Fashion Litter

Fun With Feathers

2011-11-10T20:02:00.001-06:00

Fake (no way does this thing deserve the term "faux") Fur Coat- Vintage (early 90s) Guess, "The Who" T-Shirt- Vintage, Belt- No idea, but who cares, Stripey Pants- F21, Beaded Necklace- Made by Youngest Brother Griffen when he was a child. Yes, "Little Rattler" is scrawled on it in marker.

I had no plans for the above jacket beyond Halloween, but have slowly realized it looks awesome in any/every situation. Thanks, person who designed Guess jackets in the early '90s, for providing me with the opportunity to look a bit like the Cookie Monster, and a bit like a streetwalker.

But for once, clothing and clothing-related issues are not the first thing on my mind. I have become utterly obsessed with interior design, as my endless house search ended a couple weeks ago. "Ended" is a rather small word, really. I now reside in the silliest, most wonderful, funhouse to ever grace the DFW Metroplex. Example: the foyer is a SOLARIUM. And there are so many secret closets that I'm still finding them. And each bathroom has a theme (paisley bathroom, glass bathroom ((sexyyy)), completely red bathroom, etc), and I know you'll want to punch me if I say "and" again, but grammar flies out the window when I start blathering about this place. It was built in the '30s, makes me feel like Eloise, and is imbued with a sense of magic I can't really explain. It's a blissfully happy version of the haunted dance school in Suspiria (my favorite Dario Argento film). Bleghh, I will just post photos once we've decorated. I can't explain it with my clumsy words.

HOWEVER- there is one problem. I have huge ideas and a small budget. Advice, please! I imagine most of you are good at this kind of thing, so any genius decorating tips are beyond appreciated.

P.S.- I just realized you probably assume the above photos were taken in our new place, but that would be The Famous Ethan Ivey Shaw's old bedroom. I'm sure he's already painted something like that uh, mural/quotable quote on his dorm wall. Ethan, if you're reading this: I can't wait to see you on Thanksgiving. I'll bring a pile of books for you, my literary little brother.

P.P.S.- Sorry that last part veered into private phone call/message territory. I'm a bit emotional due to the sudden and toosadtoreallytalkaboutsonodetails loss of my kitty, General Sherman. He ran away, but my parents have been working so hard to get him back that I can't help but think this is a temporary parting. HAPPY THOUGHTS NOW. FEATHERS!

EDIT: Hopefully all of you amazingly wonderful people understand that I have been terrible at returning comments because my life is in such a transitional state. Your kind words mean so much to me.

ALSO. Just wanted to bring your attention to a fellow Dallasite who recently started a blog (streetstyledallas.blogspot.com). This girl is LEGIT. Beautiful, stylish as hell, and quite adept at making Dallas look cooler than it actually is. So go check out her blog and follow it!

In Which I Get Drunk and Try On All My Clothes.

2011-10-17T16:01:00.003-05:00

Cat Shirt- Self made, Huge Pink Denim Shorts- JBrand + RIT Dye, Sparkly Cable Knit, Printed Scarf- Madewell, Cut-Offs- Borrowed (stolen) from Casey, Awesome Leopard Shoes- F21, Studded Belt- Zara, Lace Peter Pan Dress- F21, Black Sweater- H&M Divided, Ankle Boots- Vintage, Leather Jacket- Doma, Plaid Button-up- Madewell, Lacey Shorts- Birthday present from Casey, Terrifying Dead Creatures Bag- Vintage, Classy Hooters Shirt- Thrifted, then slashed up a bit.

So I'm not dead. However, I am divorced! Yep. Hence the whole "disappearing for almost two months" thing—I left my photographer. So Joey will no longer be a character on this blog. But Casey and Mom are still around! And I've got plenty of new characters to fill the void in your heart. Because I know random, half-explained stories about the people in my life are real void-fillers. To avoid being gauche, I'm not going to air as much dirty laundry as usual. Just know that there is absolutely no reason for you to feel sorry for me, and I'm happier than I've been in a long time. Recently, I've been obsessed with the DH Lawrence poem, "In a Boat". This is a roundabout way of telling you what is going on in my life without actually telling you. God, the lengths I'll go to over share on the internet.

Moving on! I chopped my hair. Yes, it sounds painfully cliche after a breakup, but had more to do with too much bleach and too little conditioner than some sort of psychological cleansing ritual. I kinda wish I could tell you a dramatic "scissors, mirror, single tear running down my cheek, sad music trilling away in the background" story, but no such luck.

I'm not going to ramble for five years, partially because I want to stop using this blog as a forum for whatever random thought pops into my head (ok, that was a total lie: my random thoughts are gonna stick around, they'll just be a bit more edited), but mainly because I just bought the new Teen Vogue (Oh, stop being such a snob! I know you read it, too!) with Alexa Chung on the cover, and (unlike the stupendously boring Peaches$$$Geldofs we're supposed to worship*) she actually has that whole "I would purchase/support basically anything she's involved in" thing. Oh, and she definitely has the "I bought her entire over-priced Madewell collection, including the stupid cosmetics bag" thing. Less complicated version: I am an enormously devout Alexa Chung fan-girl.

*I know, it seems like I say something negative about ol' Peaches in every post. But have you ever read her abysmal NYLON articles? And did you know that they're ghostwritten?? And doesn't that make you wonder if she's, umm, literate? Also: the emperor has no clothes, people. She doesn't dress that well. Which is mind-blowing, considering her connections. I know I'm preaching to the choir, I've yet to come across anyone who harbors some huge Peaches crush. So I'll stop, but first I shall leave you with this very depressing thought: I wonder how many teenage girls know everything about the Geldof sisters, and nothing about Gloria Steinem. HA! I'm so predictable. First post in over a month, and already back to my pseudo-feminist hand-wringing.

Hi, Daddy! Hi, Taylor! Hi, Entire State of Tennessee!

2011-08-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

Shirt- My dad's practice shirt from college football, Belt- has sorta made the rounds within my friends and family to the point where I'm not even sure anymore, Shorts- LF, FACE BAG!!!- I snapped that shit up before Taylor had a chance to think twice (i.e. vintage that I bought from Taylor), Boots- exact same situation as the aforementioned, the light-up thing is a watch. That's how it tells time. I brought it back from my trip to the Space Age, Triforce Ring- Pamela Love, Cross Bracelet- Konstantino, cause I'm a fancy lady. Told you to stop reading this part. It's just gonna get apeshittier and apeshittier.

This post is weird. I'm gonna post again tonight anyway, so, outline format, take it away...

- Sorry the outfit is a bit boring. Joey and I were in the parking lot of our local "North Texas Attempts Some Kind of Independent Film Store, Fails", realized I was wearing the OfficialTaylorConzelmanOfThingsOnHangersLeatherSmotheringBag AND the OfficialTaylorConzelmanOfThingsOnHangersGrannyBoots, so decided to go ahead, try and minimize my increasingly David Bowie-esque face (Thanks, blahbleghblah, for causing the least flattering weight loss possible!), and show you people what you really want to see. Which would be the aforementioned Conzelman Smothering Bag. We're a morbid lot, aren't we? Speaking of morbid:

- I lucked out on a perfectly preserved antique Victorian

Mourning Locket yesterday. Dead hair and all.

- I also got another one of those shiny dead beetle lucite

bracelets that creep my mom out so much!

- See, sometimes I talk about shopping.

- Still no fashion anywhere in this post, though. I think I

kinda dislike fashion. My style icons are Henry Rollins and

Brother Ethan. Female-wise...probably the angelic girl

who rang me up at Half-Price Books yesterday. And Riley

Deaver. But see, all those people are too busy being singer/

poets, awesome hippie brothers, mysterious book pixies, and

amazing singer/dancer/actresses (god, Riley, is there

anything you can't do?) to care about "fashion". I should

have thought through this last summer when I started a

blog and named it, uh, FASHIONlitter. I guess I just can't

bring myself to find "icon-status" inspiration in someone

I don't even know. I shall make an exception for the late,

great Ruth Gordon, and a fictional literary character-

Daisy Miller. OH! And Madeline (the blogger, not the child
who lived in the Plaza), and Taylor, and Stephanie...ok, if
I start naming blog-friends this could go on all day. But I
can't forget Casey Strawberry Freckleface. Or Langley Meek.
She isn't a blogger...more of a guru of all things. Fun
Fact: Langley Meek has two sisters, all three of them are
stunningly gorgeous. Joey likes to ponder that often- not
in a creepy way, more from a genetic standpoint.

- I was silly not to name this blog something more

creative, like my cousin, Sarah, who just started a tumblr

www.moonlightstarbright.tumblr.com

- You should visit my cousin Sarah's tumblr.

- She is that beautiful pin-up badass I featured. The

Zelda Fitzgerald genius Alabama native, remember?

Ok, my outline got all bonkers, and I only have a couple more things to say.

First: just thought of a few more style icons, and I happened to notice that, once again, there's no Pixie Geldof-esque blahblahs to be found (but let's be honest and ask ourselves why, exactly, Pixie $ Geldof $ is $ a $ fashion $ icon...$$??). There's Travis Jennings Brown, who already sounds like a Hemingway-esque author (if you think I'm referring to Dree Hemingway, then I will seriously block you from my blog), but isn't quite yet. He will be our generation's Hemingway, though, and I shall supplicate at his feet. Maybe he'll let me write a rambling intro or some shit when they do his biography. I could talk about that one of those Den of Iniquity weekends. I promise there will be Simon, and Garfunkel, and naked night swimming. There might be some illicit substances, but then again, maybe we were all straight arrows. I guess you'll find out in fifty years when I write this intro.
Last but not Least: did you know my daddy was like, a super serious football player? Fascinating factoid, eh? He played Center (?) for the Dallas Cowboys. That's why I live here. Seriously. If he'd been drafted by the Green Bay Packers, well, I'd be me, but in Green Bay. Which I imagine involves a shit-ton of turtlenecks and very little barefoot time. that scares me.

That was basically ALL tangent. I sounded like an annoying person who took speed. And made about as much sense. Forgive me, I'm doing about five things at once. And I'm not gonna proofread (eeep!). Publish.

Ethan Starts College on Monday and I am LOSING IT. This Post Is All Kinds of Crazy.

2011-08-13T15:28:00.001-05:00

Dress, Denim Shirt, Boots, Head Scarf, Necklaces, Slave Bracelet- vintage, Bag- littlest brother Griffen got it for me in Peru, Bracelets- bleghhh, blah blah blah if you have any questions just ask me in the comments, k?

How cool is that last photo? It kinda makes me nauseous...but pretty much everything makes me nauseous these days, so no surprise there. Every morning I open one eye, cautious, breath-held, praying (to whom?) that the fluid sloshing around in my ears isn't gonna result in another day/days/week spent lying on the couch, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

Explanation: Lucky Ol' Margaret (oh, fuck off, I know referring to oneself in the third person is lame) has another odd illness!!! Technically, I've had the same illness since twenty. I've never mentioned this on the blog, because it is ostensibly a style blog of some sort, but I had a rare auto-immune disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which involves years of recuperation/setbacks. Illness talk is never interesting and always depressing, so if you feel the need for details or a disgusting symptomatic rundown, wikipedia those three evil words. "Guillain-Barre Syndrome". SO. FUCKING. HORRIBLE.

Anyway, the random, ridiculous after-effects of GB linger for years, which sucks. Obviously. And it seems to hurt everything, and currently that thing is my inner ears. I'm sorta at the point where my mom has to accompany me on every doctor visit because all I hear is "bleghbleghbleghbleghhhh". So from what my mother has told me via my ear specialist, I have Labrynthitis. Which basically is just a huge excess of fluid sloshing around inside my ears. Apparently, this is normal for those lucky few who are sorta not really kinda hopefully recovering from an Autoimmune Disease. But if "normal" means having the spins way too often (you know, like when you're wayyy too drunk?), tripping/falling like a toddler, and wasting chunks of my life sprawled on the couch, then fuck normal.

God, I sound angry. Like, Henry Rollins angry.

I'm actually quite happy (like, Wayne Coyne happy) thanks to the FANTABULOUS TAYLOR CONZELMAN! Taylor (www.thingsonhangers.com), you made my day, week, month, whatever, with the amazing FACE BAG...plus some other really cool junk I would never have sold.

Sorry for all the complaining, brother Ethan leaves for college on Monday and I'm starting to lose it. A bit. Or maybe a lot. Colorado is far away and Ethan is so independent and all I can do to keep from a full-on sobbing episode is remember that he will be perfect at whatever he decides to be perfect at- and you will know his name. If you're cool enough.

Because here's the thing- Ethan, Griffen and I are a billion tiny feathers. You have no idea what's happened to us. We see colors like you hear jet planes.*

*That last part was...ehhh "modified plagiarism"? Sort of a mishmash of Dave Eggers book quotes that probably made sense to only me.

Margaret, the red-nosed lady...

2011-08-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

Coin Vest- vintage, Nirvana Tee- Chaser, so fake vintage (I liked the graphic, ok?), White Cutoffs- Siwy, Belt- vintage, Loafers- men's vintage, Slave Bracelet- vintage...ok, everything else except the earrings (UO) is vintage. Nobody reads this part anyway, from now on I'm getting rid of it.

My brothers and I are hopelessly impulsive. Like, "How did I end up in Oklahoma with no wallet and a penis tattoo?" impulsive. Or "Why did one glance at a photo of Tao Okomato's bowl cut cause me to chop my hair off with meat scissors over the kitchen trash can and no mirror?". Usually our shared impulsivity gets us into trouble, but I'm seriously proud of my hair-cutting success! This particular adventure ended quite well, except for the part where Joey gleefully grabbed a hunk of discarded hair out of the trash and shouted "Just like a hay bale!". Sad, but so true.

I'm off to enjoy my second birthday (long story), but welcome any opinions regarding the new hair. I'm kinda digging the obvious choppiness and awkward length, but am no coward when it comes to going shorter. Should I go balls-out and shave my head (that's only sort of a joke)? Or go back to the "Rosemary's Baby" pixie I had for my wedding? Opinions, please (if you aren't super pissed that I've been a horrible commenter lately...).

BTW. How amazing is that vest? The best part is the symphony of jingles and jangles that probably drives people crazy. But come on, the kind of person who would be super annoyed by a lovely little symphony of jingles and jangles is dour, pinched, and probably teaches Geometry. And fails you at the end of the semester with a 68 or 69.

I'm in a hurry and am just gonna publish this, so any nonsense is probably not intended nonsense.

WAIT!!! My amazing cousin Sarah Sheffield started a Tumblr, and I'm already riveted. I get a bit teary-eyed at what an amazeballs (stole that word from her) beautiful Zelda Fitzgerald Marilyn Monroe genius perfect hilarious cousin Sarah is. So go to www.moonlightstarbright.tumblr.com and enjoy the ride.

Miami Arts District

2011-08-04T19:57:00.000-05:00

Shorts- Obesity and Speed, Top- stolen from my mom's cloest, Belt Buckle- vintage, Creeper-esque shoes- Nonage, Tie Dye Socks- Journeys, Bakelite/Insect Bangle- vintage, blahblah more flair who cares

Hello, people (person?). I spent a lovely week in Miami and finally got to see the awesomeness at the Arts District. Joey stayed home with his unyielding work ethic, which was sad since he's quite the fan of propaganda art and we ended up at Shepard Fairey land. In case you've been hiding under a giant rock for the last six months, that's Ai WeiWei I'm pointing at in the seventh photo. I refused to pose in front of the art, because posing in front of art is awful and horrible and wrong on so so many levels, hence the generally awkward photos. The posting slowdown should end soon, but maybe not. I'm having a bit of a "who am i?" blogging crisis.

