Gittin' Mah Purdy On!

We have a wonderful store in a nearby town called Celebrity Consignment.  The first time I went into it, I was in Heaven!  Apparently it’s owned by Whitney Houston’s aunt who is from this area.  They get clothes from Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Diane Sawyer, Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys and some more celebrities whose names escape me!  My first buy was a donated skirt that belonged to Dionne Warwick!  I found myself suddenly psychic, telling everyone to dial 900 numbers, and asking for directions to San Jose.  I even met Ms Warwick there a few weeks ago when she was doing a book signing for a new kids’ book she has out.  What a lovely woman?!

Well, Black Friday found Sweet Baby and me digging through celebrity cast-offs (okay, I was digging, he was sitting in a comfy chair keeping the world on it’s axis via his blackberry).  I escaped that day with only two items, this lovely dress which loved on me the moment I slipped it over my head and an Alicia Keys skirt that I’ve been eyeballing since my first day in there a year and a half ago.  At $50 this dress was truly a splurge for me, but the owner did mark it down from $65 so I still got a deal.  I wore it dressy here, which of course is a no brainer, but I’m also seeing it with leggings and belted.  Maybe in the summer over white pants with a pretty belt.  I also just got a black blouse that would look cute under this.    I think my “purdy gurl” dress and I have lots o’ good times ahead!   Upcoming:  my Alicia Keys skirt….gaaawjusss! 

DRESS:   Consignment

NECKLACE:  Mom’s

SHOES:  Thrifted

Event:  Work Christmas Party

Some Chris Brown Christmas Cheer…..my favorite secular Christmas song!

Bonified Lovin'.

I made this dress out of a skirt that I thrifted.  I thought that I might still be able to wear it as a skirt, but when I tried to this weekend, it just didn’t work….the waist was way too big and the straps did not want to lay down on the inside of the skirt.  So I settled myself to the fact that this is one piece that I don’t have to have 20 different ways to wear it.  I LOVE this dress.  I love the color.  I love the fit.  The straps.  The length.  All of it!  I just feel pretty when I wear it!

Speaking of “feeling”, I see a ton of blogs where the blogger wears some really short skirts or shorts; but they really don’t seem that short on them.  But I can only go so short before I feel like a trollop!  Even when I was younger, I really didn’t wear things that short.  Do you ever see looks on other bloggers that you love on them, but when you try to do it, you feel ridiculous?

DRESS:  Thrifted and remade from skirt. Remixed here and here. 

JACKET:  Thrifted

BOOTS:  Thrifted

NECKLACE:  Fashioned from a pin

A little MADNESS!

I Made IFB's Links a la Mode!!!

I'm thrilled to be selected as one of IFB's links a la mode this week!  It's the first time I've ever submitted a post and my heart actually jumped when I saw my name on the list.  I'd like to thank the Academy......uh oh!  They're scooting me off the stage and going to commercial.....enjoy all the wonderful fashion bloggers below in this week's round up!  (Blowing kisses!)

It Gets Better

Edited by: The Sunday Best
As we head full on into the "holiday" season, with its unbridled consumerism, endless head-whacking charity pleas, and weird tie-ins, I expected the links list to be inundated with shopping guides. Instead, many dealt with what can only be considered harassment or, terribly, abuse; several looked at blogging as a cathartic experience, others as a rallying cry. I was lucky enough to be raised in an openly affectionate household with two strong female presences in my mother and sister, and this has undoubtedly affected my manner and attitudes as a married man. Since I can't go around changing men and society, no matter how cool that superpower would be, I offer this reminder, in what I believe is the spirit of the season (when that spirit is allowed to express itself unfettered): respect is the bare minimum we owe each other, and the bare minimum we should expect from others. Respect is not necessarily agreement, but it is always acknowledgment. For those who are struggling this season--financially, emotionally, physically--I can only echo the words of Tim Gunn, George Takei, and others when I say, "It gets better." Happy Holidays.

