Breaking News: My New Shoes Just Arrived

  I love buying crap online. It's like Christmas...with a tracking number. I have been eagerly awaiting my new shoes and bracelet, stalking UPS twice a day for the last week waiting for my shoes to arrive. And guess what? They did, today, a day ahead of schedule. Please prepare for the following visual assault:

Wedges, heeled sandals and cuff bracelet from Shoedazzle. That is all.

Make it work!

Make it work: make good use of that stretchy, skin tight sheath dress.

There was once a time, not so very long ago, that bodycon dresses were all the rage. Short, simple, form-fitting and endless textile possibility: what more could you want? I breathe some new life into the dresses that are hanging in my closet right now as it's time for me to start wearing my Had to Buy items. We all know that Have to Buy's. They live on a sale rack in the back of your favorite inexpensive mall clothing store, usually something with a "Forever" in it (Rue 21, Forever 21...). Almost always less than 5 bucks, how can you pass up these sales?!?! Then the ridiculous item sits in your closet, unworn, depressed for months, years even! Most ladies probably have somethings (or things) that would fit this description.

My things are dresses:

 So I a putting a new spin on a bodycon dress! I chose my Marvel comic book print dress for this dress up party.


1. Duh, it's a frickin dress.

With: Journee collection blue suede booties, black skinny belt and blue croc wristlet

For: Going out for drinks with friends, clubbing, attempting to pick up a man

Why it works: This is the natural state of a bodycon dress in the wild. It roams in packs with those it can semi-blend in with, generally with a phone (using forward facing camera for ultimate selfie precision) and some type of fruity drink in the other hand. Also, the shoes are to die for and they coordinate fabulously with the wristlet. This dress has colors for days, so you can use a variety of accessories and still look put together.

2. Wait...it's also a frickin top?

With: Black wedge mules from Shoedazzle.com, L.E.I. black denim skinny capris and coral statement necklace. 

For: hanging with the b---hes, grocery shopping, running a marathon (for real, these heels are awesome)

Why it works: It's super comfortable while still being a bit more fancy, as it's dressed up with the lovely wedges and a large piece of jewelry, than a standard jeans-and-tee-party. The dress is short and thin enough that it can be comfortably tucked in to a waistband. I like to do the tuck and drape maneuver. 

3. Cool kid on the block

With: black strappy sandals and No Boundaries crochet tiered shorts

For: chillin. This is a very laidback outfit to do whatever you want in. But nothing too crazy because those sandals don't have a very think insole and you don't want to snag the crochet shorts on anything (never an issue I though I'd have)

Why it works: I love black with everything, and the dress has a fabulous print with lots of black outlines. Once again, the patented tuck and drape method at work.

4. Good outfits are like ogres, they have layers

With: beat to hell cardigan from Old Navy, black thigh high socks and brown faux-biker boots

For: making that dress work well into the rainy season, playing strip poker (please see layers comment above), running errands

Why it works: I always love a good cardigan, and this hem happens to hit very nicely on this dress. It is kind of one of the "I just threw this on and happened to look completely awesome" outfits that either work, or don't. It was a lucky chance.

5. Bring your geek to the workplace 

With: blue striped George shirt, black sateen BCBG Generation slacks and black pointed toe boots (mostly just because they are super long slacks and they need to be hemmed)

For: work! If your office allows dressy-casual this honestly would work. Also can wear for impromptu photo shoots in your bedroom.

Why it works: the dress doubled as a fabulous sweater. It is thin enough to lay comfortably over the button-up without adding too much bulk. I love these slacks, they quickly dress up a casual top and the lovely sateen material has a soft shine to them that really flatters.

Wannabe Shopping Addicts Anonymous

I love to shop. I love walking around the mall-you know, when you can find one that has more than 4 stores open (outside of the food court). I love moseying down Main Street in cutesy tourist trap towns and walking into shop after shop after shop, always realizing that you should have waited until the next store to buy whatever you just bought because you found it for way less. I also love browsing online. Like a fiend.

This is something that my husband cannot at all fathom as he sees no point in trolling the internet looking at photos of things I will never purchase. I, however, find it therapeutic. Shopping online and browsing new sites alongside my tried and true favorites exposes me to new trends and styles. When I see cuts or hems that I haven't seen before, I take note of them and add the knowledge to my File of Generally Useless but Interesting Information. Prices have a tendency to be lower than in store. You can find specialty sizes more readily than in an average store and the variety tends to be much greater. I can take the time to closely look at pattern, design, detail without having the social anxiety monster come creeping up my back. Fashion apparel design has always been something that interests me to no end, thankfully the internet gives me limitless opportunity to see what designers are putting out in new groundbreaking trends, what's coming back around and how to restyle those gloriously worn basics. I consider browsing online to be an exercise in rationality, self control and style R&D.

Now of course nothing is perfect. The obvious drawbacks of online shopping are: A) If you suffer from Patience Control Problem, like me, you may find that you get a but down waiting for your item to arrive WHILE THE POSTMAN WALKS AROUND THE BACK OF THE POST OFFICE WITH YOUR BOX AND TELLS YOU THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE IT WHEN IT OBVIOUSLY SAYS SHOEDAZZLE ON THE SIDE AND WHO ELSE IN THIS TEENY TOWN ORDERS FROM THEM REALLY?????...ahem, and B) While pictures and sizing guides can be very helpful and in many cases can help you ensure that you are getting the quality product you wished for, there is no good alternative for being able to make sure those jeans aren't just  a tad too snug, for double-checking if the color of that top will sit well with your complexion or for slipping your foot into those heels just to practice walking around before you commit. Return processes with online companies can be tedious and generally require you to pay some additional costs. Despite the fact that it can be a pain, I still take so much pleasure in online shopping. Nothing beats getting your package freshly delivered form UPS and ripping through that gigantic cardboard box to the much smaller one inside with your wonderful purchases inside that (finally, just when you'd almost forgot that you ordered anything).

No matter the pros or cons, taking the mental break to browse Shoedazzle.com or one of the like is sometimes just what I need to reset myself. Nothing calms me down better than pages and pages of shoes.