It's like 'Wind in the Willows' here today. The weather being so chilly, so gosh darn breezy, it makes me want to wear nothing but spring-y styles (even if I am forced to wear them around my house as I turn up the heat and pretend it's much hotter outside than it actually is) and I'd be wearing this trio: a breezy blouse, freshly minted shorts and some colorblockin' cutie shoes. Oh. And get this. They're all under $50. So they really were and are mint for me and I, Bargain Bex, am mint for them too.
Apart from my obvious style sentiment of wanting every darn dress I see from the clothes horses over at Ruche in the above video, (especially this one in particular with all its gorgeous greenery) I also can't help but really, really want my own little gigantic flower garden to walk into every morning and to go to sleep to every night. What girl wouldn't? And since I'm not so good at the whole living plants thing, I must be in luck with the specimens I found here because there's no watering necessary. Perfect.
Clearly my current style crush is goin' all sorts of nowhere after seeing Miss Michelle's coral couture confection of an Oscar dress. Seriously. Can one girl always be so adorably pretty each time she steps out in something? Really? The obvious answer to that question is: YES! And while I continue to dream through her (pretty sure my wallet and I aren't affording Louis Vuitton duds any time soon) at least the bargainer in me can feel good knowing I can clutch on to my crush a little longer by purchasing this look-for-less pretty in hot pink purse. And that's just fiiiiine by me.
I'm so attracted to the polarity that a somewhat serious buttoned-all-the-way-up blouse brings with it while also having a big ol' feminine bow tied to it in its fabulously collared finish. The combination sends me most happily reeling, retail-wise, every time. Could be the duality of the Gemini in me coming out sartorially too. Who knows. All I do know is that I wouldn't mind getting tied up in either of these twooptions. Nope. No siree. Wouldn't mind a bit. Not one teeny weeny little bit.
I now have what could be the biggest, hugest honker of a crush on Michelle Williams' style that has ever existed. I literally, cross-my-heart honestly, can't conceive of a time that I have ever been more jealous of an ensemble in my clothes-wearing life. Really. I swear. Not ever. Which is kinda sorta sayin' a heckuva lot since I loooove me some fashion. I mean, could she be possibly be any pink-her-cheeks-cuter in this little suit that she's wearing? Doubt it. Not possible. Nope-y nope. So now the only logical thing left for me to do is to stop typing and start searching for my own suit of ardor.
I literally sat with phone in hand to dial "s" for scissor sister after seeing this movie, with this haircut, on this actress because my pixie cut is starting to grow out a little too quick on top for my liking. But then (and just as quickly) came this picture, with this haircut, on the same actress. Just with longer bang-age that I'm already rocking! So there I literally sat, put phone down and picked up some pomade instead to try and recreate same said style. For now. Until I need a scissored sis trim.
There are some things, some objects in this world that you just can't pass up. It wouldn't be right. It's like, if you didn't snatch them up the minute that you see/saw them, something in the world would instantaneously go wrong. Like the world would stop spinning off its axis or something. And that's exactly how I felt when I saw these super shiny patent platform pretties on sale for half off. Half off. So, I bought them.
I had been on (what those close to me can attest to) a many-a-day search for what I would deem nothing short of the quintessential, not-too-shiny leather-y legging seeing seal of approval. And let me tell you, did it take a while. A loooong while. Leaving me, most days, empty-handed ... err ... empty-legged. Until I found Tobi. Then there they were in all their vinyl-y goodness and total perfection. SCORE.
I'm so ready to shed my winter (layering) skin. Let's go ahead and put aside the fact that we just had more snow a-fallin' here this past week, shall we and focus on what really matters: only about a month or so before Spring comes a-knockin' on our doors. So I gots to be prepared, clotheswise, right? And given that I can't even remember the last time I let my legs breathe out from underneath all those leggings, socks and tights, it's time to press play and stock up on some prettyprettyplaysuits.
So I've made quite the habit of watching episodes of Ink Master as of late and found my tattoo-wanting self kinda sorta super solidified and validated as to why I do with one particular contestant's comment as they were picking and choosing their (human) canvases for a challenge. He mentioned that the paler the skin, the better the tat will show up. And since I always like to joke that I'm so pale, I'm almost translucently clear, it just made me all the more reinvigorated to one day get inked. But I'd sure have no problem sporting this 'Tattooed Lady Tee' until then. Nope, no problem at all.
I looove me some hair dye. That's beyond evident now. But there is someone in my life that doesn't love it even a teeny tiny little bit like moi: my stressed-out scalp. And usually when I do the dyeing deed (especially from darker to lighter blondes) some very unwanted guests seem to come to stay: flaky follicles. Ew. Lucky for me, the super duper tress team at Suave know just how to get rid of 'em. With their Scalp Solutions line of shampoos and conditioners. Now when those flaky-flakes try to visit, I just show them my new (and so generously gifted) sudsers and they 'head ' right on out.
