An ongoing love affaire with all things fashionable, tasty and fun

Posts tagged “Gatsby

Shenanigans

As I’m sure you’ve already picked up, I’m a big fan of Fall in general and Halloween in particular {Fall Fabulousness, All Hallow’s Eve & October Round-Up}. This year I was lucky enough to attend two fabulous Halloween parties in Sacramento as well as act as American River CrossFit’s team photograph for CrossFit West Sac’s charity Breast Cancer competition.

This year I was excited to dress up twice, the first time as Wendy from Peter Pan in a vintage yellow nightgown and the second time as The Black Dahlia in a fabulous little black dress that my friend made.

But don’t worry, I’m not the only one who dressed up for Halloween this year. Bones dressed up as a CHICKEN! Again. Clearly it’s his favorite costume, doesn’t he look enthusiastic?

{Mammograms In Action – Barbells For Boobs}

And the day before Halloween I watched the exciting Barbells For Boobs charity CrossFit competition which included every shade of pink known to man and even Jessica Rabbit in a stunning red gown.

How was your Halloween? What did you dress up as? What was the best costume that you saw?


All Hallow’s Eve

As October progresses the  reminders that it’s  holiday season are everywhere – Store decorations, TV commercials, sale annoucements, magazine advertisements… Luckily for me the holiday season begins with my favorite holiday, because as much as I adore candy canes and the scent of evergreen, I’m a Halloween girl.

You get to be a kid for a day – Candy, costumes, pranks, parties, and a general feeling of nostalgia and excitement – What’s not to love?

When it comes to costumes I’ll always choose innovative & novel over skin-baring. In recent years I’ve been Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Cleopatra, a Venetian Carnival reveller, and Twiggy. I’ve seen so many creative costumes over the years that I’m at a loss for why you’d want to pick a cookie-cutter one when you could put a little effort in and end up with something one-of-a-kind that you absolutely love.

So with that in mind here are some fun links to get your creative juices flowing for this year’s costume!

The Man Repeller’s For Halloween – Her fun suggestions include: Steve Jobs, Rupaul, Frida Kahlo, Margot Tenenbaum, Larry David & Richard Harrow.

If you’re in the mood for a fashion-forward costume check out Fashionologie’s Fashion in Costume: A Look Back at Halloweens Past for great inspiration from models, fashion designers, and couture collections.

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Are you a movie lover? Check out Refinery 29’s 5 Big-Screen Halloween Costumes That Are Total Oscar Winners! I love these kinds of costumes since they’re always a little open to interpretation and this post includes gems like Liv Tyler’s character in Empire Records, Liz Taylor’s Cleopatra, Daisy from The Great Gatsby – The original or the upcoming remake – The Queen of Hearts from Alice In Wonderland, and Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock’s The Birds.

If you’re not interested in spending a fortune on your costume, want to find something wholly unique, or even if want a costume made up of pieces that you can wear again, heading to a vintage shop is a great option. Fun ideas from Refinery 29’s How To Thirft 6 Super-Easy Halloween Costumes include Martha Stewart, fisherman from The Deadliest Catch, and The Rockettes.

Doing your makeup for Halloween can be one of the most fun parts of getting ready. Whether you’re recreating Cleopatra’s famous exotic kohl-lined eyes, adding oozing sores & blood for a Walking Dead-inspired get up, or whiting your face out so you can be a Vampire or mime. The Glamourai put together fabulous tutorials to help you perfect the makeup for your costumes – Everything from the wide-eyed look of the 60’s to the glamorous white-faced Geishas to Bogie-inspired detectives – { DIY } Halloween Beauty Ideas, { Behind The Scenes } Spooktacular Beauty & { Ghoul’s Night Out }.

As for my costume this year I wanted to be the Mad Hatter… But the costume I ordered didn’t fit. Either of them. 😦

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But with a last-minute party scheduled for this evening in Sacramento and no costume planned yet I’ll be giving you hints and sneak peeks of my shopping & planning all day today… So be sure to keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram for updates!

Have you picked your Halloween costume yet? What’s the most creative costume that you’ve ever worn?


Links You’ll Love

Fashion:

Whether you’re watching the US Open or America’s Cup, a stylish spectator outfit is a must – US Open 2012 from Net-A-Porter.

Are you starting to prepare your wardrobe for Fall? A great skirt with tights & killer boots is always a fabulous option so check out WhoWhatWear’s suggestions for Fall 2012 – Market Watch: Fall Skirts.

One thing that I always look forward to when Fashion Month rolls around are the Garance Dore and Net-A-Porter Fashion Week video collaborations Pardon My French. She talks to fashion greats, reviews the collections, meets designers, interviews fashion insiders, and just generally gives you a great behind-the-scenes look at all of the Fashion Month madness.

You know how much I adore a versatile piece in my wardrobe – especially when it comes to packing for a trip. Refinery 29 clearly agrees – Oxford Shirt Styling Tips: 1 Oxford Shirt, 3 Easy Ways To Style It.