Links à la Mode: December 2

• Analogue Chic 1 step forward, ten steps back: Skinnygirl by Bethenny Frankel
• Be Fabulous Daily Women at work: An immodest proposal
• Crimson Rosella My safe haven
• Finding Tokyo Why Paris is no longer the fashion capital of the world
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: The Comment Challenge
• Melina Bee How to host your own clothing swap in five easy steps
• Mrs Bossa Friend Friday Guest Post: Size Matters
• My Heart Blogged Losing 40 lbs., and what I've learned
• Oranges and Apples An ethics code for bloggers
• Piewacket Hot off the press
• Statements in Fashion My Alex, My Dragonfly
• Style Eyes A fashion bloggers mini guide to psychology
• The Button Owl Control freak
• The Chic Curve From the author: "Fat Bitch"
• The Coveted Nicole de Carle: Subversive Architectural Lingerie
• The Demoiselles Can't stand the hate: Cutting Bridalplasty down to size
• The Elegant Bohemian The sisterhood
• The Laugh Slut Giving thanks
• The Sunday Best Give him scotch
• Vogue Vintage The future of fashion blogging
• Wearabout Streets on the runway

SPONSOR:
Shopbop Swimwear: Bikinis by: Tibi, Rosa Cha, Clout, DVF, Red Carter, Thayer, http://www.shopbop.com/spanx/br/v=1/2534374302167112.htm?all">Spanx, http://www.shopbop.com/cosabella/br/v=1/2534374302023729.htm?all">Cosabella, & Shoshanna

Friend Friday: Blog Burnout? or Turning Up the Heat?

 

As I’ve cut back on some of my blogging so that I can actually pay attention to the live people in my life, this FF topic was really timely for me.  Katy at Modly Chic, mentioned that Fashion Butter has closed her blog and that’s the inspiration behind these questions.  So, here are my answers and I’m REALLY curious to read everyone else’s.

1. How many hours a week do you spend blogging? Has that number
changed since you started blogging?

Now, I probably spend about 12 hours a week blogging and reading blogs.  I think that actually, that number has probably come down.  I find myself really reading a ton of blogs, which in turn sometimes makes me be over critical of mine. 

2. There is always more you can do, write, read, comment on... how do
you limit your time spent on these tasks?

Well, that’s been an issue.  Sometimes when my Sweet Baby comes in and says, “Okay schnoogie boo, time to put the computer away”  I would love to comment on more, but I just don’t have time to do it all and I want to be sincere in my commenting, not just using comments to promote myself.

3. Have you experienced Blogger burnout yet? How have you dealt with
that?

Actually, it’s starting to feel it now a bit.  I love the people I’ve met and I’m inspired by blogs I’ve seen.  But I’ve found myself being too critical of myself.  Sometimes I’m stressing over what I’m going to wear because I know I’m going to take a picture.  Also, I really don’t want to live my life for my blog…..I want to make sure I’m just using the blog to document how I live my life.  I think it’s the difference between a cheesy Olan Mills staged shot and a candid snapshot.  The candid snapshots always look better!

4. This time of the year is always a lot busier than any other time.
Will your blogging change as a result?

Probably, when my oldest sons come home from college to visit, I’ll want to spend more time with them.

5. Could you forsee a moment in which you are not blogging anymore?
How would you you identify that it's time to walk away?

I think like many, you start out with the purest of intentions, but then something that was started for fun, begins to be a stress.  I’m not looking for more responsibilities in my life.  I’m adding fun and joy.  So I think that answers the second part of this, when it becomes more of a chore and feels like a responsibility rather than a hobby, I’ll walk away.  A great thing though, is that while on day I may walk away from the blogging, I don’t have to walk away from the friends I’ve made! 

Can you hear my dress?

 

I know, right?  This dress is really loud.  I mean ear piercing, turn the volume down…no make that “hit mute” LOUD.  And I LOVE IT!  I thrifted this at a local store and it’s vintage Doncaster Tanner.  I reworked it a bit; it had a thin elastic waist that I ripped out and took off about (you know what I’m going to say) 6 inches.  I got more compliments on how I look than my dress which tells me, maybe color looks good on me.  But at the end of the day, I really try not to care what someone thinks about what I’m wearing.  If I feel great in it and it’s not inappropriate, isn’t that all that matters?

