The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Looking Back: Two Years of The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Casee Marie — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:56:40 +0000

Two years ago today I published the very first blog post that would launch The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. It was titled simply ‘Introductions’, and I don’t think anything could have been more appropriate. Blogging has introduced me to new friends, new ideas and new passions, but it’s also introduced me to new sides of myself that I didn’t even know existed. To some degree I don’t feel like I’ve spent the last two years pouring content into the same blog; it’s changed so much, and while some people would say it evolved, I think it’s just changed. Some changes were detours, but they lead me on to other wonderful things. Other changes didn’t last, but I learned from them. I realize I’ve never really recapped my blogging experience, and when I began sifting through the archives of two years’ worth of content I came up with a bit too much. So here’s a look back at the last year of The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. Thank you all for making it so special!

Fashion from the Family Tree
Lessons from Tom Ford to an Unlikely Fashionista
5 Lessons in Style I Learned from Adele Adkins
Lookbook: Learning to Be
Of Curves and Color: A Body Image Revolution

The time my sister and I spent trying on clothes that our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother wore created something of a bookmark in my life, and I’m so glad for it. In the last year I’ve grown more confident with personal style posts, but in all honesty I still debate how permanent a feature that will be on this blog. All the same, I appreciate everyone’s feedback as I’ve experimented with it!

Beauty Demo: Napoleon Perdis Gel Eyeliner
Graphic Eyeliner Trend: Double Sided Cat Eye
Beauty Trend: Ombre Lips
Get the Look: Elizabeth Taylor-inspired Make-up

Of course, I use ‘beauty’ to describe my make-up articles, not my mug. I think my Elizabeth Taylor-inspired make-up has been one of my favorite things I’ve done on this blog – I was genuinely thrilled with the way it turned out. I wish I looked a little more happy in the pictures, I don’t quite know why that happened. (It could be that I’d taken probably sixty pictures of my face and I was over it.)

Treasure Me by Christine Nolfi + Q&A
A Pug’s Tale by Alison Pace + Q&A
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
Travels by Paul Bowles
Pictures of the Past by Deby Eisenberg + Q&A
Pug Hill by Alison Pace
Dog Trots Globe by Sheron Long
Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love and War by Annia Ciezadlo

A change in the blog’s content that was something of a detour, but my book reviews led me to create Literary Inklings and for that I’m endlessly happy. She may not know it, and I probably didn’t know it then, but a lot of things changed when I got an e-mail from indie author Christine Nolfi asking me to review her new self-published e-book. Not only was I introduced to one of my favorite contemporary writers in Christine, but I had the opportunity to discover what is now one of my all-time favorite novels, and I garnered a new understanding for what purpose my reviews could serve in the aid of promoting great writers. I haven’t shared this on the blog for fear that I might seem like I’m bragging, but a few months later when Christine was preparing to release the paperback edition of the book, she e-mailed me for permission to quote my review. What followed was my name in print, on a book, (“up in lights” as Christine said, and I agree) for the very first time…

I still show it to everyone who comes to visit; I’m that silly, and that proud.

Sunglass Hut Celebrates Fashion’s Night Out
Fashion’s Night Out NYC: Zara, BCBG and Beyond
The Silhouette of a Woman Fashion Show
Lucky Shops New York VIP Night

To say that I’m not an outgoing person is one of the biggest understatements I’ll probably ever make in my life. I’m happy when I look back and see the things I had the opportunity and the gumption to do – from meeting other bloggers, Kristy Elena and Ryan Charchian, among so many others – to “walking my first red carpet” and being part of motivating, inspiring events. There were invitations I didn’t accept for various reasons – scheduling inconveniences, not feeling well, and a few even out of shyness – but for those, from Aruna Seth and The Affordable Art Fair‘s press previews to an interview with Vivienne Tam and even an advanced screening of A Dangerous Method, I’ve been more than grateful for the consideration. And absolutely flabbergasted by them, too. I don’t write The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower for a chance at getting freebies, special treatments or swanky invites. I do hope when I find something in my inbox that it’s purely out of respect or interest for what I do; I’ve learned that such isn’t always the case, it’s just business, but I’ve also learned that with every one of those moments you can use the experience to make decisions that will illustrate your character in the future. And for those opportunities I’ve been grateful, as well.

