Carmine & Hayworth

I'm one of those people who have a very addictive personality.  This can lead to bad things, but, in my case, my addiction has led to that of the vintage kind.  I am a collector of many things, but vintage lingerie is my passion.  The pure brilliance of the construction in each piece is rivaled by none. I recently found this piece by "Edith Lance" online and I instantly fell in love! The beautiful Black lace ruffles and inky Black velvet trim is stunning beyond words! What makes this bustier even better is the nude nylon lining with Gold Lurex threaded in it.  I mean, really, how could it get much better?  Photos could NEVER do this bustier justice! What I love the most about vintage lingerie, bustiers in particular, are the over wires.  Any person who puts a TRUE vintage over wire bustier or bra on know is has trans-formative powers! My best advice is to get one of these babies and put one on when you're having a bad day, then you will see just h...

Okay, can we just take a little time to appreciate how GORGEOUS this Chartreuse blouse is from "Pinup Girl Clothing"?! I mean, SERIOUSLY! I will slowly slip into a Chartreuse coma from the beauty! Photos do not do this blouse justice! A redhead's best friend is a Chartreuse outfit! Not to mention that I fully appreciate that this blouse zips downwards... now I don't have to dislocate my arm trying to zip up a top by myself! ;/   Now while I'm on things that are part of my obsessions, let's talk about this pastel pink bustier: Bustier: Vintage "Sears Best" I was having a SUPER crap day yesterday and I was in desperate need of something to lift my spirits. I've shown this piece before, but I need to share it again! It's amazing how something so simple can be so stunning!  I've said it before and I'll say it again: Nothing can remedy a horrible day better than something that inspires you.   Chocolate, burgers, sex, etc. c...

Have you ever had one of those "Aha!" moments where life starts to make complete sense and you feel the most clarity of your path in life? Have you also experienced that moment of euphoria and let it get ripped away by your self-doubt and anxiety? Said "Yes" to both? Then we have a big thing in common! :) About two months ago, me and my boyfriend were sitting on the couch sketching, talking, you know, the typical Saturday morning.  He's one of those people that is so super humanly intelligent and talented, but, like me, experiences a lot of self-doubt and humbleness to the point of insanity! For our first Christmas together, he painted me these four little canvas prints of my favorite thing: Mid Century televisions. They are something that to him seemed insignificant, but to me were the best presents I could've received.  This was in 2012 and since then, I've begged him to make more.  Now flash forward to two month ago, we had the idea, "Why...

I like to start off every Monday with a little bit of inspiration to get my day going.  Julie Newmar usually does the trick :)

I must preface this post by first saying that I am NOT a Winter person. I only want it to snow the month of December for the holidays and then I never want to see Winter again.  Being that I live in North Dakota, this is simply not possible (at least for now).   In the Winter, I lose all of my motivation to dress like a human being and more like a mound of laundry.  It is not uncommon for me to put on 6 (yes I said SIX) layers of clothing before walking out the door.  Today, with wind chills, it is about -26 below zero and I'm pretty sure it's what death feels like.  With that being said, it take A LOT to get me into a dress this time of year, something which I usually NEVER have a problem with during the rest of the seasons.  I've never been much of a yoga pants or hoodie person, but when it's THIS cold, I make a HUGE exception :) Yesterday, in the mail, I received this STUNNING Cotton, late 1940's Floral dress I found on Etsy.  I've always bee...

Now a "Painted Lady" has some interesting meanings nowadays. This term is used to describe a colorful Victorian home and even a type of butterfly, but the meaning I'm most intrigued with is that of it describing a prostitute. Upon further reading, I found that this term to describe these women was most commonly used in the Wild West times.  Now without going into a history lesson, I'm must curious about how to wear makeup and dress "seductively" for that time one was labeled as "disgraceful" and as "soiled doves" (Legends of America).  My point is that whenever I put my makeup on in the morning and get dressed, I always think of this term and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit fascinated by the use of "painted". While applying my eyeliner, I thought of the saying floating around social media of eyeliner being a woman's "War Paint" and that couldn't be more accurate! I feel like when I'm ...

Now I know it's not midnight or Halloween, but this outfit has quickly and obviously become my favorite! As I've said, there's something about the black lace and bell sleeves that really get my heart beating :) Blouse: Nasty Gal Bustier: Vintage "Lady Marlene" This blouse just SCREAMS Witchy Woman ;) I've also become quite fond of tinkering around with different photo filters (I live quite a wondrous life).  This past week has also brought forth one of my favorite pastimes: COLLECTING :)  While visiting my Great-Aunt in Denver every Summer, I'm always in awe of her collection of Gilner elves that she's accumulated since the early 1950's.  Since then, whenever I find anything from Gilner, I buy it!  One such set of pieces are a pair of Gilner Balinese Dancers that I acquired from a former boss.  For my birthday, this past Sunday, I received the mini versions of those dancers by Gilner as well. Not only are these UTTERLY ...

Okay, before I start off, can we please take a moment to admire the beauty in this photo? I've always been an admirer of burlesque mainly because I give MAJOR props to any performer and their INSANELY amazing performances! I find it extremely fascinating how they draw in the audience and truly mesmerize all those who are watching, men AND women.  This photo of the KILLER Burlesque Queen Tempest Storm proves my point.  There's no fluff, decoration or scenery in the background to distract... just her.  You're eye immediately divert to her without any care about her surrounding, or lack thereof.  The subtlety of her unzipping her gown to show part of her costume is hypnotizing!  Anywho, that distracted me from what my point was ;) Sex appeal and subtlety are two things I find EXTREMELY interesting, as I stated above.  I've found that when taking photos of myself, the ones I most appreciate and feel the most confident in are actually those that a...

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Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you're slowly sinking into the ground and by the end of the day you've sunk so far you feel as if you can't breathe? Welcome to the lovely and painful world of depression/anxiety. Over the years I've done EVERYTHING to help combat the crippling anxiety and panic attacks that I've been getting, which also seem to be getting worse and more frequent.  I've been to therapists, used medications, drank and unsuccessfully tried meditating (I like to move around too much).  I've found that only two things seem to make any sort of difference: exercise and playing dress-up. Now first off, I don't mean the kind of obsessive exercise to lose weight.  I mean the kind of exercise that means doing some weightlifting (to help with my nerves) and an elliptical (to exhaust my mind out of worrying).  Whether or not those are the right reasons to do it, I do it anyways.   Dressing-up is something that I've do...

Growing up, I was always attracted to the concept of the "Little Black Dress", not because of my love of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" but because of my love of Stevie Nicks.  I love that mysterious "witchy" vibe, but also, as she's stated, it makes you look slimmer! Now having said that, I have good days and bad days with my body self-esteem, but is it a crime to want to appear a little different than how your body has been made? I think not! Unlike what my this title states, I wear Black everyday. I own lots of things of different colors, but I always go back to what is effortless! Even if you wear Jet Black Yoga pants and a black fleece zip up, it already has an added level of sophistication! Weird huh? This dress is my DREAM DRESS believe it or not! It's simple, chic and dare I say witchy! ;) I've always wanted a dress with a little train coming off the back of it and I wanted it to be Black! Voila! I recently wore this to a fundraiser for...