Plant Lady (Eloquii Review)

I have an infamously black thumb. Plants and I do not get along, no matter how much I might admire the plant lady/jungalow aesthetic. But luckily printed plants can never die, so through my wardrobe I can live out some of my botanical desires. While I was out shooting my Unique Vintage x Barbie pieces with Kaitlin last week, I couldn’t resist bringing my new Eloquii dress along to join in the fun! We took a walk along the river and even stopped for some playtime at the swing park…

come into my boudoir | shoot with cayan ashley photography

I thought a long time about deciding to do my first boudoir shot, so I suppose it should be no surprise that I also took a while to think about what I wanted to say and share about the experience.  (Warning: this post obviously contains boudoir-style photos. There’s nothing exposed that you wouldn’t see in a swimsuit, but they are of a sensual nature. If you’re related to me or would otherwise find this uncomfortable, I won’t be offended if you skip this one!)

transition your wardrobe like a boss | summer to fall

The leaves are changing, the temperatures dropping…it’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers! Where I live, it can feel like it’s summer one day and fall the next, which makes it difficult to know what to wear. Thus: the transitional wardrobe!

Today I’m sharing my best tips for transitions your wardrobe from summer to fall. These simple adjustments will let you stay stylish as the seasons change.

society plus makena skirt review

I was already pretty excited when my dear friend Kaitlin invited me out to dinner for my birthday…when she casually added that she’d be borrowing a fancy camera, if I wanted to take some photos, you know I was all in! It was the perfect opportunity to show off a great new skirt from Society+.

business glam ootd (& society+ tutu review)

It’s been a really long time since I shared a straight-up outfit of the day post! If you follow my Instagram, you’ve been seeing my outfits, but I don’t usually chat too much about the look itself (I’m much more into the sardonic quote + emoji caption…). I’ve been having a lot of fun putting together new looks this spring, but Wednesday was one of my very favorite outfits for a long time. And, based on the reaction from coworkers and event attendees, it was a big hit in general! How does a colorful pinup unicorn princess do “business professional”? FInd out after the jump!

my dia & co experience

This is a post I’ve been sitting on for a while because I just don’t really know how best to approach it? But if I was going back in time, I would want to read this, so here we go!

If you’re not familiar, Dia & Co is a personal styling service for plus size women. You fill out a style profile with your personal style and preferences, note what kind of clothes you’d like to receive, what your price range is, and a stylist will select five pieces for you to try. It costs $20 to order a box, but you can use that as a credit toward purchasing the items you want to keep. You’ll also receive a 20% discount if you decide to purchase all five. Anything you don’t like, you can send back in a prepaid envelope.

dressed in holiday style

When is it too late to talk about what you wore for Christmas? Oh, that’s right…never!

I’m (mostly) kidding (no I’m not), but I didn’t want to get too far into the year before sharing my holiday outfits.

my triumphant return to pants | PUG review

True life: I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn pants in the past year, and never (neverrr) to work. After years of dealing with trying to find jeans, dress pants, or even ponte pants that would fit properly and make me feel fabulous, I decided to say farewell to leg prisons for good. But there was one siren that still called to me…

Ultra. Wide. Legged. Trousers.

I drooled over photos of 1940s ladies in beautifully voluminous trousers. I wanted to feel that Katharine Hepburn vibe. But whenever I happened upon a pair of vintage-style wide-legged pants, they stopped short of my size. I wasn’t even sure they would look good on my anyway, and I had sworn off pants, after all.

Enter the Doris pants from Pinup Girl Clothing. They were beautiful. They were wide as all get out. They came in my size. But still, I was nervous. When I flew out to California for Dapper Day and made a stop at the PUG Boutique, I tried on a pair of Doris pants…I probably would have gone home with them, but I really needed one size up and they were totally out of stock. So Doris went back into the “someday” cardboard box of my mind. There were always (alwayyyys) more things to buy, and it was hard to pull the trigger on the pants.

But LO! I snatched up a pair for a hell of a steal in the Zulily sale, and here is where our review begins:

First off, these pants are very high quality. They are HEAVY; the fabric is so thick and soft, and they’re actually lined all the way down the leg, so they really do hang beautifully on the body. At 5’9″, these are the perfect (PERFECT) length on me. They curtain my feet without enveloping them and juuuust avoid brushing the ground when I walk. If you’re shorter, you’ll probably need these hemmed to the appropriate length.

I love the feeling of them swishing around my legs when I walk. I only had one minor incident going up stairs, but it’s entirely possible that was due to my own legendary grace & elegance and the pants were completely uninvolved. I feel like a tall, glamorous drink of water in these.

There is an elastic panel in the back, but I personally wouldn’t size down in these. The measurements for these put me in a 3X; I tried the 2X (my usual PUG size) at the boutique and while I was successful (eventually) at zipping them up, it definitely wasn’t comfortable. If, like me, you’re hoping to wear these to work and sit and eat and all those useful things, I would follow the size chart. Even as it is now, zipping them up can be a little bit of a struggle; it would help a lot to have a clip at the top to hold the halves together so that the zipper wasn’t constantly unzipping itself as you struggle.

Overall, are they worth the money? Definitely. Would I buy another pair? ……I dunno. Honestly, though I’m happy I made my return to the world of pants with these, I just don’t get enough use out of pants to want to spend over $100 on a single pair. They are totally worth the full price, but at that price, they don’t really make sense as a part of my closet. Am I absolutely beyond thrilled that I was able to get a pair for a great deal? YES!!! If another bonkers sale pops up, I would definitely pick up another pair or two. Brown was actually my third choice option for color, but since that’s what was in stock, that’s what I went with. I could definitely see myself rocking black or charcoal, given the opportunity. For now, I’m still investing the bulk of my fashion funds in skirts and dresses, but adding a pair of pants to my wardrobe has definitely upped the versatility of it. Crazy sales are definitely a great way to try something new; who knows – you just might like it!

