T3: Snow

This week’s Thoughtful Third Thursday Challenge is to wear an outfit inspired by our favorite literary villain.  At first I thought Cruella De Vil because, let’s be honest, that woman is fly as hell.  I basically want to be her when I grow up, minus the puppy murdering but with the rage-y hair.  But, then I remembered President Snow, from The Hunger Games.

Y’all, I love me some President Snow.  I mean, I hate him, but he really is my favorite villain because he scares the crap out of me.  And I love it!  I’m like the hyenas in The Lion King when they like to whisper “Mufasa” to each other just for the frisson of fear that runs up their spines.

That’s the feeling I get when I think or read about President Snow!  A frisson of fear… and the feeling that I’m going to vomit when I imagine the smell of blood and roses.  I can’t even write this post without wrinkling up my nose and feeling a bit sick.  Now that is a good villain!

And that villain is the inspiration behind today’s look:

In the books, Collins doesn’t talk a lot about what President Snow wears, aside from the rose in his lapel, so I borrowed from the new Mockingjay trailer and dressed all in white.

With a rose in on my lapel:

As always, I want to thank Maricel at My Closet Catalogue and Selah at A Bibliophile’s Style for the T3 Link Party and this fun challenge!

Happy (Thoughtful Third) Thursday, All!

Gracey

T3: The Secret Garden

First, let me say that I know that T3 happens the Third Thursday of the month and today is not Thursday.  But, I had a hard time with this month's challenge.  Instead of being inspired by what we're currently reading, we were supposed to create an outfit based on our favorite childhood book.  And this was hard for me.  Not because I didn't read as a child; I read all the time.  No, it was hard because I don't really do favorites.  I don't have a favorite color, a favorite book, a favorite food or a favorite author.

So, instead of trying to figure what book was my favorite, I tried to remember what book was one of my favorites.  I loved The Black Cauldron series, I loved Black Beauty, I loved Heidi and I loved The Secret Garden.

Such a great book.  I read it repeatedly as a child and loved it every single time.

And, it's the perfect inspiration behind today's outfit:

Dress: vintage, thrifted  Cardigan: Modcloth  Sandals: Nordstrom Rack  Belt: Gap

I found this vintage floral dress  at Goodwill about a month ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear it.  I think a T3 challenge inspired by The Secret Garden constitutes the perfect opportunity.

I mean, look at this print:

I'm not sure any of those are flowers you'd find in an actual garden, but it sure works for this challenge.

Actually, I'd argue that this dress just works, period.  I mean, buttons and pockets and the midi length and that wonderful print.  I was pretty thrilled when I thrifted this one.

So, yeah, I'm late to the T3 Link Party, but I'm wearing a fabulous dress.  Surely that counts for something.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Get the Look

ModCloth cardigan

Similar sandals (save, splurge)

Similar belt

T3: Prismatic Leopard

I am participating in Thoughtful Third Thursday (T3) today, with My Closet Catalogue and my outfit is inspired by a quote from a book that I'm actually struggling to read.  The book is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and while I realize that he was a genius and possibly the best writer of his generation, it's still slow going for me.

Which isn't to say it's not inspiring, because it is.  From the moment I read this quote, I knew it was going to be the basis for my T3 look:

My silent response to the expectant silence begins to affect the air of the room, the bits of dust and sportcoat-lint stirred around by the AC's vents dancing jaggedly in the slanted pane of windowlight, the air over the table like the sparkling space just above a fresh-poured seltzer.

Such a minor quote, but I LOVE how descriptive it is.  So, I based my look on the "sparkling space just above a fresh-poured seltzer":

Top: Thrifted MNG  Pants: Kohl's  Sandals: Isola via Nordstrom

Ordinarily I would have selected something that was literally sparkling, but I actually like this better.  To me, the prismatic leopard print perfectly represents the sparkling air above a dark table:

Or maybe not, but still, I think yes.  So I'm linking it up to T3.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Get the Look

Similar blouse

Similar pants

Isola sandals

T3: Under The Poppy’s Lovers' Eye

For Thoughtful Third Thursday (T3), we are supposed to create an outfit based on a quote or synopsis of a book we’re reading.  I’m deviating from that a little bit in that my outfit is based not on a quote or synopsis from the book, but on something I learned about from the book.  Oh, and it’s not a book I’m currently reading, either; I actually finished it a couple of days ago.

