Summer staples (I consider massive bling a summer staple, don’t you?) that are currently haunting my soul.

Yeah, I know. A $15,000+ pool ensemble? But of course—totally legit in my fashion fantasy. Plus, we all know HMW (high maintenance woman) drama doesn’t cease just cause she’s hitting the pool.

What summer staples are you totally craving right now?

Watchco.com recently contacted me to ask if I’d review a watch—and after I spotted Luminox in the site’s product offering, I knew yes would definitely be my answer.  Why? Because I have my very own personal Luminox aficionado, and I knew he’d be more than happy to test drive the watch.

Be sure to check out the video to find out who my special guest star is, and learn more about the Luminox Men’s EVO Navy Seals Colormark 3065 watch.

And ladies, if you’re interested, Watchco.com also offers a small collection of Luminox watches for women. I’m kind of crushing on the Luminox L7060 Purple Resin!

Super excited to be the special guest for tonight’s BlogTrends chat on plagiarism! Please set your alarms and join me for the chat…here are all the details you need:

• Date:  May 7, 2012
• Time: 9:00pm EST
• Hashtag: #blogtrends
• Tweeps to peep: @blog_trends, @DigitalKaitlyn, @Blackblondeone, @gritandglamour
• Twitter chat room: http://tweetchat.com/room/blogtrends
  (Tweet from the chat room and it automatically appends the #blogtrends hashtag. I have a permanent link to the chat room under the BlogTrends badge on the bottom right.—>)

What is BlogTrends?

If you haven’t heard of BlogTrends (www.blog-trends.com), get yourself over to the site and join pronto. It’s a relatively new community for fashion and beauty bloggers, but bloggers in other genres can also learn a lot from the conversations.

Every Monday at 9:00pm EST, the ladies behind BlogTrends host a Twitter chat on topics related to blogging—like photography,  blog promotion, working with brands—and more. It’s not only a superb way to learn more about the tools, tips, and techniques of successful bloggers, it’s a great opportunity to make new online friends, grow your social influence, and maybe even increase your Klout score.

And you know what else is cool? If you miss a chat, transcripts with all the salient points of each chat are provided on the BlogTrends site. Bonus.

Background Reading

So why on earth am I, a style/beauty blogger, guesting on the subject of plagiarism? If you’re a new follower, here are lots of posts that can help you understand. They are in chronological order, starting with the first posts on the subject. Happy reading!

• I Think We’ve Been Plagiarized… Sort of: The Story of the Content Thief (by Beautifully Invisible)
• B*tch stole my content! Plagiarism: How to Deal with a Thief (by Grit & Glamour)
• Plagiarism and The Story Siren (by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books)
• A Tale of Plagiarism Continued: Clarification of The Story Siren’s Clarification (by Beautifully Invisible)
• Plagiarism Bingo: O – Hatemail  (by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books)
• Now it’s MY turn for a “clarification”… (by Grit & Glamour)

Recently, Chantelle of Fat Mum Slim posted What makes you ‘you’?, and it got me thinking about the habits, language, and idiosyncrasies that constitute our individual personalities. Who is she, that woman that is me? What are the ingredients that make me who I am in this 39th year of life?

What makes V, V?

1. I’m not one to mince words or back down from defending myself or what I believe in. After last week’s plagiarism scandal, a lot of people commended me for having the courage to speak out about it. While I appreciate that, it’s just not my nature not to. In fact, speaking up isn’t something I ever have to ponder. I just do. For better or for worse.

2. I never have to “sleep on it” to come to a final decision. I’m very decisive.

3. I’m a really good tipper, because I know what it feels like to wait on people. Consequently, I feel happier and I get really great service at my favorite local places.

4. Can’t help it, but every time I see a blogger making a peace sign with their fingers, it just irritates the hell out of me. Just smile and take the photo! Grown women do not need to make peace signs every time they see a camera.

5. There’s nothing I’m afraid to wear for fear that I “can’t pull it off,” but there are lots of things I don’t wear (like Birkenstocks, Spanx, pantyhose, and bowler hats), because I despise them.

6. I like spiky things. Which with the heels, and the long dark hair, make me even scarier. That’s either my inner spikiness manifesting itself on the outside, or I’m such a chicken I’m subconsciously trying to scare everyone away so I stay safe.

A few of my favorite spiky things.

7. As feminine as I am with my nails and bling and heels, I bust it in the gym like a man. I train HARD. And sweat buckets. Not pretty, but effective.

8. I hate clutter. And lots of little statues and framed photos everywhere. And floral bedspreads. And the smell of moth balls. And feet. Please keep them away from me.

