Stardust | BBRBF Book Club + Outfit

Welcome to January's edition of the BBRBF Book Club. This month we read Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I was really excited about this month's choice because I absolutely adore the movie and Neil Gaiman is always a good time. If you haven't heard of Stardust the summary from GoodReads.com is below.

From GoodReads.com:

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a remarkable quest into the dark and miraculous—in pursuit of love and the utterly impossible.

The book had a lot of similar elements to the movie that I enjoyed. The world Neil Gaiman has built is this wonderful left of center fantasy world that uses iconic fairy tale elements mixed in with grown up wit and satire. It's a quirky combination which leads to a totally unique fairy tale experience and while I immensely enjoyed the world, the actually story was a bit flat for me. Tristan always just seemed like a bit of a childish fool who never develops much as a character and I never actually felt Tristan and Yvaine, the spirited and caring fallen star, fall in love. It was almost like Yvaine fell in love with him purely because he was in the proximity of her.  Problems like this don't seem to bother me in movies, but when reading a book I need to feel the love not just know of it's existence. That's what makes reading a book the better experience.

I do see a lot of merit in this book and I'm glad I read it. But, it's not a show stopper. It's just pleasant. 

Obviously I had to wear my star print dress in honor of Yvaine, but I have worn it several times on the blog and wanted to put a new spin on it. I chose to take inspiration from the witches and add some dark fairy tale vibes with my mesh corset from Orchard Corset. I love how drama it adds to wear a corset over any outfit and I always feel like a vampy villain when I'm rocking mine.

Make sure to check out all the BBRBF babes and their reveiws of Stardust.

Circle Skits & Petticoats

The Eyre Effect

In a Nutshell,

The Miss Information Blog

Wrap Dress and a Fur | Outfit

I've heard that when one feels anxious about life it is common to make drastic changes to hair to create some illusion of control. As I have never been able to do more with my hair than just feed and pet the beast and hope it behaves well enough, I don't do much experimentation with it. Once I find something that works I'm always so afraid of making it angry again. But, when it comes to style of dress, my experiments run a little wild and certainly make a plaything of the idea of cohesion. It occurs to me that crafting a new style, not yet accomplished, is my way of recapturing control of my life. 

I feel adrift; tipping off the precipice of great change. While I go free falling into a life that has very little do with the life I carefully crafted for myself, my immediate reflex is to fling my arms out and grab onto a style that exudes strength, grace, and attitude like rambling branches sticking from the cliff face. It's meager and the likelihood of it saving me is slim. Yet, what else is a falling person supposed to do besides cling to the tiny things within one's reach?

Dresses and shoes...fur and velvet do nothing to help my situation, but when put together in the right combination, black floral wrap dresses with daring bits of exposed skin, boots that ride high on the legs, and furs that drape like cats give me tiny reminders all day long. I am strong, I am spirited, I am worthy, and I do not allow others to dim my light.

Dresses that wrap around my body with care and furs that draw attention are small gestures and yet they are just a mere representation of the power that exists within me.

In this interim of life, I feel myself throwing down the happier, more innocent elements of style that have marked the last few years. Bright colors, sweet prints, girlish details are all falling away like dead skin to reveal something darker and more brazen. Something that combines the tawdry and the elegant in an apologetic way.

I've taken to stalking new style crushes on Instagram, (spookyfatbabe, jaglever, margotmeanie, etc) and my brain is working through ways to combine the dark elegance and glamour of Dita, the witchy vibes of Stevie, and the trashy, vintage, rock n' roll quality of rockabilly girls.

You can see my newest style inspirations on this Pinterest board riiiiiight here.

This outfit has a lot of Dita flavor in the classic style of the wrap dress and the dramatic fur stole. I can tell you all right now, prepare yourselves for a lot of black floral dresses because that is the epitome of my current mood. In fact, prepare yourselves for a lot of black. Black is my friend. Black is coming.