Peter Max Homage

2011-07-20T22:45:00.002-05:00

Denim Vest- LF with painting by Joey, Cutoffs- Self Made, Boots- Steve Madden, Hair Wraps- My Mommy, Bullet Necklace- Self Made, Bracelets- F21

I don't feel like writing a novel at the moment (unusual, eh?), but I definitely feel like I can handle a few bullet points. So. Let's do this.

- Regarding the denim vest: husband Joey doesn't like to brag about his artistic ability, so I shall do the bragging for him. Because of my obsession with all things Peter Max, I basically asked Joey to copy Max's "Closer to God", but with even more neon. Also, a bunch of planets cause planets are cool as shit. So on Saturday Joey sat down and knocked this thing out in about four hours. Pretty impressive, right?

- Mom and I are super into hair wraps and basically anything hair wrap-related at the moment, so if you were kinda squinting at your desktop like, "huh? What's in her hair?", that would be it. I wish my hair were thicker because I'd like to have some really thick dread-wrap type junk going on.

- I don't think I've worn the above shorts on the blog yet, but in real life they've become my #1 wardrobe staple. It's pretty amazing what you can accomplish with $1 thrift denim and some purple RIT dye. Actually, we've been going bonkers with RIT in general around here, along with about thirty other projects. Then there's all the (future) home projects I've got floating around in my brain.

- I turn 25 next week, which for some reason seems way older than 24. Maybe cause it coincides with us FINALLY buying our own place (don't want to jinx this, but it looks like we've found exactly what we wanted- like, beyond our wildest dreams what we wanted).

- Casey (www.beautyandtheecstasy.blogspot.com), my mom and I are heading down to Miami next week for a bit of a 25th birthday celebration. Yay! Expect a lot of "beachy" twinsies photos. Minus the obligatory tan with me. I freckle, which is nice, but that's about it. Speaking of twinsies, head on over to Casey's blog soon cause the dress she's wearing in the last picture is seriously perfect. Except for the fact that I'm a giant so it's way too short for me, hence no borrowing.

- Taylor (www.thingsonhangers.com) is selling me her AMAZINGLY creepy "face" handbag, so you people are gonna get to see a LOT of that highly divisive piece of vintage wonderment. If I could have any handbag ever available, I think I'd still pick the face bag. You're gonna regret selling this one so so bad, Taylor. But don't reconsider. Please.

- Random: I've been really into "quotable quotes" recently. Feel free to share a favorite, if you're so inclined.

Yes, I Am Alive + Personal Style Icon #3: Sarah Sheffield

2011-07-16T15:13:00.003-05:00

Dress- 90's Vintage (Dallas Vintage Shop), Platforms- Vera Wang Lavender Label, Earrings- Odd but awesome Sally Beauty Supply knockoff in rural Alabama, Sweetheart Bracelets- Ebay (vintage), Cobra Arm Thingy- Another Time and Place, Beaded Pouch Necklace- Vintage (What's On Second in Birmingham, Al), Other Necklaces- Sorta self-made I guess

Heyyy! So about last week...and the week before...I don't have much of an explanation regarding my lengthy blog absence, or billions of readers still checking my weirdo blog often enough to merit one of these:

Guys, I'm SOGODDAMNSORRY for being a horrible blogger, I know life was incomplete without your superfuckingessential thrice-weekly dose of...uhm, photos in which I wear my clothes and wander around trying to look natural yet somewhat attractive/overly detailed and confusing clothing credits/lengthy nonsensical screeds about cats, random esoteric shit, the latest Mom News, the latest Casey News, how every film sucks except Harold and Maude, how every musician sucks except Cat Stevens and Lou Reed, and the always lengthy portion where I do a LOT of hand-wringing about how "insert my punching bag of the moment here" is a bad feminist. I rarely manage to talk about my blog's ostensible subject- fashion. And litter.

So that pseudo-apology kinda took a wrong turn and ended up in Bonkersland. I would delete, but Bonkersland is probably pretty entertaining. Ok, obviously I'm gonna have to ease myself back into the whole "writing a post that isn't complete nonsense" thing. So a few bullet points, then I shall share the next personal style icon with my remaining reader(s?).

- Casey Anthony is guilty. So SO SO guilty. But I think I always kinda knew she wouldn't have to pay for murdering her daughter. After the initial "Are you kidding me? Not even guilty of Felony Child Abuse? WHO ARE THESE JURORS?" shock started to dissipate, I realized it was just another case of attractive white girl syndrome (or we could just drop the fancy titles and call it RACISM). I'd elaborate, but then I'd end up vomiting all over Joey's precious Mac.

- Speaking of Joey, the two of us are finally, finally moving into our very own place! These are the top reasons for my overweening excitement: Exposed brick walls on which we can display our "art" (the quotes are there for a reason- we tack up some weird ass shit)! A backyard for the teepee Joey plans to build! Painting a giant rainbow on a wall, then christening it our "Official Quote Wall"- anyone can write anything that speaks to them. But I get the first quote..."I have learned that to be with those I like is ENOUGH."- Walt Whitman. Perfectly, profoundly simple way to start things off, eh? And last but not least, the serene knowledge that we can do whatever we want to whatever we want whenever we want, because it's OURS. YESSSSSS!!!!

- Mom, don't worry about little Liza, after a short yet stinky vomiting episode on the way up to Plano, she immediately asserted herself as the Ruler of Legacy. Joey decided she has become a Park Cities Snob Cat. Sherman and Boss were quite welcoming, but she kinda just ignored them (Plano cats...so inferior!). She has been choosing strange hangouts, though. Last night, after stumbling half-asleep to the dark bathroom at 3 am and sitting down to pee, I heard the most horrifying screech/howl/meow/mogwai noise, EVER. Liza, huge eyes glowing, jumped out from behind the toilet (Yes, she was hanging out behind the toilet) and seriously threw her little four pound body at me. Possibly the single oddest and most terrifying moment, ever.

- FYI: If you aren't my mom, the above story refers to cats. I just realized how insane that whole thing would sound if you assumed these were humans. Mom is worried because we're babysitting her cat this weekend. She assumed our two cats would bully her cat. NOPE.

Enough about me, let's move on to part 2 of this epic post.

PERSONAL STYLE ICON: SARAH SHEFFIELD

Trust me, if you only read one of my Icon posts, this should be the one. Say hello to my fascinatingly original cousin, Sarah Sheffield! She's Betty Page, Gloria Steinem, and Zelda Fitzgerald all wrapped into one flamazing seventeen-year-old.

Her style icons are pinup types like Jane Russell, Betty Page, and Marilyn Monroe. Sarah certainly rocks the 40's/50's pinup look, but I love how she throws in elements of Rockabilly and Pseudo-Punk style to make it her own.

Before we move on: these photos were all taken by Joey in Alabama at the Shaw Family Farm (aka Pinthlocco Plantation) in one of our restored cabins. The farm is one of my favorite places in the world: partially because my Dad, Grandad, and other Shaws have added, renovated, and beautified our family land over the years into something too special to adequately describe, but mainly because most of the enormous (really, ENORMOUS) Shaw family lives within a few hours of the farm (mostly around the Birmingham area). So whenever we go, it's like a family reunion. Obviously, I get to have a much closer relationship with my extended family than most. Sorry for the digression, but our magical corner of Coosa County, Alabama, is too unique to easily explain. And it's given me the chance to really know Sarah, and watch as she's grown up. Although she's one of those few fascinating people who were born mature.

Cool Stove, right? Anyway, she's wearing shoes and a skirt she found at the Goodwill in Alexander City, Al. It isn't a city. It's a sleepy, odd little town about half an hour from the farm. And people keep their old crap forever, so imagine how great the thrift stores are...

Her hair is unbelievable. More explanation later. The shirt is also an Alexander City thrift store find, but she up-cycled the crap out of it. There's even a heart cutout surrounded by circle studs on the back. So cool.

The Sailor Jerry-esque necklace is definitely a Sarah wardrobe staple, as are awesome rings (notice the giant frog?)
I love how my crochet top has a completely different vibe on her than it does on me. It says a lot about her personal style.

Sarah loves the whole "Rosie the Riveter" bandana look. This is my favorite photo of her- the outfit kinda encompasses all the genres she gathers from. And I don't know anyone else who can do gauges and a nose ring, but still evoke the whole pinup look.
The "Detroit" shirt is Urban Outfitters (I think), and the studded bra was another "crafting and up-cycling at the farm" creation. It started out as a Goodwill random sorta creepy green bra. Notice the chain straps she made?

Sarah is only seventeen, which kinda blows my mind when she's advising me on a crafting/upcycling project I can't figure out, or calmly discussing seriously deep issues with insight/maturity most adults will never master (as she simultaneously drives me around downtown Birmingham, AL while I flip out in the passenger seat about making it to a certain vintage store before they close (("OMG, SARAH, ARE WE GONNA GET THERE? HEY, SERIOUSLY, SARAH, HOW FAR AWAY ARE WE NOW...AND NOW?!)). Sarah being Sarah, when we finally made it (just in time!) and had to run two blocks to get there, she beat me while wearing heels. I had moccasins on. Perfect example of how she's a lady AND one of the toughest people I know.

Growing up in Birmingham isn't easy for those who are a bit alternative. And as Sarah says, "Just so you get what I mean by "alternative", think basically anyone who doesn't tease their blonde hair sky high and wear Ann Taylor. Loft, if they feel adventurous." When I referred to her as Zelda Fitzgerald earlier, I meant her willingness to be completely herself in a city that doesn't welcome personal expression much. I also feel that they share a knowledge of exactly who they are, and exactly where they are going, which is sososo unusual to find in a teenager. Zelda's famous quote about being a flapper (and therefore VERY ALTERNATIVE) in Montgomery, Alabama, is the perfect way to end this post. Because it describes Sarah exactly.

"She covered her face in powder and paint because she didn't need it, and she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring. She was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do."- Zelda Fitzgerald.

He loves me, he loves me not. Actually, I'm pretty sure he loves me.

2011-06-29T01:24:00.000-05:00

Skirt- Vintage, Swiss Dot Tie Blouse- Mom's Closet, Little Cat Necklace- Vintage, Earrings- Free People, Spike Bracelet- F21, Multicolored Gem Bracelet- Grandma's, Pearls- Mom's Closet, Lock Bangle- Vintage, Blue Stone Ring- Casey's Closet

So I actually hadn't planned on posting today, but upon showing my mom the AMAZING new poodle-esque vintage skirt pictured above, she brought out the nice heirloom-type jewelry and decided to play Tuesday Morning Stylist! If you're one of the lucky few who know my mother, you understand how amazing a garment (Bah! Hate that word!) must be to pique her interest. And come on, this skirt is FLAMAZING. Ok, bullet point time. This little outline format phase I've been going through is nice...probably less terrifying for you guys to slog through.

- Regarding the skirt: I speak zero French, but apparently the writing is something like "He loves me, he loves me not." Which is just beyond adorable...look at those flower petals! Who didn't play that game as a child? I can't get over the gorgeousness of every little stitch, button, and rhinestone on this thing. Even the red lining is perfect. I doubt "the flower skirt" (I tend to give my clothing handy nicknames) is gonna be hanging out at too many bars or music festivals any time soon. I keep thinking it's gonna like, fall apart if I touch it the wrong way...nope, not used to having such nice things.

- How cool is the multicolored stone bracelet my mom let me wear? It belonged to my Grandmother, who was such an amazing person (I know it's cliche to drone on and on about the greatness of one's grandparents, but there was literally nothing cliche about Grandma)...she passed away before I graduated high school, and I'd do anything for her to have met Joey. Like my mom, she was hilarious, sarcastic, and completely (refreshingly) herself. I just now decided that after my upcoming "Personal Style Icon" post (Ethan...again...my little brother is unendingly inspiring), I'm gonna do one on Grandma. I already have like ten photos in mind (Mom! Start tracking them down!).

- See that little Mogwai creature in the last photo? She's actually a Persian cat named Liza Minnelli. Liza has only one tooth left, partially because she is older than you (whoever you are), and partially because most of her life was horribly difficult. Because of her tininess (4 pounds!), she was stuck in a cage and forced to give birth to litter after litter of equally tiny kittens- gotta have more fodder for the "tiny animals" craze! Because 'Mericans need their cats and dogs TEACUP sized, OK? I mean, who gives a fuck about the health of the animal? Just keep cranking out those tiny pets!

- I saw Bad Teacher this evening, and whoaa...bad film. BAD FILM. Joey and I walked out after about an hour, and, uhhh, maybe the last part was soooo unbelievably amazing it made up for...nahhh. I bet it didn't. And now I don't want to write anything else about that waste of celluloid.

- I recently bought a pair of white silky pants at a thrift store here in big D (Dallas, come on people!), and just noticed that they happen to be vintage Emanuel Ungaro. Awesome surprise, eh? I was wondering why they seemed so nicely made.

- One last thing I can't keep from mentioning. When you remove an utterly toxic person from your life, it's sorta like losing twenty pounds. I feel like I just lost about forty. THAT is how unbelievably awful it was to walk around knowing a certain female. Earlier this evening, Joey asked me, "So what's the latest with ( )?". I smiled to myself, realizing that I don't have to care anymore. And realizing I don't have to care anymore was sorta like noticing my thrifted pants were Ungaro. Or listening to my little brother give a beautifully-reasoned political argument. Or giggling like a maniac at something hilarious Casey says. I know this whole freaking post is getting sappy to the point of "ok, what varietal did she smoke and how can I get some?", but dude- sometimes the calm after the storm is so blissfully calm that you can't help but get a bit earnest.

*Sorry I have been such a terrible comment-returner/blog-reader the last couple weeks! I promise to stop with the laziness!

Is it possible to be jealous of my own shoes?

2011-06-25T23:41:00.001-05:00

Blazer, ZZ Top Shirt, Ruffle Shorts, Orange Tods- Vintage, Necklaces- Self-made, Earrings- Casey-made, Spike Bracelet- F21, Other Bracelets- Vintage

So I feel kinda guilty about the ten (TEN!) photos, and will try to make this short. Bullet point time!

- I acknowledge that my roots are scary, but don't quite feel like remedying the situation yet. Oh well.

- Casey and I have been total vintage warriors recently (prompted by her trip to the Best Flea Market of All Time while in LA), which has led us down a rabbit hole of strange and wonderful crafting/up-cycling. Yesterday afternoon we stole one of Joey's old Baylor tees and went bonkers. There are studs, spikes, kitty cat patches, a (really good) marker drawing of a unicorn, and a super special, super eloquent message to The Land of Kenneth Starr.

- How great is this location? Joey found it, but was super terrified that someone was gonna jump out of a train car and like, shiv me. Thankfully, no shiving (new word?) occurred.

- I want to dye a a black leather vest like, a really pretty dark greenish seawater color. If this is possible, then shoot me an email, pretty please. Directions would be great!

- If you feel like learning about a COMPLETELY AMAZING historical figure who should be WAY more famous, google "Mildred Fish-Harnack". Her husband (Arvid Harnack) was equally amazing, but recently I've been focusing on the ladies.

- Sometimes I have this little fantasy regarding my old high school (Highland Park). Here it is: the Freshman would be forced to gather in the auditorium, and I would lecture about a heroic, kickass WOMAN. The girls desperately need some empowerment, and (many of) the boys need to stop treating the girls like subhumans. I hear stories from my brothers that really just come down to utter sexism. Like, shocking sexism.