Five Ways to Immerse Yourself in Culture
Independent Lens: The Woodmans
Five {More} Ways to Immerse Yourself in Culture
Edwardian England Revealed: Secrets of the Manor House

I think one of my happiest moments on The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower in the last year was the interested responses I got on my ‘Five Ways to Immerse Yourself in Culture’ article. I’m so passionate about enlightening myself and enriching my intellectual life, and it was a thrill to find that other people could relate to it while others yet were motivated to set out on their own cultural journeys. Additionally, I had the marvelous opportunity to work with PBS to provide more cultural content through reviews of several of their documentaries, from late photographer Francesca Woodman to the sprawling manor houses of England that endure today. I have such appreciation for public television and the insight it brings to my life through programs like Masterpiece and Independent Lens, so getting to share that through the blog was a big highlight of the last year for me.

Definition of Loveliness: Appreciating Vivien Leigh
Undiminished Admiration: Appreciating Laurence Olivier
For Lucy, With Love
Cary Grant: Style Icon
Audrey & I: Personal Reflections on the Influence of an Icon

Each of these posts is special to me; I find more substance in them than in most other things I’ve written, and I think that comes from my deep-seeded passion for the era. ‘Cary Grant: Style Icon’ is especially one of my favorites from the last year because it was something lingering in the back of my mind for ages, and putting it out there felt like I had achieved something rather personal, and rather grand. It’s simple, really, but sometimes it’s the simplest things that mean the most. I think that’s because we’re so passionate about them, and deep down afraid that they won’t live up to what’s in our minds.

Friend Friday: Shapes and Sizes
Style Profile: Audrey Hepburn
Guest Post: The New Muses of French Fashion and Cinema (by Berenice)
Raising Helena: How One Woman’s Faux Pas Inspired Me
I Am My Father’s Daughter
Guest Post: Style Icon: Vivien Leigh (by Kendra)
Our Huckleberry Friend: Remembering Audrey Hepburn
Some Other Spring: FTF Blog Event 5/6
Parisian Chic a la Jean Seberg

Lastly, these are some of my favorite posts from The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower’s first year in the world (and look how short my hair was!). Looking back, I can see so much rooted in the blog – like a time capsule. I can see where I wanted to go, what I achieved and what I still haven’t quite managed to accomplish. I won’t lie, there have been times when I doubted if the blog would see this day, its two-year anniversary, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of doubts about whether it’ll make it to its third. This blog, this personal outlet, isn’t exactly what I set out to do two years ago. My plan wasn’t set in stone then, but the feeling of it was different. What it’s become, it isn’t a bad thing, but it is different. For what it is now it’s hard to map out a future, because it’s so distinctly personal and without a ‘niche’ subject. I may change that – evolve, hopefully, finally – or I may just…stop, somewhere down the road. Right now I have no idea, and I won’t know until whatever happens finally happens, because the creative process changes with the wind. But what I do know, and what I treasure the most from the last two years, is that I’ve been forever changed by the level of enlightenment, self-awareness, artistic awareness, the eternal friendships, and the journey of The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. To every friend, every follower, everyone who’s left a comment or stopped by for a visit, everyone who has ‘pinned’ The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower to your Pinterest boards of blogs you love, everyone who’s linked to it, liked it on Facebook, shared a kind word about it – publicly or to a friend – and to everyone who reads what I put out here but prefers to remain anonymous, quiet, like the beat of a heart, I appreciate you all more than I can say. Thank you for everything.

