Never Gonna Give You Up

Go ahead...click this link. It's harmless and totally worth it...

LOLOLOL, 😂😹😭Did you click it?! Ha! It's 2018 and I used that old gag! The joke cycled back around and got funny again!
Sure I haven't posted all year (by that I mean school year, I always go by that calendar) but I'll never give you up, blog! 
Also, this old thing:

I picked up this beauty back in the early part of the decade and even then it didn't fit well. Here I am wearing it with some control top tights and a wide belt:

Look at the print. Cats. Kitschy looking cats with tiny pink polka dots. I love the print and I love cats! It's a sheer, woven acrylic. This dress was not comfortable and (when not posed and with a filter added) not flattering. But still; I held onto it. What can I do with a too small dress? Make an infinity scarf? Give it to a kid? No.

 Cut that shit in half.

By the way, I do most of my sewing at night that's why the pictures come out terrible.You can see, right? I cut the dress right down the middle. This is not a new trick for me. Browse the archives, you'll find a few button-up dresses being worn unbuttoned and layered over other clothes. Another thing I do a lot?

I take collars off. They bug me.

Yeah, so I removed the button placket (placket? wtf is that?) and sewed up the raw hem on each side. Now I have this!

 

It's like a sheer vest thing! Isn't it kinda cute? When I'm not wearing a dress I'm wearing tight, stretchy pants. The tights black pants and top combo becomes a blank canvas for something like a kimono or long cardigan. Long is the key word here. 

These pics were taken at the end of a day with some shit lighting. Didn't much feel like attempting to smile for the camera. I did my usual "look down at the floor" thing, it's just easier for me.

Here's a close-up selfie:

And here's the side by side:

Valentine Girl

Title courtesy of one of my favorite New Kids on the Block song Valentine Girl.
I feel like I may have done a post like this, but I'm pretty sure I just wanted to but didn't. This post is a tribute to the over the top style of Betsey Johnson.

For years, I worked at TJ Maxx, usually in accessories or at the jewelry counter. I used to love it when we got Betsey Johnson handbags and such. I tend to wear a lot of black, but I had a strong appreciation for Betsey's prints; specifically the roses.

So, here's the starter:

For a Valentine's day at school (so, Friday the 12th) I took out this nightie that I bought at GW because the large rose print reminded me of the fabulous Ms. Johnson. So, how do I turn a satiny nightgown into clothes? Answer: by wearing it with shoes and going outdoors in it.

Of course, it had a hole in it up on the shoulder seam. I sewed some lace binding on it so that I could legally call this a refashion even though it's really just a restyle.

See? Lace shoulders. I fancied it up. By the way, it was colder than...um, a place or thing that is known for being very cold. Write your own hyperbolic metaphor, I got nothing. I had to layer this thing good. Here's the after shot, taken at the end of they day, not much makeup.

I put my nightie over some fleece leggings and a long sleeved top. I belted it and put my boots on, even added a sweater (which I didn't need). I got several compliments. No one knew it was sleepwear! Suckers!

Cool label, huh?

Let's Review

Since school starts tomorrow (and I've been losing sleep with anxiety about it) I declare that today is officially my last day of summer. Here are some of the things you missed. Because I didn't share a blog post about them. I was busy, that's why.
Many of my items are refashions, but here are a few items that were just great thrift scores with no need for alteration.

This gorgeous aqua with white piping, sleeveless shirt dress. I love it. I took in the bodice a little.

Got it at Outfitters awhile back, put it away for winter, then kinda forgot about it. It was $5. I added the belt because I can't resist waist accentuating,
Check this out: it's a whale skirt.

Thar she blows! I paid full price for it at Goodwill; $5. It's vintage! Well worth it! Look at the whales!

I paired it with an anchor print crop top which totally goes with it. It's such a childlike garment, and I really wasn't sure what to match it with.

I said I was showing you a "few" things, which usually means more than two. The third thing was these:

There, I zoomed in. They are cute, black, wedge sandals and they're made by Dansko which I'm told is an expensive working lady shoe. Sticking with the theme, these were $4.99 at Savers.
For the fixer uppers, we have this:

This thing...it's so cute and summer-y. I bought it last summer and maybe wore it once. I hate being hot and this seersucker thing is perfect for staying cool and looking great. What's wrong here?

