La belle et la bête

Outfit Details:

Dress: Mart of China

Short petticoat: American Apparel (similar here)

Belt: from another dress

Shoes: BAIT footwear (on sale!)

I have been admiring this kooky dress for a long time on various wholesale websites.  I really love the print of the dancer next to the bull.  It's probably more of a flamenco (and matador?) print, but it reminded me a lot of Beauty and the Beast, which made me thing of France more than Spain, and of ballet more than the fandango.  The dress itself is obscenely short on me, so I knew I had to wear something over it (wearing something under it, like tights or leggings, wasn't even an option).  This petticoat skirt is quite short on me, too -- the only time I've ever worn it was for a costume party in college.  It's pretty obvious that this is just a fantasy ensemble; I can't think of any occasion to which I would (or could!) actually wear this.  But since the dress was only $10, it's not a total loss.  I just wish the graphic weren't lopsided!  I suppose you get what you pay for, though.

While editing these, I realized that this kind of reminds me of something that Annika from The Pineneedle Collective might wear.  She always looks amazing in her short-short skirts and outfits from wholesale websites.  I credit her with even finding this dress in the first place, since I found it on a website that she posted for another item.

In other news, I have my first(!) driving lesson this afternoon.  Having never even been behind the wheel of a car before, I'm pretty anxious about it... Wish me luck and have a beautiful Thursday!

Oh, and don't forget to enter my first-ever giveaway!!

xox Sammi

My first giveaway: an adorable pin-up tote from Dupenny! [CLOSED]

I am super-excited to announce that I am hosting my very first giveaway on the blog today!  Hooray!

Dupenny is a charming, cheeky, retro-inspired company that specializes in hand-drawn (and hand-made) wallpapers, housewares, and other little gifties.  Their designs are largely pin-up based, and they make everything from dinnerware to underwear, all featuring their tongue-in-cheek illustrations.  Here are some of my absolute favorite designs from their website: 

Time For Tea Wallpaper

50's Housewife Wallpaper

Burlesque Cushions

E-Type Mug

1920s Glamour Greeting Cards

Now here's the fun part: there will be TWO winners of this giveaway!  Each winner will receive one (1) of Dupenny's adorable Peggy tote bags (shown above)!  I love this cheeky housewife design!  Use the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway (below).  You'll need to visit Dupenny's website and leave a blog post comment, telling me your favorite item in their lovely store.  You will also need to "like" Dupenny on Facebook in order to be eligible for this giveaway.  But if you love all things retro (and sustainable! - did I mention that they are also Earth-conscious?) like I do, this is actually a plus.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will start at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, August 30st and will end at 12:01 AM on Monday, August 5th.  One winner will be announced and contacted within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway.  Be sure to leave an e-mail address so that I can contact you!  Please keep in mind that only followers of my blog are eligible to win this giveaway.  Best of luck, and thanks for entering!

xox Sammi

Tutti frutti

Outfit Details:

Nishe Fruit Dress: ASOS (on sale!)

Spectator heels: BAIT footwear (also on sale!)

Strawberry ring: Urban Outfitters (also on sale!)

Wicker purse: Chicwish (amazingly, also on sale!!)

I have no idea how I managed to put an outfit together where each piece is on sale from its regular price.  I'm pretty sure I managed to only get the shoes on sale, as I think I bought everything else prior to them going on sale.  Which is sad for me, but it's good for you, if you have an interest in purchasing any of these pieces!  This dress from Nishe has been sitting in my closet for a while, though I'm not sure why... or rather, how I could leave something fruit-adorned buried in my closet for so long.

I could die of cuteness from these buttons alone.

I'm pretty sure I am going to put another dress from Nishe in my shop my closet store fairly soon.  I love their designs, but I have several Nishe dresses in my closet already.  It's such a cute little dress, with pretty pastel stars all over (and the buttons are blue stars, as well), in a style very similar to this one.  I have a bunch of other items that I want to put into the shop soon, too (including a dress from Sugarhill Boutique, one from Urban Outfitters, one from American Apparel, and one from Forever 21).  It's on the ever-growing list of things I need to accomplish.

Have a fruitful (ha) Tuesday!

xox Sammi

The Circle Game

Outfit Details:

Topshop Carousel Playsuit: eBay

Black pinafore: eBay

Perfectly Casual Socks in Black: ModCloth

Carousel ring: Miss Selfridge

Tortoise shell readers: Target

Flats: Nine West (old)

I've been feeling very nostalgic as of late.  Maybe it's the time of year (summertime makes me think of my childhood, and the end of summer always reminds me of going back to school), or maybe it's because I've been home for a significant length of time now.  But I can't help thinking that even though growing up can be great at times, maybe it's overrated.  I keep wishing things were simpler.  But then I realize that maybe everything is simpler in retrospect.

The weather has been playing tricks on me lately.  I feel like we've had only a few solid weeks of real summer weather.  June was kind of a rainy wash, and the past few days here have felt like fall.  I almost wore tights instead of knee socks with this outfit!  And this top is actually a romper, but it was way too cool outside to not layer something on top of it.  I'm sincerely hoping for a hot August.

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on a carousel of time

We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came

And go round and round and round in the circle game

Have a great Monday!
xox Sammi