Beauty Trend: Neon Lips

Casee Marie — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:18 +0000

A once-upon-a-time obsession with a certain Prince song may or may not have been my original motivation for picking up this fierce fuschia-hued lipstick on a recent trip to Ulta. I was actually looking for a pinkish-red with purple tones to replace an old OPI lipcolor that I’ve been known to wear very often around here; one look at this color, though, and I changed my objective. This was a mighty adventurous departure from my basic red – which I guess in itself is adventurous, too – but I was game. I may not have much with which to embrace the neon trend this season, but I’m not afraid of tackling the hues in make-up. The thing I knew I wanted to keep in mind was that colors with deep, rich bases seem to work best on me (i.e. I probably couldn’t wear the below Revlon Colorburst in Hot Pink). Light-based colors seem to make my lips do a bizarre combination of pop off my face and disappear entirely; alternatively, colors with a darker base seem to anchor themselves a bit better. Or at least that’s the perception I get.

If you’re looking to pursue the neon lip trend these are a few fun options (detailed shopping links below). I love Revlon’s Tutti Frutti shade, and the Smashbox is a striking favorite. Now that I’ve begun working on the concept of base tones I think I’ll be a bit more adventurous in the colors I pick up the next time I’m in the market for a new lipstick. Any favorites of your own?

Revlon Colorburst in Tutti Frutti | Ulta in Raspberry Beret | Smashbox Be Legendary in Electric Pink
Ulta in Eternal Flame | NYX Matte in Shocking Pink | Revlon Colorburst in Hot Pink

Spring Cleaning: Make Your Closet a Showroom

Casee Marie — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:02:46 +0000

My closet, February 2012.
In February I shared a peek at what’s going on in my closet – if you missed it, just visit Décor Tour {Inside My Closet} – and I think I made it rather clear that I’m smitten with my little walk-in space. I’ve had such fun “styling” it that my family has dubbed it Casee’s Showroom. Getting ready in the morning is all the more fun when you give yourself the illusion, at least, that your closet is your very own little boutique. It stimulates your creativity, I think. Kate Winslet says that elegance is an attitude, and in the same way I think luxury is a state of mind. It’s a result of how we feel. As silly as it is, I’m passionate about living in my own little luxurious world and I realized not too long ago that how luxurious your life is depends greatly, perhaps solely, on how creative you’re willing to get. Luxury doesn’t always have to be bought. It means something different to all of us, so once we pinpoint the little luxuries we like the most it comes down to translating that into our reality.

It was with that frame of mind that I went back to my closet this weekend, after several months of misplacing things, lazily hanging clothes up out of order and generally contributing to a less luxuriant, more haphazard feeling (it’s called “lived in”, isn’t it?). My motivation was to switch out my autumn-winter wardrobe and transition my spring-summer things in, but I ended up making a few other changes as well.

The biggest change I made was essentially swapping my shelves and floor space – previously my shoe rack was on the floor and the shoe boxes were up above. The shoe rack expanded much farther than I realized and at its widest it wouldn’t fit so well in the space on the floor, so I decided on a whim to try it above. I love it up there! Being a bit closer to eye level (I think you always look up when you come into this particular closet, too) it makes selecting shoes much more convenient, and it keeps the floor space a little less cluttered.

A great thing about keeping the shoe boxes on the floor is that you can stack them as high as you like without worrying about needing a step stool to reach them. Previously I mentioned that a convenient way to keep your aesthetic with shoe boxes is to cover them in contact paper, as I did. One piece of advice on that: label them! This was an oversight of mine, and I was just a failure at remembering where everything was. In a jiffy I printed up some labels and Scotch taped them on the boxes. (When it’s time to bring the boots back out I can just switch out the labels, easy peasy!)

I also changed my clothing organization method from color to length, which gave me much more visible floor space to work with. Since spring-summer clothes are so much lighter and thinner (those faux fur vests take up serious room!) I had some extra space; this corner makes me a little crazy because there’s a good deal of room there, but it’s hard to utilize. Giving it to my storage cart worked out well.

A finishing touch; a perfume insert from a magazine left open in the closet for a day or two can act as a sachet for a nice fresh scent in the space.

