Recently Aquired

     
            Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I got a new to me computer and have not been able to find the disk for my camera's software and have been a bit lazy to use the other computer to post. But, I will definitely post my new year's outfit and blog more in the new year.  I haven't really acquired much fashion-y things lately. I've been waiting for after Christmas sales, been trying to save money and haven't been to many thrift stores. Anyway I figured I'd give an update on the things I've recently bought/ received for Christmas.
1. In November after lusting after this Asos dress for a while, I finally caved and bought it as a birthday present to myself. It had been sold out in my size for a while so when it came back in stock, in my size and on a weekend when they had a 20% off coupon code I just couldn't resist.  It's sparkly and fun and I'm totally in love with it.
2. If you haven't noticed I'm going through kind of a Cleopatra phase, which basically means I'm obsessed with statement jewelry and simple solid colored dresses. When I saw this necklace on A Beautiful Mess, it was just too perfect. Very Cleopatra. But, it's a bit pricey so I asked for it for Christmas and I got it! It's definitely my favorite gift this year and I'll be working it into an outfit post soon.
3. As you know my mission this fall was to find knee high boots. While I'm still in search for more lovely boots I finally made a purchase earlier this month. I found these boots on Payless.com while casually surfing and immediately liked the style and price. I haven't been able to wear them much, the pitfalls of a work uniform, but you'll definitely be seeing them soon.
4. I finally caved and bought the Nasty Gal draped across dress. I ended up getting it in Melon, which wasn't my first or second choice but the only color I liked left in my size. I'm still not 100% on the color but it's pushing me outside of my color comfort zone and it's growing on me. I do, though, love the cut of the dress and was pleased to find that the deep V doesn't drape as deeply as shown in the above picture.  It'll be fabulous in the summer and I'll try to figure out a way to wear it in the winter as well.
5. This summer I became obsessed with Melody Ehsani Jewelry when browsing the jewelry section on Karmaloop. These earrings were available in the summer but by the time I got any money they were out of stock. Luckily the designer has them for sale on her personal site.  I asked for them (in gold) for christmas and got them. They're huge but super cool and totally go with my Cleopatra phase, I mean they have king tut on them!

Anyway I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or just a good December 25th. I probably won't be posting until the New Year so I hope you have a fun New Year's Eve and I'll be back January 1st, 2012 with a new outfit post!

Dress Like an Egyptian

            While trying to figure out a Halloween costume this year the idea of being Cleopatra dawned on me. I've been slightly obsessed with ancient Egypt for practically ever and somehow managed never to dress up as Cleopatra for Halloween. This probably has something to do with the fact that I've never been that big a fan of Cleopatra. My favorite Egyptian Pharaoh has always been Hatshepsut , because let's face it she was a bad ass. But, Shakespeare never wrote a play about her and no one made a movie about her badassery so though I could (and may at some point) dress up as her I have to imagine most people wouldn't get it. So when contemplating my possible Cleopatra costume I didn't want it to be the run of the mill Halloween store costume, I wanted to be Cleopatra a-la Elizabeth Taylor. Why the Liz Taylor Cleopatra? Well it's all the ancient Egyptian makeup, hair and jewelry you could ever want with amazing ancient Egypt meets the 50's/60's fashion, behold:

Alas putting the ultimate Liz Taylor as Cleopatra costume of my dreams just wasn't in my budget, so next year I'll totally be Cleopatra. In the meantime I've been inspired to work some of Cleo's style into my everyday rotation. So, I've been obsessing over gold jewelry, especially collar necklaces, and 50's/60's style knit and Grecian dresses. So far these are my favorites:

Cleopatra Comin' atcha by cleopatrajonez featuring a metal necklace

And since I can't get this song out of my head whenever I think of the name Cleopatra here's a little late 90's throwback.

Minnie Mouse NOT Mickey!

Dress: Thrifted  Ears & Gloves: Spirit  Tights & Belt: Target  Socks: Walmart  Shoes: Mom's from estate sale  Bow: old shirt 

           I've always loved Halloween, it's my mom's favorite holiday so it was always a big deal around my house as a kid. I always had a costume and some of my past favorites include: the yellow power ranger, princess Jazmin, a hippie, a witch, a genie and Velma from Scooby Doo. This year I was thinking of being a 70's disco diva but since I didn't want to rack up debt for a costume I decided to go with a costume I could build a little more economically. I got this dress at the thrift sore earlier this year and really like it. It's handmade and I feel a little Minnie mouse every time I wear it, so I decided to go one step further and actually be Minnie mouse. I only had to buy ears, gloves and socks. Ironically I went to work Saturday and the "real" Minnie mouse was there posing with kids, it was fate. I had to work so I didn't meet Minnie but it was funny to see her. I'm not much into the "sexy" Halloween costumes I can see it if you're costume is Bettie Boop or a prostitute but sexy nemo, really? I just want to know who said "jee i'd really like to be sexy nemo but there's no costume!" I don't have anything against people that are into the sexy thing It's just not me. Anyway, I didn't really do anything for Halloween I handed out candy and watched Paranormal Activity (the first one). I didn't find Paranormal Activity very scary and thought the ending was totally just, I got distracted from the bumps in the night by the boyfriends doucheyness.