One of the fun Fall trends this year will be finding pieces that have your favorite artwork translated onto them – Whether you’re a fan of the Renaissance Masters or Graphic novels, there are pieces out there for everyone! This Time Tomorrow – Wearing Your Art On Your Sleeve.

Health/Fitness:

Don’t have time for a run? Not interested in the membership fees at your local gym? Why not head online to find the perfect workout for yourself – Fit Club: The Country’s Best Virtual Workouts.

Are you looking for some healthy meals to feed your family to ensure that they’re getting all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that they need? Here are some great recipes to try:

No matter how much time you spend in the kitchen familiarizing yourself with new tools – or re-familiarizing yourself with tools you haven’t used in a while – is an important part of staying on top of things so check out The Blissful Chef’s Cooking Tool of the Month Series.

Medicine and bosu balls are two of my favorite gym toys – If you use them right they can keep your workouts both challenging and fun. Don’t believe me? Check out FitSugar’s Don’t Let the Medicine Ball Intimidate You — 5 Easy Moves!


The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!

Happy Friday! To celebrate, I say we look at pretty people getting all dressed up. And luckily for us, there were a couple glamorous, star-studded British events this past week with some very eye-catching looks worth mentioning.
 
2011 British Fashion Awards
 

Georgia May Jagger continued the Great Gatsby trend in pale, shimmery Julien Macdonald. I miiight have worn a sandal with a dress this delicate, but there's no denying she looks great here!

How can you not love a girl who can get away with flats at a black tie event? Alexa Chung looked adorably retro and chic in Christopher Kane.

 
Source (For Alexa & Georgia May)
 
There were two other looks at the 2011 British Fashion Awards that I – GASP – couldn’t make up my mind about… And you want to know what? They were both Matthew Williamson outfits. Go figure.
 

Olivia Palermo in Matthew Williamson

Source 

I should preface this by saying that I’m a little hesitant when it comes to fringe, especially high-octane fringe, but I couldn’t help gasping when I saw this dress. If it was floor length I think the fringe would be too much, but on a cocktail length frock its perfect. But my issue with this look is actually the styling… The hair is a bit severe, I think a gracefully swept back ponytail would have been perfect, and the shoes & clutch are waaay too busy. The key to pulling off this dress is maintaining a level  of simplicity with the rest of the look.

Poppy Delevigne in Matthew Williamson

 
Since I clicked back to this picture three times I decided that I should say something. It’s a beautiful dress and manages to suit her coloring even though strictly speaking I wouldn’t say those are her colors, and I like her simple accessories and loose braid. My issue? The fringe! I think without the small spots of straw-colored carpet fringe (and a little hemming) this would be a picture perfect look.
 
Moral of the story? I have zero hard & fast rules when it comes to fringe! 🙂
 
BAFTA Los Angeles 2011 Britannia Awards
 

Mr. Yelchin is doing quite well on the red carpet lately. What I really like is that he's not wearing boring suits, they all have subtle patterns, interesting fabrics or an embellishment of some sort that make them stand out. And one word. TAILORING.

This is everything that you want in an evening look, its stunning, head turning and fits Asha to a T. I also love the capsleeves and vintage silver earrings. Simply beautiful.

Felicity Jones looks fresh and young in this fitted Moschino with a ballerina skirt. I think her clutch and hair are the perfect touches, keeping the look minimally chic. (I'll be doing a post on Miss Jones next week so stick around if you'd like to see more of her!)

 
Source (BAFTA pictures)
 
Have a good weekend!
 

Links You’ll Love

Fashion:

Check out Bazaar’s Gatsby Girls for some 20’s-inspired looks.

In the mood for a new scent? Harper’s Bazaar has some tips here or you can check out what HollyWouldIfSheCould has to say here. I love perfume and have gone through three scents during my adult life. After living in Italy at the age of 21 I settled on Allure, then I decided I needed to switch it up and settled on Chance, which I wore for a couple of years, and now I wear Coco Mademoiselle.

Need some cool weather outfit inspiration? Check out Kate Bosworth’s blouse & boot combo over at FabSugar, Nicole Richie’s cosy sweater look at Frugal Fashionista or Rosie’s sexy hippie look at TLo.

Harper’s Bazaar – Spring 2012 Accessories Report & Celebrity Beauty Secrets.

Healthy/Fitness:

BBC reports on the increased usage of painkillers in the US here. The scariest line is, in my opinion, “Almost 5,500 people start to misuse prescription painkillers every day.” Whoa.

Discovery News reports that Strawberries Can Fight Alcohol Damage. Am I the only one who reads this and wonders about their stance on strawberry daiquiris?

Some common mistakes that even healthy women make – FitSugar

Are you gaining weight from consuming too much wheat? Check out LifeExtension’s take here. Need some more background? Read my post – Gluten: The Good, The Bad & The Itchy.

The Bloomingdale’s Giveaway winner will be announced tonight, thank you to everyone who participated.