Like, wo.

Leave your Havaianas at home... this is a swimsuit best suited to a pair of anything with "spike", "stud", or "stiletto" as part of its style description.

Agent Provocateur's Lora Swimsuit

Bonus: be the hottest girl at Six Flags when paired with some ripped denim shorts and a blowsy puff of cotton candy. Yes, it's a short post, but really, need I say more?

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Sneakin' through spring.

For me, nothing signifies spring better than a fresh pair of sneakers. Stepping out into a crisp, dewy morning with the smell of new rubber wafting up from your feet is the penultimate April experience. This year, I'm looking at floral, lady-like sneaks especially...

Nike Dunk Hi QS (Doves & Butterflies) via SneakerFreaker.

These lovelies also come in black... while these sneakers are saccharine-pink and bearing both little birds and butterflies, I strongly prefer them to the Liberty version. Perfect for wearing with grey jeans and a slouchy fatigue-green parka.

Women's Pinwheel by Simple Shoes.

Keds had a similar version of this style last year, however, Simple's rendition seems slightly more adult-worthy (and it's made of organic cotton, to boot).

Women's Satire-Silk by Simple Shoes

I'd be surprised if these haven't been used in a fashion editiorial yet. With a playfully chubby shape and in unmistakibly warm-weather gingham, I find this shoe to be charming as hell, and versatile, too. I can see them equally with a short denim dress, some bright yellow shorts, wide-legged linen pants, or rolled-cuff, boyfriend-style jeans.

Adidas via SneakerFreaker

If you're more the hi-top style girl, then this pair might fit the bill. As a habitual wearer of dark denim, this bright plaid/stark white combo is utterly irresistible.

Reebok NPC Slim by Roland Berry via SneakerFreaker

While not necessarily overtly feminine, I love the lollipop-style design in the mid-century hues. The other reason I love this sneaker is that it reminds me of going to the thrift store with my sweetay.

Skymyra Metallic W by Tretorn

The Skymyra is Tretorn's way of helping me fulfill my dreams of becoming more Jackie Kennedy-like (I refer to the sailing in summertime Jackie Kennedy).

Mia Mesh W by Tretorn

I'm completely in love with these... so ladylike, yet so simple... this is the type of shoe that would result in me looking at my feet all day long. The other reason I love these sneakers is because the yellow colorway reminds me of a pair of shoes I found in the street in NYC when I lived there. I referred to them as my "duck" shoes (and correspondingly drew a duck face on the captoes). I wore those shoes constantly until I ironically, lost them off of my feet at a festival. Hope someone out there is enjoying my duck shoes, or at least gave them a proper send-off.

Converse Tie-Dye Chuck from Delia's

And, at the other end of the "class" spectrum, are these irresistibly juvenile tie-dye Chucks. I am completely smitten with them. I also am flirting with the notion of soaking these in a weak bleach solution to create a dreamier palette for these shoes.

What about you? What sneakers are showing up on your radar?

Talkin' 'bout my inspiration

My sweets and I have decided that the weddin' will have an Art Deco flair. Perfect, because my favorite dresses are bias-cut and low-backed. Here are some of the inspirational images I have floating around on the ol' computer... most of the dresses are either Grecian-style or Spanish Revival, like the print below:


The 1930's body ideal was lithe, yes, but more importantly, curved and athletic (similar to yours truly). The resulting fashion innovations are both capricious and siren-y-- I love the duality of the fluttery, "first dance" worthy skirt in combination with the low, seductive back.


This 1932 Schiaparelli creation is an archetype to be sure, and an endlessly glamorous one at that. It's hard to strike a balance between modesty in a wedding gown and stunningness, but this one makes the cut. I love how the flowing, asymmetrical scarf serves as a dramatic, nay, positively regal alternative to a veil.

I don't like strapless gowns, not only because they are, by this point, pedestrian, but also because a) one must always think about them when they are on and b) they offer the wearer the most unflattering of side-angles, because most often your arms are smashed up against your sides to keep the dress from slipping. I very much prefer dresses with straps, or large, romantic sleeves, a la the dress modeled here by Norma Shearer.

There's nothing I don't love about this photo. Myrna Loy shows us that not only is more, more, but that absurdity can indeed be quite beautiful. The feathered back is just too stunning to look away, and the curled motif is repeated endlessly-- my favorite use is of her curled hair as a "headband". Note to self: show this photo to hairstylist.


Damn, Joan! I could see Beyonce wearing this dress today. Striking, unconventional, feminine, but imbued with quite a bit of power.


Jean Harlow is simple yet undeniably glamorous here. And those shoes! I've been searching for similar ones (in silver) for a while now...

This photo of Anna May Wong looks almost recent... the jeweled t-back dress that ends in a knot is perfect for someone (like myself) who looks better going than coming...


Baby got back! Adrienne Ames' cowl-backed gown is luscious!

I'm not one for lace or heavy embellishment, but the dainty little sequins dancing over Adrienne Ames' decolletage are quietly, sextastically glamourous.

[images via Gatochy and Vintage Bride.]

Rough week

Sometimes -- and I'm sure many of you fellow blogging readers can confirm -- it's impossible to post. Not for want of time or material, but because life blows up. The last week or so has been bad. I'm not even going to put into effect my usual self-disclaimer, to the effect of "one man's bad day is another man's 'dry out, pussy!'"

I wanted to start something special, and it crashed and burned; or more accurately, just sadly fizzled. Luckily, someone happened to have given me a cat in the middle of it-- this post brought to you by the healing power of cats -- even if they do give you hives.

Below, a series of photos depicting 1 bad week, and a song to cry it out to.

My parents went to Romania and all I got was this stupid accordion.

I would wear a bra, but I puked all over it.

This is what I think of your week.

Yep-- hordes of locusts. Just as I suspected.

I don't think I'll be joining the others for crafts hour; I'll just bang my head against my window for a little bit and then catch up with the ghost of Lizzie Borden.

[photos by Chadwick Tyler via fotodecadent]