So those are my changes – it’s an awkward space for photographing, especially with a point-and-shoot camera (cut to me nearly pulling muscles trying to find the perfect high-high-high-up angle), but I did my best. While we’re on the subject I’d love to know, what does living luxuriously mean to you?

Style Files: One Fine Day (in May)

Casee Marie — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:24:22 +0000

One of my favorite things about the refreshed, revitalized JC Penney is their selection of monthly deals. I do my best to always be a savvy shopper – even thought it’s so easy to want, want, want – and JCP has come to be a haven for me. Every month they mark down certain pieces to give you even better deals; these are a few of May’s bits and bobs that I’m coveting. Perfect for a trip to an outdoor shopping mall, museum or just about any springtime adventure!

B Smart Dress | Nine & Co. Espadrilles | St. John’s Bay Bag | Fedora | Liz Claiborne Sunglasses

Of Curves and Color: A Body Image Revolution

Casee Marie — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Visiting my sister almost always leads to gratuitous shopping excursions, and I surprised myself by acquiring some pretty explosive colors and prints over the last two weeks. I saw the bit from Matt Lauer’s interview with Adele the other day in which she talks about her dedication to an all-black wardrobe and how she was able to go unnoticed through Trafalgar Square one day just for wearing bold colors. I realized we’re a lot alike in that respect; I’m a consistent wearer of black and, as I mentioned in my last outfit post, a reluctant pursuer of color. I think it’s for a lot of reasons that I wear predominantly black, but I’m sure deep in my subconscious the paramount reason remains that I’m not a thin girl and black is notoriously the full-figured woman’s shield from judgment. But a funny thing happened when I wore one of my newly acquired, riotously-colorful pieces: I was noticed. Two women in the space of an hour commented on my look; one of them even went out of her way to approach me from across the store. I was shocked. I had worn my hair up (frustrated with the sheer mass of it, I confess I hadn’t even run a brush through it) and I was insecure about my face, fuller at the moment than I can ever remember, being on full display. I’ve been in a body-image-induced funk for a while, and these two women gave my perspective a much-needed shake. Both women were full-figured as well, and after some consideration I realized that maybe my proportions were part of the reason why they felt struck by my look. Maybe they appreciated seeing someone of a size and shape they could relate to wearing something bold.

The dress that launched a body image revolution.

I think it’s true for all of us that we spend too much time focusing on the wants – the way we want to look, the waist we want to have – that we forget to be self-accepting, and more than anything we forget that we’re not alone. I spent my teenage years trying to “hide” my weight; even though I think I was fairly average-sized it translated that I needed to look differently. I was imperfect, and that wasn’t okay. And I realized that it wasn’t me saying this; it was the world around me, society and the media perpetuating it into my day-to-day until it became a natural thought process. I think over time I’ve caught on to the scheme and have been diligent about no longer subscribing to the idea that all women should look a specific way, but once in a while that negativity seeps in – it’s hard to get away from it in this world, it’s the ultimate marketing tool after all – and I have to catch myself, to remind myself of where I really stand. But in all my years of wrestling with body image affirmation there’s a visual that never wavered: me, a girl of size, standing alone while the media’s ideal types stared at me, judging me for not being just like them. I never really took notice of the fact that in all of my insecurity solitude was a constant. In my mind I was the only too-full-figured, too-busty girl in the world. When you wake up and realize that there are other women in the same proverbial body-type boat, something just clicks in your brain and you realize, “Why am I fighting to fit one ideal when there’s an entire world around me?” After I was approached by the two women there was a shift of sorts and the visual in my mind changed – when I was talking about the situation with a friend who said that, yes, maybe those women admired me in that moment, I saw myself not as an imperfect outsider, but suddenly as a sort of ambassador for curves and color, with a legion of other uniquely-shaped and variously-sized women around me. I realized that for all of us, somewhere in the world there’s a person we can inspire just by being ourselves as we are in this moment. That’s incentive as I’ve never known it before. And I love it.

