-confident in eyelash lace and satin.

I really hope better weather is coming soon. Too stormy for me right now, but perfect for ducks.

Photos from:

styleonthecouch.com

i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o584/KissMissTwinkle/

katiechutzpah.com

cupid, in love

A few snapshots of this year's Valentine decorations.

I found the adorable paper pompoms at the Dollar Store. What a great touch!

I've since bought more for future holidays, birthdays, anytime the mood strikes...

They're fairly easy to assemble, the tissue paper "petals" just need to be separated and sort of "fluffed."

My first one was messy, I ripped the tissue more than once, but each one got significantly easier.

Now, all I'm wondering is how to store them? 

I'm feeling loathe to disassemble them now for all the effort of expertly fluffing... and I'm feeling lazy :)

As ephemera, I think most would just recycle them, but I'd like to reuse them if possible.

I think that they would lose their crispness... couldn't I just store them fully assembled? lol

blue valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

♥

I really can't claim that choosing blue for Valentine's Day was very inspired.

Instead, it was caused by the disappointed realization that all of my vaguely romantic, pink, holiday dresses

have been worn Valentine after Valentine, year after year.

One of those "closet full of nothing to wear" moments, really. Plain and simple.

Being a busty girl, I wouldn't normally go for a baby doll dress, although they're infamously comfy.
But I really liked the pattern so I indulged. After much deliberation.
The secret to making it work is really just a good bra, ultra supportive and smooth.
And it helps to go with a medium-sized pattern (definitely not stripes) and if you have a bit of a tummy,
Spanx or another type of body shaper couldn't hurt either.

And I had the excuse to indulge myself with some helium balloons, a luxury that I was surprised to 

uncover will no longer be available in years to come, due to a finite quantity of helium on Earth.

Sad, regarding the end of an era, but more importantly, that it is necessary for hospital use, 

but will be depleted in an estimated ten years. 

Strange too, to imagine that our children and grandchildren won't have birthday balloons,

a staple from my own childhood...

Will they believe us when we say: "back in my day, Granny used to get new-fangled Helium

balloons, that floated!" Hoo, boy.

In the immortal words of Poe:

 NEVERMORE.

Outfit:

Blue Toile dress - Asos

Red Mary Jane heels - Material Girl

Silver heart locket, rosebud earrings - all gifts

Hammered silver bangle - made by my super-talented big sister Bonnie!

Photos by Colin