Sadly my little dream could never happen, because I screamed at the school principal the day before brother Ethan's graduation. That guy is a first class wiener.

SO Much Neon.

2011-06-19T01:33:00.001-05:00

Margaret: Dino Top- Wildfox, Cutoffs (self-destroyed)- Justice (yes, that store for little girls, I highly recommend it), Litas- Jeffrey Campbell. Casey: Tank Top- UO, Pink Shorts (self-destroyed)- J Crew, Litas- OH, PLEASE, YOU IDIOT, Tom Binns-esque Necklace- I Made It Cause I Am Awesome.

Shirt- Joey's 19th Birthday Commemorative T-Shirt that I cut up, Shorts- Siwy, Boots- Jeffrey Campbell, Tom Binns-esque Necklace- credited above, Hair- Courtesy of some random cans of that shit you buy on Halloween, Bralet- Justice

So I wasn't planning on writing anything, but there is just way too much in these photos that kinda needs explaining. I shall do so through a few handy bullet points. Cause I am lazy.

- The top set of photos is from a few days ago...Casey and I decided that it was absolutely imperative to do some "neon-themed twinsies photos". I love how insane all the jewelry/flair looks, especially the matching "Bestie" bracelets, which are definitely from Justice (which I learned is actually just Limited Too with a new ((and inferior)) name). The lime green cutoffs are also Justice...since when does a girls' size 16 exist? I'm pretty sure you had to jump off the "this store blasts an ear-poundingly horrible bastardized up-tempo (!) version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' performed by a band of little Biebers" wagon once you passed size 12 when I was young.

= The second set involves a tee shirt I feel needs a wee bit of explanation. Yes, I went to Baylor. Yes, I hated/hate that university. But the "PellaPalooza" graphic our friend Matt added to it for husband Joey's 19th birthday is hilarious, and I totally wrote "Suks!" (sadly, the misspelling was a particularly stupid oversight) on it with a Sharpie. Rebel, rebel. Seriously though, any institution that forces every single student to attend chapel once a week for two semesters, then invites the MOST OFFENSIVE HUMANS ON THE PLANET to give horrifying speeches like "I Am the President of the (deeply evil) Ex-Gay Movement, and Jesus Hates You Because You Are All Fags", deserves some major Sharpie-inflicted defacement. If Fashion Litter weren't a family blog (HAHA...I love when people are all "Be quiet! This is a FAMILY establishment!") then I'd have worn my other Baylor t-shirt...let's just say there's a pen floating around the Baylor campus who feels very dirty about what it was forced to write one drunken night about five years ago.

- The hair, while fun and awesome, is just that lovely spray shit you buy on Halloween.

Goodnight, and good luck.

Pretty Light, New Shirt, and Nonsense.

2011-06-13T21:24:00.000-05:00

Top- Marc by Marc, Shorts- Levi Cutoffs, Belt- Vintage, Shoes- Sam Edelman, Bag- Wayuu Taya, Necklace- Hindu Prayer Pendant, Earrings- Free People, the usual jewelry

Due to some unbelievable magic pixie dust that jesus sprinkled on Joey's camera, we ended up with some really beautiful lens flares and rainbows and lighting. Which is cool, especially in the second photo since it looks like Zeus is throwing a spear at me from whatever cloud he currently hangs out at (god, I'm really mixing belief systems in this post, eh?).

So I'm sort of sitting here in a wordless stupor at the moment, probably due to my somewhat iffy decision to accompany Joey on his nightly outing to THE WORKOUT FROM HELL. And of course I don't own running shoes, so I wore my moccasins, and of course I don't own running shorts, so I wore these shiny hot pink American Apparel bullshits. The instructor was kinda a jerk to me, but then I see things from his eyes and it's like "who the hell is this girl in the blindingly pink shorts and MOCCASINS waltzing in here, then complaining that MY form is incorrect?!" Because ya, I totally did complain that his form was wrong. I take rowing machines seriously! I mean, rowing is like this gorgeous ballet on water, and he had these people attacking the machines like some (god, why do I want to say "violent hand job" right here?) uhhh fuck it, I dunno. The point is, you try and take the grace out of my favorite sport, I'm gonna call you on it. Even if I'm the new girl dressed like a Native American child prostitute.

Looks like the particular stupor in which I sit isn't exactly quite as wordless as I claimed. Big, huge surprise right there. I have a sneaking suspicion that absolutely nothing I just wrote made any sense. This is why I don't work out, people! It saps the brain right out of me. Just slurps it all away to repair my nonexistent muscles. I mean, that's how my body works.

Mein Gott, stopping NOW.

I Live Next Door To a Lunatic (EDIT! White paint mystery solved!)

2011-06-09T23:32:00.009-05:00

Shirt- Vintage (sort of), Leather Shorts- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Chloe Doc Boot knockoffs- Jeffrey Campbell, Awesomely Tacky Necklace- Sam Moon, Silver Cuffs- Fallon

So the Chloe Doc knockoffs are just as amazing for stomping around as I expected. Yay. And how hilariously cool is the tacky prom necklace my mom bought? Oh, and no, the shirt is not vintage (uhhh Journey '05), but still one of my favorite NY finds. Joey has been giving me unrelenting shit for my "not vintage vintage shirt".

SO. These photos are mostly just random "wandering around post work" shots, except for the last one. I've gotz myself quite a story for you people. Notice the white spray paint square on our hallway floor? Some completely batshit crazy resident seemed to think that the hall is for craft projects. Let that sink in for a moment. We now have a giant white square outside our front door because a lunatic lives next door. We totally should have known something wasn't right when that tacky welcome mat went out. So yep, in the last photo, I am demonstrating just how freaking giant our pet square is, which begs the question: what the hell could this super-important craft project possibly have been? Obviously the spray-painting of something, but WHAT? And who just wanders out into the hall with their giant mystery object, revs up that can, and lets loose? WHO? I swear, this town (and by town I mean world) is mostly full of lunatics. I suppose the moral of my little story is this: when you meet someone who seems to be a non-lunatic, hang on for dear life... lest you end up in a nutso situation with someone like my very special neighbor.

One last scary thing: Joey has gotten really in to "Californication". I worry about my sweet Joey. We just finished re-watching all of "Arrested Development" (the best show to ever grace the screen), and he feels this disgusting "David Duchovny (Who Actually IS a Sex Addict In Real Life) Has Sex With Many Nubile Young Actresses With No Semblance Of a Plot Except For All the Aforementioned Sex" show is a reasonable substitute? I'm no prude. But I just can not take seriously little snippets like this: "I won't go down in history, but I will go down on your sister". Sooooo not clever. I'm actually embarrassed for everyone involved in the writing it's so not clever. And this stupid show is filled with similar bon mots. Many are even worse. Prayer circle for Joey! Let him see that Duchovny is creepy, and that sex jokes are only funny when used sparingly and uh, cleverly.

EDIT!!!!
So I definitely found out the story behind "psycho-neighbor-craft-project-gate"! As I pretty much guessed, this was the idiotic fallout from two female (I knew they'd be women...sorry) roommates with a super duper bright idea. And because this building is run by softies (AHEM Joey and Dad), the idiots only received a $100 fine.

Here's how I imagine their conversation went:
Tiffany: "Hey Stephanie! Let's paint that giant picture frame WHITE!!"
Stephanie: "OH MY GOD! A white frame is exactly what our classy new portrait of Ryan Seacrest needs!"
Tiffany: "But Steph, how will we ever successfully complete such an enormous task? Neither of us can operate a paintbrush, and only the very brightest of whites could ever match the blinding beauty of Ryan's teeth!"
Stephanie: "Don't worry! I've been huffing this (holds up spray paint can) beautiful white spray paint all afternoon, so we've got plenty! And (insert mirthless laugh here) we definitely both know how to operate a spray can!"
Tiffany: "Yay!!! To the hallway we go! Oh, Stephanie, what would I do without you?"
Stephanie: "Don't forget to bring a couple paper bags and some Virginia Slims! Those brain cells won't kill themselves!"

So it looks like Tiff and Steph managed to make their Seacrest shrine complete and only had to cough up a pretty measly fine. Any ideas on how to further punish my neighbors, vigilante style?

Last but not least, thanks to (the mind-blowingly perfect) Annika, I gotz myself a super awesome feature in Sofis Mode. From what I've learned, this is a weekly magazine that comes with "Aftonbladet", a Swedish daily newspaper (correct me if I'm wrong, lovely Annika). Oh, and if it sounds like I've got a bit of a crush on Annika, then that would probably be because I do. Just go to her English blog, you'll see.
The headline translates to "My Little Brothers are my Inspiration". Or something similar. Goodnight, all!

Philadelphia #2

2011-06-07T23:06:00.002-05:00

Lacy Shorts, Fringed Vintage Shirt- LF, Black Clogs- Jeffrey Campbell

So I am officially back from the Great Northeast, but thought this little group of photos might be of interest. The quaint half-empty house in which Joey took these was absolutely full of treasures. Details tomorrow- I've been sick ever since the plane ride home (going on three days?!) and am desperately hoping that I shall rise from bed in the morning, nauseous no more, sense of humor still intact.

Until then, one pressing question: how the hell do we live without LF in Dallas? HOW??

EDIT: Looks like tomorrow is now, and I do have a bit more to share. Because I still don't feel like stringing sentences together (I'm not sick anymore, but suffer from this unbelievable laziness I can't seem to shake), we're gonna do this outline-style.

A) As Jana from (theflamazing) Wolf&Willow astutely observed, the dinos on the above shirt are amazing. I think this top would be my favorite buy from the Big Apple. Besides the diaper shorts. Which also come in black and omg I can't think too much about all the beauty I left behind or my head begins the exploding process.

B) Michael Weiner('s wiener). Discuss. I happen to feel that my elected officials can be as pervy as they want on their own time. And this feeling is completely non-partisan: Larry Craig and his "wide stance" were hilarious, but not in any way related to ol' Craig's job as a smarmy Repub. So leave my Weiner alone!
(see what I did there?)

C) I gotz me them Jeffrey Campbell Chloe Doc knockoffs. Just a bit of gloating.

D) Brother Ethan graduated!! So any Colorado State readers ready to embrace a super adorable freshman with a penchant for rock climbing and building things out of concrete and skateboarding and dressing like an idiot savant, my little bro will be up there in the fall! No swooning girlfriend attached!

E) While I was typing this out, something deeply terrifying came on TV. Bill Kurtis needs to regulate the corpse photos on "American Justice". I want my true crime stories vague and watered-down, Bill!

F) I have been complete shit at commenting and checking other blogs recently. Sorry! As I said above, I've been struck with a bad case of laziness laced with a wee bit of residual nausea. I seriously can't wait till my blogging-vigor returns because I know there are some beautiful things awaiting me on all your (highly superior, much less erratic) blogs!

G) Last but not least, while up in Philly I met the most adorable person ever. Her name is Allie and she has a freaking beautiful baby and she looks just like Pocahontas. Well, the Disney version of Pocahontas. Helloooo beautiful Allie!

Ok that's all I've got. Although there are a few pretty exciting things happening in my life that I can't talk about yet. Not blogging-related things, just holy crap I must really be a grown-up now type-things.

Philadelphia #1

2011-05-30T10:20:00.001-05:00

Dress- Vintage, Earrings- Free People, mostly the usual jewelry

Sorry about the photo quantity, but Joey and I are so starved for natural beauty that he's all "Look at that rock!" and I'm all "Holy crap it's covered in MOSS!". I bought this dress (nightgown-esque, sailor detailing = perfect) today at an unbelievable vintage store in Frenchtown (Pa) called Upcycle Vintage. I left this amazingly perfectly tackily studded jacket behind, and might have to go back for it cause buying a jacket in June makes perfect sense. OH! And mos def brought home a bagful of amazingness from Modern Love Vintage- the prices where so unbelievably low that I felt kinda guilty.

I am so so tired and shall now retire to our super cozy room at the Phillips's compound, then pass out while reading my Nazi book. Historical, not how-to. Erik Larson (the guy who wrote "Devil In the White City"), has me enthralled by his latest- "In the Garden of Beasts". Highly recommend. Sometimes I kinda hate myself when I go off on these little movie/book review tangents. Remind me never to use the word "enthralled" again.

One last thing- this dress sorta evokes "Picnic At Hanging Rock" (uhhh, well maybe an undergarment from that era), so I kept trying to look like Miranda when Joey was taking these. I definitely might have been more successful in my Miranda- replication if I'd lost the jumble of bracelets.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius*

2011-05-26T02:07:00.001-05:00

Romper- Vintage ('90s), Platforms- Vera Wang Lavender Label, Giant Cuff- my Mommy made it, Shark Tooth Necklace- Mommy/Casey's Mommy dual effort, Hoop Earrings- Free People

So when I refer to my mom (and Casey's mom) as "mommy" in the above jewelry credits, that's pretty damn creepy, huh? You can't hear my vocal inflection (sarcastic), so it's just like I've got a bad case of arrested development (ha! tv show!) or something.

Alrighty, this shall be my last post before I fly off to Philly/NYC for a couple weeks-ish. Joey and I are visiting one of my favorite human beings on the planet (hi, Seany!) and his family, who are amazing. We bonded with the Phillips family while attending Seany's older brother Ryan's wedding in Fukuoka, Japan, a couple summers ago (less random than it sounds- Ryan married a ((lovely lovely)) Japanese girl ((hi, Eriko!)) who befriended Ryan and Joey when they lived in Fukuoka). So I'm giddy with excitement about all the shopping opportunities up in NY (ideas welcome!!), but even giddier about hanging out with the Amazing Phillips Clan. Random fact: Mr. Phillips totally invented Cold-Eez. You know, the cough drop. Ohhhh I have so many good Phillips stories, but I've written wayyy more than I planned (since I never do that or anything), so I'll space the stories out as I update throughout my time in NYC/Philly.

Oh, most importantly, the vintage romper pictured above? Totally not mine. Casey was the lucky one who found it yesterday at Ahab Bowen (great vintage store). But because she is Casey Russell, the sweetest, most generous, and sparkliest unicorn of them all, I totally get to borrow it for my vacation. Oh! Be sure to head on over to Casey's blog throughout the next week, because Joey took some great photos of her in some really great outfits she put together. There is so much joy in watching Casey methodically build her little outfit piles, accessories always on top. Oh, and we had fun with some hilarious (because I am about three times her size) twinsies photos. Also, you can gaze at her cheekbones and feel like a super creepy person. God, you creeper.

Ughhh sososo sleepy. Just gotta explain the title of this post and I'm out- since I'm way too lazy to list what Casey's wearing in that last photo, just comment on her blog if you're wondering. Sparkly unicorns named Casey tend to be unbelievably obliging.

*The title of my post refers to Dave Eggers's first book/memoir. It's of unbelievable literary importance, and he rambles way more than I do- We're talking pages of lengthy footnotes about complete minutiae. So I sorta feel like we're kindred. No. Talent-wise, I'm lying on the ground marveling at the stars, wondering how he managed to hang them in the sky. So we aren't kindred, I just write a whole fucking lot, as does he. But of course his ramblings are endlessly hilarious, perfectly punctuated, and filled with stunning feats of grammar. Dude manages to do gymastics with grammar- so glorious. There's a reason his memoir turned the literary world on it's ear. So if you care about reading, (and you really should...this generation takes so little pride in our trailblazing authors) go read "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". Although if you care about reading, you've probably already read it. Sort of a Catch-22 right there. Oh! That reminds me: why, why, why are so many people like, proud that they don't read? Can someone explain this to me? Shouldn't that be really embarrassing?