That being said, the book is Under the Poppy, by Kathe Koja, and it was confusing as hell for me.  I’m honestly still not sure what it was about or what happened.  Things I do know: The Poppy is a whorehouse, there was a lot of confusing wartime intrigue, and the Madame of the whorehouse wore blue lovers' eye brooch.  That brooch was given to her by her brother, who got it from his sugar mama and it eventually ended up with the lead whore although I’m not sure how.

Anyway, it was that brooch that inspired today’s outfit:

Yes, those are eyes on my blouse.

The blouse, obviously, represents the brooch.  And the red belt represents the fact that a lot of people were killed, usually by a knife, in this book.  The rest is just there because coming to work in nothing more than a blouse and a belt is seriously frowned upon.

Prior to reading this book, I had never heard of lovers' eye jewelry.  But, according to Wikipedia, they are “Georgian miniatures, normally watercolor on ivory, depicting the eye or eyes of a spouse, loved one or child.”  The fad started in the late 1700s and the pieces “were often worn as bracelets, brooches, pendants or rings with richly decorated frames.”  

Here are some examples of lovers' eye jewelry:

image via charcoalalley.com

Personally, I find those pretty darned creepy, but delightfully so.  Just like I find this vintage eye-print blouse creepy, but delightfully so:

Seriously, I love this thing.  When I found it in the thrift store, I snatched it up like someone would try to steal it from me.  I'm starting to think that's not true; I may be the only one who would want this.  But, that's okay too!

Happy Thursday, All!  And thank you so much to My Closet Catalogue for hosting Third Thursday Threads!

Gracey

P.S., if you want, you can get a custom made lovers' eye for yourself or your loved one at this Etsy shop!

T3: Geek Love's Rose Garden

The other day I was invited by M, at My Closet Catalogue, to participate in Thoughtful Third Thursday (T3), which is a new link party.  The idea is to create a post about what you're currently reading, including a quote or synopsis and an outfit based on the quote/synopsis.  As you can see, I'm a bit late with my post, but I figure better late than never.

I am reading Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn, which is about a family where the children were purposely bred, by their parents, to be "circus freaks" to work in the family's traveling circus.  And it's amazing.  Here is my inspiration quote:

"Please, Papa," I begged, "tell us the Rose Garden."

...

"It was in Oregon, up in Portland, which they call the Rose City, though I never got in gear to do anything about it until a year or so later when we we were stuck in Fort Lauderdale."

He had been restless one day, troubled by business boondoggles.  He drove up into a park on a hillside and got out for a walk.  "You could see for miles from up there.  And there was a big rose garden with arbors and trellises and fountains.  The paths were brick and wound in and out."  He sat on a step leading from one terrace to another and stared listlessly at the experimental roses.  "It was a test garden, and the colors were... designed.  Striped and layered.  Once color inside the petal and another color outside."

...

The roses started him thinking, how the oddity of them was beautiful and how that oddity was contrived to give them value.  "It just struck me - clear and complete all at once - no long figuring about it."  He realized that children could be designed.  "And I thought to myself, now that would be a rose garden worthy of a man's interest."

And here is my outfit, inspired by that quote:

I thought the blue and purple roses on my dress, with their jade stems, were a good representation of what designer roses might look like:

And, not for nothing, but I also have jade stems today:

In addition to my dress (vintage, thrifted) and my jade tights (Target), I also wore a vintage wool blazer (thrifted), black ankle boots (BC Footwear) and an animal print belt (thrifted).  The belt is there because I can't resist the combination of animal and floral and because the traveling circus has big cats as well as home-grown "freaks."

As I mentioned, I'm linking up with My Closet Catalogue for T3, but also to Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.  Thank you to M and Patti for hosting!


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey