Gone Is The Flaming Heart And With It Torrid's Soul

I knew Torrid was making changes. The Torrid nearest to me recently moved from the Arlington Parks Mall to the Arlington Highlands shopping center, but it wasn't just the location that changed. Gone were the sensuous purple walls and boudoir lighting, gone were the gothic black decorations that brought it all together, even after the product went through a drastic change years ago. At least it was still Torrid, and to all the plus-size alternative girls, Torrid represented the hope that we were visible long before blogs and selfies.

[TOP 10 TUESDAY] Getting Crafty With 10 Supernatural Items on Etsy

The Supernatural Mid-Season Finale was tonight, which means I have 5 Tuesday nights free and Alex has 5 Tuesdays mornings without the Heat of the Moment alarm. It was a compromise after she threatened to throw my phone out the window. With all the live blogging going on, I felt it was the perfect night to post the Supernatural anti-possession bows on our Faye's Realm Etsy store. I'd been meaning to for a while since we don't have any conventions for about three months.

[DAILY OUTFIT] Now That She's Back From That Soul Vacation, Tracing Her Way Through The Constellation (Corpus Christi Trip Day 1)

Listening to: Drops of Jupiter - Train

My younger sister, Alex and I went down to Corpus Christi in the middle of the week recently to see a friend. The trip was half-planned, half-impromptu and drained the small reserve of money we had. But we go out of town often for conventions so it was nice to go just for fun.

[DAILY OUTFIT] Long Black Skirts And Painted Eyes, Sally Used To Mesmerize With Sultry Music From Above

Listening to: Bittersweet - Kristin Hoffmann

I decided to play around with Photoshop filters. The sunset colored the photo, this song was playing in my head, and thus I felt moved to give it a more artsy look. Thank you Angled Strokes.

[TOP 10 TUESDAY] In Honor Of The Day of the Doctor, I'm Coveting These 10 Stylish TARDIS

I recently got lost on Etsy while I was suppose to be uploading some new bows for Faye's Realm. It's really easy to get sidetracked in a digital sea of creative people.

The upcoming Doctor Who 50th Anniversary 3D Special was heavily on my mind as I live in one of the cities that is doing a simulcast that Saturday. The tickets sold out quickly and I felt like a bad fan but Alex and I were debating going because 3D movies give her motion sickness. Also, we wanted to go with friends - nerdy fangirling is a lot more fun in groups.

Back on Etsy, a single Tardis bow led me down a rabbit hole of wishlist making. My closet is shamefully lacking as geeky girl, and while I don't wear a lot of blue, I think it could use some. In no specific order, these were my favorite finds:

[GET THE LOOK] Saving People, Hunting Things, The Family Business: Dean Winchester Inspired Fall Outfit

With our big move back to her Mom's house as well as her knee injury (due to moving), Alex and I have spent A LOT of time indoors. We're both freelancers so it's to be expected but cabin fever has kicked in more than once. The Fall TV lineup, however, has provided some comforting entertainment. There's a lot of magic on TV right now, maybe it's that time of the year, but I'm not complaining, especially because one of those magical shows is Supernatural Season 9.

Yes, I'm one of those fangirls and my current obsession is Supernatural (just look at my Tumblr if you dare). With the season premiere and episode two down, I felt an outfit inspired by my favorite hunter (Dean and I are both Aquarius lol) would be a great way to celebrate another Tuesday full of "feels" - namely Kevin's and Crowley's.

[DAILY OUTFIT] We All Had Our Minds Made Up For Us, We Had To Believe In Something, So We Did

Listening to: Alanis Morissette's Forgiven

I wasn't sure if I was going to take part in the crosses trend that is all the rage among the Nu Goth culture. With the sudden over-saturation of symbols in fashion, I've been contemplating how and why we wear them. For instance, triangles are pretty popular and I've seen them on plenty of shirts, but I'm sure not many know what the upward and downward-facing triangles are symbols of the male and female respectively.

[STREET SNAP] What The Hatmaker Wore To The Ball

I didn't do as much walking around and taking pictures at Anime Overload 5 as I would have liked. However, I wasn't going to pass up the burst of style and color that was our neighboring booth. Her daily fashion show really brightened up the weekend.

[DAILY OUTFIT + STREET STYLE] The Moon Was Full And The Color Of Blood The Night The Pirates Came To The Vampire Club

Listening to: Voltaire's Vampire Club

Since we missed him last time he came to Dallas, Alex and I made a point to attend Voltaire's Pirate Party earlier this month at The Church. Surprisingly enough I don't have anything "Pirate Chic" in my closet but I managed to pull this outfit together last minute. I hate attending a good party under-dressed.