P.S.- It's late and I'm exhausted so forgive any nonsense, misspellings, etc. Have an amazing, uhh period of time until I next post, lovely humans!

P.P.P.- Some other great books by Dave Eggers:
"You Shall Know Our Velocity" (fiction)

"What is the What" (memoir he co-wrote with one of the Somalian Lost Boys)

"How We Are Hungry" (fictional short stories- my favorites are "The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water" and "What it Means When a Crowd In a Faraway Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From His Vehicle, and Then Mutilates Him In the Dust.")

He has also written so so many amazing stories AND found/promoted amazing yet unknown authors in his literary journal and on his website: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/tendency/

My Jacket Smells

2011-05-21T22:46:00.001-05:00

Double Breasted Blazer, "Polish Power" Tee, Beaded Belt - Vintage, Shorts- Zara, Shoes- Nonage, Arrowhead Earrings- Urban Outfitters, the usual flair

So the above blazer is seriously my favorite article of clothing at the moment- it looks cool with everything and cost me three dollars. BUT. It fucking reeks beyond comprehension. Casey and I have spent the last few weeks trying various de-stinkifying techniques, to no avail. The previous owner must have been like, the Heaviest Smoker On the Planet. I wore it to dinner with my family tonight and the waiter kept sniffing the air, trying to figure out what that awful stench was. Is it weird (yes, definitely) that I found this amusing rather than embarrassing? So Operation Jacket Stench Removal certainly needs to continue, but for now I'm happy to walk around smelling like I spent the last few weeks rolling around on the floor of a particularly low-rent bar. Which is quite possibly what Previous Owner was up to before dusting herself off and selling some junk at St. Vincent's (thrift store here in big D).

Now it's time for Joey and I to watch some old Arrested Development (we're working our way back through the whole show- still hilarious). Happy Saturday Night! I would totally be all Go Mavs! and shit, but just can't quite muster much enthusiasm about the fate of our local basketball team. But uh, if they win I guess that's good because everyone seems really excited. There's this Mavs-related electricity in the air tonight- too bad I haven't a clue why this particular game is so important. And of course neither Joey nor my dad could enlighten me. The two of them are odd in that respect- both total jocks who don't follow any sports at all. They just spent about an hour discussing the finer points of their workout routines, but this huge game tonight never entered the conversation. I mean, my dad freaking played football for the Dallas Cowboys during their golden age, and he doesn't care at all*. UGHHHH. I'm boring myself to death with all this sports-related chatter. Sorry. Arrested Development, here I come.

*Which deeply upsets me when I browse through photos of his football days- you would not BELIEVE the amazing jerseys and tee shirts he just threw away. I missed out on some awesome vintage clothing. I actually had one (one!) perfectly paper-thin NFL shirt that mom managed to keep but of course some awful human being stole it my freshman year of college. The freshman dorms were seriously sticky finger central.

I'm Baaaaack (and more bonkers than ever).

2011-05-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

Hello lovely people whom I'm sure haven't like, forgotten I exist or anything. My week of exile seems to be ending as the mysterious (and terrifying) pinched nerve/muscle spasm cocktail I've endured has finally subsided. Hopefully forever. If the ol' nerve starts "acting up" again, then some seriously scary surgery may be in my future. But for now I feel like Joan Didion emerging from a migraine (if that made no sense to you, then google Didion's essay "In Bed", because she describes coming out of an illness perfectly, and I really shouldn't try to match this perfection). Basically, Cat Stevens sounds beautiful again, and my bonkers jewelry sparkles again. Oh! And my cat, Sherman, has been dive bombing from a really high window onto the couch (that I've barely left) over and over for the last week. I had no idea how funny this was until today. I wish I could fully explain the glorious realization that my sense of humor has returned.
Anywho, I'm being dramatic as fuck, so let's move on before I start waxing poetic about my "pleasant convalescent euphoria" (quotation courtesy of Joan, via the last part of "In Bed"). So while I've been word vomiting, you've definitely been wondering about the above photo, I assume. That would be my rather early anniversary gift to Joey (we got married three years ago on the 31st)!
I commissioned The Amazing Shevah Vahdatpour to choose one of Joey's blog photos as a starting point to create one of her gorgeous pieces. But I totally ruined the surprise like, two weeks ago when she emailed me a photo of what she'd come up with so far. I got really overexcited and immediately showed Joey the photo. SO. I may have blown the surprise, but he loves it and I love it and we most def think you should all visit her blog and her Etsy because her prices are currently beyond reasonable, but when she's famous I can't promise they'll stay that way. I'm pretty sure you all know her blog, but if not (where have you been?) then I linked it above. I realize that I'm gushing here, but any girl who kicks ass in so many ways deserves some effusiveness.

In Which I Really Just Whine a Lot.

2011-05-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

Star Print Dress- F21, Litas- Jeffrey Campbell, Neon Green Laces- Journeys, Cross Necklace- Vintage, The usual random jewelry conglomeration.

This is gonna be the shortest post in the (admittedly short) history of my blog. I somehow developed a pinched nerve/muscle spasm hodge-podge that is OHSOPAINFUL. I never knew how many differing ways one's hand/arm/shoulder/neck/back can (and will) go haywire. I also never knew that the word "pain" has many, many facets. So my life right now: not interesting.

Although I have been attempting to deal with doctors all week! That's always pretty interesting, but my hand hurts way too much to attempt typing out stories that really all just end with how little I trust basically anyone with an MD. I'm pecking out this whole thing with my left hand and am on the verge of smashing Joey's computer to bits (pain makes me angry, go figure), so later, peoplez.

Oh crap, I forgot something. The awesome green shoelaces? Not my idea. I saw a photo of some genius's Lita-clad feet with neon shoelaces on JakandJil and immediately decided it was copycat time. And the dress is a star print, not polka dots. Someday stars will not photograph as dots. But then maybe someday I'll regain the use of my right hand, but I'm not holding my breath. That would require doctors who give a shit.

Floral Fingernails

2011-05-08T22:46:00.002-05:00

Blazer,Belt,Sweetheart Bracelets- Vintage, Chambray-esque Shorts- BCBGeneration, Lace Tank,Bralet- Aritzia, Hoop Earrings- Free People, Shoes- Urban Outfitters

So the crazy eyes in that last photo most definitely sum up my current state of mind. I'm at the point where exhaustion blends with nutso-giddiness. You know, that feeling you got in middle school the morning after a successful sleepover. And of course we all know that "successful" means that the gossip was horribly cruel enough for those sick adolescent psyches AND you managed to stay awake all night. Because if you didn't...oh man, the gossip would inevitably turn to you, the baby sleeping on the floor who totally stole blahblahblah's boyfriend a few months ago, has fat kneecaps, and hurled after only one Smirnoff Ice that time under the bleachers. God, middle school is the biggest hellhole. I seriously just like, shivered at the mere thought.

Anyway. Remember last night? When I like, totally drunk-posted? Well that was mostly batshit crazy nonsense (uhhh no more Open Letters To the CIA- I am most definitely a political drunk), but I'm suspicious that my current exhaustion level is just gonna mean more crazy nonsense writing. So. Before I start pondering whether or not Leon Panetta might be a hologram (ya, I def did that in my last post), I'm officially cutting myself off.

Goodnight, peoplez. Bedtime bedtime bedtime!!!!

EDIT: Ok, so I've managed to climb out from the little rabbit hole of drunken exhaustion where I spent the weekend. A couple things:
1) I thought I'd need to go back and edit my last (ohsodrunk) post, but read it over and (although it's like, bonkersly bonkers) decided to leave the whole lengthy screed alone. So ya, there are some definite nonsensical portions/grammatical horrors.
However, I was really only worried about having inadvertently written something politically or socially insensitive. Thankfully, I just really didn't notice anything like that. So maybe you disagree with my (admittedly leftist) political views, maybe you think I'm an insane person now, maybe you think some of what I write doesn't belong on an ostensible style blog, but as long as I didn't upset you, all is well. Though I never, ever want to hurt any feelings, I'm not blogging to please everyone. I'm blogging because it's fun as hell. I hope you like me, but if you don't, then godspeed. I am pretty damn odd.

2) Regarding this post: I'm obsessed with my current fingernail situation, but was so exhausted last night that I completely forgot to tell you about why I have the Most Beautiful Nails In the Universe. It's those Sally Hansen nail sticker whatevers. God, that was the least descriptive description ever. But I'm probably being redundant anyway, since apparently I was super late to the nail sticker party. After spending all weekend excitedly shoving my fingers in people's faces and getting half-bored "oh, it's those Sally Hansen stick-ons you buy at CVS" in return, I'm sorta doubting a description is necessary. So um, yay! Flowers!

Drink Drank Drunk. Or, Starts Odd and Only Gets Odder.

2011-05-08T05:17:00.001-05:00

Silky Open-Back Collar Blouse- Vintage, Vagabond Leather Jogging Shorts- One Teaspoon, Zoe Booties- Sam Edelman, Plaid Bralet- Free People, Collar Necklace- Fallon, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love, Crystal Ring- Ylang23

Typical Saturday evening around here in Pelliconia. Joey is concentrating really hard on affixing a shitload of shiny stickers to our printer. He is obviously enjoying himself like, a whole lot. Oh! Looks like some Kidrobot stickers are now joining the blindingly glittery jumble (digression: tomorrow, mom will receive a giant neon pink poster board covered in photos of her beloved kitty, glitter glue, randomly shaped glitter stickers, and basically every other glitter and/or sticker product the craft store sells...Joey and I usually give psycho-crafts for gifts since we are five years old). So. I wonder how many times I just wrote some iteration of the word "glitter". A lot, probably. But I'm not gonna change it cause glitter is a lovely word with only beautiful connotations. Glitter!

Anywho, on Friday mom and I had some unbelievably unbelievable vintage luck. St. Vincent's (local church-run thrift store) gave up sooo many treasures. The red silky blouse pictured above was an immediate "hell yes". Since it buttons up the back, I can show off my dizzying array of pretty bralets (ha- I most def just referred to my collection of bralets as a "dizzying array", huh? I imagine this situation where I just sorta wander unsuspectingly into my closet and am suddenly struck down by "pretty-bra-overload-dizzymadness" or whatever). Oh, and I'm deeply in lust with the collar on this thing. It could only be improved with some DIY Western-esque silver tips.

My One Teaspoon leather jogging shorts finally arrived and they are everything I hoped/expected. Although being a wee bit large in the ass area, they tend to flap all over the place which exposes some cheek. I'm a lot less modest than I probably should be. Who cares. I'm just ecstatic to finally own them babies.

Sometime next week I'll wear/blog this oversized circa-80's blazer we immediately grabbed at St. Vincent's due to it's perfect lion/tiger/zebra/completely bonkers "zoo animal" themed print. I really, definitely want to meet the woman who wore it originally...maybe she'll be my Personal Style Icon #3! I'm actually sort of serious- you'd have to be awesomely wacky to buy that blazer. I guess it's possible that she's just the "I refuse to wash my hair since I've found the grease/dirt buildup effectively protects my brain waves against the CIA, I have thirty talking cats, and practicing Celtic Tree Worship is my touchstone" sort of wacky...which is still kind of awesome. And hey, the CIA is creepy as hell. My fake blazer owner/fake style icon got that one right. In fact, I have a couple of bones to pick with the CIA.

Dear CIA,

Here is an open letter to you scary people. Ok, yes, thank you for getting Bin Laden. And I really don't care that you killed him, guys. Despite the teensy legality issues starting to crop up. But you need to stop with all the torture, ok? I mean, logically speaking, info garnered from torture isn't gonna be trustworthy like, at all. Maybe sometimes, but words like "sometimes" and "maybe" scare us regular 'ol non-spook folks. This is the USA. We are Walt Whitman, Cindy Sheehan, Pop-Tarts, Huckleberry Finn, fireworks, Pat Tillman, David Sedaris, Bobby Kennedy, cheetos, "The New Colossus". We can't just go around torturing people- we're supposed to be the goddamn Golden Door. Ok, agents, I know the argument: all those deeply American things I just listed exist due to your protection. Sure, CIA. Point taken. But I'm not saying we should abolish you- we need you guys! I think we would totally take off our foil hats, stop calling you spooks, and dislike you a lot less if you'd try this: Do your job until your job means doing something illegal. And don't split hairs regarding the word "illegal". Easy. And seriously, when "enhanced interrogation techniques" (whoever came up with that phrase is quite the genius with euphemisms) lead to multiple unexplained deaths...that's just plain old KGB type shit. THAT has to stop immediately. Nothing could be more at odds with how these United States were supposed to work.

I don't really have anything against Leon Panetta. Your current leader is (?) a sorta reasonable man compared to...every single other director. He actually seems a bit too not terrifying; I'll be pissed if he's just a hologram or something. So assuming Mr. Panetta is not a hologram, the timing is perfect for you to chill out, stop breaking the law, and go visit the Statue of Liberty. All of you. Then and only then will the zoo-creature blazer lady (who might exist, one never knows...) start washing her hair again.

P.S.- HEY! Can anyone tell that I am really really wasted? Ok, well I am. So. Apologies for any portions that are uhhmm completely unreadable? Oh man are there gonna be some edits tomorrow. Laterz!

Personal Style Icon #2: Casey Russell

2011-05-05T02:16:00.004-05:00

Hi, So here I am creeping on the beautiful and hilarious Casey Maria Russell, my second real-life style icon. I kinda love how terrified she looks, like I'm some kind of white-haired ju-on chasing our heroine down a wooded path. Oh. And she's totally doomed. Or so says the legend of the ju-on (you know, "when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage...blah blah blah").

This first outfit is sort of perfect, partially because it's adorable, but mainly since Casey is demonstrating her total weird-ass shark obsession. The T-shirt is printed with a giant shark jaw, and she's most definitely wearing three separate pieces of jewelry involving shark teeth. The giant tooth on that freaking amazing necklace is like, really real. She has this box filled with shark memorabilia, and once in a while she decides to let our super crafty mothers go nuts making rad shark flair.
Story: So one time I'm telling Casey a really terrifying story in which Joey and I are on our honeymoon (Virgin Gorda) in this tippity tiny ocean kayak thingee, when suddenly Joey decides to jump out and like, wrestle this shark (tiny, but still!) to the shore so he can study it or some weird shit. I assumed she'd be as "Joey you're a lunatic" as I was, but he informs her that it was a lemon shark. She sort of nods soberly, like shark wrestling is perfectly natural or something, and the two of them use their best kindergarten-teacher voices to try convincing me that lemon sharks are safe as kittens. I wasn't buying it. But I was totally into the fact that this adorable little pixie girl is all shark frenzied.
Oh, and her little green shorts are Seneca Rising. Just FYI, because I know you want them.

I'm kinda bummed that you can't see her earrings or necklace all that well in these, since the blue feather earrings and blue rosary necklace Casey was wearing really popped against that watermelon shirt. So just use your imagination, and admire the perfect bells she tracked down. I think they're Hudson.

We decided to go real high-class and just throw her outfits in a bucket and take the photos in this fairly isolated woodsy area. Because Casey and I share a fascination with all things morbid, we were all "What if someone like, dumped a body here?". Then this cop showed up and informed us that someone had, in fact, dumped a body there. A couple weeks ago. Bad timing.
The cop then made quite a conclusion jump and decided Joey had kidnapped us and was like, forcing us to pose for photos against our will. I assume you can imagine our difficulty explaining what exactly we were doing. Apparently the area is on "high alert" so after some harassment and a really goddamn odd warning about bobcats (?!) we were kicked out. Of the woods. I seriously doubt that's legal, but dude was squirrelly as hell (jittery hands, constant gun touching...) so we just went with it.