Under the heading of self discovery, I’ve been perusing a TON of blogs lately.  Something common I see are colored tights.  They look fabulous on everyone and I’ve been hot to hop on the bandwagon.  I even wore purple tights (here) a few days ago with a vintage dress.  I have discovered that I don’t like colored tights (neutrals, yes and maybe a deep maroon every now and then, but not COLORS) on me.  I really really don’t.  I feel goofy.  I just don’t feel like ME.  I see them everywhere and they’re fabulous, but on me, I feel clownish.  I know, here’s where you say, “C’mon Serene. Seriously?  You can wear that loud clown dress and not feel like ridiculous but you can’t put a pair of colored tights on?  Reallllllllly?”  What can I say?  I’m very complicated!

 

My dress wanted me to play an ode to the 80s and this song does make me smile!

The Sisterhood

 

 

I like to think of all women as belonging  to one big sisterhood.  If you’re of the female persuasion, you belong to the sisterhood.  What I love to imagine is that the sisterhood is not catty or jealous.  In the sisterhood, every woman is so secure in her uniqueness that she doesn’t even feel the need to compare herself to other women and judge herself by other women.  The sisterhood welcomes all women. There’s no initiation, no test to pass.  There’s no rule book that is held over our heads.   The sisters encourage each other and revel in each other’s accomplishments.  Sisters delight in the beauty of fellow sisters, they celebrate the individuality of each of our sisters.  Older sisters are revered and honored by the younger, because we realize they’ve lived longer, they’ve walked paths similar to ours and come out stronger, wiser and with their joys written on their faces.

In the sisterhood, we are always team female!  When a sister has fallen, gone off course or forgotten that she is a part of a wonderful and awesome group that has existed since Eve, we rally her back.  No man on this planet could ever be unfaithful to one of our sisters if sisters everywhere stood together and declared to every man with a roving eye, “Don’t even tarry here, just move on.  I WILL NOT BETRAY MY SISTER.  No matter what you offer, no matter what you promise, no matter the flattery that you toss my way; I will be true to my sister.”  Sisters teach their sons to respect and revere women; to treat them with the respect that is due them.  We teach our daughters to love their sisters and to be in awe of this wonderful family of females.  We also teach our daughters to cherish and honor the men in their lives.  We’re not man haters.  In fact the sisterhood celebrates the brotherhood by respecting men and their differences; appreciating the necessity for the masculine as well as the feminine.

As women, creativity is part of our nature.  We build homes out of houses.  We take a group of strangers and make them a family.   We see the beauty in the most mundane objects and help others to see the beauty and wonder in the world around.    We bring civility to a rushed society.  We remind the world that compassion and love reigns.  We love all the pretties that this life brings, but the true pretty, the purest beauty is inside of us.  We are women and we delight in each other and in our lives.  We are The Sisterhood.

Blouse: Vintage, thrifted
Skirt: Cynthia Steffe, thrifted
Boots: Thrifted

THIS is why I Vintage!

 

 

I actually could have entitled this, “Why I love thrifting” but after my little haul this weekend, I’m saving that for another post.  So, this is why I love vintage.  Vintage clothes have a history.  They’ve lived before, loved before and in most cases probably made some woman (or cross dresser) very happy!  I love that I get to share that.  I know that there’s a very environmentally conscious side to thrifting and vintaging – the whole downplaying consumerism and decreasing the demand for NEW all the time.  But for me, it’s an appreciation of history….a continuity in beauty.  What was beautiful 20, 30 or more years ago is still just as beautiful today; the passage of time not diminishing it’s charm.  Aren’t women the same way?  Time has seasoned us and hopefully as we age, our beauty is more unique and more evident. 

When I put this lovely dress on today, I couldn’t help but wonder if the original owner was as in love with all the details and the print as I am.  Did she feel as pretty as I did when she wore it?  Is she even still alive?  Wherever she is, maybe we’re both a little connected through this dress that we both were drawn to.  After all, we’re all a part of the “sisterhood”, right?

Dress:   Vintage, Thrifted

Boots:  Had for about 20 years!

Necklace:  Vintage, Thrifted

Slip: (unseen)  Vintage Vanity Fair

Ms Blige has gotten me through some times! And this song in particular was my anthem at one time. Enjoy and really listen to the words.