Fall Fever

The weather here in Ohio has been extremely bipolar, meaning it's about to become very very VERY cold. Since this week is probably one of the last "nice" ones for a while I enjoyed it with some layering! The sheer tights provided enough extra warmth so I could still wear this pleated, leather skirt by Vera Wang. And the skirt is thick enough that I was able to wear it in heavy wind without it being much of a problem. 

I received this necklace as a gift from my mom from Avon. The heart actually opens up and there's a cream perfume inside. It's super convenient to reapply throughout the day. Liquid perfumes often irritate my wrists and neck, so this cream based perfume is the perfect alternative and it's easy to apply in areas that won't get irritated. 

 

Sleeveless Striped Top: Thrifted

Pleated Faux Leather Skirt: Vera Wang

Necklace: Avon

Cardigan/Blazer: Normstrom

Shoes: Transformers by Depression

Past Halloweens to Present

So it's November 4th? I'm still in the Halloween mood (When am I not?!) and I wanted to share some of my past Halloween looks with you before posting my next outfit of the day! For me, Halloween lasts year round, but when it's finally October it's great to share the spirit of the season with others. Scouring through countless costume and craft stores for cool and creepy Halloween decor has become one of my favorite yearly activities. 

My enthusiasm for Halloween really stands out when it comes to dressing up! I love putting together costumes from pieces I can wear later on even after Halloween is over. 

So...without further ado...My Halloween looks past to future...

Sugar Skull

This look was from my first year of college. So...2012? I had been researching the history of Dia De Los Muertos and fell in love with sugar skulls. I combined my favorite pieces from different sugar skulls to create this look. How awesome is incorporating spider webs?! 

 

Skull Face 

I believe I did this skull look the same year as the sugar skull. I did this for the trick or treaters. Here I'm wearing my prom dress from high school, it's very 1980s with its poofy lace skirt and velvet upper. I was inspired from Lady Gaga's face makeup from her "Born This Way" music video. I actually ended up putting this costume and makeup together in about an hour. I remember I was running late from school so I had to quickly pick a makeup look and the sugar skull makeup took too long.

The Bride of Frankenstein

Frankenstein's monster has always been my favorite classic horror movie monster. I think I actually managed to have three different costumes in 2012 (I don't know how, but I was inspired!).  My friend, Rachel, joined me by dressing up as Frankenstein while I was the bride. The hair for this was defiantly the hardest part, there's actually a cup hidden under all that hair! I made my costume from a thrifted white sheet and cut it into the shape of the bride's gown. The sheet was slightly too long on me, so as the night went on, the gown got tattered up a bit, but it ended up making the whole look even better.

Beetlejuice

So Beetlejuice is my all time favorite movie! So of course I had to dress up like him! This look is from last Halloween. This was my first time experimenting with liquid latex and it was so worth it! I used fake floral moss from the craft store for the mold on Beetlejuice's face. I also bought a striped blazer and pants for this that I now just wear year round.

Edward Scissorhands

And last but not least...Edward Scissorhands! This look was so fun to do this past week. I made the scars out of liquid latex and then used spirit gum to attach them to my face. I then used the lightest shade of Avon foundation I could find and sealed the look in with white face powder. I obtained the look of my eyes with white, pink, purple, and black shades in my Avon eyeshadow pallet. 

 I made the scissor-hands last minute (basically the day I dressed up). I stenciled and cut foam board then cut thin pvc pipe (with the help of my boyfriend, Rob) into short pieces with slits cut across on one end (to stick the "blades" into). I attached the two together with duck tape to secure, then painted them silver (I used Modern Metals spray paint in Champagne Silver). I then just wore a black tee shirt with my leather jacket. And bought the leather pants at Kohl's with a birthday gift card. For my hair I just pinned it up crazily and used black colored costume hair spray.

Floral and Stripes

Good news! I found my camera attachment that I lost a few days ago! (Well...technically my boyfriend, Rob, found it because he's great at finding everything I lose. Thank you Rob!) But this means I can continue easily taking pictures of my outfits on my own. During the time that it was missing though, I found these outfit photos from earlier this year that I never uploaded. 

So here is a spring/fall look where I played with pattern mixing! Unsure about pattern mixing? I usually am too. With this look, the stripes are neutral enough that they act as a basic, while the white in the shirt still brings out the light tones in the skirt. 

 I found this stripped top thrifting a while back and it's so versatile! It also looks great paired with light skinnies and black boots, or high-waisted shorts and a blazer...basically anything and everything! I believe I found this floral skirt at the mall a while back when high-low skirts were really in. I still love this skirt though, and floral is timeless. To add some edge and keep the outfit from being too feminine and delicate I added the torn tights and thrifted ankle boots. Its honestly hard for me too keep any sheer tights from getting ripped...but I kind of like how every pair gets distressed in their own unique way. 