[GEEK OUT] #ManiMonday Brings You Gotham's Finest Eyeshadows

I am so proud of mysef - I actually did my nails yesterday and participated in #ManiMonday! (Though I should have posted this yesterday.) My nails normally chip too easily and quickly so painting them hardly seems worth it. This time around, I tried a sample of Nailene which guarantees "Lasting Wear" by cleaning residue off your nails and making the polish adhere better. My first chip usually happens within 36 hours and this time was no different.



I don't care how out-of-style it is, I'm finally trying some crackle nail polish. Like I said, I'm not a big nail person so this is the first polish purchase I've made in a long, long time. And since I'm in a very beauty type of mood, I wanted to share some killer eye make-up I found on Tumblr:

Each look is inspired by Gotham City superheroes and supervillains. My favorites are Batwoman and Harley Quinn but I'm also very partial to these girls and these colors.





I'm also impressed by the detail in Mr. Freeze and Dark Knight, though the rhinestones don't really match his persona but are a wonderful touch.



Which one is your favorite eyeshadow vs. favorite character?

Who Are You Dressing For? Do You Really Care What They Think of Your Ass In Those Leggings?

Upon reading "Leggings Aren't Pants. They're Superior." by Amanda Hess at Slate.com, I was reminded of three things: (1) I need a new pair of black leggings; (2) Why don't I have more patterned leggings?

My Current Leggings Wishlist

(3) Someone out there is always going to be critical of what I (and you) wear.

You can't please everyone - so why not wear something that makes you comfortable? As Hess points out, "Leggings aren’t pants... It's time to stop squeezing our lower bodies into constrictive denim prisons and instead envelope them in a forgiving cotton-spandex jersey... Leggings aren’t tights. Right? Tights have exerted their control-tops over our torso-crotch areas for too long... They create itches that cannot be scratched. The discomfort of the toe seam is, frankly, egregious."

However I have to disagree with her about leggings being unfashionable. While it's true that many just throw them on like sweatpants, there are so many designs and fabrics available, and so many tops you can pair them with that's it's hard for me not to think of them as fashion. Exhibit A: these super-stylish bloggers:

Style Me BAD   /   The Glitter Thread   /   Small4Style   /   Tutus & Tiny Hats   /   Style Bizarre

The majority of comments I see and hear against leggings are about the pelvic area - our front and back naughty parts - and how nobody wants to see that. It seems that most of these comments, though, are directed at women (and men) who don't have the ideal small round posterior or flat lower abs. For such a sexualized society, we're very anti-flesh - we seem to prefer less of it - but that's another blog. Think of how many models and thin girls are told they look chic and stylish in their leggings. Once upon a time, they were even called "fashion forward".

But if you don't want to see a jiggly butt sticking out from under an oversized tshirt, you can look away, you can change your line of vision. Neither I nor anyone else have any duty to your eyes, we don't have to dress in a way that makes you (or anyone else) comfortable - just ourselves.

Muscles Leggings   /   Conan Meggings Source

Some people commented that the Muscle Print Leggings were really creepy but what if that's what the girl wanted? She has every right to dress in a way that creeps people out. I'm not a big fan of male anatomy but I wouldn't tell a guy he can't wear "meggings" just because his accentuated package (a la Conan) made me uncomfortable. If he wants to express himself through spandex while emphasizing his jiggly bits, I think it's only fair to point out that women do it all the time with their boobs.

Legging Wishlist Sources:   1   /   2   /   3   /   4

[DAILY OUTFIT] Let March Begin With More Things To Do & Being Slightly Overdressed

I love my black suede trench, makes me feel like an anti-hero in a comic book. After this past (busy) weekend, I'm not sure how long I have to wear it. Texas spring is slowly rolling in like a warm stuffy blanket. This past weekend was also quite busy for me and this month gives no sign of letting up. Friday my friend Yuki had photography showcased at Denton Square Donuts and we went to the reception. Wearing the pictured outfit, I felt a tad overdressed.


Why so Startled?

Saturday and Sunday, we celebrated my sister's 24th birthday. Then this coming week will be our youngest sister's 18th birthday and that's a big one. She wants three new piercings in each ear but I doubt my parents will be happy if I gift her that.

