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!

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!

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!

“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

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!

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:

Belted Pattern Dress | St. Barts Resort Dress | Sylvia Striped Maxi | St. Tropez Resort Maxi* | Asymmetrical Stripe Print Dress | The Anika One-Shoulder Dress**

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.

Image via Panache.com

While truly great style is largely a result of the attitude inside, it also has to do with what’s underneath. Having lingerie of the proper size and fit to your shape can utterly transform the way you wear your clothes; because of this I think lingerie becomes a vital part of every woman’s wardrobe. The attention to this type of detail, though, can so easily be forgotten amongst the horde of styles, colors, prints, fabrics and shapes available. Studies have shown that as much as 80% of women aren’t wearing the right bra size, which is fathomable simply considering the vast choices we have and the misdirection of perspective on the actual purpose of our lingerie. It’s easy for women to be led by marketing that focuses on the sexual appeal of lingerie, but what about the genuine necessity of its role in our overall style palette? Appropriately-fitting lingerie can help your shape and your posture, making you look as good outside as it makes you feel on the inside. Of course, one of the many things we all learned from Bridget Jones is that life’s too short to wear unattractive lingerie, so striking that balance becomes fundamental in choosing the right undergarments.

The fully-underwired cami top and the Evie strapless bra by Panache.

After a long time spent in search of the right lingerie I finally found bras that worked well for me, only to discover now, a few years later, that they’ve been discontinued. So now I find myself back on the pursuit to find just the right pieces, which is why I’m excited for the launch of My Curves & Me, a new online boutique selling Panache lingerie. Expected to go live next month, My Curves & Me will not only host an online shop, but also a blog covering everything from relevant tips to the latest lingerie fads. The site will also include a members club (which you can sign up for before the launch) which will give shoppers access to discount codes, product previews and more. The best part – Panache prides itself on not only bringing women fashionable designs that look great, but they also strive for excellent support, fit and comfort. The best of both worlds!

Will you be giving the site a try? As a woman typically too modest or insecure to properly pursue the meticulous search for properly-fitting lingerie I’m especially excited for this outlet!

Images via JustJared and Pinterest.

Earlier this month I was inspired by Kate Winslet for V Magazine where the actress paid tribute to Dame Elizabeth Taylor. I was especially captivated by the make-up of the photoshoot, and I wanted to try my hand at recreating it. I certainly couldn’t recreate the actual feel of Kate’s photoshoot, nor did I try; for one thing, I’m not an actress. And for another thing, I’m not a model. So there you have it. I definitely don’t have Elizabeth’s grace (or Kate’s, for that matter) and there’s an attitude in Liz that I don’t think any of us could really recreate if we tried, me being perhaps the most unlikely of anyone. But one thing I think I am capable of is working with make-up, so I wasn’t too intimidated to give that part a try. Here’s what I came up with…

Rather than draw on the iconic Liz beauty mark I decided to uncover one I usually hide with make-up. Why not work with what you’ve got, right? Overall I like how it turned out – I don’t see the resemblance in it at all anymore, but when I was first going through the pictures that last one actually surprised me a bit. I had a “That’s me?” moment. When I started out I really doubted that I’d even blog about the experience because I figured I wouldn’t get anywhere near what I was hoping for, but the process didn’t turn out to be so difficult after all. My eyes are a bit wide, very different in shape from both Liz and Kate, but I think this look comes down to how you work with your cosmetics.

URBAN DECAY EYESHADOW PRIMER POTION IN ‘SIN’ | URBAN DECAY EYESHADOW IN ‘FOXY’ AND ‘BLACKOUT’ | MAYBELLINE ILLEGAL LENGTH FIBER EXTENSIONS MASCARA IN ‘VERY BLACK’ | URBAN DECAY 24/7 GLINE-ON EYELINER IN ‘PERVERSION’ | URBAN DECAY URBAN LASH KIT
ULTA LIPSTICK IN ‘PINK CHOCOLATE’