DRESS: RONNI NICOLE via JC PENNEY | SWEATER: CK CALVIN KLEIN | NECKLACE: GIFTED | EARRINGS: KOHL’S
BRACELET’S: CHARM & CHAIN, KOHL’S and KENNETH JAY LANE | RINGS: MEGHAN LA and GIFTED

And this, in all its bold color and bolder patterning, was the First Official Annual Caseepalooza Dress. It’s by Ronni Nicole, and when I found it for under $50 from JC Penney, amidst the sea of pretty that is their dress department, the transition of the colors, the richness of it all, just sold me. Thanks to everyone who extended birthday wishes to me on Saturday – from the tweets to the e-mails and the Facebook posts, your kind words made my day all the more special!

Lookbook: Colorblocking and Other Reluctant Pursuits

Casee Marie — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:23:21 +0000

CAPRIS: ELLE via KOHL’S | TOP: CLOUD LINE via MARSHALLS | SCARF: ASHLEY COOPER
SHOES: B. MAKOWSKY via MARSHALLS | CLUTCH: JASON WU FOR TARGET | EARRINGS: FRANCESCA’S

Whaddya know, I’ve gone and tried that whole colorblocking thing…a year after it was popular. But that’s me: sometimes there are hot seasonal fashion trends that I just don’t care about. I follow them all, as any fashion blogger (or fashion enthusiast) is apt to do, but when it comes to implementing them into my wardrobe I’m not so quick. Color, for me, holds a certain degree of rarity, or if I wear it I focus on one. Not multiple. I think I was raised on the merit of all things matchy-matchy so pairing one color with anything but the exact same shade has been a real nail-biter of a task for me. Not to mention the fact that I simply don’t own a lot of colors. In fact, part of the reason it took me this long to get my colors to blocking was because I didn’t actually have a bottom piece to work with. Whether pants or skirt, if it isn’t black, brown or grey it isn’t in my closet. Despite that, I was keen on the colored denim trend (forgetting the fact that it’s probably been years since I’ve worn denim with any regularity at all) and I’m a sucker for royal blue. Despite what a popular shade it is, it took me ages of looking before I tracked down this pair from Kohl’s. And as a traditionally unenthusiastic denim-wearer I can tell you they’re a lovely buy – great stretch, great fit, and great color options. Unfortunately they’re not available on the site near as I can tell, but check them out in store, most definitely.

So there you have my take on colorblocking – I’m glad I could easily add a fourth color with the lipstick; I considered some fun eyeshadow as well, but I figured I was getting carried away. Gee, give me an inch and I’ll go a mile, huh?

P.S. My scarf was plucked rather quickly from my suitcase which explains – though doesn’t excuse – the wrinkles. Nothing like that fashion-blogger-who-just-jumped-out-of-a-hamper look!

Met Gala Monday: Watch the Red Carpet Live

Casee Marie — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:34:43 +0000

Diane Kruger and Jason Wu at last year’s Met Gala, image via JustJared

Every year the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts their annual Costume Institute Benefit where fashion’s greatest names walk what I consider to be the ultimate red carpet. Usually those of us who can only be Met Gala enthusiasts from home are left in wait on Twitter or refreshing the celebrity and fashion gossip blogs for a gilmpse at the red carpet, but this year the Met, Amazon and Condé Nast are joining forces to give us a front row seat. As the ultra-glam make their way down the red carpet the cameras will be rolling and we at home will be able to watch all the fabulous fashion and interviews on livestream! I’m so excited for this; I’ve always considered the Met Gala to be the real deal when it comes to the red carpet. Fashion takes full focus and art, adventure and unstoppable glamour reign supreme. I also love that we get to see the designers themselves taking the red carpet spotlight. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour will even make an appearance! (I’ve also heard Gaspard Ulliel will be in attendance, at which sighting I’ll be flailing my arms at my computer screen in complete euphoria.)