March also marks the beginning of convention season. Alex has been working her ass off to complete the required inventory for two back-to-back anime cons at the end of the month. Her skills in chainmaille have grown tremendously since she started two years ago and her jewelry reflects it. The only glitch right now is how behind I am on her website.



We're wanting to add hairbows with bottlecap details that I will sew and draw before the first convention. However, my mornings are being taken up by what Alex calls an "ongoing, steady gig" a.k.a. a part-time job. Not that freelance design wasn't paying off, but when my old boss called me and offered me my old job back, I became greedy for stability. Six days in and I can't help but wonder if a steady income stream is worth waking up to 30 minutes of traffic and feeling tired all day from lack of sleep. I even forgot to ask for more money.

Good news, though, is that a little extra money means going to go see things like Naked Geek Girls Reading at All-Con on Friday. I was kicking myself for missing Nerdlesque, which included Ms.Pac-Man, Harley Quinn and Marie Curie Gone Wild.


View More Pictures on at Dallas Observer

[GEEK OUT] Come to the Dark Side, We Have a Sense of Style

Predictable as I am, I found myself wanting to cross over to the Darkside after a double-feature weekend. Imwent to see Beautiful Creatures with Alex and her mom on Saturday then Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters on Sunday with my sisters. I'm easy to please when it comes to action and fantasy movies; I loved and recommend both if you haven't seen them yet.

Both movies, though, confirmed that I would be a villain just for the wardrobe. It's a thought I had before as it seems the bad guys have a bigger sense of drama when it comes to getting dressed.



Kendra the Witch in Beastly, for instance, employs volume in different places to seem a little out there. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Huntsman, on the other hand, uses cold, rigid angles to express her dark dominance. The Darkside always demands a bit of showmanship, such as Ridley's plunging necklines.



Ridley Ridley Duchannes is a Dark Caster and Siren Beautiful Creatures, which means her true nature was bad and she was always meant to be a seductive villain. I think the black lace on sheer does a pretty good job of conveying just that. And while Gretel's outfits were pretty kickass, I couldn't help falling for the evil witches' outfits.



They do, however, have a bit of "Just Walked Out of Hot Topic" mixed with "What Century Are You From?" (which permeated through the movie in general). I couldn't take my eyes off the horned witch in Outfit #3 - I'd like to add a red skirt with a pointed hem in the middle to my closet.

Images via Hollywood Movie Costumes, IMDB, Fanpop and Fiercekrieg.com.

[STREET SNAP] Girls On Two Seperate Ends of the (DFW) World

I stepped out of the house this weekend for a little fun. Friday, I went to UNT's presentation of the Vagina Monologues, which is becoming tradition with my friends. It's an emotional rollercoaster but incredibly empowering. My favorite is still My Short Skirt, which inspired a blog last year. This year they added Eve Ensler's open letter to Todd Akin about his comment, "If it’s legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down..."

On our way up to the Student Union's Lyceum, I spotted the co-ed on the left who seemed surprised that I asked for her picture. I love the tights and high-heel sandals look. On Saturday, I stopped by Charming Charlies in Arlington to check out the 50% Off Clearance Items thing I received in my inbox. It was pretty picked over but I liked the store associate's dress and boot combo on the right.

[GEEK OUT] DC (Comics) Fashion Week ~ Superhero Style That Could Save Wardrobes

Drawn by artist Katrina Navarro about a year ago, these amazing designs recently popped up on The Mary Sue. I love how much detail she put into the designs, taking into account details from the character's original costume. I also enjoy that the designs are NOT costumes, but made up of pieces that you can buy a regular clothing stores - which is exactly what Navarro wanted:

"As you can tell, I love comics and superheroes. At the same time I also love fashion. I thought wouldn't it be great if I could go out dressed up like a Superhero but in a not so obvious way where people would ask me: Why are you wearing a cape? What’s the the mask?"

Black Canary / Raven / Green Arrow

Robin / Supergirl / Wonderwoman

These six are my favorites but you can view more at Project: Rooftop. Also, it seems that Navarro's tumblr is down or I would have a link.

[STREET SNAP] Shades of Black ~ Birthday Night at The Chuch

I turned 27 on the 21st and spent Sunday evening with Alex and our friend Allison with a plethora of interesting people at The Church. It was my first night wearing my new Hell Bunny Sugar Skull dress that Alex's mom got me for Christmas. The oversized sweater my sister got me for my birthday came off as the night progressed. A big thanks to these wonderful people who posed that night in their delightful style.