Sometimes I think fellas have it all figured out when it comes to lightly luggin' their life around. Just a simply folded piece of fabric and/or leather slid right into their back pocket and they're good. Set. Ready to go. Whereas we girls somehow think we gotta schlep every lipgloss, scarf and shoe known to man with us wherever we go. Well that's all gonna change for this girl today. Starting now. And with this wee lil' wallet.
I've got this thing when it comes to my tresses. See ... as soon as I find a color that I think that I am more than satisfied with (currently sporting a light ash blonde shade) and maybe even wanting to go as far as to call it my 'signature', I eye something like this lovely lilac-y/lavendar shade, and I change my mind. Again. For the umpteenth time. Convincing myself that no other color in the world could or would look as pretty on me as it. It does make me wonder though, if I did douse it in pretty purple-y pink dye, what other shade would have me having second thoughts as soon as I did?
Writing this blog, I've come to realize something: I like pretty things. Whatever form they come in, be it a darling little dress or a sky-high platformed shoe, I like showing them off by sharing them here. And today's beautiful drawings and prints are no different. I tried really hard to find and highlight just one, but was quite easily defeated because this artist's work is just oh-so-lovely. So I'm a-gonna post twelve months' worth instead. And in gosh-darn-cute calendar form too. You're welcome.
Figuring out rather quickly that I could probably never ever (ever) really afford the just-dainty-enough diamond-y ear cuffs that Miss Kruger is wearing here and because I think if I'm gonna wear a cuff, I'm gonna wear a cuff, know what I'm sayin'? I thought why not do something even bigger and more attention-grabbing, like, say a beautifully bronzed Beatles-esque trip into an octopus' garden. On my ear.
Mercy mercy me, did I go ga ga for this movie, Drive. Did it have anything to do with the fact that Ryan Gosling wore a satiny scorpion jacket the whole time? Um yeah. Or that the soundtrack (that I've already downloaded) was evocative of every eighties flick I grew up watching? Totally. But the real cinematic clincher that puts it right in my all-time fave flicks category? Well that's gotta be because it has the best (and gentlest and most romantic) onscreen kiss I have ever seen. EVER. Double sigh.
Between you and me, I'm not (nor have I ever been) a real big fan of this lovey-dovey holiday. Yeah yeah, I know, shocking. And you may think it's because I find myself solo again on this year's famed duo day, but even when I've been part of a twosome, I've felt it a tad too much for my taste. But this year that may change for me 'cause I wanna wear something pretty to the pitter-pat party too, a little love on me. All heart-shaped and shiny. Because it's me. And it's a brooch. With sparkles.
I may just spontaneously combust from all the adorkableness that I just witnessed and let seep into my being and brain by watching Zooey Deschanel on SNL this weekend, especially this skit with spot-on impersonations of all my quirky quirkster idols like MK, Bjork (Kristen Wiig, I bow down to you) and my if-I-were-just-a-wee-bit-younger pretend boyfriend, Michael Cera. Seriously. Have had such a big ear-to-ear permagrin on my face ever since seeing it that I'm pretty sure it may just freeze that way. Forever and ever. Kinda like what your mother always told you would happen.
The whole eyeglass-wearing part of my family thinks me crazy because I desperately wish and want my eyes to need a prescription (forever crossing my fingers in hopes the next time I go to an eye appointment that that will finally be the case) just so I can have a legit reason to collect the many stylish specs that I do. And will be in the future. I mean, one recent sisterly phone chat revealed that contacts may be one sibling's next choice. Naturally taken aback, I tried to convince her otherwise, to stay on the spectacle style track, but then again, remember - this bound and determined to look as chic as the glassed gal above eyeglass-wearing wisher's family thinks her crazy.
Being the baby, I idolized my sisters' style when I was younger. BIG time. In particular, one pair of high-waisted mauve-y (and what would be considered now as 'skinny') ankle jeans with gold zippers at the ankle. Oh man. Did I think they were the coolest things ever. Still do. Anyway. I thought this zippered FP pair would be a nice way of going 'ankle deep' into a childhood nostalgia denim tribute. Oh. And P.S. I'm loving the floral/wedge combo that's happening here too. So ... now I want these.
Do you think it merely a coincidence that I'm so so so into the color mint right now (especially embroidered with pastel-y pinks, blues and yellows like the cutely-collared, wish I was wearing it right now frock pictured above) and that my all-time favorite candy is the York Peppermint Patty AND that I always have to have a minty fresh toothpaste flavor handy and/or that my affinity for wintergreen-flavored mints is bordering on the more-than-mildly obsessive on the sweets scale? 'Cause I don't. Besides, aren't they always saying there are no such thing as coincidences anyway?!?
