Scented Nail Polish - Review

A few weeks ago I was browsing the Cartwheel app and came across scented nail polish - Revlon Perfumerie.  At first thought it sounded incredibly ridiculous.  I mean really, what is the point of scented nail polish?

As the next couple weeks went by I kept thinking about it.  I don't know why but my curiousity wouldn't leave me alone so I went back to Target and got a bottle so I could finally quit thinking about it.

So, this is the result:

Surprisingly, it works!  Not the best quality nail polish I've ever used, it was pretty flaked off by the next day (but in all fairness, I do work in a warehouse so I am hard on my hands).  The scent I got is Surf Spray and it does have an essence of the beach when you smell your dry nails, for at least the first couple days.

I'm not sure what the point of scented nail polish is yet, other than being able to tell people to smell your fingers in a not gross or perverted sense, but it does work and is different.  

If you have the Cartwheel app for Target, you can still get this for 10% off until March 1st.  There were probably about a dozen colors or scents when I went.  I may go buy another bottle just for the fun of having scented nails.

Oh! I started a Pinterest page for An Untraditional Fashionista.  You can follow me at UntradFashion :)

Award Season is Upon Us

Oh my goodness!  Award season is in full swing right now, which means all eyes on the red carpet.  There have been some truly stunning gowns and some that could have been better.

What have been some of my favorites?



Jennifer Lawrence looked incredible at the SAG awards in this Christian Dior Gown.  I love that she kept her hair/makeup/accessories simple with her gown being sequined.  She totally nailed it and looks fantastic.  Plus, with her personality, how can you not lover her anyway?  It's just icing on the cake that she is gorgeous too!



Vanessa Hudgens looked stunning at the Gimme Shelter NYC screening in this Monique Lhuillier.  That smile says mischief!



Emma Watson at the Golden Globes in Dior.  I love that she dared to do something different.  I love that it is simple but at the same time very bold.  She looked great.

Those were my favorites that I can think of.  There is one more that I've been thinking a lot about, and not necessarily in a good way:



Rhianna at the Grammys in the yellow Alexandre Vauthier gown.  From the waist down I think this gown is fantastic.  I love the color of the gownand think it works great with her complexion.  However, the top doesn't fit, is sagging all over the place and just looks like a hot mess.  I understand that the gown wasn't made to be tailored but it really could have used some structure concerning shoulder placement.  Her attempt to pull a legendary J-Lo didn't hit the mark in my book and I don't think we will still be talking about this piece over a decade later (at the very least because it's been done before), like we still are JLO in Versace.

Don't remember the one I am talking about?  Oh you know you do ;)



What were some of your favorite looks?  Who did I miss that was memorable, good or bad?

Change of Weather Means Time to Clean

I don't know what it is but whenever the weather changes from either cold to hot or hot to cold, it feels like it's time to clean and organize to get ready for the coming seasons.  Temperatures have been dropping and leaves are changing color so I think it's time to go back to closet and wardrobe organization.  I'm going to be reaching for sweaters and long dresses rather than light blouses and short skirts.  It should be easy to find the things that I will want to wear.

And this is always a good time to get rid of clothes that aren't getting worn and probably won't show much show time in the future.  It can however be difficult to part with clothes, no matter how insignificant they are.  We, especially women, have a hard time parting with clothing.  Maybe it's because of memories of how we look in it, something that happened when we were wearing it, we love the color.  There are thousands of reasons that we trick ourselves into keeping things that we honestly aren't wearing and probably won't again.  We feel like if we toss out clothes from a certain decade or time that maybe we're losing a small part of who we are but really we're just hanging on to baggage.  We all do it.  I know I do.

In scouring the internet for suggestions on how to better deal with the closet clean up, there are several sites with recommendations, tips, tricks, etc.  Don't over complicate things, keep it simple and find what works for you.

This flow chart from Edge Magazine is a good, easy starting point to wardrobe editing.



If you were to follow this chart honestly, you should be able to make significant progress in cleaning your closet.  I think this will be my project for the weekend.

Good luck to anyone else that is going to do the same thing!

ASOS Anyone?

I am always looking for new, interesting fashion sites but it's often hard to know what sites are legitimate, and which ones are just looking to take your money, especially with so many sites being from over seas.  Every so often I like to test the waters and test my luck with a new site that seems somewhat questionable.

So, I recently ordered from ASOS (http://us.asos.com/?hrd=1).  I wan't too sure what to expect.  You can buy new or gently used clothes from the site.

I ordered this dress for around $22 from the site:

I was pleasantly surprised with the service and the quality of the garment when it arrived.  It delivered to me quickly.  The fabric wasn't super cheap like I was worried it could be given the price.

I haven't ordered anything from then since, but they are now in my approved stores list and they always have cute clothes at great prices.  I think they are definitely worth checking out.

Now I need a date night so I can wear this gorgeous, sexy dress out!

Project Tuesday

I decided several months ago that I wanted to recreate some of the things that I find on Pinterest and love but either can't afford, or are old seasons so can't find to buy anywhere.  I even bought fabric to start on some of the projects (back in April).  I finally got started on one of them.

I have been in love with the Boston Proper shirt since I first saw it on Pinterest:

Unfortunately, it must be an old season shirt because I couldn't find it anywhere on their site.  But I've been mildly obsessed with this shirt.  So, I decided I would make my own.

Finding a similar fabric was the hardest part of this project.  I love the cut out patterns and embroidery on this one.  I looked everywhere and even looked at curtains and table clothes (channeling Gone With The Wind), but still couldn't find anything that I loved.  I did eventually find an eyelet that I thought would work.