           Anyway I did end up getting a job, it's a seasonal job at the mall, but it could turn into a longer term job and I'm just happy to be making some money even though I may be re-unemployed in mid January. Anyway I have been wearing some cute things but haven't gotten around to posting them. I'll also make a post about some new things I'll be buying now that I'm making some money. Anyway hope you had a fabulous Halloween! And, if you celebrate, have a great Día de los Muertos/ All Saints day!

Current Obsession: H&M

H&M fall 2011 by cleopatrajonez featuring a puff sleeve dress

          

Though I like H&M in theory I've never really had the greatest luck there. I see a ton of bloggers in their clothes and they look great but whenever I get to the store they're either out of the things I want in my size or I'm just not into what I have enough to buy it. Add on to that the fact that all their stores in my metro area are in malls, places I haven't visited frequently since early high school, and H&M is more of a hit and miss for me. Recently though I came upon their website and it was a little different. Last year H&M started having online shopping in Europe and now it looks as if they're allowing it for the US too. This is especially exciting since now I may have a better chance of finding things in my size and I can look and buy their clothes with out making a trip to the mall. Online shopping isn't really up, at least in my "area", but the site is set up for it and a buy button can't be too far off. Anyway while on the site I was browsing they're pecies and have fallen in love with quite a few of them, especially the dresses. My favorites are probably the red dress, deer sweater and orange wrap dress. I'm still very broke but if I get some money and am at the mall anytime soon I'll definitely be trying those things on and possibly buying.
        

So long, Farwell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good night ... a recap of the skirt-a-day challenge!

Day 10: Copy Cat

Bowling Shirt: Vintage  Skirt: love 21(forever 21)  Shoes: DSW  Bag: market in Ecuador Earrings: thrift

             And so we meet the last day of the skirt challenge. I'm excited. I have to say I'm glad I took the challenge, it made me really think about the skirts in my wardrobe and how to style them, but I'm also glad it's over. Now I can post pants and dresses!! Get ready. Anyway I had a hard time thinking of an icon/designer look I wanted to copy. But this morning when I woke up, at a ridiculously early hour, I suddenly had it, Enid from Ghost World! I've loved the movie Ghost World since I first watched it in middle school and have even read one of the comic the story is based on. While watching it I totally fell in love with Enid. Not only is she a busty four-eyes but she's funny, sarcastic and had a great sense of style. I was totally in love with everything Enid especially her clothes and room decor. When it comes to style icons most of mine have pretty edgy/funky style. I'd say my style is classic with a little bit of funk, so I always look to celebrities and other style icons with funky/edgier taste to get ideas on how to incorporate their look into mine. I think Enid's look has three basic qualities: Vintage, color and pattern. Her style is an eclectic mix of 70's punk and 60's mod that I'm just in love with and is reasonably on trend. Peter pan collars, plaid, leather jackets, skinny jeans, funky t-shirts, docs and mod inspired clothing are all things you can pick up in almost any retail or thrift store right now.

Enid's different looks from the movie

             So when I decided to choose Enid as my style icon I googled her to check out some of the outfits from the movie. I found the pictures I was looking for but I also found out that British designer Luella did a spring/summer 2008 collection of Enid inspired clothes. I checked out the runway show online and was even more inspired! I definitely have at least 3 Enid inspired looks besides this one that I'll be posting soon. I think one of the great things about Enid's style is the incorporation of t-shirts. As my style has evolved I've found it harder to incorporate crew neck t-shirts into my wardrobe stylishly. As someone whose pretty busty and has a rather short neck I tend to veer away from them, but I have a ton of cool crew neck t-shirts that I've gotten from school etc. that I'd love to incorporate into my wardrobe. Luckily Enid is an avid fan of the crew neck t-shirt and gives totally amazing inspiration on how to rock a crew neck.

Some of my favorite looks from Luella's SS 2008 Enid inspired collection.

          On to the outfit! Enid wears a lot of cool graphic skirts, like the green one on the movie poster, but I don't really have any that compare. Instead of copying Enid's style I went with an outfit inspired by it. To me a main component of Enid style is vintage. A year or so ago I found this vintage bowling shirt in a pile of my mom's vintage clothes. I knew it was cool but I didn't really know how to style it. Then today I knew Enid's style would work effortlessly with this top. In my dream world I would have paired it with a more graphic printed skirt, maybe something in a plaid, but I don't have any plaid skirts so I opted for this magenta skirt that appeals to Enid's use of bright colors.  If I went 100% Enid on this outfit I would have added my leather Jacked and Docs but it's was an unseasonably hot day, 70 degrees, and I haven't broken my Docs in yet. The last time I wore them it took them less than 10 minutes to tear apart my heels. Anyway when the weather cools off I'll definitely do more Enid inspired looks and post them here. In the mean time I'll be looking for more cool t-shirts, patterned skirts, big nerdy glasses, mod inspired clothes and more vintage, to really amp up the Enid-spiration. Lastly here's a video of the opening to Ghost World, I can't get this song or there urge to dance around to it out of my mind!