Here’s a quick rundown of how I got the look. Start with your basics – primer, foundation, powder, the works. Don’t skip on the eyeshadow primer if you don’t have to, it’s really a marvelous aid. Use a base shadow that’s a few shades brighter than your skin tone, for a bit of extra contrast against the black. Cover your lid with the base tone, then begin drawing with your eye pencil. I’m mad about Urban Decay’s “Perversion” shade, which is their ultimate blackest-black. You can always wet the tip of their pencils for an even stronger color (that goes for the eyeshadows, too) and while you really don’t need to with “Perversion”, it doesn’t hurt. This is where you work with the pencil and shape your eyes as you like. In the corner of the crease I went back and forth with black eyeshadow and the pencil, drawing a stubby line and smudging it with my finger. I was going for something less uniform, but a little more texturized than a simple smoky eye. Be generous with your mascara, or use false lashes (I didn’t, but you’d get an even better cat eye with them). Fill in your eyebrows – again, generously. I usually wet my angled brush before applying dark brown eyeshadow to the brows, but this time I went strictly for black shadow and used both a wet and dry brush for a lot more depth. Finish off with undereye concealer, a bit of blush and a soft shade of lipstick. You can always use a bit of make-up remover to clean up any drops of dark shadow or pencil marks, too (I definitely did) and reapply your foundation/powder as needed.

Some of the shades in the graphic aren’t precisely what I used, but they’re close matches of the same products.

I hope you’ll all indulge me in sharing a bit of personal décor. Usually when I do posts like these I hope they’ll manage in some way to inspire new and creative ideas for other people, and while maybe this will, too…well, frankly, I just love this little corner of my space and thought it needed to have a moment on this little space.

Glossy 8x10s of (some of) my favorite classic Hollywood faces. I think I was about fifteen when I first began collecting them. What I love best about my collection is that each picture is a memory: I found Frank and Audrey in New York City, Jimmy Stuart and Grace Kelly in San Francisco. Ingrid Bergman came all the way from England (Ebay – I’m so silly, I still have the stamp). The ones I’ve bought from different cities act as postcards to myself, like pieces of the scrapbook of my life. Add in some simple drugstore-bought black frames and all the pieces come together. I decided to keep just the portrait pictures together, Brown Derby-style, and I’ve yet to decide what to do with my few scene pictures (Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling and a few others). But even without being finished, I’m glad I have the space for these – I think they’re an integral part of the history of me, and being able to bring that into my décor makes for a sense of truly personal style.

Do you have a favorite collection you keep displayed? I’d love to know about it!

DRESS: CAROLE LITTLE via MARSHALLS | SANDALS: CLARKS via JC PENNEY | BAG: TERZETTO
SUNGLASSES: OSCAR DE LA RENTA via MARSHALLS | TIGER BRACELET: KENNETH JAY LANE
PANTHER RING: MEGAN LA via IDEELI (major steal right now for $40!)

SALLY HANSEN SALON EFFECTS NAILS IN ‘KITTY KITTY’

How was your weekend? Mine was spent immersed in books (so, it was perfect). Between finishing a spell-binding novel for review on Literary Inklings to attending my first ever book signing, I had a fantastic time getting lost in my love for literature. I wore the above outfit to the book signing (after much deliberation – I’m one of those girls who throws her entire closet onto her bed in the process of getting ready. I’m not alone, right?). The event featured historical romance authors Eloisa James, Sarah MacLean and Julia Quinn in promotion of Eloisa’s newly-published memoir, Paris in Love, which chronicles a year in which she and her family moved to Paris on a whim after a family tragedy and cancer scare. It was very clearly a move meant to learn the art of embracing life anew, and from the reading she gave it’s evident that her adventure was a sweet success. The ladies discussed books, writing and their beloved shared genre of historical romance, and a champagne reception followed where I had the opportunity to meet each one of them. They kindly indulged my geekery by taking photos, so you can see those and read a full recap of the event over here.

Anyway! The outfit – this is my new favorite dress, just because. Crazy tribal print, fun sleeves. It makes me look a bit short, I never realized. But do I really care? Not in the least.