9. I share stuff with my husband—like my computer, bathroom, and closet—but I really don’t want to. Let’s just have two of everything, I say. I’m not good at sharing. Except online, of course.

10. I don’t dwell on the things people have done to me, but I don’t forget. I just choose to put my mental and physical energy to better use. Glass half-full.

11. I’m a total BMW girl. Just bought my third one! I like to drive fast. Very fast. Thank God for my radar detector.

On the left is my last car. On the right is my newest one, just purchased last month! Yes, they are very similar.

12. I dine like I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth (uh, I wasn’t). Caviar, oysters, filet mignon, lobster, smoked salmon, lump crab, foie gras, tuna tartare, sashimi, fancy French sauces, champagne, bespoke cocktails, and a black napkin for my lap, yes, thank you! All part of my regular vocabulary. It’s the one thing I cannot compromise on. I’ll sell the Beemer before I’ll eat crap.

13. I don’t really get hangovers. Even after all those bespoke cocktails.

14. I’ve never been camping. The idea of not having a locked door between me and the world terrifies me.

15. If I had a dollar for every F-bomb I’ve dropped, I’d be driving an Aston Martin (dream car!) instead of a Beemer.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage image , sans swear, via astonmartin.com.

Or, I’d be wearing Wendy Brandes’ gold-plated Swear Rings. (Maybe I should start fining myself a dollar for every F-bomb, and I’ll have the set in no time. I should set up a f*#!*** Swear Ring Swear Jar.)

The one-and-only gold Swear Ring set by the one-and-only Wendy Brandes. Click to purchase—for me, or for you!

16. I like bad boys, sassy girls, other people’s kids, dogs, air-conditioning, and Saturdays.

17. I’m a non-practicing Greek Orthodox semi-Buddhist. I’m spiritual and have faith, but I don’t go to church anymore. Reference #10. Though I could never be fully Buddhist because cockroaches. Must. Die.

18. I have terrible stagefright! When other people try to take photos of me for my blog or theirs, they almost always suck because I’m so nervous (just ask Lee). As the subject, I prefer videos to photos any day.

19. The future eccentric old lady in me is obsessed with massive rings, piles of bangles, gold, leopard, fur, tassels, fringe, and caftans. Can’t you just see me in a flowing leopard print Camilla Franks caftan, long hair twisted into a bun, martini in hand, now-vintage designer bag hanging in the crook of my arm, jewelry everywhere going clink clink, as I swoop into bingo in my retirement community? Wanna join?

20. I say please and thank you every day, to friends, family, and as many strangers as possible. As long as you don’t cut me off in traffic, of course. Swear Jar in the car?!

What makes you who you are? Tell me something I may not know about you…

Oy vey. What a spectacular, disturbing last two days it’s been. Never in a million years did I think I’d be at the epicenter of a plagiarism scandal apparently involving the darling of the young adult (YA) book world. Never in a million years did I think I’d have to defend myself as the victim. But as they say, truth is stranger than fiction.

By now most of you have read my post, B*tch stole my content! Plagiarism: How to Deal with a Thief, and B of Beautifully Invisible’s post, I Think We’ve Been Plagiarized… Sort of: The Story of the Content Thief. And many of you have read (and I’m finally, and only just now actually mentioning the name of the plagiarist here), the “apology” and “clarification” posts by Kristi of The Story Siren that are so vague people in the YA blogging world have had to tweet each other to find out exactly what the hey happened.

What did happen?

Let’s clear that up right now: PLAGIARISM happened.

She lifted content from our sites, reworked it, and passed it off as her own. She didn’t just “borrow” the format of a page, but reworked more than six articles on blogging, not books (the telltale sign). There was no “inspired by,” no link back, no permission asked, no nothing. SHE stole from US. That’s the clarification she omitted that you all are looking for.

Note: B and I would never make this most unholy accusation if we weren’t positive of it. If all the evidence offered in our original posts isn’t sufficient, you should read B’s latest post, where she breaks it down even more: A Tale of Plagiarism Continued: Clarification of The Story Siren’s Clarification.

To the people who are defending Kristi and skewering, us, the victims…

Beautifully Invisible and I did not name her on Twitter—or at all. Your book blogging community did. They put the situation out there three months after it actually happened.

We did not create any hashtags related to her. Your book blogging community did. We do not condone bullying (I have blogged about that very topic) and we would never take such a petulant approach toward a very serious matter. Neither of us needs an army to legitimize our claims.