But before our run-in with the law, we did manage some great photos of Casey in her super cute Free People eyelet dress. I'm totally creeping in the background again, but at least I look human.

Since Casey is a petite little fairy, she can wear shirts like this stripey sailory piece as a mini dress. For that, I am jealous.

So the above oxfords are basically awesome. Floral-print, sequined shoes totally work for me. Casey is really amazing at tracking down random/awesome/original things on the interwebz. Which is one of the many, many reasons why you should start checking out her new blog. Actually, she just updated- perfect timing: www.beautyandtheecstasy.blogspot .com
Maybe if you internet people follow her blog then she'll update more, and she's funny as hell (oh, and just about as long-winded as me...maybe that's a selling point?), so mosey on over there and check things out. Oh, and regarding the overlap between our respective wardrobes: that's just the way it is. We've got this perfect storm of mutual copying, borrowing, and accidentally buying the same things going on, then there's our shared love of piling on the accessories to the point of ridiculousness, so yep.

Princess shoes: see above! Also, I totally went and bought those hot pink shorts she's wearing (J Crew, odd). Perfect example of the whole wardrobe overlap situation.

I was fairly sure that the twinsies photos were gonna turn out awkward. And they did, but this one has a certain charm. Because nothing is more charming than glaring at/silently judging...something?
So I am officially way too tired to do anything more than lie in bed and read this really entertaining/sad/morbid true crime book I've been into recently. Also, I feel like this post is gonna take up an entire blog page so I should probably wrap it up, eh?
So there you are. Goodnight, people. Don't forget to head on over to Casey's little blog seedling (www.beautyandtheecstasy.blogspot.com). Her latest outfit post really is breathtakingly lovely.

Creepy Creepers

2011-04-28T23:19:00.003-05:00

Cropped Shirt- Pixie Market, Shorts- Vintage 501 cutoffs, Shoesies- Storets, Bag- Marc Jacobs, Earrings- Urban Outfitters, the usual flair

Eeeep! My wacky Prada creeper-esque knockoffs came in the mail this morning! They are completely perfect and I am seriously ordering the brown ones immediately. Joey took these photos on our way to grab dinner and I kinda wish I'd had a chance to put together an outfit that does these babies justice. Instead you get to see the most random shirt I own. I'm not completely sure why I felt that a T printed with a giant greeting was necessary enough to bother ordering.

Oh. Sorry about the butt photo. And the beer that sort of sneaks it's way in to a couple of these pictures. I guess this post is sort of the opposite of yesterday's post.

I really only feel like blathering about one topic at the moment: who the hell cares about the goddamn royal wedding? I know we're all supposed to think William is this gorgeous dashing prince (ew.) and Kate (excuse me, KATHERINE) is someone other than the biggest social climber ever. I also know that I'm supposed to care very, very deeply about whatever the hell she decides to wear for the goddamn royal wedding. Guess what? I don't. Kate Middleton gives me the creeps. Oh, and she's got terrible taste.

King George III lost the colonies partially because he had gone completely batshit crazy. Seriously. We might still be a British colony if ol' George wasn't too busy running around naked. I know things are different now and modern royals have almost nothing to do with actual politics. BUT. the British people still pay for all the stupid pomp and circumstance and junk with their taxes. They own this wedding and they aren't even invited. I feel like a Sex Pistol right now, but whatever. The only royal worth anything was Princess Diana- and if you look at the horrified expression on her face throughout most of her wedding to Charles, it's fairly obvious she didn't even want to be one of them. Cause they're probably pretty shitty people. Scratch the probably. Prince Harry wore a full Nazi uniform to a Halloween party a few years ago: they are most definitely shitty people.

The US may not be anywhere near perfect, but at least we are completely free of people like Camilla Parker Bowles and her icky man-child of a husband.

Don't yell at me in the comments. This is my opinion and you will not change it. If you feel that strongly, then spend your "yelling in the comments" time buying those hideous commemorative plates.

Edit:

This speaks for itself.

I end up rambling about Titanic-related issues in this post.

2011-04-28T01:49:00.001-05:00

Waffle Sweater- Theory, Lace Dress- Free People, Leopard Oxfords- Forever XI, Arrow Collar- Fallon, Hourglass Necklace- BCBGeneration, Earrings- Free People, Gold Sweetheart Bracelets- Vintage, the usual rings

I got the ol' roots done yesterday. I didn't think it was possible for my hair to get any whiter, but I'm ecstatic to be proven wrong. Renee, my hairstylist, is unbelievably talented and works at Orange in Deep Ellum- just FYI for any fellow Dallasites who care to know. Anyway, I decided to celebrate the root-whitening by matching my entire outfit to my hair. That statement sounds a lot less strange in my head.

God, our new apartment setup has been really bad for my rambling- I have one eye on the TV (Southpark!) and one eye on the computer. This new capability isn't something my mind can handle.

Anywho, now I'm gonna talk at you about jewelry. I've become completely obsessed with collecting Sweetheart Bracelets, which are probably the most fascinating things ever. I'm wearing two of them in the third photo, one from 1907 and the other from the WWII Era. I just found one on Ebay from some random fraternity in 1905 and I desperately want it- the prices vacillate wildly though and this one is most definitely out of my league. I love how they each have some mysterious history- for whatever reason I immediately associated the aqua rhinestone one with the sinking of the Titanic. Which is pretty strange since it's engraved with a date in 1907, and the Titanic definitely sank in 1912. And of of course there's always the tiny detail that not every single human alive in 1912 was a passenger on the Titanic.

Speaking of which: you know those enormous blow-up slides that are made out of bounce-house material? Well, I was driving past this Methodist church and they were having some kind of lame childrens' carnival. One of the attractions was a bounce-house slide thingee that had a freaking "Titanic sinking" theme. Because 2,000 people didn't die tragically in that disaster or anything. I had to like stop my car and sort of gawk at all these kids happily sliding away, their mothers cheering them on and seemingly finding absolutely nothing disturbing or uhmmm offensive about the whole shebang. So. Strange.

Ok, I'm off to do some important falling asleep in front of the TV.

By the way: since this post somehow became Titanic-themed, you totally need to check out the original 1953 film. It's beautiful, and quite a bit less corny than the one we all saw in middle school. Just a tip.

That was a really, really odd post. Whoops.

Woodland Creature

2011-04-23T00:32:00.001-05:00

Sundress- Free People, Neon Bra- UO, Lita Boots- Jeffrey Campbell, Sunglasses- UO, Ivory Cuff- somewhere in Namibia, Bead Jar Necklace- Free People, all the usual jewelry suspects.

I sort of have this sneaking suspicion that the "Litas in the air" photo wasn't my original idea- like maybe I saw a similar picture on another blog and just don't quite remember? So. If I ripped you off, mystery blogger, it wasn't my intention! For now let's just think of it as a possible homage to a possible person's possible photo.

Anywho, I'm way too exhausted to write my usual novella or even string two sentences together properly. My thoughts are completely staccato.

Looks like this is it: The Shortest Post I've Ever Written. Hopefully you enjoy the photos. Happy weekend, people!

Edit: Hello. It's Saturday morning and my urge to ramble and ramble has returned. Seriously though, I just felt the need to apologize for all the armpits. In the above photos, I mean. I think I just wanted to show you people my awesome neon bralet. Or maybe I'm just really, really awkward at posing.
That is all.

Alone in Kyoto.

2011-04-22T03:17:00.002-05:00

Top- UNIF, Cardigan- Talula (Aritzia), Leather Shorts- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Zoe Boots- Sam Edelman, Skull Bracelet- made by my mommy, Square Cuff- Fallon, Cross Necklace- Vintage, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, the usual random vintage junk

...and by "Alone in Kyoto" I mean "Alone in Our New Apartment Building Here in Big D". But I looove that song (who doesn't love Air?), and the former title has a much better ring to it than the latter, eh? Joey and I have been fully celebrating our ability to longboard up and down the hallways and scream at each other as loud as we want (ha). Everyone else begins moving in tomorrow, and our awesome week as the sole residents of this building shall come to an end. Although technically we're more like squatters than residents. Joey and my dad are in apartment development, and getting to stay for free in the places they build is quite a perk. I deeply enjoy being asked where I live so I can reply with something super vague about "Joey and I squatting in some random building for now". Reactions are always amusing if I use my best sad and wistful voice.

Anywho, I guess these photos are a demonstration of what we've been up to in our new digs. Sorry about the kinda boring outfit. I freaking love this UNIF top though. The part of Dallas where I live doesn't have very good shopping, so I was unbelievably excited to come upon the most amazing boutique, Blinc, literally right across the street. I walked in and immediately started hyperventilating- they carry tons of UNIF and Wildfox, and some other really interesting labels. The buyer is this adorable and sweet blonde pixie with amazing tattoos. I kinda want to be her when I grow up. I guess the point of that digression is if you're ever in Dallas, you must check Blinc out. And if you already live here- go. Like today. If only to pick up some rad UNIF pieces. By the way, Christine, of christeric/UNIF fame, seems like one of the coolest girls ever. And yes, I am aware of how stalkertown that sounds.

Seriously though, my favorite aspect of this giant style blogging echo chamber is the fact that we all seem to really respect each other. Maybe I'm super naive and everyone is catty as hell (my head firmly in the clouds) but I really don't think that's the case. I absolutely love that when Taylor was on the French Vogue website I was probably more excited than her. Same thing with Madeline's lightning-fast rise to blogging success. I could go on and on. And I'm pretty damn sure that you people are just as happy for me when something cool comes my way. Imagine how horribly backbiting the whole thing could be- and I'm sure it is, sometimes. But overall I think Gloria Steinem would be proud as hell.

That was a corny little digression. But I think it's true, and I think that's beautiful.

Oh! And now for the winner of the gorgeous Urban Revisions shredded scarf...the lovely and ethereal Nita-Karoliina! I can't wait to see how perfectly you style it, Nita. You people should totally check out her blog if you haven't already- it's definitely one of my daily reads.

One last thing. I ordered the best shoes ever. I've been obsessing over those crazy Prada creeper-esque oxfords, and then I saw these on storets.com:

Only $85, I almost ordered them in brown and black, but settled on the black. IAMSOEXCITED. Hopefully their arrival coincides with the arrival (finally) of my One Teaspoon leather jogging shorts because there's no way that wouldn't be the basis of a perfect outfit.

"I've been doing some research. In real life there is no Algebra."

2011-04-20T00:03:00.002-05:00

Maxi Dress- Kimchi Blue, Lace Crop- Forever XI, Suede Flatforms- Urban Outfitters, Beaded Fringe Collar- Free People, Silver/Gold Cross Bracelet- Courtesy of Konstantino, Skull/Black Cross Bracelet- made by my awesome mom, Woven Bag- Wayuu Taya, the usual vintage flair

I feel like I haven't posted in about five days, probably because I haven't. I would totally apologize, but seriously doubt you were frantic. I'm fairly certain that it's healthy to realize the ol' blog is always completely expendable/replaceable.

So this outfit made me feel very Mother of the Bride. Nice that it photographed fairly well, cause in person I looked sort of like I was about to fluff your skirt and take nips from a flask while wiping tears from my eyes and reminding you that there's still time to back out. I guess the accessory overload saved it.

On to more interesting topics: I found the raddest knockoffs of those psychotic creeper-esque Prada shoes. They are seriously perfect and will soon be mine and we shall be very happy together.

Oh- and how could I forget! Joey and I moved. Our new apartment feels huge and our new setup means I can now type this while simultaneously watching Twin Peaks Season 1 (again). That show never, ever gets old. But the Scream franchise sure does. Oh wow, does it ever. We just saw Scream 4, because I am an idiot and thought it would be...funny? I guess? Ol' Wes Craven just kept killing off every character until we were convinced the movie would end in an empty room with a cell phone ringing, nobody left to answer it. Although there was a lovely moment where Ghostface demanded that this character answer a bunch of obscure horror film trivia questions, and I knew every single one. I was really proud of myself. But now that I'm actually typing it, I feel super creepy. And even creepier for being like, all proud and shit.

I know I was supposed to announce the winner of the Urban Revisions shredded scarf on Friday, but the moving left me sans computer- I shall do so on Wednesday. Which is tomorrow. Today, in some places.

That is all. Back to Twin Peaks. Hope your week is a happy week. Oh, and if the above writing is somewhat nonsensical- I'm still getting used to my ability to watch two screens at once. This post was pretty much just seamless mind junk.

Bob Wills is still the King. And Jessica Wakefield is still a psychopath.

2011-04-13T23:31:00.002-05:00

Dress- Vintage, Lita Boots- Jeffrey Campbell, Long Chandelier Necklace and Hoop Earrings- Free People, a bunch of the usual jewelry

Lazy post. I'm just sort of hanging out in my little beige corner with my big beige shoes. I do like this vintage dress quite a bit, though. It's all kinds of Elizabeth Wakefield. She was always my favorite Sweet Valley Twin. Actually, Jessica Wakefield was a total sociopath if you really think about it. It's completely beyond me as to why ol' Jess was meant to be any kind of role model for little girls.

I sound sort of bleghhh (Honestly guys, I'm not bleghhh at all! Because that's totally an actual word and everything!). Sorry about that. American Idol is on in the background at the moment and my attention is completely divided. I like the kinda laid-back girl with the cute half smile and pretty hair who sang the hell out of Janis Joplin last week. But I am really really deeply upset by the girl who pretends to be super-de-duper out of this world excited all the time and just runs around the stage like she's on some kind of realllly fun speed, only she isn't. I might be more into the whole shtick if she were, since that show has had basically every type of human except speed freak.

Oh, I like that country-singing kid, too. And I rarely enjoy the genre, mainly because Taylor Swift and all those other corny teenagers who just sing pop with a twang are considered "Country Artists". The very thought makes me want to scream "Bob Wills Waylon Jennings Bob Wills Willie Nelson Bob Wills" over and over until my voice gives out.

I like how I know absolutely none of the contestants' names. Enjoy trying to decipher all that jazz I wrote up there, and enjoy your Thursday!

Encino Woman

2011-04-08T21:45:00.001-05:00

Leopard Dress- Free People, Denim Vest- BCBGeneration, The Awesomest Shoes In the Whole World- Jeffrey Campbell Brisbane Wedge, Arrowhead Earrings and Friendship Bracelets- Urban Outfitters, Peruvian Pins- gift from brother Griffen, Knitted Bangles- made by Mom, A lot of the usual jewelry

I like that as you scroll down, the photoshopping gets more bonkers. I also like my new shoes, which are light pink and have a perfectly pointed toe and architectural wedge. Jeffrey Campbell's people know their shit.

I'm not gonna write a novel tonight, mainly because it's more important to me that you read my previous post. You guys wouldn't believe how cute Ethan's been about the whole "style icon" thing- he would never admit this, but he absolutely savors every comment. Oh! I should share with you lovelies a prime example of how odd my family is. Joey, Mom, Ethan and I went to dinner tonight after taking these photos, and (having changed into my combat boots) I looked unbelievably '90s. The three of them kept begging me to walk aimlessly around the restaurant, confusedly asking various patrons how long I'd been frozen. Way to go guys, Encino Man joke! Actually it was sort of a modified Encino Man joke, since I was full-on early '90s, not full-on cave person. But yeah, they really thought I'd do it. And the oddest part of all is how Joey and Ethan would have totally been all over that, without a moment's hesitation. I'm the shy one in our family I guess. And I'm really not shy at all.