This Eshakti dress is going to get a lot on the body time because it possesses so many elements that I am looking for in my clothing. The wrap dress style is one of the best items a woman can own. It hugs and floats in subtly sexy, magical ways to extenuate the female form. And while this is a delicate and floaty crepe fabric, the dress is fully lined which will allow it to stand up to the viciously cold Wisconsin winters.

And this faux fur stole from Torrid? Can I sleep in it, guys? I'm going to be throwing this on top of everything because I need a little extra diva in my life right now. Nothing puts some sass in my step like wearing something outrageous with a smile and "so, what?" attitude.

So, loves, tell me in the comments, what major fashion changes have you made recently and why?

Dress: Eshakti | Stole: Torrid | Tights: Target (similar in plus) | Boots: Charlotte Russe (similar in wide calf) | Lips: Colourpop's Liquid Lipstick in Tulle

Merry Christmas! | Novelty Print Skirt and Faux Fur

Merry Christmas world! I hope you are finding your day full of love and support. I hope you have found peace from the chaos of the retail world. I hope you find grace and goodness in the warmth of you're loved ones. Also, I hope none of your presents bomb and your outfit is on point. 

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It's always good to have the grind of the Christmas season wind down. It feels amazing to be able to put on your favorite festive outfit, be it fuzzy leggings and novelty sweaters or fun and fancy pin up reproductions. That's your key to get a drink and kick back to enjoy the spoils of your labor. 

I splurged on this Hell Bunny skirt last Christmas and I can't even begin to count the times I have worn it since. It's the perfect novelty print to morph for any season and I'm loving the pin up vibes with my first attempt at bumper bangs. The bangs are just the perfect amount of pin up sass to add to the sweetness and the novelty of the Hell Bunny print as I can feel my style subtly changing to include darker, edgier elements. 

It's entirely possible I will be buried in this skirt because I adore it and it could probably be appropriate for a funeral too.

And let me just say, I truly hope your Christmas outfit includes some fur somewhere. I poached this faux fur collar off a printed wrap that just didn't thrill me anymore and I've been wearing it every day since. It's so easy and cozy just to throw on like a scarf. I know exactly how I'm going to surviving this winter; wrapped in dramatic furs and dosed in red lipstick because yum.

Shirt: (dress worn as a shirt) Kohls | Skirt: Modcloth | Shoes: Modcloth | Socks: Sock Dreams | Belt: Target | Fur Stole: Target | Scarf: Thrifted | Lips: Nyx's Liquid Suede Lip Cream in Kitten Heels

Plaid Skirt and Yellow Tights | Outfit + Real Talk

In all my time on this earth, I have learned one thing; life is fragile and everything can change in an instant. You'll be walking down your path holding your basket of goodies, your jams, your muffins, and your sweet fruit, and out of no where you'll trip on a log and come crashing down. Throwing all your goodies up and away forever. 

And sometimes that's ok. Sometimes the fruit was going bad and the muffins were stale and you're better off with an empty basket. But, it doesn't change that having a full basket one moment and an empty one the next is a cataclysmic shift in your universe. 

Empty. All you had planned. Empty. All you knew. Empty.

It might take some time to get back up, grab your basket, and move on from your fall, but you will persevere. You will find new treats to fill your basket. Maybe entirely different treats than you had before and you'll learn something entirely new about yourself. Maybe you'll lose those treats too and have to start all over again because that's life and it happens.

But, no matter what, you can get back up and you can move forward as many times as you might need because that's what it is to be human and we are as enduring as life is fragile.

I have been absent for a while because I have experienced one of those cataclysmic shifts and it has required my full attention to pick up the basket. All I want to say for now is that everyone is healthy and safe and it's for the best. One of the fruits that was thrown from my basic was the ability to easily take blog photos. So, if the next few months are not as creative as the past, just know that I will always be working towards bettering this space. I may have hit an obstacle, but I will endure and edit and re-work until I get it right because I need to put this fruit back into my basket.

Let me know in the comments your best coping strategies for those moments when life leaves you hanging because I could use a few ideas.

