Monthly Theme Post: Outerwear AND Character Week, Day 4

Well, it was rather fortuitous indeed that today's Monthly Theme Post was outerwear-we just got a cold front here in CO, and I need to wear my nice heavy coat for the first time in about a week!

Here's my outfit with coat:

Like VictorianKitty's coat, mine was a very, very expensive coat that I got for a great deal. It's an Oleg Cassini coat, and the normal price on it was $300. For some reason, though, the Alco in my hometown got a massive shipment of them right as the store was closing, and reduced them to $30 to move them out. My mom and I each got one, and we've had them for...7 years now? It's a really lovely coat, wool with plaid trim, and deliciously warm-it keeps me toasty even in the coldest CO weather, like today. I also like that the cut is vaguely Victorian-I got it long before my Goth days, but it's eternally stylish!

And now for the straight-up outfit portion of the post:

Gold-and-pearl necklace-Inherited

Cream-colored empire-waist dress-Arc thrift

Black Doc Marten-alikes (hidden by the dress): Wal-Mart

As you've probably guessed by seeing the dress, I was going for a Jane Austen-inspired look today. Specifically, Northanger Abbey, which I feel is a severely underrated Gothic novel! Catherine Moreland is funny, snarky, and generally awesome, and I love the whole atmosphere of the book. I wanted to try for a Regency-inspired hairstyle to go with the dress, and this is what I came up with:

Apologies for the not-so-great pic, it's rather difficult to take pictures of the back of your own head. :) Considering how different the era looks from the rest of my clothing, I'm rather proud of this outfit:

Also, due to my wide hips, empire-waist dresses tend to make me look vaguely pregnant, so I was very glad to find that this one didn't. At last, I can swish around feeling very like Catherine (or Fanny Price, or Emma, or Elizabeth Bennett) without someone asking when I'm expecting-always a good thing. :D

Character Week Day 2: She Really Is A Funny Girl!

If you just finished that song lyric, congratulations. We'd get on spectacularly. Today, I took a little style inspiration from my fave Disney princess: Belle! I was super-obsessed with Sleeping Beauty when I was little, but when I got older, I realized that Belle is totally my favorite Disney princess. As a bookworm girl growing up in a small town, I felt we had a lot in common-and I loved that she stood up to Gaston, something that I wasn't always able to do with the bullies in my school. Plus, how fantastic is the ball gown she wears?

Not that her blue dress from earlier in the movie, or her pink dress she wears in the snow aren't fab, but...A BALL GOWN! Of course I had to take that as my outfit inspiration!

Yellow jersey knit blouse-Repeat Boutique

Black underbust corset-Punk69

Yellow silk skirt-Arc

Black heart tights-Forever21

High-heeled Mary Janes-Ross

So obviously I wasn't going to wear a ballgown to school, but I thought I did a pretty good job of replicating the feel of her outfit in an everyday look, from the fullness of the skirt to the poufy sleeves on the top. And when I went to dinner, my best friend's boyfriend was like "Hey. You look like that one chick..." Smiling widely and feeling my mission was accomplished, I waited for him to say "Belle." Instead, he said "That girl from Watchmen!" Well. Silk Spectre wasn't what I was AIMING for, exactly, but I don't think he was wrong:

Obviously mine is a lot more covering, but darn if he wasn't right; the silhouette and the color were very similar indeed, once you counted my corset and black tights. I ended up with an unintentional twofer today, so...yay? I think it's doubly funny, though, because...can you  think of two movies more diametrically opposed in tone? Ha! Tune in tomorrow for something very rabbit-hole-y-I promise you won't be disappointed!

The Worst Pies in London, or (unofficial) Movie Monday

Hello, and sorry that last week kind of fizzled-but I'm hoping that this week will make up for it! Today, I decided to participate in Sal Kaye's Movie Monday for the first time-and to kick it off, I wanted to use one of my absolute favorite movies, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. And then I realized it wasn't official Movie Monday, but I decided to do it anyway and carry on the tradition. I know it's a total cliche, but I love that movie so much-the music is gorgeous, it's beautifully shot and acted, and holy crap, does it look good. All the costumes are flawless, thanks to the amazing Colleen Atwood, who is kind of my role model as a costumer. I would seriously wear them every day if I had the money; I mean look at this:

And this:

Holy crap, I want that swimsuit so friggin' bad.

Alas, I haven't the resources of a large movie budget, so here's my humble attempt to replicate the awesomeness of the movie's costumes from my wardrobe:

Necklace-Inherited

Black lace blouse-DAV thrift

Black cami-Arc

Black and white pinstripe underbust corset-Punk69

Green, red, and blue plaid skirt-Arc

Black lacy skirt-re-made by me from thrifted prom dress

Aaand, because you just can't have a Tim Burton movie without stripey tights, I wore mine today. No one could see them, but I knew they were there, and that's what counts, right? :)

Black and white striped tights-Target

Black Doc Marten-alikes-Wal-Mart

I really enjoyed wearing this outfit-it was like having my own little secret identity, a joke that no one was in on but me. I spent the day humming The Worst Pies In London and Nothing's Gonna Harm you under my breath. I love the character of Mrs. Lovett so much; she is a total bad girl, and I love her shamelessly disgusting practicality and the way she takes advantage of every situation. Plus, I might be a little biased because, as an alto, she's one of the few female leads I can actually sing! She's not an admirable character, but she is intriguing, and I love the way HBC played her. No one can ever replace the inimitable Angela Lansbury, but I think HBC made a great Mrs. Lovett.

By the way, I liked the idea of dressing like a character from a movie or book so much that I decided to do it this week as my weekly theme. Tune in tomorrow to see my spin on my favorite Disney princess!