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pinup staple: high-waisted thrills skirt

To follow up on my How to Dress Pinup in the Workplace post, I wanted to occasionally share some of the staple pieces in my working pinup wardrobe! First up: the high-waisted thrills skirt from Steady Clothing.

This skirt is the very definition of outfits made easy: pair it with any top or sweater and you’re good to go! Easy to dress up for work or dress down for play, it’s one of the most versatile pieces in my wardrobe. I currently own three: purple, teal, and a specialty skull overlay one that is no longer available.

A swing skirt, it isn’t as full as something like the Jenny, but as much as I love the poof, sometimes you want to go for a slightly sleeker silhouette. The fabric these skirts are made of is wonderful – it drapes beautifully and is just heavy enough to hang nicely without any underlayers. I’ve found it to be very resistant to wrinkles, which is definitely an important factor in any outfit choice!

These skirts are available directly from  Steady Clothing as well as under the name “Bugle Joy” on Modcloth. I try to keep an eye out for which site has the best coupon going and scoop one up. Now that I’m on my third, I’m definitely convinced that this is the everyday swing skirt for me, and I’ll hopefully be snapping up a few more colors during upcoming seasonal sales! (Though at $50.99, these are definitely very reasonably priced.)

The only major downside of the High Waisted Thrills skirt is the lack of pockets. *sad trombone* I definitely do miss them, but I also love the line of the skirt. Sometimes sacrifices must be made! It is, however, machine washable.

Sizing wise, I find the skirts to run  slightly on the snug side compared to other retro brands. There’s no stretch to the waistband, so make sure you’re very careful with your waist measure before ordering. I have skirts in both 2X and 3X; the 2X do fit, but I will probably order 3X going forward for comfort’s sake. The skirts close with a zipper and a button & tab on top; I certainly don’t mind just a zipper, but the addition of the button does add a nice finishing touch.

As you can tell, I’m especially taken with the purple skirt and have been wearing it a lot in my fall ensembles. A perfect swing skirt available in a wide variety of colors is definitely a must-have in any pinup wardrobe!

spooky style round-up

The Halloweekend has finally arrived! I already had a casual Hocus Pocus viewing with some fam & friends yesterday, but tonight’s the big night. I’m still working on some DIY parts of my costume, so knock on wood that it will all be ready in time! Meanwhile, I thought it would be fun to do a round up of all the spooky outfits I wore throughout October…I was really inspired by all the “31 Days of Halloween” gals to really step up my spooky style this year. I definitely didn’t hit 31 outfits, but I had so much fun showing off my Halloween spirit all month long (and…also in September! What can I say, I got an early start.)

September 21

I couldn’t wait to wear my Halloween Harlequin Jenny (review here), so my Halloween season kicked off just a little bit early this year…

September 24

If you got it, haunt it, baby! This pairing of florals & spook is pretty much my #aesthetic. Cute but spooky!

September 26

What goes better with a bat wall than bat wing sweater clips from Summer Blue Jewelry? (Review here.) This look was a little more low key as far as the Halloween vibes goes…

September 28

Luckily I fixed that by going FULL SPOOKY with this amazing Christmas skull sweater from Hell Bunny (review here).

September 29

Skulls and a stripey brooch…what more does a girl need?

October 1

I kicked off October with brunch with a friend…of course, I had to go in full Fannibal style.

October 3

Not quite so obviously spooky, but this outfit was my homage to The Shining (red + typewriter? Get it?)

October 7

The skull skirt is obviously a favorite. I paired it with the Gia top (review here) for my sister’s birthday dinner.

October 9

Casual ghost style for my part time job.

October 10

The Halloween Lantern skirt (review here) was definitely a big winner for me this season. I can’t even deal with how much I love Steph Buscema’s fabulous vintage-inspired Halloween print.

October 12

Preppy witch realness. These Hocus Pocus pins were a gift from my bestie – definitely jewels in my constantly growing pin collection!

October 13

Is there anything like spiderwebs and a vintage sweater? I wanted to be spooky and chic for a work event: mission accomplished! (Skirt review here.)

October 17

I’d seen a lot of gals on Instagram and Facebook wearing dresses like jumpers, and it was like a lightbulb going off! What an awesome way to make a whole new look from a dress.

October 18

I’ve been craving some poison apple accessories all season, and these collar clips from Femme de Bloom fit the bill perfectly.

October 24

After a brief break from spookiness for a work conference, I returned in full force with a skirt that matches my hair (a thing everyone needs) that I scooped up during the Modcloth Friends & Family sale. (If you’ve been wanting to check Modcloth out, they’re offering 20% off for new customers right now!)

October 25

I can already tell this mustard sweater is going to be an MVP for fall. It pairs great with the lantern skirt.

October 27

A gal’s gotta wear her spiderwebs! (Side note: I got so many compliments on my hair, which was pinned up because it was being a Real Pain. Ya never know!)

October 28

And, finally, for my last pre-Halloween spooky look, I achieved my true Pumpkin Queen form. I don’t usually wear a full crinoline to work since it’s kind of a pain to sit on all day, but it really did make me feel like prettiest witch on the block. Pumpkin necklace & clips are from Femme de Bloom.

PHEW. What a wild ride! This October was definitely the most fun one I’ve ever had, and it was all thanks to the wonderful community of lovely & enthusiastic ladies who always inspired me to try new outfits, do new crafts, and pick up JUST ONE MORE pumpkin to put around my house. Happy Halloween, ghouls! I can’t wait to see your costumes and share mine with you!