Shirt: Modcloth (similar) | Skirt: Thrifted (similar) | Belt: Torrid (similar) | Tights: We Love Colors | Shoes: Thrifted (similar) | Lips: Colourpop's Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Bumble

Witchy Woman | Outfit

This is the dress that consumed my life for weeks and weeks. Last fall when the Through the Bluebells Dress first popped up on Modcloth, I didn't get it. It had all the elements of boho or hippie chic that isn't my particular brand of style. I had no vision! But, after seeing it on several girls with similar body shapes to mine I was starting to see the magic. And if I can be frank for a moment, it was the boobs. Big boobs look incredible in that dress. Then someone said it made her feel like Florence + the Machine and I immediately got the fever. My view of the dress instantly changed and I could see perfectly how, in the right context, boho chic can cross over from hippie to witchy with a little sprinkle of Florence Welsh and a dash of Stevie Nicks.

Unfortunately for me, apparantly everyone else felt the fever too because it was no where to be found on Ebay, Poshmark, or Facebook BST's. I even had some wonderful friends on the hunt for me, but sadly it just wasn't going to happen and any similar dress was a pale comparison to the drama and the fit of the mythical Through the Bluebells.

Then the gods of love and fashion bestowed this sewing pattern upon me. It needed some modification, but it had the extreme bell sleeves and even the extra ruffle of flounce at the bottom just like the Bluebells dress. I felt confidant in my ability to switch out the bodice and waistband for something closer to the origianl inspiration and rayon fabric with a colorful floral print on a black background was easy enough to find. Everything was going so well!

But, alas, that time of innocence could not last. I was confidant, but I should not have been. Modifying the dress left gaps in the pattern that I did not have knowledge to fill and I had to go back to my former style of sewing that involves sewing with one eye open because I have no idea what's coming out the other end and I'm afraid to find out. I was simply not prepared for the slippery, slide-y, shifty beast that is rayon. There are so many problems with this dress (mostly hidden) because this liquid fabric was a whole new concept to my cotton loving self.

I toiled away for days and days. I sewed seams and then I ripped them back out again. I cut out new pieces after working the old ones to death. I cursed at Glinda, my sewing machine, and then kissed and caressed her to calm her down again.

It was, no doubt, an adventure. The outcome and my oath to not touch rayon again for a very long time made all the time and work a satisfying experience because yes, I absolutely feel Florence and Stevie walking with me in this stunning dress.

I feel so accomplished being able to hang another dream dress in my closet knowing that this one was crafted by my own hand. Now, if only I could find the perfect velvet, fringed shawl...

Tell me in the comments if you've ever dramatically changed your mind on a style of clothing and how you made it fit for you!

Dress: made by me (pattern, fabric, similar dress in straight sizes, similar dress in plus) | Tights: We Love Colors | Boots: Thrifted (similar) | Hat: Target (similar) | Lips: Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Tulle

Frankenstein | BBRBF Book Club + Outfit

Welcome to the October edition of BBRBF Book Club! This month we made a collaborative choice to read the classic Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

From GoodReads.com:

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

The story begins with the captain of a ship writing to his sister about the extraordinary events that occur in the unlikely icy sea in which they are travelling. They spot a creature of giant proportions dashing along the ice on a sleigh and the next day they find a man almost dead from exposure. They pull him aboard and as he opens up to the captain about the circumstances that brought him here, the tale of Frankenstein unfolds.

I was immediately drawn in by the language. As a Gothic novel, I didn't expect anything less, but the cadence and the darkly haunting tone throughout set the stage well for the tragedy that was about to happen. I found myself unconsciously mimicking the old fashioned, poetic style while I was reading the book which is common for me. Does anyone else do that? It's really embarrassing when I'm reading Shakespeare and start trying to add "eth" to everything.

The story is fairly common knowledge. Frankenstein harnesses the power of science to reanimate a creature composed of pieces of corpses and when the creature is set upon the world he finds nothing but violence and hatred aimed at him. What I didn't know is that almost every iconic image I have in my mind, from the movie, does not exist in the source material. There's no Igor. There's no dramatic scene in the lab where Frankenstein hoists the monster to the heavens to shock life into him with lightening. The monster is no ungainly, lumbering beast who becomes a rage filled animal at the sight of fire. He is actually quite eloquent and sensitive and a very nuanced and moving character.

