Monday, November 5, 2018

Jolly Holiday

atomic jax mary poppins dress
All images by Emma Rizzo Photo
Happy Monday! I meant to post this look by Atomic Jax before Halloween, but I kind of forgot how trips to Disney World don't provide much downtime. Fortunately, you can Disneybound at any time of year – and with the new Mary Poppins movie coming out next month, I'll bet I'll be wearing this dress when I see it in theaters!
disneybound dress
mary poppins lapel pin
vintage inspired by jackie

This was one of those days where everything went wrong (fellow bloggers will know what I mean!). I wanted to take photos on this historic carousel, but it was inexplicably closed even though it was supposed to stay open through Columbus Day. Fortunately, Emma is a master at rolling with the punches and managed to capture some nice shots on the boardwalk. We also had to deal with some heckling from old white dudes playing volleyball on the sand, which we captured on video and powered our rage for the rest of the afternoon. Just the kind of feeling we'll want to hold onto going into tomorrow. Which reminds me: VOTE. Our lives literally depend on it.

emma rizzo photo rochester ny
disneybounding
charlotte beach rochester ny
Outfit Details
Custom Bert Swing Dress: c/o Atomic Jax
Cropped cardigan: available here
Mary Poppins penguin pin: similar
Flats: Aerosoles  ||  Boater hat: similar

rochester ny boardwalk charlotte beach
bert disneybound mary poppins
the soubrette brunette

Speaking of Disney characters, thanks to everyone who entered my birthday giveaway! I had a great time in Orlando with my mom (I'll put together a post with some photos soon), though I'm definitely feeling my age now... I spent most of the weekend in bed, which gave me time to pick a giveaway winner. Congratulations to Aly and stay tuned for future giveaways!


Have a great start to your week!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Friday Favorites #108: Halloween Costume Inspiration

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday; not only is it right around my birthday, but are you surprised that I love a day that's all about playing dress-up? This week's Friday Favorites post is all about Halloween outfit inspiration. I love being able to take pieces already in my closet and make a unique costume from them!

Although I'm usually much more drawn towards the '50s and '60s, this year, I'm going '20s! I'm totally obsessed with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and this year, I'm being Phryne Fisher for Halloween! You'll see my actual costume here on the blog soon, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite flapper pieces:
flapper costume
a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f   ||   g   ||   h

Storybook characters are probably my favorites for costume ideas, which is what made me think of this simple (yet effective) Alice in Wonderland idea. I'd probably use all of these pieces on a regular basis, which makes it even better!

alice in wonderland costume
a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f

Since I had a nod to Cinderella in my last post, I thought making an actual costume out of the same dress would be fun! It only needed a few small tweaks, really.
cinderella costume

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f

I love this Birthday Barbie costume idea! 
barbie costume

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d

When I first saw this Dee Dee colorway, I immediately thought of Dorothy Gale – so why not use it for a Wizard of Oz-inspired get-up?
dorothy costume

1   ||   2   ||   3   ||   4   ||   5

Or if you're not into wearing a costume but still want to get into the Halloween spirit, here are some fun options to try!

halloween outfit

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f

And finally, some spooky + kooky bags!
halloween purse
1   ||   2   ||   3   ||   4   ||   5   ||   6   ||   7

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Costume Parade

Since I feel like I live much of my life in costumes, it should be of no surprise that Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.  Not only was I nearly a Halloween baby, but costumes and candy are two of the best things in the whole wide world.  I've never been one for seriously scary movies or haunted houses, but I adore decorating our house with all things spooky.  My mom instilled in me a love for this holiday, and at the core, that love has always been based in the joy that comes from creating the perfect costume.  I don't have any plans for Halloween this year, but that hasn't stopped me from coming up with a few spur-of-the-moment options, should I need them:

I adore this cute + easy Minnie costume!  I'd definitely have to add tights and a cardigan, though.
pink polka dot dress
(Dress: Le Bomb Shop // purse: Jump From Paper // heels: similar // ears: Party City)
My novelty purses sure come in handy at a time like this!  I thought going as a sweet treat might be a fun idea.  The blue dress (which has a print of shells, seahorses and fish) would be great for a mermaid or even the ocean -- or if you're a redhead, you could be Miss Frizzle!  All the red dress needs is a blonde curly wig for a Goldilocks costume!
crafty costumes
(Dresses: Bernie Dexter, ASOS, Yumi, Bodyline // Purses: New Look, ModCloth, ASOS, eBay //
Shoes: Mel by Melissa, BAIT Footwear, JC Penney, YesStyle)
I get so nostalgic for Halloweens past! The Halloween celebrations and costume parties we had in college were among my favorites.  All of our parties were themed costume parties, but Halloween was one of the major ones (second only to our end-of-the-year party, called The Waggies, which was kind of a hybrid of Halloween, the prom and the Tony Awards).  Our class always created costumes with one big theme for both Halloween and The Waggies, which was always really fun and allowed us to be really crafty and creative.  Here are some of my favorite costumes from a few years ago:

DIY costume
Our theme here was Myths & Monsters!  I decided to be Monster Energy Drink.  I loved my headband!
DIY costume
Our senior year Waggies theme was Drink of Choice - mine was the Mudslide (and again, my favorite part was the hat!).
cartoon costume
We dressed up as Looney Toons/Hanna-Barbera cartoons one Halloween, and I chose Hong Kong Phooey.
diy costume
We decided on "It's a Small World" for our senior year Halloween theme.  I was especially proud of my Union Jack dress, since the back featured tons of British pop culture references and landmarks, all in puffy paint.  I've never been especially gifted when it comes to visual art, but I always managed to do pretty decent work on my costumes, and I've loved making them.
candy costume
Sophomore year Halloween was candy-themed.  These were all pieces I already had, and I think I even made the York logo out of a blue plastic binder cover and White-Out!  We were robbed in the costume competition!
group costume
Our Waggies theme was the United States one year, and my mom and I made this Declaration of Independence dress out of an old bed sheet.  I did all the lettering by hand, which was fun.  This was probably my favorite costume idea! 
I think that, unless you live near a lot of close friends, Halloween tends to be less of a big deal as you get older -- or at least, that's been the case for me.  I'm in sort of a weird limbo state when it comes to this time of year; not only do I not have many friends nearby, but Halloween was also my anniversary with my ex, so it's been sort of a solitary day these past couple of years.  In addition, I don't really drink, so that aspect of Halloween parties doesn't interest me.  I had a rehearsal on Halloween last year, so I didn't have much time to dwell on it.  I actually have to work on Halloween this year, and I'm not sure I'll even be dressing up.  I hope that I'll eventually be in a place where I'm able to celebrate Halloween again in the way I'd like -- but for now, I'll revel in the simple fact that this is a holiday allows me to dress in even kookier attire than I normally do!  Since I don't have a costume prepared right now (if I do dress up, it'll probably be something I came up with on the spot), here are the two costumes that I posted last year:

cupcake costume, 1950s costume
Original posts: Hey, Cupcake!  //  High school hellcat
What I liked about both of these costumes is that, like the ones at the beginning of this post, they used existing clothes in my closet and used them in a different way to create a costume look.  I wish I had had a little neck scarf (and better hair) for the sock hop look, but it'd work in a pinch!  I love this cupcake dress by Nishe, and I found a headband in a Storenvy shop that worked perfectly with it.  I already had the white tights and shoes as well.  I already spend a fairly substantial amount on my wardrobe, so it seems silly to me to spend a lot of money on a Halloween costume when I have a chance to use my wardrobe in a creative way!  Plus, I have a ton of quirky pieces that really lend themselves well to being part of a costume.

What about you?  Do you like to buy a new costume every year, or do you like to create one from pieces you already own?  Tell me what you're being for Halloween so I can live vicariously!

Have a great day & a spook-tacular Halloween!
xox Sammi

PS: Don't forget - there's still time to enter my Big Birthday Giveaway!  Saturday is your last full day to enter, and you don't want to miss this one!  Get all the details + enter here!
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