That's all I've got, except that my gorgeous and hilarious friend Annabelle is going to start up a style blog! I am beyond excited for you guys to see her upstage the hell out of me.

Have an awesome Friday night!

Little Brother Ethan Ivey Shaw: Personal Style Icon #1

2011-04-08T03:37:00.003-05:00

Hello peoplez. I've decided to start a regular (bi-monthly?) feature, about which I am super duper excited. We bloggers tend to exist in some sort of Abbey Lee/Bambi-fueled inspiration echo chamber. So, I am going to show you lovely ladies and gentlemen the flamazingly (new word?) stylish people I am lucky enough to know in like, real life. My wayy stylish and interesting little brother* popped into my head immediately. Followed by about 382747238 other lovelies. So this should be unendingly fun!

So, subject #1: Ethan Ivey Shaw. Yes, my unbelievably rad little brother has a name just as cool as he is. Ethan is probably the only person I know of whom I feel comfortable describing as a "hippie". That word is way overused, but completely apt regarding Big E (as my dad calls him). Just think of the song "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" by Cat Stevens/Yusef Islam, and you've got my baby brother's personality. He is exactly who he wants to be, exactly when he wants to be it, and does exactly what he does, exactly when he wants to do it (hello, nutso sentence, nice to meet you!). Of course, this translates to his incredibly unique style.

I love the first photo, because it kind of sums up the way he dresses himself. Notice the Boy Scouts bandana? There happens to be a medal of some kind underneath it. Why, you ask? Therein lies the awesomeness. Why, indeed.

Ethan recently learned to knit, and has gone nuts knitting cozies for everything. Including his chalk bag (inveterate rock climber: talented enough to spiderman up some impossibly smooth rock faces, handy enough to build a rock climbing gym in my family's attic) and ipod earbuds. He usually has some bit of colorful knitted something trailing after him, or wrapped around his head, or just draped around his neck. Hence the customized chalk bag in the second photo.

I can think of a few people who would pay money for the perfectly distressed and blood stained(!) t-shirt he wore for most of SXSW (he generally sticks with plaid, dirtied up Ts, and vintage). I surmise the blood is from some rock climbing or skateboarding (his other passion) accident. Or just a friendly yoga duel (basically what it sounds like).

Oh and the next photo demonstrates one of his knitted bits, this one being an unusually dark headband. The kid loves neon- I wish I had some footwear photos, because he has quite the eye for shoesies. Generally speaking, he goes for the brightest/craziest footwear he can find, as long as they're skateboard friendly. Also, look at the joy on that face. Completely infectious.

Moving on. The "I heart Ethan" button (worn by a lovely friend of my brother's) is pretty funny. Mom and I made about a hundred of those the night before his birthday (which coincides with the last day of school) four years ago. The fact that they are still floating around speaks for itself. You can't help but love Ethan.

Next- facial shot! Because he is an undeniably beautiful boy.

Last but certainly not least, the starting point for one of Ethan's skate parks. He and his best friend (who took most of these photos, hi Nick!) actually build these all over Dallas with their bare hands. I mean like, hardcore concrete pouring and the like. Some pretty famous skateboarders have come through Dallas solely to skate the parks/courses.

Well, looks like my little tour through the unendingly cool and stylish life of brother Ethan has come to an end. Gonna get a little sappy here (uhh this portion will not be a regular feature), but I am beyond excited to see what Ethan does with his life. He starts college in Colorado this Fall, and I know my insouciant little brother will be something amazing and completely his own. Kid's more creative than ten of me, and more at ease with himself than any teenager I've ever met.

Anyway, hopefully I've been clear enough that these little style stories are gonna be more than just "cool shirt omg she's so thin". I want to really introduce you to the awesome and quirky people I am lucky enough to know.

SO. Two weeks from now you shall be meeting the adorable, hilarious, and cuter-than-any-button Casey Maria Russell. This girl leaves a trail of sparkles wherever she goes, reminds me of a unicorn (figure that one out?), and has no right to style her outfits as perfectly as she does.

Goodnight, all!

*My youngest brother, sixteen-year-old Griffen Eli, will hopefully appear in the future (pleaseee Griffey...)

Blah Blah Bleghhh.

2011-04-05T23:55:00.004-05:00

Navy Silk Blouse- Aritzia, "Where There's a Willie There's a Way" Tank- Erin Wasson x RVCA, Patent Leather Pants- Aritzia, Neon Green Longline Bra- Free People, the usual jewelry

I hate that first photo. By the time you read this I may have already deleted it, and you will never know what it looked like. The whole post is actually pretty lazy, me and Joey were just waiting for our table to be called at dinner and he whipped out the camera because the sun was so pretty. Sorry my last two posts have been like, lame pants and a t-shirt.

Anywho, we just got back from seeing Insidious, which was terrifying. It was a total throwback to that whole '70s style of using campy and surreal elements to just blow your mind. Movies almost never scare me anymore, but if a demon sharpening his claws in a lair filled with hanging marionettes while 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips' trills away in the background doesn't scare you, then nothing will. I'm not going to give up anything else, but if you are a fan of horror (horror, not torture porn) then this one is well worth your time. There were some really goddamn obnoxious kids in our showing, and I desperately wanted to ask one of them to define the word "insidious", but Joey preferred the highly useful "screaming at them" method. It worked.

I suppose this shall be the end of my super lame Tuesday evening post. Don't forget to enter the Urban Revisions Shredded Scarf Giveaway Extravaganza!! Remember, just follow UR on Facebook and Twitter, check out the super awesome blog, and tell me in my previous post's comments what your favorite piece in the UR Etsy store is!
Oh, and while I'm link link linking away (this is a new skill for me and it's highly satisfying)...you see that little gold cross hanging on my heavily braceleted wrist? It's a tiny part of my beyond favorite piece, gifted by my little kickass gifting fairy Madeline and her awesome employer, Konstantino jewelry. Seriously, it has not left my wrist since the package came. My friend Katie (who currently has a craptastic broken arm so everyone send bone-healing vibes her way) asked recently if I sleep in all my jewelry. The sad answer is yes, the favorites stay on 24/7. This made the team immediately. Next on my Konstantino list- here, here, and here. Oh, and here. Now THAT is some competitive linking AND some competitive husband's money spending. God, that last sentence was kind of awful. Ok, goodnight.

Urban Revisions Shredded Scarf Giveaway Extravaganza!!

2011-04-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

Star Print Blouse- Urban Outfitters, Skull Tank- Aritzia, Black Jeans- JBrand, Zoe Boots- Sam Edelman, Skull Necklace- Mom made it, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love, Silver/Gold Cross Bracelet- courtesy of Konstantino

Hello ladies and gentlemen, greetings from the capital of "your eyebrows really don't look that much different". All I can say is I bleached the shit out of them- they must have already been lighter than I realized.

My outfit is a bit lazy, but how cool is that Urban Revisions shredded scarf? You, too, can own one of these lovely works of art (I'm sure you realize the painstaking painstakingness that goes into such a giant shredding project) by entering the FashionLitter/Urban Revisions Official Giveaway Extravaganza! Here's the rundown: visit the UR Facebook page and "like" it, follow them on Twitter, and, most importantly, check out the lovely Urban Revisions Etsy Store and share your fave piece in my comments. There really is some amazingness hanging out in the shop, including crazy awesome jewelry that looks like it was carved out of an ice cube. Also, every single shredded thing you can imagine. So if you feel like winning (I won't make a Charlie Sheen joke there): facebook, twitter, comment, and I shall choose a lucky person on ummm Friday. That sounds like a nice day for a little random choosing.

That's basically all I've got tonight, but I do want to draw some attention to the awesome necklace my mom made. How cool is that giant lavender stone/turquoise skull creation? Oh, and she whipped it up in about two minutes.

Also- the unicorn cutoffs from the last post shall be mine tonight. I'm pretty sure they're too small, but can't bring myself to care.

Some things I want, some things I want to do, and something I've already done.

2011-04-04T02:04:00.008-05:00

I don't have much to say this fine evening, mainly because I plan on a megapost tomorrow. The above photos are kinda self-explanatory- some admirable wrists, and a pair o' shoes you better believe I'm gonna copy. Finally, a DIY I might be able to pull off. Bedazzled brogues. Yessss.
Also, Madeline's necklace arrangement is killing me. You should read her latest post, it's so insightful (and there's a sort of impromptu "love your own body" festival going on in the comments, which is awesome). The shorts are on Ebay, and I think they're gonna have to be mine- completely perfectly tackily beyond awesome. Two hours to go- hopefully by the time you (hello, you) read this, I have won the shit out of them cut offs.
On another note, I finally bleached my eyebrows. The results were technically correct, but the effect is not exactly what I was going for. I guess you'll get to make your own judgement when I outfit post tomorrow evening. And you will lie to me, because you're all wonderfully nice people. What is it with fashion/style bloggers being so lovely all the time?
Ok that's all. Almost.

Why did I choose to post a large photo of Joey's old Fukuoka subway pass in this (ostensibly inspiration) post? Because nothing is more inspiring than my husband staring at you like he wants to burn a hole through the computer, then kill you in some terrifyingly creative way. Look at that jaw clench! He wanted that subway pass. He wanted it BAD.
Ok, some interesting junk tomorrow. Including a lovely giveaway! Really, this is something you will most def want!

pics- jakandjil, uhhh, jakandjil, ebay, ebay, jeangreige

I Think Yer Pretty

2011-03-31T09:54:00.003-05:00

You know how people sometimes set completely unrealistic goals for themselves? Like, uhhh my decision to look exactly like Anja Konstantinova?

At least I can use these photos for bleached-eyebrow porn. I'm doing it, ladies and gentlemen. I'm really gonna do it this time (bleach the ol' eyebrows). And then you fine people will say, "But you barely had eyebrows to begin with!" And I will smile, secure in the knowledge that I'm one step closer to being a pretty pretty princess.

Ughh. Actual post that makes actual sense later on today.

pics- RackkandRuin, OracleFox, some random tumblr I forgot the name of whoopsies.

My hair is about five different colors right now

2011-03-26T23:45:00.001-05:00

Kimono Top- Wilfred (Aritzia), Pleated Skirt- BCBGeneration, Eyelet Crop- Free People, Belt- Vintage, Silver/Gold Cross Bracelet- Courtesy of Konstantino, Oxfords- Steve Madden, the usual random jewelry

I know the last two photos are sorta redundant, but we were really trying to get some good shots of that Konstantino bracelet. Sadly, we didn't really manage to do it justice. The piece is unbelievable- there is a little diamond in the center of each cross, and all this filigree-esque detailing. I sort of don't feel worthy of such lovely flair, I mean, notice the white plastic tile bracelet I chose to wear next to it? That's some classy lady shit right there. Madeline has oft mentioned her addiction to Konstantino jewelry (which works out well since they employ her), and I'm pretty sure I get it now. Apparently they make everything by hand in Greece or something, which is awesome, but I would be fine if it were all churned out on some assembly line operated by chimps- the jewelry is just that pretty. Oh, so I have decided I need one of their chunky rings, like, tomorrow. Super early birthday present, Joey!

So we spotted this random nature-y (by our pathetic North Texas standards) area just off the highway, which was random. Our decision to explore resulted in these sort of weird location photos. Because I always wear a pleated pink skirt (and balls-out jewelry) on the woodsy banks of dirty streams! The outfit may have made a bit more sense in a relatively urban environment, but I'm kinda wearing all my current favorites at once, which is always nice. The BCBGeneration skirt fulfills my need for pleats quite well (although there's a Karen Walker pleated midi-length I've been desperately trying to track down).

I actually feel like BCBGeneration is my little secret. Maybe people expect the clothes to be sorta "teenaged chippy interviewing for her first part-time job". That's what I assumed, since BCBG can be pretty "After work, let's go get awful sugary cocktails then watch Sex and the City 2 for the fiftieth time!". That made no sense. More succinct version: BCBG can sometimes (sometimes!) be tacky, so people might assume BCBGeneration is just teen tacky. However! The store is actually a wonderland of pretty pastels, twee prints, and very cool jewelry. Also, vanity sizing! I can pretend I'm a size 25 pant (that's like four sizes off) when shopping there.

Welllll, happy weekend all- I have a really good giveaway with Urban Revisions coming up next week, so watch out for that!

BTW: I linked a few things in this post. The strange gaps in my basic computer knowledge make linking sort of mystifying for me- so let's just all hope for the best, k?

Denim on denim on blonde on pale on tired on blah blah blah.

2011-03-22T20:36:00.003-05:00

Destroyed Denim Top- One Teaspoon, Denim Shorts- JBrand, Moccasins- Minnetonka, Beaded Belt- Aritzia, Arrow Collar- Fallon, Square Bangle- Fallon, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love, the usual vintage jewelry.

I am really pleased with this One Teaspoon top, but practically apoplectic over the One Teaspoon black leather jogging shorts that ship April 15th- they should match perfectly. Hopefully they fit- those awesome shorts and I have some pretty big plans.

Ughh, I have never been so exhausted and honestly don't trust myself to string sentences together right now. But when I post tomorrow, expect some major fire and brimstone regarding (what else?) a movie that Joey and I made the mistake of watching last night. For now, I'll just leave it at this: if you are a fan of Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go', then avoid the film version at all costs. I have never been more upset by a book to movie adaptation. Ok, that's all I've got in me this evening. Except how cool I think Joey's photo shopping is on that last picture- love the sort of '70s vibe- which I kinda ruined with the really bad eyeliner job I must have been walking around with all day today. So envious of you makeup wizards.

Goodnight!

In Which I Write Way Too Much About Things (Necklaces, Mainly).

2011-03-22T03:18:00.003-05:00

Wow. I am now acutely aware that nothing is more troubling than posting a photo of oneself directly above a photo of Bambi Northwood-Blyth. From here on out, all images of my face shall be kept completely separate from facial images of she who resembles a young Brooke Shields (only somehow prettier and more ethereal).

I've been kind of obsessed with all the beautiful chokers and bib necklace thingees that've been popping up everywhere. Taylor, from thingsonhangers.com, has a really cool/simple one. That applies to like, every conceivable type of jewelry, though. She has quite an eye for flair. Anyway, the sparkly Fallon piece I'm wearing above was one of those lucky "hanging out in the bowels of my jewelry receptacle" finds. I was pretty happy to rediscover it- and by "happy" I mean "overweening excitement so intense that a bemused Joey briefly wondered if I have always been this shallow". Hopefully, he wasn't reminded of the first time we met. It was one of "those" nights where my drunkenness rose to the level of bonkers that could easily end with naked night swimming, the belting out at the top of my lungs some long-forgotten Dropkick Murphys song, weeping about "all the beauty in the universe", or, in this case, loud and slurry proclamations to my lovely friend Miriam that "he's totally hotter than I thought he would be". "He" being Joey, who was standing right there, sort of taking it all in. I tend to follow the speech patterns of a Sweet Valley Twin when intoxicated. Point being, the first statement my husband ever heard me make was about as shallow as shallow can get. Funny how such an inauspicious meeting led to our lovely little life.

ANYWAY, now that I already have what I was looking for, it's time for my next obsession: the ManiaMania "Afterlife" choker. Bambi looks unbelievably gorgeous in the above photo (and the rest of the ManiaMania campaign), but Abbey Lee has just been wearing the hell out of that choker recently. Each new picture of her sashaying around like a towheaded Egyptian Aussie princess from the early '90s (uh, that description isn't nonsensical in my head) makes me want that piece more. I would have posted some photos, but since you've seen them on every other blog, ehh.