Throughout the book Frankenstein is described as a wonderful being who is all the goodness of man, but I often found him to have more flaws than the monster. His ambition drove him to extremes, but he was too weak to be responsible for the product of his fiendish drive and pays the price for his wrong doings accordingly. He actually brought the monster to life and was so repulsed by it that he just went to bed to wallow in his unhappiness. When he discovers that the creature is gone he doesn't even seem to question what has become of it.

There were so many times with Frankenstein that I had to just stop and say, "what did you think was going to happen there?" Especially when he refuses to comply to the monster's request and then seems shocked when the monster follows through on his revenge. I even had a few good chuckles at the sweeping, dramatic physical illnesses that he would succumb to over emotional turmoil. I didn't judge the book by this characteristic because it's not something that is relatable in modern times, but I couldn't help but saying, "that's not how this works. That's not how any of this works!"

But, oh my. The highlight of the whole book, for me, was the monster's story. I felt swept up in his simple tale of the poor family that he shadows and I felt all of his grief and shame as each attempt he makes to find friendship and companionship becomes an episode of violence and prejudice for the monster's countenance. I hurt for him.

I have been carrying the final scene with me since I read the last page. It was chilling and terrible and I lamented deeply the fall of such a good and innocent creature. I lamented the loss of so much life and potential in all of the characters that became victim to circumstances that had nothing to do with them. It's the kind of story that leaves a sad and hollow feeling in your soul for a long time.

My outfit was inspired by the dark and elegant tones used in the tale. The black and white is an homage to the classic movie and the beautiful lace detail reminds me of the era in which the book was written. And I won't lie. I felt some Bride of Frankenstein vibes with this for sure.

Be sure to check out all the other babes and their reviews of this Gothic pioneer of horror and science fiction.

Circle Skits & Petticoats

The Eyre Effect

In a Nutshell..,

The Miss Information Blog

Buffalo Plaid and Stripes | Outfit + Body Positivity

This outfit is breaking so many "don't do that!" rules. Don't wear horizontal stripes! Don't wear over-sized clothing! Don't wear short dresses! Don't wear tight dresses! Don't show any evidence of a body that hasn't been given the stamp of approval by the media and the masses. Don't have curves in the wrong places. Don't let anyone know you have a body that has indulged and lounged, worked hard, slept very little, slept a lot, fought battles with strength and fragility, and lived only by it's own rules.

If you did any of those things you might be showing yourself as too lazy to care how the mechanics of your body affect others. You might be revealing yourself as too undisciplined to try to garner the amorous attention of every person you come into contact with. How are you ever going to be a pretty object for someone else's benefit if you don't start acting like one?

But even when it can leave me feeling exposed and vulnerable, to brashly defy the expectations that have creeped in and overtaken the minds of so many people, that is just not what I want to spread around. I don't want the standards that I pass on to my kids to be perfection or nothing. I don't won't to hide the honesty of myself.

Maybe. Just maybe I will be able to raise kids who see life as something to experience and not an experience to be worthy for. I also hope that I can prevent the hard edge of criticism from forming in their brains and retain the kindness that doesn't require people to check off a list of desirable attributes before they are granted respect, acknowledgement, or even eye contact.

Appearances, theirs or others, are not something that concerned them while they were running around picking pumpkins, getting dirty, acting goofy. They only followed a natural proclivity for joy. Wouldn't it be amazing to always see life that way? Joy has no standards. So, if it fills you with joy to run around a pumpkin patch in a short, tight dress with horizontal stripes, please, don't be afraid to be that bright spot of defiance - that agent of joy.

Dress: JCPenney's (similar, similar in straight sizes, similar, similar, similar in plus) | Shirt: Borrowed from my husband but originally from JCPenney (similar) | Socks: Sockdreams | Boots: Modcloth (similar)