An Over the Top Outfit, Deconstructed

I'm going to a Zandra Rhodes book signing on Wednesday.
On Friday I road tested an outfit.

Let's study what's going on.

The pink fluffiness is a rectangle of Mongolian Lamb. Maybe originally intended as a rug?
It was displayed on the floor at the Flitterman Collection studio sale:

It was love at first sight, but it took me several circuits of the room to commit.
No regrets!

Next layer is the pink mystery fiber sequinned ombre scarf that I got at a Tibetan shop in Williamsburg, NY in January 2012. That MIGHT have been the moment I was finally comfortable wearing Barbie Pink.

On my extremities:
chenille armlettes cut from socks,
striped socks from Uniqlo (obtained at a store opening on deep discount).

Neon Yellow Fluevog Aimees on my feet.

Base layers: royal blue cheap Chinese high-low dress:

And last but not least, the Crazy Legs Leggings from Society6!

Somebody (on Facebook? on Instagram?) wanted to see a closeup of the print on the leggings:

It's a digital composite of three 60's prints which I insterted into the Crown of Thorns quilting pattern.

Let's continue deconstructing!
I couldn't find the red ground paisley vest (in a box somewhere), here are the other two sources:

Pink, mustard, and white smock that is "in work" (I cut off the yoke).

You've seen this neon shirt before!

All three garments came from my friend Larry's stash. Thanks Larry!

Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Ageless Style

52 Pick-me-up: Gold / Abundance / Friendship

••• 

Gold is this week's color on 52 Pick-me-up, wrapping up seven weeks of yellow tones.
This pink and gold paisley scarf is one of my favorites:

Abundance and Friendship go nicely with Thanksgiving.  Grateful for all my friends! xxox

Linking with Patti's Visible Monday.

 Gold / Abundance / Friendship -- link and tell!

52 Pick-me-up: Pink / Discovery / Journey

•••  

OK. There is some deep synchronicity happening. As this gets published, I'll be en route to just home in LA from Newark, NJ. Hello Journey, I hope you are you were a smooth one! (You know I'd rather drive, right?)

Severo had a gig at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead, NY and very kindly offered to bring me along. It's not often that I get to play groupie these days and I jumped at the opportunity.

We arrived in Manhattan a couple of days early and were able to explore some museums (along with eat prodigious amounts of food). Thursday night, we went the the New Whitney, now located at 99 Gansevoort St, at the foot of the High Line. It's an exciting space, and makes it possible for the museum to exhibit more of its vast collection. They're open unusually late until 10pm [still closed Tuesdays], and it's scenic to walk the High Line at sunset, then explore the museum as it gets dark.

Pink was on my mind as we viewed the current exhibit, America Is Hard To See (runs until 9/27).

Philip Guston, Dial, Oil on linen, 1956

I started noticing lots of pink ladies:

Reginald Marsh, Ten Cents a Dance, Tempera on composition board, 1933

Paul Cadmus, Sailors and Floosies, Oil and tempera on linen, painted wood frame, 1938

Thomas Hart Benton, Poker Night (from A Streetcar Named Desire), Tempera and oil on linen, 1948

George Tooker, The Subway, Tempura on composition board, 1950

Willem de Kooning, Woman and Bicycle, Oil, enamel, charcoal on linen, 1952-53

And families:

Allan D'Arcangelo, Madonna and Child, Acrylic and gesso on canvas, 1963

Robert Bechtle, '61 Pontiac, Oil on canvas, 1968-69

Marisol, Women and Dog, Wood, plaster, acrylic, taxidermic dog head, found objects 

Hey! I know that guy photobombing the art!
It's my resident rock star!

The Smithereens from the wings, Suffolk Theater, Riverhead, NY, August 15, 2015

And partner in gluttony:

Pink and Whites from William Greenberg

And general silliness:

In the Egyptian wing of The Met

Did I wear any pink this trip? Yes, indeed!

The trusty 60's shift and new 99¢ socks from Jack's

[Added] Linking up with Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

Been any place new lately? What did you discover?
Pink / Discovery / Journey -- link and tell:

52 Pick-me-up: True Red / Insecurity / Bravery

•••  

True Red in motion. 