Sadly, my weekend in Alabama was all about trying to keep from vomiting. So all the photo-taking plans Joey and I made were sort of the last thing on my mind. I've never mentioned this on the blog, but I have a frustrating vertigo-esque ailment that pops up at the most inopportune times. So I had three surreal days of Lifetime Movie Network (after a while, those movies blend into this blurry tapestry of banal strangeness and you quit differentiating one from the next). Oh, and in case Alfred Hitchcock* gave you the notion that "vertigo" just means "fear of heights"- imagine extreme motion sickness, but you aren't even moving, and not much can be done about it. And throw in that feeling you get when you drink too much and things start spinning. That's vertigo.

God, I am a long-winded writer. Here are the CliffNotes: "I like the Fallon necklace I found. Sometimes I am shallow. I like that one ManiaMania choker. I have vertigo."

Tomorrow I shall do an outfit post. With very little blather underneath it.

*Sorry, another random movie mention- I am referring to Hitchcock's Vertigo, which is a great film, but vertigo is shown to be a fear of heights, not an ailment (which it is- oh man, it is).

Off to Pinthlocco

2011-03-17T14:11:00.000-05:00

Going back to this place! And by that I mean Pinthlocco Plantation, my family's wonderland about an hour away from Montgomery (which is the most horrible city in the nation, on so so many levels). While I won't be updating again until Monday, Joey and I have some really exciting photo-taking plans for our time in Bama. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

a long post about tattoos.

2011-03-15T04:18:00.003-05:00

SO. This is a post about tattoos, obviously.
OK. I have had ink on the brain recently. Although I've wanted a tattoo for a while, now seems like the right time to get on with it (for reasons that are a bit too private and frankly, too uninteresting to tell you about).
I have been toying with two options. My favorite movie, Picnic At Hanging Rock, is filled with beautiful dialogue, but I'm drawn to one quote in particular: "Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place". It's spoken at a gorgeous moment in the film. No idea how I'd want it to look though.
My other idea is also a quote, from my other favorite film, Harold and Maude. It comes at a turning point, when Harold is finally learning to love life. Maude sees a sad little nimbly tree planted haphazardly outside of an office building, and decides they need to rescue/replant the tree somewhere it can thrive. She simply says "Grab the shovel, Harold", and they go about the business of saving the tree. It's a beautiful moment, because the viewer realizes this small act has completely changed Harold's way of looking at things. But there's one pathetic little problem were I to choose this quote. I want a sort of stylized little nimbly tree underneath the lettering, drawn the way I imagine Peter Max might have drawn it during his psychedelic period, if he collaborated on said drawing with Shel Silverstein. However, I can't draw for shit. Not even stick figures. So. I have this pretty exact idea in my head, unable to find it's way out due to my sad little useless hands. If one of you artists felt like trying to um, draw up a nimbly-sad-Peter Max-Shel Silverstein-tree, I would be forever grateful. Whichever idea I choose, the placement will be on my side, underneath the bra line. I think.
Regarding the above photos: the first is that beautiful girl from SRC783 (I think)- how cool is her saturn palm? Then we have Cole Mohr (swoon) and his famous tattoo. Third is adorable Madeline from the amazing blog www.jeangreige.blogspot.com, which you should visit immediately. I would have linked the web address, but there are strange gaps in my computer knowledge, one of which happens to be making links out of things. Those "state with star over hometown" tattoos never get old for me- but they only work if you come from somewhere quirky, and Madeline definitely does. We have Bambi on Bambi (of course) which is arguably the cutest tattoo on the cutest girl, ever. Ohh- and Lily Cole never gets any attention for the script on her foot, which I can't fathom, because it's awesome. She has "as bees, geometry" in Latin, from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (it was in Latin in the novel, she wasn't being pretentious or anything). I like the idea of ethereal Lily all wrapped up in Victor Hugo, stumbling upon that snippet of a lovely line, deciding it's exactly what she's been trying to say all along. Oh. And the last picture (the one with the nonsensical tattoos) is of what's her name, you know, the pretty girl who stole jewelry ideas from Bliss Lau, that girl who once actually said these actual words in an actual interview and actually meant them, in fact actually defended them two years later:
"The people with the best style for me are the people that are the poorest. Like, when I go down to Venice Beach and I see the homeless, like, I'm like, 'Oh my God, they're pulling out, like, crazy looks, and they, like, pulled shit out of like garbage cans'".
You know, that awful girl. I mean, she looks pretty in pictures, that's for sure. But then, doesn't prettiness fade? And all we're left with are the horrible things we said back when we looked pretty in pictures?

Oh, and we are also left with our tattoos.

Akimbo

2011-03-12T01:34:00.001-06:00

The Ubiquitous Leather Shorts- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Cala Luna Tunic- Free People, Neonish Green Crop Top- Free People, Zoe Ankle Boots- Sam Edelman, Necklace- Urban Outfitters, Vintage Silver Bracelets

This probably goes without saying, but it was like wind-tunnel windy today. Hence the everything flying everywhere thing. At the moment I am completely worn out and just want to watch some random movie. Oh, and this one better be superior to 30 Days of Night, which was a crime against celluloid on SO many levels (man, I was actually so excited about that one...). First of all we had the whole "Josh Hartnett attempting to act" debacle, which was really quite sad/pathetic because you could basically see the steam coming out of his ears as he tried to be dramatic and heroic and all that jazz. So he is a horrible actor, but the script didn't help. I actually found a website dedicated to the myriad plot holes in this film, but my favorite would have to be the hilariously convoluted ending. It involved Hartnett injecting himself with vampire blood so he could become one of them vamps (for reasons I'm not entirely sure of), followed by about fifteen minutes of our boy hero fighting off them vamps, and finally, because Joshy is now a good vampire, we close with him clutching his (previously estranged, but soulmates once again) wife, as they sit on a snowy hilltop waiting for the first sunrise in thirty days. This is intended to be quite emotional because everybody knows that vampires turn to ash in the sun (except with Twilight, in which they just get all sparkly). SO. The actress playing the wife tries really hard to screw her features into something resembling a bereft expression as the sun rises and Good Vampire Josh meets his ashy fate. And scene.

God, now I'm in the mood for a really beautiful film. At the moment Peter Weir is kinda calling my name, so I think I (and sleeping Joey) shall watch either Picnic at Hanging Rock or The Last Wave. Or Gallipoli. Those are some gorgeous and wistful and sad and lovely and lonely movies.

Ok, stopping with all the film talk now. Actually, stopping with all the talk now. It's slowly drift off to sleep on the couch time, an activity I take very, very seriously. And with all that pan pipe in the Picnic at Hanging Rock score, this should be a thirty second process. Hope you're all having fun having your Saturday night fun having! Hahaa I crack myself up- there is a very specific type of person who finds that last sentence funny, and I think by "specific" I just mean "only me".

Shutting up now, really.

My cat is snoring. Loudly.

2011-03-09T22:45:00.000-06:00

Eyelet Cropped Tank- Free People, Scarf- Free People, Swing Skirt- Aritzia, Solvang Clogs- Jeffrey Campbell, Long Spike Necklace- Urban Outfitters

After what felt like a pretty lengthy shopping drought, I did some major damage this afternoon at my local Free People. That was nice. But I feel pretty shallow talking about shopping, as today Illinois finally abolished the death penalty! How unbelievably beautiful is that? Fifteen states down, a shitload (including my own) to go. I am pretty consistently horrified by the crimes that Texas perpetrates against it's citizens (google Cameron Todd Willingham), and know that (barring some kind of federal moratorium) there really isn't any hope for us Texans to join the modern world anytime soon. But I am always excited when other states do the right thing. I don't know who this blog reaches, but I do know that not everyone agrees with me. Quite honestly, I don't care. If you believe in the death penalty then you are wrong. So don't try to change my mind in the comments- it will be a waste of time for both of us. If you need an outlet for your (misguided) anger, then just call me fat or something, ok?

Strangely enough, now that the lavender in my hair has faded to the exact shade I was going for, it doesn't seem to show up in photos. Conundrum. Ok, that's pretty much it, but I did want to show you a small feature I have in this month's NYLON Korea. I get way too excited about these things, then I feel guilty for being excited. Oh well, goodnight!

New things, and things that will be new.

2011-03-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

Hi people. So I finally did the light purple (they really won't be lavender until a couple more washes) streaks. I had myself convinced that everything within a five mile radius of the sink had to be covered in gobs of vaseline or the dye would magically turn it all purple, like, the instant I opened the bottle (I've been told I tend towards the histrionic). This did not happen, which was nice, but the vaseline made my hairline really damn greasy. Hence the very obviously greasy hair in the above photo. Notice the lavender wall? We painted that just for the snapshot. Joey and I are very dedicated to, um, matching the bedroom wall to my hair. Oh, and the nose ring is gonna stay for now. Just FYI. Because I know you were up all night toying with that conundrum.
So the second photo. That would be my next project. Joey and I are moving in a month-ish, and we are quite dedicated to the complete copycatting of that whole tableau. I don't remember what blog I found the photo on, so I can't credit it- sorry about that.
Goodnight, happy Tuesday!

"Grab the shovel, Harold."

2011-03-05T22:00:00.002-06:00

Silk Top- Wilfred, Snake Print Tank- Wilfred (Aritzia), Lace-Inset Bells- Free People, Cross Necklace- Vintage, Layered Necklace- Iosselliani, Square Cuff- Fallon, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love

As usual, Joey did some obvious photoshopping on that last picture. There's just something about my face that makes him want to...alter it. Ha. It does kinda make me want to reconsider my reconsideration of the eyebrow-bleaching though, as I assume it would look somewhat like this- creepy. And what girl doesn't long to look creepier, right?

So we are about to watch 30 Days of Night, which I am way too excited about. Maybe because it's (quite literally) the last remaining horror film that I have yet to see (foreign or domestic). Actually I missed out on the whole Saw thing, but that was absolutely on purpose. There's a big difference between a scary film, and one where a useless villain just goes bonkers throwing bloody severed limbs all over the place. Although they did churn out some pretty damn good slashers back in the '70s. Slashers are actually entertaining, it's the torture porn that bothers me. No, worries me- maybe it's the unbelievably trenchant sexism. But that kind of applies to like, over half of all movies ever made. Harold and Maude is really the only romantic comedy I can think of that isn't just swimming in "ladies are stupid so just throw pretty things at them and they might shut up".

Ok, Margaret Ebert, signing off.

Oh ya- I bought the lavender hair dye. But I don't want to part with my nose ring. SO. Looks like I shall be playing the adolescent with an attitude (ohmygodmomyoureruiningmylife) for a little while. I could always get a job at like, Hot Topic.

In which I ramble about tie-dye and some other things.

2011-03-04T23:06:00.001-06:00

Tie-Dye T- Vintage store in Fukuoka (Japan), Cutoffs- Siwy, Sharktooth Necklace- Self/Mom made, Square Bangle- Fallon, random vintage flair

This is one of those posts that make me feel a bit ehhh. There is something decidedly icky about sandwiching photos of myself throughout an inspiration post. Just to be clear- I in no way find myself inspirational to myself. Alright.

So I have this obsession with tie-dye that pretty much transcends season. You can probably imagine how nice Proenza Schouler Spring '10 was for me- I still have that one cotton tank top in blue and in acid green. And no, I really couldn't afford either one. But the most important member of my huge tie-dye things collection would be the T pictured above. I found it at the best vintage store I've ever had the privilege of visiting. A couple years ago, I got to go to Fukuoka, Japan for a wedding. Actually, Joey lived there for a while before we met, and his best American friend was marrying a Japanese friend, hence the whole Margaret getting to tag along thing. Anyway, there was this mall called Tenjin Core that had an entire floor devoted to amazing vintage. I forced Joey to take me there every single day we were in Japan. So ya, the point of that whole drawn out story is that I got this T-shirt, and I love it. A lot.

Also, those lavender dyed cutoffs are perfect, and I deeply envy whoever that is wearing my favorite Pamela Love necklace with a really, really good tie-dyed shirt. And though I wimped out on getting my eyebrows dyed (which has a lot to do with my hairstylist's reaction- shock, followed by "but you already have such light eyebrows...", and her assurance that it would look weird ((in a bad way)) without some kind of tan), I am pretty sure that it's time to forfeit the nose ring for some light purple streaks. Wow, I think it's possible that the preceding sentence is the longest I've ever written. Anywho, I can't see myself pulling off the ring and the streaks without looking like some sort of dejected adolescent hell-bent on pissing off her parents.

So I guess I could have just said "I like tie-dye and purple things at the moment", but rambling is deeply important to me. As is this deeply important work of art:

YOU'RE WELCOME.

Sad Day In Shoe Land

2011-02-26T23:27:00.000-06:00

Dress- Darling (ASOS), Vest- BCBGeneration, Platforms- Topshop, Dried Flower Necklace- BCBGeneration, Agate Cuff- Coldwater Creek (yep), Square Cuff- Fallon, Other Bracelets and Turquoise Ring- Vintage, Armor Ring- Free People, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love

So I'm thinking maybe it's getting kinda redundant to list every last thing I'm wearing in all my posts. Like, there's no way anyone is actually reading my super lengthy rundown of every single piece of jewelry within a five-mile radius. Basically, I'm gonna start listing only what's essential or new. I doubt you are jonesing to hear (again and again) that my armor ring is, in fact, still from Free People. I half expect myself to start telling you where my panties are from, then like crediting Mother Earth for the grass I'm standing on.

Oh, the platforms pictured above freaking fell apart this afternoon. Actually, they had already broken (the suede ripped out of the instep) when we took these photos- I kept tripping while walking through the grass, which was really only a preface for the ginormous fall that ultimately ruined my shoesies. Thanks, Topshop- they lasted three whole days.

I am tired and hungry and some quesadillas are calling my name, so it's time to settle in with a super crappy movie. Joey and I watch so many that we've run out of actual quality films, and are reduced to choosing based on camp value.

One last thing- it was inconceivably windy this afternoon, hence the rather ridiculous (third from bottom) "ohmygod what the hell is happening here" photo. Maybe my roots have just gotten so long that they're taking on a life of their own.

Later!

Sparkly Bits

2011-02-24T22:34:00.001-06:00

Bustier Top- Wilfred (Aritzia), Skirt- American Apparel, Platform Sandals- Topshop, Shawl- Vintage, Necklace- Free People, Peace Ring and Sweetheart Bracelet- Vintage, Wooden Bead Bracelets- Aldo

I am super beyond excited about the pictured sandals- they are a bitch to walk in, but fulfill my Celine knockoff wooden platform (flatform?) needs quite well. So thanks, Topshop. Maybe it took about two years for them to finally reach my doorstep, but I've dealt with their website enough to realize "priority mail" is actually Topshop code for "carrier pigeon". The bustier top from good ol' Aritzia (my lovely employer) has a rather curious way of making my boobs look huge- I am really not used to seeing, like, cleavage and all that jazz in photos of myself. Interesting optical illusion.

Does anyone else feel like everything in their closet is suddenly irrelevant? The complete sea change that seems to have occurred this spring has me jonesing for basically the opposite of everything I own. I need multiple pleated knee-length skirts (in pastels) immediately. Oh, and while I don't particularly respect Erin Wasson (yes, this is a mortal sin- prepare the firing squad- but don't forget her quotable quote about the "amazing style" of homeless people), I would do some shameful things for the leopard print maxi skirt she is wearing in that one photo circling the blogosphere. So, basically I need some longer skirts. And more crochet shit. And lots of white and lace and lovely florals. Oh and pretty blue things- really any shade will do.

