The Heroine Series: Wonder Woman 1

I'm excited to start a new, recurring feature on this site: The Heroine Series! You're probably like "girrrl, whatcha talkin' 'bout?" (or maybe not). As you may or may not know, I looove comics, anime, and video games, as well as grappling (judo, brazilian jiu jitsu). And it has bothered me my entire 27-year-old life that people put lady fighters in outfits like this:

I hope you like people seeing your vagina.

OK, seriously? That dress had best be held up by the power of the gods or Sophitia will be fighting naked. At least her shoes will still be on.

And while those are a couple of the many, MANY worst offenders, I am still very, VERY bothered by outfits like this:

Can someone tell me how this girl walks for miles on end, let alone BASES her legs for fighting enemies? Aeris's dress would have to be unbuttoned up to her crotch for her to be able to use her legs while fighting.

While most of the outfits are reasonable, this cat better be magical if she's acrobatic for hours in those heels. I mean, at best, a lady can run in heels for hours, not scale walls. Kitty, go get some sensible shoes! How are you outrunning Batman in that sheit?!

Now let's glance at their male counterparts:

Why doesn't Batman wear heels? Probably because he's a genius.

These guys look a bit more outfitted for some serious fighting. OK, maybe except the last guy. Someone needs to tell Zangief that isn't a real wrestling outfit.

Anyway, I digress. The Heroine Series will feature functional, yet stylish, outfits inspired by our favorite saving-the-day-and/or-night ladies. It CAN be done!

Today's outfit is inspired by (note, I said inspired by, not a recreation of) Wonder Woman's:

Can I get a little sparkle up in the hiz-ouse

Her outfit is actually fairly functional, except the straplessness of her bodysuit (and sometimes her boots have heels). I love the functionality and stylishness of her bodysuit, and her gold belt.

So, here's what I came up with:

Wassup!

I'm wearing a Motel bodysuit over shorts, Converse shoes, a Free People sheer skirt, and a Mettle Fair Trade gold belt. I'm wearing the bodysuit over shorts because, while I am not averse to panty flashing, I am averse to va-jay-jay flashing. Maybe Wonder Woman has a magical bodysuit that doesn't flash her goodies, but my bodysuit, which *unfortunately* is bound by the laws of physics, needs to be paired with shorts to keep my private areas... well, private.

This outfit allows for fantastic range of motion. I need to disclaim the following pictures: I am not versed in striking martial arts like taekwondo or wushu. Just the grappling martial arts judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu. So please excuse my sucky kicking.

Bam! There goes your face! Maybe.

Harai goshi practice. Hey, no laughing in judo.

Look ma, no flashing! Other important functional details are I can sweat as much as I want without ruining my outfit AND do a fair bit of traveling in my flat, comfy shoes.

If you're wondering about my belt, the answer is yes, it is freaking awesome. So awesome that it'll be featured in probably many other outfit posts, so I'll talk about it in more detail another day.

Really, it's a glammed-up version of what women actually wear in Olympic wrestling (as opposed to fake WWE wrestling):

Wrestling, Women's Freestyle 55kg match, Beijing 2008, credit london2012.com

Obviously, the last thing these ladies want to worry about is a boob pop or a crotch flash, and what they're wearing has proved to be pretty damn functional.

The only advice I'd offer would-be heroines who want to adapt this outfit as their own is to cut the skirt a bit shorter. I had to hold the skirt up while walking up stairs. I'm sure that won't be a problem - in the heroine world, shorter doesn't seem to ever be a problem!

So, there you have it! Wonder Woman, don't go cribbin my look. Or do. Whatevs. That was a lot for one post, so I'll leave it at that.

Don't mess.

America's Next Top Model Cycle 17 - Michael Cinco

If you saw the finale of Cycle 17's America's Next Top Model, you might be as disappointed as I am; I don't want to ruin the season for anyone who hasn't seen the end of the cycle, so we'll move on to something I *did* like this ANTM - Michael Cinco!

****IMAGE SPOILERS***** of the second to last episode of ANTM Cycle 17 coming up!

Some blogs I've read feel Michael Cinco's work to be too costume-y or bling-y, but I disagree. I think his work is absolutely beautiful! I love it and wish I could have it all. ALL. Here is a series of my favorite pieces by Michael showcased in ANTM.

I'm lovin' Lisa's belt and headpiece!

Angelea's shoulderpiece was AMAAAAAZE

Michael Cinco, prince of laser cutting. Unrelated, Angelea is so pretty here!

Check out Alli-cat's dress! To die for!

Another look at Lisa's belt and shoulderpiece.

"I.... want... my... MOMMY!!!"

i LOVE all that shit on Laura's forearm, for reals. No, really, for reals.

Alli'cat's crowning moment! Her necklace is seriously perfect on this outfit.

UGH, i LOVE all this stuff! I would wear any or all of this on a DAILY FREAKING BASIS. I pray that Michael Cinco will outfit me on my wedding day and make me look like a gladiatress/medieval-robo-cop ready to slay the shit out of anybody who happens to be on the aisle. Which will be no-one if I dress like this. Because everyone will be running away screaming.

Karmaloop outfit contest

It's that time again... I've entered another outfit contest! Please vote for me! You need to be signed into facebook and can vote once per day.