We had no idea she was this big deal book blogger since our realm is fashion blogging. Comments I’ve seen about us wanting traffic and views out of this is ridiculous. If that were the case WE would have blown the lid off when it happened in January. All we knew is that she was someone who had stolen our work.

Along the same lines, saying that we cooked this up because we are jealous of someone we never even knew is absolute idiocy of the highest order. Now that Kristi is intimately familiar with the concept of IP addresses, I would defy her to find an instance where either of us ever visited her site before we made the discovery in January. We never have.

And in my world, jealousy is a wasted emotion. People who are jealous are usually unhappy with their lives. I am neither jealous nor unhappy.

To all of you who have commented: What’s the big deal? Why are they taking this so seriously? Let’s see your reaction when the posts you have worked on for hours are stolen, altered, and someone else is getting credit, traffic, and ad dollars for your work. Shame on all of you who think that protecting intellectual property isn’t serious or worthwhile. Why do you think you can’t download from iTunes once and share the song with the world for free? Because those melodies and lyrics are the livelihood of artists. Of course, any of you who want to spin your wheels and build up someone else’s reputation or line someone else’s pockets as a result…be my guest.

To all of you who have commented: She just made a mistake. It’s OK. Yes, she did make a mistake—a glaring, horrendous error in judgment when she decided to come over to our blogs, study them, then rework the content and publish it on hers. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE. Which is why we had no choice but to confront her about it.

What has been particularly galling is her inability to actually 100% own this “mistake.” As you can see from her first non-apology posted April 23, 2012, we were never mentioned. She supposedly apologized to her readers, but not us, the bloggers she plagiarized. In her “clarification” posted April 24, 2012, she wrote:

“To Grit and Glamour and Beautifully Invisible, I extend my deepest apologies. Please do not judge the book blogging community by my mistakes.”

Please do not judge the book blogging community? Does she really think that’s what I’m thinking about? No offense, but why would we even care about the book blogging community? It’s a weak apology at best. But to tell you the truth, I didn’t expect anything better than that.

To all of you who have commented: They just regurgitated how-to’s from the Internet. We are well aware that there are all kinds of how-to-blog-better articles out there. Let me set the record straight on this: ours were not regurgitations, but our own, authentic, original (and apparently covetable) posts. We spent hours on them.

To have people discredit our time, energy and original work as an excuse in defending her is highly offensive. No matter how you slice it, the work was ours, not hers—or anybody else’s.

To all of you who have commented: It’s one-sided. It’s a witch hunt. Uh, no and no—or at least, B and I are not the ones on the witch hunt. It has never been one-sided. We didn’t just arbitrarily make a claim. We confronted her about it. And she responded to us and to you all with every I was subliminally inspired/it was an accident/unintentional excuse in the book. And then she had the audacity to lie about her actions, and we showed you the proof.

We have never been on a witch hunt—just a hunt for the truth and a genuine and sincere apology. You should note that she’s never denied the accusations (uh, wouldn’t YOU if you were INNOCENT?), but still dances around the truth in her “clarification” on April 24:

“When I first received the allegations of plagiarism, I was presented with the information and could not deny the facts. While the content was not identical the subject matter was. It was a confusion of inspiration and plagiarism on my part. I am not denying my actions. I was in the wrong.”

Some commenters on other blogs have indicated that she should be reported to publishers, and some also said that we should be the ones to do it.  Now THAT is a witch hunt. I have no intention of reporting anyone. I could care less if she keeps blogging or not, whether she’s blacklisted by the book blogging community or publishers. I only care if she steals my content. Clearly, that’s not going to happen again.

To all of you who think we don’t fully understand copyrights and plagiarism: I want you to know that I am a hobby blogger. This is not my full-time job. You know what my “real” job is? I’m a Web writer and editor, a content developer—not a “wanna-be writer,” not someone with aspirations—but a bonafide, paid writer.

Tweeting with someone yesterday, I noted that the ultimate insult is that people think I do not know how all this plagiarism stuff works because—gasp!—I’m just a fashion blogger. 

I’m not just a fashion blogger. I have a Master’s Degree in English/Technical and Professional Writing, and I have published in magazines, papers, and online. I KNOW THE RULES OF WRITING. I KNOW WHAT PLAGIARISM IS.

I would never, ever pass someone’s work off as my own, because my voice and integrity are not only all I have as a writer, to do something like that would end my career, and my income. I resent having my name dragged through the mud because of a situation I did not bring upon myself.

