I got an awesome ivory colored silk bubble dress from Crossroads for $7. I loved it for a while, but soon, it was collecting dust in my closet. So, I decided to turn it into a DIY project. The best part of the dress was the bubble hem…so I kept it and turned this dress into a bubble skirt. All I had to do was cut off the top and sew an elastic waistband…and TA DA!

A new skirt!

Directions

1. Cut the skirt to the desired length.
2. Sew a basic stitch along the edge of the fabric to keep the material and lining together
3. Iron down a 0.5″ fold. Then fold down a 1.5″ seam and iron.
4. Stitch down on the seam but leave a 2″ gap for the elastic to go through.
5. Using 1″ thick elastic, thread it through the pocket and sew it together to create the waistband. If necessary, stitch down the elastics to waistband at certain intervals to prevent it from flipping over.
6. Stitch the pocket where the elastic went through. Adjust the gathers.

After the DIY

I’m pretty happy with the way the skirt turned out. It ended up being more of a high-waisted skirt than I thought, but I kind of like that quality. Perhaps in the future, I can shorten it a bit, but for now, it’s my new love!

I can’t wait for Fall and try out a new makeup look, something moody and romantic…with dark maroons and plums. Honestly, I’m not sure how it’d look on me, but that’s why I’ll be heading over to bluemercury for a test run. There’s something about NARS cosmetics that screams…sultry and sensual without being trashy or overtly sexy.

Don’t you just love this look from NARS?

Life is unpredictable. In this time of recession and the recent sales tax hike in LA from 8.25% to 9.75% currently, I’m definitely feeling the pinch!

Therefore, in an effort to rework my budget and save up for my new apartment, I must stop shopping…especially clothes shopping. For now, I will only purchase the basic necessities. My only vice in all this that I love eating out and trying out new restaurants. Hopefully I’ll be able to be under my budget for July!

I love shoes and I can’t seem to get enough. I’ve been trying to streamline my collection for a while now, and it’s around 25 pairs…from tennis shoes to boots and heels. Most of my shoes are neutral colors, but I’m working on getting some colorful pairs.

Yesterday, I went to the DecadesTwo shoe sale. I think it’s the first time I ever really waited in line to purchase shoes. Supposedly, there would be Louboutins, Lanvin flats, and other designer shoes that would be discounted from 50-90% off. It sounded too good to be true and too good to pass up. So I got Melrose Ave at 8 AM in the morning to wait for the doors to open at 9AM. When I got there, there were about 30-50 people ahead of me, but I’m not sure if they were all there to shop individually.

The first girl that exited the store with a purchase told us that she got the only Louboutins in size 6, a red slingback, for $120. I was a bit disheartened, but I wanted to see for myself what the selection would be like. I knew that the choices for sizes 5-6 would be quite slim, but I was hopeful. I got into the store about 20 minutes after the sale started due the store’s smaller size.

Inside, there were people everywhere looking for shoes or designer clothing. There were about 5 racks of sale clothes, but nothing seemed to pop for me. As for shoes, there were two main sections. There was the main sale section of deeply discounted shoes which hovered around the $100 mark and a secondary section of more current “it” shoes that ranged from $200-500…on sale. I decided to steer clear of the secondary section because I only expected to spend about $200 on shoes…one or two pairs.

I scoured the floor for shoes in my size which wasn’t as plentiful as the size 9 and up. Still, I managed to snag two heels…a green satin Valentino and a brown suede Dolce & Gabbana for a total of $220. Even though they aren’t today’s  “it” shoes, they were pretty and they fit. Plus, they were pretty new, no scuff marks on the sole, and still quite lovely. Most of the shoes were for narrower feet as I heard several other shoelovers comment.

Perhaps next time they have a sale, I’ll scout it out beforehand. A lovely store…actually, it’s a vintage designer consignment store and their quality is amazing. It’s practically brand new items. I’d come back next time they have a shoe sale, it’s quite a bargain…and for designer shoes…I’d need a bargain if I ever hope to wear those shoes.

I was surfing around the net and I found a series of pictures that definitely resonated with me. I know people who wish that they could be princesses just like the ones they have seen in Disney films. Mind you, this is not about those 5 year old little girls, but these are 20-something year old women with these fantasies.

It’s not that I dislike the princess culture, but I know it’s not always going to be perfect in the end. There are just some realities that we need to face. Also, with the changing stories that Disney portrays, the moral of some of the stories are just lost in time. If you read back to the original tale, or even the Grimm’s version, it’s quite a different take on the whole idea of fairy tales. It’s not always about the “happily ever after” but a cautionary tale of how dark the world can become when we are naive and unaware.

When you take the idea of the princess and you juxtapose it with our current issues and realities, it’s quite a different perspective on things. Below is just one photo from the series.

Personally, I think the pictures of Rapunzel and Belle are one of the sadder realities in our current world. They are strong images that really do make you think about how fairy tale princess would survive nowadays.

For more pictures, click HERE.