Day 9: To the beach

          

Dress, leggings and Belt: Target   Shoes:DSW  Cardigan: Vintage

      OK so I have to admit i've been stalling on this one for awhile. Partly because I don't go the beach much and partly because it's Fall and dressing like i'm going to the beach sounds cold. So this outfit is more what i'd wear to the beach today, October 1, 2011. I'm also cheating a little since technically this is a dress and not a skirt. But, it's dress that's made to look like a skirt, I have a belt and cardigan on so it looks more like seperates and finally if I was going to the beach i'd probably wear a dress anyway so I would only have to deal with one item.
         I wore this dress to go check out an antique/vintage sale in north Minneapolis. The sale was cool, there were some pretty cool items and good prices but nothing, that I could afford, really grabbed me. There were these cool mid century 60's lamps that I really liked but they were $145.00 and though worth it a little too expensive for me. I took these pictures in my backyard in an attempt at getting better quality photos and better light. For some reason all the ones I liked are a little silly and all are at various locations in an attempt to find the best place with the best sun. I'll probably try and take more photos outside, weather permitting, since you can't beat that natural light.
           Anyway I got this dress two years ago at target after deciding I needed more dresses in my life. I'm pretty on the fence about the dress that looks like a skirt and top thing though. I like this dress but I think a lot of this style of dresses can look kind of cheap. I don't like the look of the elastic band so I always try to dress it up with a more interesting belt and generally when I look at these dresses I like the bottom more than the top and would rather they had just made the skirt. I suppose I could cut off the top but it just seems like such a waste. I do though like both the top and bottom to this dress. The top is a nice coral color and the fabric of the skirt reminds me of a dress I had in the 90's. The cropped camel cardigan is 100% cashmere and vintage. I'm totally in love with this cardigan. Not only is it extremely warm it's neutral so I can, and do , wear it with everything. Prepare to see this piece a lot because I like to add it to a lot of outfits in the Fall/winter months.
          So I still don't know what I'm gonna do for the last part of the skirt challenge but I'm gonna do some googling and hopefully have the final skirt challenge outfit for you tomorrow.

Junk Bonanza

          So as I mentioned two weeks ago I went to the Junk Bonanza, which we randomly heard about through my mom's co-worker. There were tons of vendors from all over the upper midwest and was full of cool stuff. Unfortunately I'm a bad blogger and didn't take any pictures while there, I'll try and work on that. Basically it had a flea market type set-up with lots of different vendors that, I believe, were all antique dealers. There was a lot of distressed shabby chic-esque furniture, which really isn't my thing, but there were also a lot of other cool stuff including mid century and art deco items. A lot of the stuff was a bit too pricey for us but we did get a lot of cool ideas for using vintage items in different ways, refurbishing old furniture and checked out some really cool antiques. Aside from what we bought there was a really cool old dental cabinet that looked exactly like this, it had tons of little drawers with cool ceramic organizers. It was $2100.00,  a little out of our price range, but it was really really cool and while drooling over it we thought of a million cool ways to use it. We're seriously still drooling over it, maybe one day I'll have the money to get one. Antique dental cabinets, who knew?

        Ultimately we did end up buying some stuff including two really cool atomic 50's lamps, a 20's metal cabinet and a pin-up photo. I love 50's and 60's era stuff and I've sorta started collecting 50's and 60's lamps. A couple years ago I stumbled upon two retro 50's atomic lamps and fell in love. Now I'm sort of obsessed. I'm always on the look out for cool 50's and 60's lamps at garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores and any antique stores. So far I've only found ones that really appeal to me at antique stores and estate sales, which depending on the pricing at the store/sale can be a good or bad thing. All in all it was a pretty cool experience and we'll definitely be back next year.

20's Cabinet:

Cabinet closed with 20's vignette (picture, bowl and lamp) that my mom styled. 

close up of vignette

cute feet

50's Lamps:

ceramic deer in vessel. I think they look like they're at a Drive in movie, but maybe that's just me.

ceramic cat I bought recently in hopes it would bring me some job luck, jury's still out on whether it'll actually help.

close up of lamp trim

lamp base

Pin Up (possibly NSFW):

Black woman pin up

And finally I thought I'd introduce my other cat Diamond. When I was taking the above pictures she was sunbathing on the floor so I snapped a few pictures of her.