Happy almost Friday- it's time for me and Joey to watch an illegally downloaded version of that new Liam Neeson movie (Unknown), which doesn't even look that great. So if a SWAT team busts through our door and arrests us for this one then I'll be pissed. If we're gonna get in trouble over something as silly as downloading bootlegs, it better be for a quality film like L'Avventura or Buffalo 66.

That was quite a digression. Sorry. Sort of.

Details

2011-02-19T00:24:00.001-06:00

Silk Dot Top- Talula Babaton (Aritzia), Quilted Leather Shorts- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Cardigan- Wilfred, Zoe Boots- Sam Edelman, Beetle Necklace- Mad Art Jewelry (Etsy), Square Cuff- Fallon, Other Silver Bracelets- Vintage, "Gnarly" Cuff- BCBGeneration, Armor Ring- Free People, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Triangle Ring- Pamela Love

Well I certainly haven't posted much (i.e. at all) this past week. So if you were on the edge of your seat, sorry about that. My eyebrows are still not bleached- I missed my hair appointment, which was supremely stupid, because my roots are getting noticeably bad. Sadly, in a greasy icky way not a cool Debbie Harry way.

Anywho, the Pamela Love triangle ring (most obvious in the first photo) that Joey got me for Valentine's Day is my new favorite piece of jewelry, even though it's about as uncomfortable as it looks. I keep jabbing myself with the points at inopportune times. Definitely worth suffering for, though. I love how the photo makes me look as if I'm setting some kind of magic spell with it. Judging from that scary angry deep-set eye, the spell is probably bad. I just turned you into a toad. Or something.

I'm having trouble focusing on writing this, because Joey has the "Funny or Die" Show from HBO on in the background. I really didn't expect it to be so hilarious. Highly recommended.

Wellll that's all she wrote, except I do feel the need to credit Oracle Fox for the arms-behind-the-neck pose. It really works for the purpose of showing off the back of something plus all one's hand jewelry, and I just blatantly ripped her off with that. Mandy Shadforth, you are one talented lady. Haaa that rhymed, sort of almost.

Lovely weekend, all!

Light and Shadows

2011-02-12T14:09:00.001-06:00

Bed Jacket- Vintage Missoni, Shredded T- Raquel Allegra, Faux Leather Leggings- Wilfred (Aritzia), Combat Boots- Steve Madden, Cross Necklace, Turquoise Ring- Vintage, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Square Bangle- Fallon

Sorry for the photo dump- I had a wee bit of trouble narrowing them down. Wellll it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, finally. The snow has melted and the sun is out and life is lovely. Plus, it's that time again when I get to spend hours on the interwebs finding out what I will be wearing in the fall. Rag and Bone, Vena Cava, Rebecca Taylor (?!), and Jenni Kayne are some of my NY favorites so far. I always feel a kinship with Jenni Kayne (stalkertown), because I got married in one of her lovely sequined frocks.

Oh, I'm getting my eyebrows bleached on Tuesday. I don't trust myself with a box o' bleach, so I'm going to let my hairstylist handle it. If she's willing. There is a definite chance she will be like "um, you already have no eyebrows", and refuse.

So I'm gonna stop talking at you since I posted so many photos- have a lovely weekend!

Windy

2011-02-08T21:14:00.001-06:00

Open Knit Sweater- 12th Street Cynthia Vincent, Floral Bells- Free People, Circle Scarf- Wilfred (Aritzia), Hourglass Necklace- BCBGeneration, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Armor Ring- Free People, Turquoise Ring and Wood Rosary- Vintage, Lita Boots- Jeffrey Campbell

I am completely in love with the open-knit bell sleeve coziness of this sweater. Too bad it belongs to my lovely friend Casey. I had no idea a piece of clothing could cause so much bedlam at the Shaw/Pellicone apartment. Joey keeps sniffing the sweater and asking me why I don't wear perfume more often, and General Sherman has been sitting in the closet like, staring up at it nonstop. I don't know if kitty is yearning to shred or cuddle, but I suspect the former (although the latter would be pretty adorable). I think the next cat we adopt should be named General Bonkers. There's something wildly hilarious about having a General Sherman and a General Bonkers- like one is super serious and one's just completely insane. But I digress (actually, the digression began immediately following the first sentence- oh well).

So I'm pretty much set regarding bell bottom things. I kind of already was, but the floral print on these is just way too good to pass up. I said I was done buying knits about six months ago and that sure as hell hasn't happened, so my closet is starting to be half bell bottoms, half hugely oversized knits.
Well, enjoy the windy photos, because that wind is bringing another (!!) snowstorm, and we Texans fall apart if there's even the slightest wintry weather. I don't know how you people do outfit posts when there's snow- for me, anything beyond cowering in my apartment (with the heat cranked all the way up) is an accomplishment. Have a lovely Wednesday!

Oh. And I'm kinda sure I am going to bleach my eyebrows. They pretty much already don't exist, but I saw a photo of Britt Maren that made me realize I need them to be even whiter. Go figure.

Liza Minnelli

2011-02-05T13:53:00.000-06:00

Top- American Gold, Hourglass Necklace- BCBGeneration, Cat- Liza Minnelli

Well hellloo. Due to inclement weather (still!!), we are unable to shoot outdoors, and things seem to fall apart a little bit when we move inside. So. I present you with some insanity that occurred after a dinner out with the family. Notice the picnic basket? That happens to be Liza Minnelli's "Think Tank". In other words, the kitty's house. She rarely leaves. Imagine all the hilarious situations that can (and do) occur in a kitchen where a three-pound cat lives in a blanketed basket.

Anywhooo. I like that American Gold top quite a bit. I wish I had pre-ordered it in bone, also. Maybe someday when the weather finally clears I can do a real outfit post- I also bought the Let it Bleed bells and they look really perfect with pretty much everything.

So I have a new header. Again. The old one was corny as hell- I got really tired of my face staring beatifically down on the blog like some kind of lame patron saint of Fashionlitter. Maybe this one will last a few days. Have a lovely weekend, unless you live in North Texas and are having to deal with the weather AND all the Super Bowl tourists. Yay, football.

Ice Storm

2011-02-02T21:15:00.000-06:00

Wellll I guess you can reasonably presume what's on my mind. One of the (many) strange things about north Texas is the epic ice storm that seems to roll around every few years, causing everyone to go completely batshit crazy. Right now it's day two of Ice Extravaganza '11. The excitement has given way under the weight of rolling blackouts, Joey's insistence that my Prius is not equipped to drive in these conditions (he's probably correct), and complete Law and Order: SVU overload. So stir craziness, basically.
Top photo from velvet warning, next two from the bowels of my hopelessly unorganized compy, and the last is me, in happier times. I was tan! Freckled, even! And everything was so warm and lovely that sparkles just appeared out of the sky. That isn't like, a photoshop lens flare or anything.

Stuff.

2011-01-31T11:12:00.004-06:00

I planned on a real outfit post today, but woke up Sicky McSickPants, so I present you with some lovely ladies and a poufy little baby. First photo via Velvet Warning (which is really the best inspiration blog, in my opinion- this girl updates constantly and the content is always top notch). Abbey Lee and her fantastical necklace are from basically everywhere (seriously, I have that photo saved on my desktop in like, three separate folders). And the baby is mine.

Hi Seany.

2011-01-26T23:50:00.001-06:00

Chiffon Skirt- American Apparel, Brown Leather Jacket- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Crochet Top- Vintage, Woven Bag- Wayuu Taya for Barneys Co-op, Platform Sandals- Vera Wang Lavender Label, Bracelet- Vintage, Hourglass Necklace- BCBGeneration, Armor Ring- Free People, Crystal Ring- Ylang23, Flower Crown- Handmade

The cow skull just happened to be sitting in the middle of that field. We didn't like, lug it all the way there for prop purposes or anything. Honestly, if this post were someone else's I would be mumbling something about it being corny and derivative (how many trends can you fit in one look?) but it just so happens to be mine, so I love it. Strange how that works.

After a pretty lengthy vintage drought I hit quite the jackpot this morning. My mom and I decided to visit Clothes Circuit (a vintage/consignment shop near my family's house) on a complete whim because we hadn't been there in years. I walked away with a vintage Missoni bed jacket (it's oversized, the colors are amazing, and it was only $150), the pictured crochet top, and a huge crochet scarf/blanket my mom found. If you happen to live in Dallas and wear a size six shoe, they have a pretty damn perfect pair of brown Miu Miu harness ankle boots (only $250). I kind of made a scene pathetically trying to cram my huge feet into them as I screamed across the (very quiet, with refined older ladies milling about) store for my mother to come see how amazing they were.

OH. You know the Free People three stone rings I always wear on both middle fingers? They were stolen (along with my iphone) when little brother Ethan had a house party Friday night. I was ummm supposed to be babysitting. Anyway, I have started obsessing over finding the perfect replacements (instead of like, I dunno, world peace or gay rights or the horrifying fact that Michelle Bachmann has any kind of power whatsoever- nope, its all about the rings for me). I am leaning towards the Pamela Love triangle ring for one finger, but unsure about the other one. Recommendations would be lovelyyy. Taylor (thingsonhangers), that means you. I don't think anybody has better taste in jewelry.

I shall end this dissertation with a giant thank you to my endlessly crafty mother for whipping up the flower crown I wore. She never ceases to amaze me with her talent for taking my hopelessly unclear explanations, somehow divining exactly what I mean, and executing it perfectly.

Puffins DO live in pear trees. I saw one once, I just didn't tell you guys.

2011-01-24T21:11:00.000-06:00

Coat- Vintage, Grey Crochet Top- Free People, Black Jeggings- JBrand, Glitter Clogs- Miu Miu, Necklace- Iosselliani, Rosary- Aldo, Bracelets- Vintage and Fallon, Armor Ring- Free People

I got this shirt in the mail today after quite a long wait (or so it seemed...) and was immediately in love. Party in the back! Another favorite from good old FP. The giant fuzzy coat is from this random but awesome vintage store in Birmingham (Alabama); I had no idea what a staple it would become. The lining is half ripped out and there is a hilarious 60's era Sears label in it that I wouldn't ever remove. I like clothing with character (i.e. falling apart).

Joey took these photos when we were walking to dinner this evening, hence the sort of depressing background. That white Mercedes is trying to edge in there on every shot, eh?

So I've become sort of overly preoccupied with this whole header situation. My mom and I think the new one is a bit corny, but I am beyond tired of the old one and on the verge of just scrapping the whole damn thing and simplifying, i.e. just posting my blog name at the top like most people do. I need to resolve this and concentrate on something like, uhhhh, content? That would probably be reasonable.

Well. I was about to launch into a screed about the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but then I remembered that all I ever write about are movies and television. Let's just say I have an odd crush on Adrienne Maloof's husband and leave it at that. Maybe it's because he acts like an older version of Joey.

My unbelievably crafty mother just sent me a photo of an amazing flower crown she made- mom has been on sort of a crafting bender, which is good for me because it means insanely cool shark teeth necklaces and the like. My friend Casey had this enormous megalodon tooth that mom turned into a work of art. And now Joey is texting mom to ask her if she will make him a crown of thorns. For an Italian lapsed-Catholic he is quite comfortable with the Jesus jokes.

Sorry for the rambling- at least you don't have to listen to the phone messages I leave (unless I know you personally, then you do). They generally involve long pauses, "like"s sprinkled liberally throughout, and lengthy digressions about what happens to be going on around me. Yessir. Oh, and the relevant information is always at the very end.

All we see and all we seem is but a dream within a dream.

2011-01-23T20:45:00.007-06:00

The new header is up, which you already know if you happen to be reading this. Sorry, redundant. I wasn't going to post tonight, but then I saw the above mixed media extravaganza on the Free People blog (the artist is Beth Hoeckel) and knew I had to repost it immediately. Also, I couldn't really tell if I liked the header when it matched the post below it. Anyway, the second photo is from my favorite film of all time, Picnic At Hanging Rock. I won't ruin it with my clumsy words, except to say that every year there is a screening of the movie at hanging rock (a real place in Australia), which I would pretty much do anything to attend.

If you like the new header, or think I should go back to the old one, or just scrap the whole thing altogether and stop obsessing over headers, then lay it on me. Have a lovely evening!

New Header?

2011-01-22T11:37:00.001-06:00

Taupe Sweater- BCBG, Leather Shorts- 3.1 Phillip Lim, Grey Infinity Scarf- Wilfred (Aritzia), Oversized Print Scarf- Wilfred, Lita Boots- Jeffrey Campbell, Rings- Free People

Sorry about all the blatant reposting, but I really like this particular shoot and am thinking about making a new header from one of these photos. I am pretty tired of the blankly staring/piece of glass holding header that I've had for a while. So, if you happen to have an opinion, then please voice it- I will be forever grateful.

"I had a mad impulse to throw you down on the lunar surface and commit interstellar perversion"

2011-01-17T22:56:00.000-06:00

Army Jacket- Talula (Aritzia), Woven Poncho Top- LF, Jeans- Citizens of Humanity, Lita Boots- Jeffrey Campbell, Hourglass Necklace- BCBGeneration, vintage bracelets

Sorry about the repeating pose. There's only so much you can do with a poncho to avoid looking really, really wide. Joey has become quite adept at tracking down great locations. However, he's testing my patience at the moment as he yells at Brad The Bachelor about bad Kanji tattoos and Winstrol (which is apparently a steroid of some type). It's not easy to string together sentences that make much sense when a certain someone is in the background getting loudly angry at a reality show character. Ok, now Joey wants Brad to put his shirt on, dude. Why, after so many seasons, is this show still unendingly fascinating? Train wreck effect, I suppose.

I was watching Manhattan today while getting ready for work and it reminded me of how beautiful Mariel Hemingway was. Throughout the film, she wears pretty much the same men's oxford shirt and looks amazing. Not that I am the queen of minimalism or anything, but I can certainly respect someone confident enough to refrain from draping themselves in everything they own all at once. Ok, Joey is getting antsy- good evening to all and to all a good night. Sorry if this post was a bit nonsensical, I'm not joking about all the background commotion.

Me and My Shadow

2011-01-14T10:44:00.000-06:00

Slipdress- Le Fou (Aritzia), Rosary- Aldo

It's rather interesting that I happened to post the latter photo (from facehunter) at this particular moment because I have to be at a bridesmaid luncheon in an hour and am still sitting on the couch in my sweatpants, um, blogging. SO, there is decidedly not time to kill today. The top photo is from a shoot I did with Courtney Teesdale a long time ago but I enjoy how worried my ghost appears to be and of course assume you will be equally as amused. Plus, my hair looks thick thanks to photography magic. Sorry for the half-ass post but I really should be standing in my closet right now, staring blankly at my clothes. Because that portion of getting ready always ends up being the longest.

Ziggy Starclogs

2011-01-12T18:19:00.004-06:00

I don't really shop at Neiman's, mainly because Barney's is superior but partially because the whole Dallasite with a Neiman's Card thing is so beyond cliche. But when Last Call rolls around I always end up finding some amazing gems for ridiculous prices, which is nice. I actually didn't even know these particular clogs existed, but was quite happy to take them off their hands- my bridesmaid attire this weekend calls for "fun shoes" and I think these fit the bill rather well. In fact, I would describe these as more along the lines of "batshit crazy" than merely "fun", and batshit crazy always works for me. I think these require a Christopher Kane galaxy print something.
Oh, and in case you were desperately wondering if I tracked down a black dress for the wedding, I found quite an adorable little number at Aritzia. Yay. My bridesmaidenry (new word!) is now complete.
By the way- something about the way we photographed these makes them look like little shoe porn stars. Feel free to slut shame my new babies as much as you want.