Here's the outfit:

Top: Wildfox (bought from Karmaloop)

Shoes: The Lorissa Pump by Sam Edelman (bought from Karamloop)

Jeans: J Brand Coated

Armor Rings: Melody Ehsani (bought from Karmaloop)

Lightning Necklace: The Extras (bought from Karmaloop)

Spike Rings: Noir (bought from Karmaloop)

Clutch: Lucky Mag

In terms of high fashion, it's a bit toned down because, honestly, this is the Karmaloop outfit contest, not the Vogue outfit contest. I figured a more everyday-wear outfit (sans heels) was more appropriate. Besides, I know it says "outfit contest", but it's more a "most votes wins" contest, so it's more like a popularity contest, eh? I should stop entering these; they always break my heart. But here I am trying again anyway! Oh wells!

Let me know if you like my outfit!

Pants Trance

I own just about every style of basic blue jean out there. Skinny, straight leg, flares, bootcut - you name it, I probably have it. That's probably why I am so enTRANCEd by shiny, go-get-'em, in-your-face, absolutely-blinding, oh-my-god-is-that-girl-actually-wearing-that PANTS. Here are the fancy pants that are on my current wish list in order of most want to least want (oh please Santa, I've been good.... OK, honestly, not really):

AG Adriano Goldschmied Sequin Ponte Pants in Navy, currently $225. Buy at Bloomingdales (where the image is from).

Siwy Hannah in Chrome, currently $174. Buy at siwydenim.com, where the image is from.

Joe's Jeans Leopard Print skinny jeans (from the Wild collection), currently $169. Buy at Nordstrom's, where the image lives.

AG Adriano Goldschmied Leatherette Legging in Red, currently $198. You can buy them at boutiquetoyou, where the image lives. Ohhhhh, damn you, AG! Damn your good looking pants!

Joe's Jeans Coated Skinny in Teal, currently $169. Buy at Nordstrom's, where the image is from.

J Brand Sparkle Coated Jeggings in Sterling, currently $202. Buy at Bloomingdales, where the image is housed. Side note: I have a pair of J Brand Agnes coated skinny in Stealth. The gloss coating is actually not shiny enough for my taste, but I still want the J Brand Sparkle Coated anyway because J Brand is usually sooooo comfy! Definitely worth the extra $$ for the high quality denim.

ASOS Skinny Jeans with Foil Snake Print, currently $80.86. Buy at ASOS (where image cred goes). This is last on my list ONLY because I've never worn ASOS jeans before, so I don't know how soft and comfy their denim material is. That is something really important to me.

And there you have it! My fancy pants lust list! You can actually find shiny pants alternatives on eBay for much much cheaper (like $40-$60); just search "sequin pants" and the like. Unfortunately that won't work for me; my skin is super sensitive (can anyone say "horrible excema"? no?) and so I have to be really careful of the cloth quality of skinny pants. So, all I can do is stare at my pants list with puppy eyes and hope I can afford a pair soon... not that I can choose just one from this list!

3 ways to wear your DIY detachable collar

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. To make up for it, I've got a fun one for you today!

So after reading rookiemag's post on how to DIY your own detachable collar, I was totally inspired by how easy it looked! The post basically says just cut a collar off a shirt, including the neckband. I immediately went to Goodwill and snagged an otherwise ugly shirt with a really cute collar:

Shapeless lace shirt-thing from Goodwill... with awesome buttons

All I did with this was snip off the collar and *voila* I was done! Check out my new, totally awesome detachable collar:

Close-up, in all its glory!

There are 3 ways you can rock your totally awesome new DIY detachable collar.

1. By itself (of course)!

Oh, this thing is so cool

This thing is a statement all by itself; you don't need to go crazy with it. Wear it with some basics and you're good to go! It adds automatic cool to whatever boring (or not boring, whatever) things you're wearing.

2. With pins.

Do I (or don't I) look dapper? (Sorry for the allergy spots on my face).

You can dress up your collar (in case it's not dressy enough as it is for you) with your favorite pins/brooches. I bought this wicked brooch pin from ASOS (it's hard to deny free shipping both ways), and I love it. I like the contrast of the spiked pins with the girly lace.

3. With a tie or bow (or bowtie).

Aww, so sweet! *barf*

You can still treat a detachable collar as, well, a collar, so tie a necktie or bow around it. I'm not very good at tying bows, but I still tried.

There you have it! Go cut yourself off a collar and get to playing with it! Let me know which look you like best and how you'd wear it!

Tatiana, queen of the faeries

SO, while they were going on, I sent a lot of entries into Cat Deeley's "In the Dressing Room" dress-up competitions, and it was a LOT of fun! If you're asking yourself,"What the *bleep* is she talking about?", I'll fill you in. During the weeks of So You Think You Can Dance, Cat gave away two items from her dressing room every week. To enter, you had to send in a themed photo, and the theme was designated by Cat twice a week (a different one for each item she was giving away). Cat was waaaaayy creative with the themes - they ranged from "show me your military chic" to "dress as if you were Cruella de Ville". It felt a little bit like Halloween!

One of the themes I dressed up for was "Tatiana, queen of the faeries" (from Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream). What do you think?

H & M metallic knit sweater

Please excuse the surly look on my face, but I love this H&M metallic knit sweater I picked up in France! I promise, I'm happy on the inside.

Metallic is so in for the fall! How are you going to edge metallics into your wardrobe this fall? Casually, with a bit of shine added into your mattes? or all-out tin-woman?