Since it's the week's prompt, I've been thinking about Bravery.
A lot of my personally brave moments, when I really think about it, are better described as good thinking and wise decisions. Like that time in January 1997 when I said to myself "no more" after this guy I'd been seeing for about 8 months (and lived with for 6 weeks) abandoned me (with all my stuff) outside of a motel in Mesa, AZ while my van was in the shop for a week. He was assuming I'd stay at the motel. Instead, I called a cab, stayed near the mechanic, and didn't reveal my location.
Two weeks later, back in Los Angeles, I met Severo.
Or the cancer battle I waged and won five years ago? Just followed marching orders, no choice was involved. All my angels were the brave ones. I only needed the courage to ask for help. Which was hard, for sure, but not huge.

First responders.
Now THAT'S bravery.
And their vehicles often are True Red!

I'll leave it at that. I'm not touching insecurity -- not brave enough.
True Red / Insecurity / Bravery -- link and tell!

52 Pick-me-up: Pattern Max

PURCHASED/ PURLOINED/ CREATED/ GIFTED/  

Oh thank you IRS for causing a delayed posting for this week's challenge. I managed to schedule my favorite theme -- Pattern Maxing -- in my least favorite week -- Tax Deadline. I'm back dating this and we'll all pretend that today is Sunday. If only!

Since I'm bombarding you daily with all of the fake journaling of Enid, I'm compiling the four outfits that I wore to work last week. I was inspired to new heights of pattern mixing [or maxing, as I like to say] by the Create 28 Lovely Spring Looks Challenge, the brainchild of Whitney A La Mode and Carrie of A Lovely Little Wardrobe. [I'm trying to do the challenge with my socks, but it is getting more and more difficult. Today's prompt is "Spring Dresses". How on earth can a sock be a spring dress?]

Anyway, on the the kooky outfits:

Monday. "Pattern on Bottom"
Pattern everywhere except for my tights.

Tuesday. "Pastels"
Pattern or embellishment everywhere except the faux Keds

Wednesday. Off theme.
Pattern everywhere.
Especially liked the leopard under the striped tee.
Note Jean's neck cowl [gifted] worn as a bum cover/ hip warmer.

Thursday. "Floral"
The coworkers gave me many compliments on the recently rediscovered circle skirt.

There you have it, my week of Pattern Maxing.
Go on, give it a try! Baby steps welcome too -- try a stripe with floral.
I have a helpful pattern mixing post here.

Linking with Create 28 Lovely Spring Looks
and Share-in-Style

Was your Pattern Maxing a success? Link and tell!

52 Pick-me-up: Hat Trick

PURCHASED/ PURLOINED/ GIFTED 

This week is all about hats. Judith, the Style Crone, hosts "Hat Attack" on the first of every month.
She asks us to "...display your hat, headwrap, headpiece, fascinator, hair flower, headband or other adornment for your head..." This time the linky parties shall align, despite the fact that Mercury is still in retrograde.

I'm featuring my collection of ribbon hats.
They are made in China, I think with leftovers from apparel manufacturers. I bought them all at the 99 Cent Depot in Culver City, for $1.99!

[Screen capture from my Tumblr]

Here's the first one that I bought:

The ribbon is printed with this: "get wrapped in the fabric of MIMCO...........for frolicking"
What does that mean?

I played "match the hat" with a tee and scarf:

And:

And:

And:

And:

This last look has further permutations yet to occur. When they happen, you'll be the first to know.

My personal ribbon hat stack:

That's a drawing by Cidney Hochman behind the hats, not that you can see it.

What's your hat trick? Link and tell!

52 Pick-me-up: Amaryllis

PURCHASED/ GIFTED/ 

It's a flower week again on 53 Pick-me-up. The Amaryllis is a lily-like bulb that comes in many colors.

Amaryllis by disequilibber [source]

I'm using red, burgundy, and pink to inspire today's look.

Yeah, stripes still. I like stripes.

I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday later today.

Which Amaryllis color will you link?

Sock It To Me, Geometrically

PURCHASED/ PURLOINED/ PRESS SAMPLE*/ LINKS/

This post was prompted (harhar) by Maricel asking about "Geometric" prints and my own confusion over the order of the 52 Pick-me-up prompts. I messed up on the graphic calendar (that gave me mild bursitis, btw) and "Go Green" HAD to be during the week with St. Patrick's Day and it wasn't. I shuffled around the order of the challenges but was still looking at the old calendar. Are you more confused now? Yeah, me too.

Moving along, here are some geometric socks that inspired my look:

Happy Socks. Some of the greatest graphic socks around.
(not sponsored by them but I should be)
And aren't the pansies sweet? They really liked the deluge of rain that we got last week.

*c/o Capwell & Co. necklace, which you can hardly see
just doing my FTC due diligence here, folks

It's still Sock Inspiration week on 52 Pick-me-up.
If you don't have any weird socks or tights, click here for some inspiration.
You don't have to PURCHASE anything.
Just drag the image of your choice to your desktop (or make a screen capture) and use it to compile your outfit.

I'm taking my crazy legs over to Patti's Visible Monday. Can't miss me in this CMYK ensemble.
You have until very early Wednesday morning (PDT -- did you remember to change your clocks forward today?) to link up here.

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Pick-me-up: Crazy Legs

CREATED/ PURCHASED/ GIFTED/ 

Loving everyone's libation looks from last week!

Ready for another creative way to get dressed? This week, I'm asking you to find your craziest socks (or legwear) and use those as your sartorial inspiration. You don't have to wear the socks with the outfit. I certainly didn't!

As you are (hopefully) aware, I have my share of crazy socks.
Severo kindly provides me with many, such as the hula girl sample above.

How did these socks inspire me?

The days have long passed that I would wear a bikini top (at some point I'll go into why, but not today). I took the cue of the brightly colored flowers in the bra for my top and something green for the bottom. Sadly, no flower pattern on my legs [note to self: design some flower power tights STAT] but I don't think I'd have chosen the argyle tights if not for this challenge. They work, in some weird way.
It wasn't until I was cropping the sock photo this morning that I realized the Hawaiian shirt used as a background would have played well with my ensemble:

Oh well, next time!

Closeup of the tee graphic:

Yesterday was Mardi Gras, I think this is an appropriate choice!

In April, Severo and I will be having our own rendezvous with beignets. We're booked for two nights in the Garden District (he found an amazingly inexpensive hotel that rates OK on TripAdvisor). Maybe the only stop of my On the Edge road trip that we're meeting up. (NOLA appealed to his gluttonous side).
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Can't wait to see YOUR cazy socks. If you want to keep it BIG EASY (harhar), simply shoot a photo and stick it on some social media. Anything with a URL can be linked!
Link and tell, people!

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Pick-me-up: Dress Like a Libation

PURCHASED/ PURLOINED/ LINKS/

Here is this week's 52 Pick-me-up directive: Dress like your favorite cocktail.

Can you guess mine?

Hint:

photo by Sarah of Call Me Fudge

I'm a (virgin) Tequila Sunrise!
This was my drink of choice when I was going out to see LA pop shows in the 90s.
That is, if I bothered to pay for a beverage. Usually I didn't drink anything, so that I could avoid nasty rest rooms.

Here's Call Me Fudge's Tequila Sunrise recipe:

TEQUILA SUNRISE
(makes 1 drink)

2 oz. tequila
4 oz. orange juice
3/4 oz. grenadine

1.  Fill a high ball glass with ice.  Pour in tequila and orange juice.

2.  Slowly pour in grenadine and allow it to separate and settle at the bottom.

3.  Stir before sipping!

I found Sarah's site through a Google Image search. What a fun blog!

OK, put down that drink, link, and tell!

Dress like your favorite cocktail

Dress like your favorite cocktail

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Pick-me-up: In the Pink? Or is Valentine's Making You Blue?

PURCHASED/ PURLOINED/ GIFTED/ 

Organized holidays try my patience.

Hence the blueness.

Not really, I found so many things that coordinated with these new chenille socks that I bought at the 98¢ and Up Depot for $1.98. I opted for more blues than pinks.

Despite my dislike of Valentine's, I'll do my best to be a good girlfriend.
I'll be in Palm Springs on 2/14 but I have a GREAT card all set to give to Severo:

alternatehistories on Etsy

I discovered the artist through a Tumblr newsletter, of all things.
I love his work, he's got a great sense of twisted humor.

And now some Tom:


Blue or pink? How is your Valentine's shaping up?
Don't get all maudlin, link instead!

52 Pick-me-up: Go Dotty

PURCHASED/ GIFTED/ LINKS/

Dots are this week's theme.

If you are regular, you are well aware of the many dotted socks that I own.
You've also seen this skirt a lot.

Glamor shot, so that I can join Style Crone's Hat Attack:

 I'm still swamped with work, so I'll keep this short. Got dots?