So, I pulled out my sewing and pattern making supplies and went to town making a pattern:

My favorite tool in the world!  My iron.  j/k BTW.  I've had this iron for two years and have only used it once for a craft project.  I hate ironing clothes, but an iron is essential when sewing.  It's so important to press seams as you go.

Drafting my pattern.  I forgot how much I really do enjoy pattern making.  I wanted to just make patterns all night long.

Fabric all cut out and ready to sew.  At this point in time though, I didn't have any white thread so things got put on hold until I went and bought some.

Then last night I got it all sewn together.  Unfortunately, I don't love the end result, so I have it on my dress form and am working on figuring out how to change it so I like it better.  I added a ribbon at the bust and I do like that but overall I'm not in love with the shirt.  I think I'm going to cut out some of the circles (that you can't really see in the pictures) in the eyelet pattern and see if that helps any.  But I think the big problem is the fabric choice.  The eyelet doesn't drape and is more stiff than the Boston Proper shirt.  I'll keep playing with it though and see what I can do to make it better.

I Love Me Some Trashy Diva

Trashy Diva is a brand that I discovered a few years ago and I love them!  They are retro inspired designs and their dresses are so fun and you don't have to be a Rockabilly to wear them.

The brand started in the 90s and at that time they were selling vintage finds (thus the "Trashy" in their name).  As time went on though, the brand broke away from that and began producing original designs.  One of the things that I love about Trashy Diva is that their dresses are all made of quality fabrics, ie. silks, rayons, etc.  and they are pretty reasonably priced for being boutique type clothing.  Most dresses costing in the low hundreds, or on sale for as low as about $40.

Their site offers clothing, undergarments, handbags, shoes, jewelry, etc.  But it is definitely the dresses that I look for when I visit.

Check out their dresses and you'll see why:

Trashy Diva Orlando Mini Dress.  Cotton Voile.  $159

Also available in a more dressy/sexy version.  Rayon/Acetate.  $163

I love their Courtney Coat Dress.  I've tried one on before and should've bought it then but didn't.  Very fun and flattering.  Cotton blend Satin.  $181

If you love Mad Men, you will love this dress.  I know that I do!  I love the peacock feather details.  Katherine Dress.  Heavy Weight Rayon.  $172

This Streetcar Dress is so cute in plaid and with the neck bow.  Light-Weight Cotton.  $165

***This dress is making me slightly crazy because it very strongly reminds me of a female fashion designer from the 1950s whose designs were inspired off of menswear.  She used mens shirting fabrics for dresses and rompers.  For the life of me I can't remember her name.  I've been "Googling" for half an hour and am not any closer to figuring out her name.  She was fantastic so I wish I could share more about her but I can't remember enough right now to share.  Anyone have a clue about who I'm thinking of?  I'll have to do some research and share about her at a later date.***

This is the last one I'll share today.  I think this dress is sexy and classic all at the same time.  Honey Dress.  Lightweight Cotton Stretch Poplin.  $108

Anyway, if you love vintage, or at least vintage inspired, you should check out Trashy Diva (www.TrashyDiva.com).  Their clothes are a modern take on 1940-60s fashion and the result is timeless, affordable, clothing.  I am a fan!

A Ted Baker Kind of Day

I've been slacking at posting the last week.  It's been record heat and that has sucked the motivation out of me.  I have lots of blogs in the works, in my head at least, but haven't gotten them all ironed out to perfection yet.  So, while sitting here, drained of energy and motivation, Ted Baker popped into my head and seemed like something worth talking about today.

When I go to Las Vegas, I love to go check out the Ted Baker shops.  The designs are very feminine, classic, and are the essence of English fashion.  I love pretty much everything I've seen of Ted Baker.  My only complaint with the clothes are that they are not of necessarily the nicest fabrics....  That doesn't mean they are cheap fabrics by any means, but if I am going to pay hundreds of dollars for a dress, I hope it is silk, rayon, wool, something along those lines, but Baker seems to use a lot of polyesters.  Polyester, when you break it down and think about it, really isn't that bad.  Care is generally easier.  The quality of polyester has improved significantly over the years and can be made to feel like silk or other natural fibers, but for some reason, I have a mental block about it and have a really hard time justifying paying the cost when the fabric is polyester.  Is that weird?  Anyone else have that?  And not all of his clothes are polyester.  It just seems that what I pick out when I am at his stores is.

One day I think I will break down and actually buy some Ted Baker clothes though because I think the designs are so fresh and fun.

What are some of his designs that I'm currently loving?

This floral embroidered dress.  Currently on sale for $367, down from $525.  I think this is a very sweet dress.  It would be great for weddings you might have to go to, dates, summer parties, etc.  Silk.  See embroidery pattern below:

As a general rule, I hate jumpsuits.  I don't think they are flattering.  I think maybe 2% of the population can pull them off, and that percentage is not usually the percentage that you see wearing them.  That being said, I think this is a cute jumpsuit, or playsuit as they are refering to this.  I think I like it because it doesn't look like a jumpsuit.  It looks like shorts and a top.  This is the Jordann dancing leaves print playsuit on sale for $173, down from $248.  Polyester.

This Tallar swoop neck dress.  Retro, classic, flirty.  On sale for $332, down from $475.  Silk :)

Liano Dancing Leaves dress.  $192 down from $275.  Polyester.  I think this is very cute, youthful, and looks like so much fun to wear.

So my picks for today didn't back up my polyester rant from above.  I totally failed there, well halfway anyway.  Oh well.  You should check out Ted Baker at www.TedBaker-London.com.

They have a sale going on now:

I also started a Facebook page where I post daily sales that I know about.  And some days, I post what I am wearing.  Picture quality is typical Myspace pictures usually, but it lets you see what my style is and what I wear.