(L) Elsa Schiaparelli by George Hoyningen-Huené, 1932
Courtesy of Hoyningen-Huené/Vogue ©Condé Nast
(R) Miuccia Prada by Guido Harai, 1999
Courtesy of Guido Harai/Contrasto/Redux

The focus of the evening’s celebration is Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, an imaginative and highly inventive seven-gallery exhibit featuring over one hundred pieces from the houses of Schiaparelli and Prada, ranging from the 1920s to present. The exhibit spotlights designing women Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, introducing fashion’s past and present in an entirely new way. Here’s a bit more about it, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, explores the striking affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two Italian designers from different eras. Inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s “Impossible Interviews” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, the exhibition features orchestrated conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their most innovative work. Iconic ensembles will be presented with videos of simulated conversations between Schiaparelli and Prada directed by Baz Luhrmann, focusing on how both women explore similar themes in their work through very different approaches.

You can catch the livestream on Vogue, Amazon or MetMuseum.org tonight at 6:30pm EST. You can also chime in on Facebook or Tweet @metmuseum with the hashtag #MetQuestions. Then come back here and tell me what your favorite looks were!

Audrey & I: Personal Reflections on the Influence of an Icon

Casee Marie — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:04:28 +0000

“You couldn’t take a bad picture of her if you tried.” – Leo Fuchs

Last year I poured quite a bit of my heart and adoration into a tribute to Audrey Hepburn on her 82nd birthday. I’m known in my circle as “the Audrey Hepburn girl” (when I’m not being called “the Paris girl” or, conveniently, considering their mutuality, “the girl who stole the Eiffel Tower”). It’s needless to say I treat the memory of Audrey with a lot of reverence and contemplation. In Our Huckleberry Friend: Remembering Audrey Hepburn I cultivated the many reasons why I love Audrey and the influence she’s had on my life, putting them into words in a way that I’m still rather proud to look back on. It’s been one of my favorite moments in the history of The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower and something like that feels almost impossible to top, to duplicate, when another year comes around. And here it is: another birthday for a woman nearly twenty years gone from our world, yet never forgotten, and always influencing us with the kindness and spirit of an angel.

Considering that I name Audrey as my paramount inspiration in life and style it would be appropriate for me to have a special story of the first time I saw her, and the undoubtedly instantaneous way she struck me with her beauty, grace and so on. Yet…I have no such story. On the contrary, it’s a little funny: not only is my memory of the first time I saw Audrey rather bleak, but the very first of her films that I can recall seeing was My Fair Lady. I couldn’t stand it; my sister, our little friend and I sat down to watch it and our ages, coupled with the subsequent short-lived attention span, led us to turn the film off after just a few scenes. To the film’s credit I have seen it several times, revisiting it in my less dollhouse-obsessed, more curious teenage years, and I have enjoyed it. But regardless, it doesn’t make for the most enchanting story of, “The first time I saw Audrey”. It’s a bit anti-climactic, really; but I imagine I made up for it with an unseemly amount of Sabrina re-watches (an embarrassing amount of which likely include me mouthing the words to “La Vie en Rose” along with her.).

One thing I remember clearly, though, was my first foray into discovering more about the woman behind the little black dress and dripping jewels. Much as I adored Audrey, I didn’t have a very clear idea of who she was off-camera; I knew nothing of her experiences during the Nazi occupation in Holland, the dashed dreams of being a ballerina, the two divorces and numerous miscarriages which ravished her lifelong vision of a traditional, cozy family life. Learning about all of these things, the unspeakable moments of sadness and hardship in the life of a woman who had brought to me nothing but smiles, joy and amateur impersonations of Sabrina elegantly cracking an egg (“It’s all in the wrist”); it all seemed so unfair. But then, Audrey proved what her true gift was: the act of overcoming, enduring and always, always having hope. She took a life riddled with sorrow and in it she, eventually, created bliss: her two sons, her final and dear beau (Robert Wolders), her work for UNICEF to benefit children across the world, her friendships, gardens, animals – for every hard blow she was dealt she gave yet more love back to the world.