To all of you who thought I was calling Kristi names because of my “B*tch stole my content…” title: You obviously didn’t read all the way through and see that at the bottom of that post, I properly attributed the “B*tch stole my” saying to the tongue-in-cheek E! Fashion Police segment, B*tch Stole My Look!  No one is actually calling anyone any names, on the show or in my post. It’s an expression used in fashion and entertainment.

To Kristi:

So you made a “mistake” and apologized. We know you will never write: To Grit and Glamour and Beautifully Invisible, I am truly sorry for plagiarizing your content. It’s pretty clear in your statement on April 24 that the only person you are sorry for is you, because you’ve tarnished your reputation as a “leader”:

“I am truly sorry for all the trouble that this has caused the book blogging community. That’s my biggest regret. You gave me your respect and I let you down. I took a role as a leader and I didn’t take my actions into account as it would reflect on the community as a whole. For that I am truly sorry.

…I know that I have disappointed many of you. That is heartbreaking to me. I am still the same person that you have come to know through the years. I just really screwed up.”

Not “truly sorry” for plagiarism, but “truly sorry…for all the trouble that this has caused.” Fine. Extend us your “deepest apologies.” Whatever. The damage, as you well know, is done.

You know what would have been refreshing? For you to tell your followers that slandering us, that hurling wild accusations at us because they are hurt and disappointed is not the way this should be handled. I hope you know that when all this hit Twitter and beyond, B and I were the ones who let people know that cyber-bullying—via hashtag or any other way—is wrong. Uh, that’s a defense on your behalf. We never started it or participated in any name calling or spread any unfounded accusations.

It would have been nice if instead of only doing your own reputation damage control, you had extended us the same courtesy and communicated to your followers that WE are not the ones at fault here, and we do not deserve to be attacked any more than you do. 

Would have been nice. But again, the damage—to all parties involved—is done.

Being that you’re bookish, I’ll close with an all-time favorite quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

Don’t ask me what I was thinking when I went into LOFT the day before Orthodox Easter, and walked out with this very non-Vahni floral frock. I don’t know what the frock happened.

*WVW = What V Wore
Dress: LOFT • Belt:  BCBGMAXAZRIA • Heels: BCBGMAXAZRIA • Ring: YSL
Bracelets (all by Stella & Dot): Devi Bangles (6); Rhea Bangles (3); Renegade Cluster Bracelet; Serpent Bangle

Actually I do know what happened. This:

I bought the belt the same day. Had been eyeing it for a while. The hint of snake, those gleaming spikes—that really kind of hurt if anyone gets too close—they had me at gold. So I walked out of BCBGMAXAZRIA with the belt, and I must of been in some kind of crazy Easter-egg-induced-pastel-kind-of-mood when I spotted the dress and actually picked it up off the rack.

Belt and dress in hand, I slipped into the dressing room. Oh, it was comfy. And what a fetching little frock it would be for entertaining company the next day. When I put the belt on, it kind of melted that icky floral sweetness a bit. The unexpected accessory. It was Vahni-fied.  A leeeeettle naughty. I fell in love. The end.

Have you bought against type lately? What did you pick up that was totally not you?

When I spotted this dress in a Zara lookbook, it’s the one thing I knew I had to go back for again and again until it materialized. I don’t know if it was sheer determination or that the universe knew this dress was made for me, but I happened to hit the site and snag one before it sold out.

*WVW = What V Wore
Dress: Zara • Necklace: H&M (similar) • Booties: Mika by Trouvé • Sunnies: Christian Dior

It’s not so much the OTT, ultra-long fringe that captivated me, it’s the fact that this is probably as close as I’ll ever get to one of Tom Ford’s exquisite fringed creations. So I had to have it. And while it’s not the easiest dress to wear (vanity isn’t easy anyway), the statement-making potential? Uh, off the charts! Wore it to a swanky bar in the city with Hubby and he loved it and people stared at me like I was Cousin It.

PS: Cameron, reprieve from the black? No such luck.

Busy, busy, busy bee,  Worker V.  And working a new hue: blue.

Shirt: DVF • Belt: DVF • Pants: White House/Black Market • Heels: Boutique 9 • Necklace: Pegasus, Stella & Dot 

A sextuplet of tassels is a a statement indeed, but my favorite part of this look? Pegasus:

Layers of individual metallic feathers add texture and refract light. Every time I wear this gorgeous creation, I feel as divine and otherworldly as the winged horse of my ancestors’ myths, from which this necklace takes its name.

Together Pegasus and I flew through conference calls and content decks—boldly, with stamina, and the kind of divinity a good statement piece bestows on all goddesses—in togas or trousers.