"We got the bead, We got the bead, We got the bead - YEAH! - We got the bead!" At least that's what I like to think these beautifully beaded UO moccasins would be saying ... err ... singing, you know, if shoes could talk and/or had voices. Oh, who am I kidding?!? That's totally what me and my lil' tootsies would be singing if we had them on (in either the white or baby blue pair) as we walked down the street - YEAH!
I recently read a glossy article on Zooey Deschanel (whom I truly believe really does define and personify the word she's so famously created, "adorkable") and how she doesn't see anything wrong with a gal wanting to dress all super girlie-fied with ruffles and bows every now and again or even all the time ... and I gotta say ... I totally agree. Which is precisely why I was (and am) so drawn to this delightfully decadent, buttery, sugary yellow confection of a dress. And I think Miss Zooey Deschanel would be too.
I know what you're thinking - how gosh darn pretty those Paname hairpieces are! And you're oh-so-right. They're beyond gorgeous, really they are. But, see ... my eye went straight toward that scalloped, ruffle-y eyelet-ed sleeve on that fire engine redhead instead. Ha. That rhymed. Like, instantly. And I tend to pride myself in being able to find retail replicas of such prettinesses. It's kinda my thing. So today I found a lil' trio (here, here and here). Now comes the hard part. Choosing just one.
Sometimes, don't you just want to wear something 'cause it makes you happy? Especially if it's a day like today, a mundane little Monday, that you and I find ourselves having to get through again? Well. I think I have found the perfect candidate to pull off such a feat for this beginning-of-another-week for the both of us in this beyond rad rainbow bright-ish scarf. And I have a feeling if you were to wrap this 'round yourself as you head out the door, upon (others) seeing it, you wouldn't be the only one sportin' a big ol' happy smile on your Monday mug either.
Body part tattoo tally: 4. With today's arm garden party now included. If I'm going all the way (imaginary-wise) why wouldn't I go ahead and get this same not-so-secret garden tattooed on my other arm too for good measure, to even the (permanent ink) playing field? I'm already planning on a bright red bow on the nape of my neck, a little wordage across the tops of my tootsies and now two times the fun on my upper limbs. And I have no doubt the total will just keep rising in the meantime. Translation: Or when I finally have the 'in' taken out of the 'sufficient' in my funds.
Happy am I that I accidentally came across this little film in my DVR's contents and thought to press the "Play" button. Because just a few minutes into it (and Josh Radnor's puppy dog eyes and dissheveled hair) and I was hooked. Thank you to Malin Ackerman's character's boho chic maxi dress style 'cause now all I can even think to wear along with my own are bright, bold headwraps. And More please to Tony Hale's Sam #2 who makes me believe that there is still one man out there that wants the chance to do nothing but love and adore me. All I gotta do is open my eyes.
V. Jackman is obviously my camera-wielding girl choice of the week (see yesterday's post) when it comes to photog-snapping stylish pieces that I'm quite clearly disturbed by the fact I don't have in my possession already, making it so that I must hurriedly go on an all-out online hunt for after seeing before they are gone to me forever. Dramatic? Maybe. Truthful? For this bargain shopping obsessor? Totally. And I never tire of the fact that girls always look SO much better in menswear staples anyway, like the white button-up, especially in this case and all super duper-y oversized. So of course I found my own buttoned wonder to pair with denim cut-offs and oh-so-tight leggings too, just like my pictured muse: Right here.
I always go (and come) back to my pixie haircut. Like an old familiar blanket that I just can't bear to live without. It's almost as if some hair fairy swoops down in front of me the exact same night I find myself dreaming of wanting to cut it all off again, and sprinkles her magic pixie dust on me so when I wake, going (and coming) back to that particular cut is all I can think about. Good thing I always do too because it's coming in quite handy this year with my resolve to flirt more with tomboy style - even getting me a cream-colored pair o'platforms just like the pixie pictured here. So nice to know I'm not the only one under this pixie dust stuff.
I'm all about a good shoe. So when you combine the buying and wearing of it to a good cause, knowing that it helps to make a difference worldwide, well ... then I'm a shoe-in. And that's just what Bella Costas (those super happy-looking striped flats in the video above) are all about as part of the "We Heart Guatemala" project that support(s) the ancient traditions of the Mayan Highlands in that beautiful country.
And that is where Reef comes in with today's launching of these super pretty shoes in partnership with Nest, the nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and collaborating with responsible artisan business. So essentially, tirelessly working to banish poverty, empower women (we are woman, hear us ROAR) and promote peace. All with a pretty pair of shoes. Far out, no? Kinda makes you wanna pair, don't it?
After reading all of that, I know there's just one last question floating about in your head: Where oh where can you get you (and all of your fellow fab shoe-obsessed friends) a one-of-a-kind pair of these pretties?!? Well ... you're in luck ... because Bella Costas are now exclusively available through Reef, starting today for just $54. So whadaya say we, my shoe-lovin' sisters (and brothers) get our 'shoe shop' on, STAT!