When I first considered writing about Audrey on her birthday I thought I might create a list of lessons she’s taught me throughout my life, but in the end I think that was the apex, the one that matters more than all the rest: every time you feel hurt, sad or ill-used put forth love. And every time you feel happy, contended or blessed put forth love, too. It’s the most powerful force we have.

Images via: Doctor Macro

Silhouette of a Woman: Guest Post at Made-to-Travel

Casee Marie — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Made-to-Travel: The Silhouette of a Woman Fashion Show

Today I have the very great pleasure of writing at made-to-travel, the joyful and always-fascinating blog by my lovely friend Jamillah – a blogger gal I was fortunate enough to meet in person last September, but we somehow missed the opportunity to get a picture together. (That makes me sad, J; we’ll have to make a priority of that next time!) I count Jamillah and made-to-travel among the many blessings I’ve been given in my last two years as a fashion blogger. Not only does she have a fun way of pulling the reader into her writing, but Jamillah manages to fuse fashion and ethical living in a way that’s relevant, educating and never intimidating. If you’ve never read made-to-travel I encourage you to go check out some of her past articles, as well as the medley of guest posts from other wonderful bloggers who’ve been contributing while Jamillah’s been away. (She also has a giveaway going on so be sure to check that out, too!)

KP Fushion: Behind the Blog: The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Also something I didn’t get the chance to mention before, the wonderful Kimmie at KP Fushion kindly invited me to be featured as part of her “Behind the blog” series – I was honored, of course, and I’m thrilled to be alongside such stylish favorites as The Citizen Rosebud and Vogue & Coffee! You can check out all the other features in the Behind the Blog series right here. Enjoy!

Caseepalooza 2012: The Dress

Casee Marie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:10:42 +0000

My birthday is happening next month, an event that has come to be known (by my own hand) as Caseepalooza in my house, contrary to the fact that I don’t actually like when my birthday happens. I’m one of those girls whom try to persuade the universe to skip over that day every year. But, as the saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em: and give it a funny name while you’re at it.

In recent years I’ve taken to revolting against the typical extroversion and instead I look at my birthday as a day of not having to feel guilty about ignoring responsibilities. Sit on the couch all day and watch movies with a big bowl of chili? I’ve done that. Delve into a book and come up for breath only when someone’s brought a cake around? Yep, I’ve been there, too. But in the last year I decided that maybe I could make a little tradition for myself, something that would be celebrating me in a simple way that would make me smile. And do you know what makes me smile? Fashion makes me smile. Dresses make me smile. So I decided, why not buy myself a dress for my birthday? The First Official Annual Caseepalooza Dress. (I am such a dork.)

Alberta Ferretti for Impulse Tiered Maxi Dress; $109, Macy’s

Anyway, when I saw this gorgeous number from Alberta Ferretti’s capsule collection for Macy’s Impulse line I thought maybe this was it. That royal blue, those ruffles, the sheer maxi-ness of it; I’m obsessed. I knew I’d love the collection, I was immensely excited for it, and as with Impulse’s previous collaboration with Doo.Ri I was swept away by a favorite piece. But what’s not sweeping me away is the price tag attached: $100+ is a whole lot of just-for-fun celebrating of Casee Marie, isn’t it? I’m all in support of loving yourself, but as a full-time “starving artist”, a blogger and writer and aspiring comfortable-liver, that is just an awful lot of self-love. Is the First Official Annual Caseepalooza Dress really worth it?

So I began a search, and I didn’t get too far before I was immersed; I stopped by ZoeBrianne‘s online boutique and fell in love with basically their entire selection of dresses. The best part? Each one below is under fifty dollars. Check it out:

I’m still undecided about what the First Official Annual Caseepalooza Dress will be, if it will actually exist at all, but these are all fast and heavy contenders. Let the games begin.

*The St. Tropez Resort Maxi is currently sold out – but it’s my faaavorite, look at those colors!
**The Anika was clearly named for my beautiful friend here; the feathers are the deciding factor.