Striped Shirt: Thrifted

Floral High-Low Skirt: the Mall (possibly Forever 21? I can't remember)

Leather Ankle Boots: Thrifted

Sparky's Return

I love this cute "Sparky's Return" graphic shirt that I picked up on clearance at Hot Topic (I think it was only about $5). How can you not like Frankenweenie with all its classic horror references?! These distressed high waisted shorts also happen to be from a Hot Topic sale and were only $8! 

The added flannel was thrifted and adds an effortless grunge touch to the overall look. In my opinion there is really no reason to ever pay full price for a flannel, if you know where to look there is always tons of variety! At your local thrift make sure to check ALL sections, little boy's larges usually fit me and in the mens section you can find some nicely oversized ones. 

These white Dr. Martens were bought with my first paycheck a while back. I researched for a while before I bought them, and the best deal was on Amazon (link below). 

Unfortunately after shooting these photos I lost my camera attachment that allows me to remotely focus and take pictures of myself. I really hope I find it soon! It makes blogging so much easier!

T-shirt: Hot Topic

Shorts: Hot Topic

Flannel: Thrifted

White Leather Doc Martens: Amazon 

Spinal Tap

Do you ever spend half your day thinking about the exact outfit you are going to wear later? (Because I totally do!) Well today I was in an all black ensemble kind of mood (Honestly when am I not in that mood? Ha) I had a particular black maxi dress in mind, but of course when I went to get ready it was no where to be found! Isn't that the worst? Fortunately, my quick improvisation was still photo-worthy. 

It's my favorite time of year here in Ohio now where layering is everything. Time to break out all my leggings and tights! This particular pair of leggings I wore today are surprisingly from Walmart from when Miley Cyrus had a line there years ago. (It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but hey they were a good price, still fit, and have a cool reflective quality to them!) 

I then paired my leggings with this sheer black top from Hot Topic. I love that the stand out feature of this piece is on the back, a spine! It's eye catching and possibly a bit disturbing to some? But I'm obsessed! And when I went to school, I made sure to carry a large purse instead of a book bag to make sure the back could be seen.

Finally, I'm wearing my favorite sneakers, the studded HOMG by Jeffrey Campbell. With the "flatform" they provide me with a small height boost, but are still comfy enough to walk all over campus in. 

Spine Top: Hot Topic

Leggings: Walmart

Shoes: HOMG by Jeffrey Campbell

Black Metal

I've been very busy moving this past month, (and decorating the new place!) so my outfits have to be not only cute, but comfortable. Dresses are such an easy way to look put together. This one in particular is perfect for the transition between summer and autumn, when it's super humid here in Ohio. I paired it with my metal covered leather sandals by Prabal Gurung and layered my favorite necklaces and bracelets. 

 

Dress: Xhilaration

Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target

Studded Choker Necklace: Flea Market

Heart Necklace: Avon

Cross Necklace: DIY

Oh, Mickey, You're So Fine...

This week has been a rough one for me, I had surgery last Monday followed by a lengthy visit to the emergency room a few days after. I'm still on the road to recovery, so taking photos recently hasn't been possible. In all my down time though I found these photos from earlier this summer that I never uploaded.

For this look, I wanted to play with layers that could be added/subtracted throughout the day. Much of my wardrobe is black, but here I challenged myself to keep the basis of the outfit light, neutral shades (gray, light wash denim, and white leather). I then threw on this thrifted light flannel button-down. Thrift stores/second-hand stores will always have a wide variety of these in every color and pattern imaginable so there really is no reason to spend much on these. I picked up this one for less than $5! And it's perfect because this "blocked" pattern has been showing up everywhere this season. 

Mickey T-Shirt: Thrifted

Button-Down: Thrifted

Varsity Jacket: Last Kiss

Jeans: H&M

Boots: Dr. Martens

Tartan Summer

It can get pretty humid in the summer here in Ohio, so it can be hard to be both cute and comfortable. A skirt is a great choice in this weather, especially this super comfy skirt in red tartan. I picked this one up at Hot Topic. The added converse are casual, but also stick with the punk look of the pleated skirt. I also wore my usual assortment of black bracelets, but this outfit didn't feel complete without a statement necklace, I chose this red one from H&M.

 

Sleeveless Black Top: Thrifted

Tartan Skirt: Hot Topic

Shoes: Converse

Statement Necklace: H&M

White Tights

Hello everyone! So the weather is finally pretty nice here in Ohio...finally! Perfect weather for layering! I styled this outfit around this patterned skirt. I found it on a clearance rack at Kohl's for $5! It's the perfect base for a black and white outfit (my favorite!). 

 

White Crop Top: Thrifted

Cardigan: Dillards

Necklace: Antique Store

Skirt: Kohls

Tights: Target

Boots: Thrifted