LOL, I censored it. It's a halter style and it's backless. I can't wear that to summer school. I DO NOT WANT TO LAYER! I probably did take pictures of the process, but let's just cut to the chase. I cut up a stretchy tank top and sewed it to the dress so that it looks like I've got it on underneath.

I went with black because I like it. I wish I had a black background. Do you see the fabric? The tiny white and light aqua stripes?

Here it is from the back:

There is more to show, but I was just over it that day, just like I am now. It's the night before school and I'm stressin' hardcore. I'm going to prepare now.

Take a Bow...blue dress and t shirt

By the way, that title says "take a bow," as in a tied up ribbon, something on top of a present, or that thing on Hello Kitty's head. 
This one isn't exactly exciting. In fact, let's just skip the intro and see the dress:

Yup, that's the end result. That's my finished dress. I wasn't planning on posting about it, so I neglected to take a "before" shot. It's a simple stretchy knit dress in a dark blue color that I really like. I must have liked this garment because I have two of them...

Here it is in black! For some reason, I'm holding the ends of those things that attached to its side that tie in the back. I love those, there has to be a name for them. I'm not exactly modest, but there was a slight over exposed feeling to this dress. It just doesn't seem right to stroll into a grocery store or the thrifts with one's boobs so brazenly on display. Call me old fashioned, but in my day, we only hauled our girls out at the mall or someplace like that ;)
I have a slight rule when it comes to summer clothes: Wear as few garments as possible. Don't layer, stick to one lightweight garment, preferably a dress. Summer school is not air conditioned.
I made the bust line higher with this:

That's a really cute t shirt with a black bow on it. Unfortunately, it has a bunch of letters and numbers on the back. Do not want. I'll just take the bow.

I sewed that t shirt scrap to the front and waved a sad goodbye to my best feature. For a closer look, here are some closeups I took using my brand new fancy phone. I pretty much never replace a phone until the one I'm using breaks. That's what happened in June and with the help of a loyalty program, this broke lady earned a lovely Galaxy S6. The camera has a great selfie mode and is so clear it shows every detail of my face. I'll just edit a few things...

A rare glasses pic! I am a full time glasses wearer, but I rarely wear them in pictures. I just don't think they photograph well.

That one's weird. That doesn't even look like the me I'm used to. But, how do ya like that dress fix? I like it.

The end.

This used to be my playground

Settle in, folks. I've got a whole ramble to do before eventually getting to the dress.
It starts back in 1998. I'm just messin' with you, I won't go back that far. A couple weeks ago, I received word that WAW, the small, low budget wrestling promotion I once considered my pride and joy would be disbanded. The shows took place in a local gym which we rented out on Saturdays. The gym owner was in financial trouble and would most likely be losing her building, leaving WAW homeless.

"artistic" photo of the ring apron

There are times in recent years where I cursed vengeance upon those in this group. I dreamed about riding into the gym on horseback, and slaying the current regime placing their heads on each ring post to take back my throne. (I have an active imagination and I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones.) But, news of WAW's demise was not good news for me.

another artsy-ass pic which shows me in WAW's corner

In the week that followed, the most beautiful thing happened. My former WAWers, past and current members took to social media to share our love and memories and shit. Using the tags #wawmemories, and #farewelltothedojo or #savethedojo, we shared our highlights and stories from olden days. We changed our Facebook profile pictures to photos of ourselves in costumes or in the ring.
It was announced that there would be a show on the upcoming Saturday, possibly the last. Of course I would attend.
Here's where I talk about my outfit. For most of my career in WAW I played Ms. Moody Starr, company president. My look was usually a cross business lady and dominatrix. I thought I should give a nod to my executive era with something a little like that.
Here's the dress;

I feel like I'm doing this wrong. That dress already looks pretty decent and my bewbs are on full display and that wasn't intentional. I just put this on over my pants to grab the quick "before" picture. It's a pinstriped thing I got for $5 at Savers. It's by Ann Taylor. I'm not sure if that's a fancy name or not.
This isn't a refashion. My end result is basically the same dress with a bunch of accessories. I did some altering.

I took it in from the back. That's what it looked like pinned before I sewed. This made the low cut top fit a little strange. So, I made it lower because I planned on layering.

I just folded down a little of the material on each side in the front like that. It worked. My next step was choosing all the cool crap to go with it. I still have all my costumes in one of those hated plastic bins.
It was decided that I would act as the manager to two of my former clients, one of them being a former boyfriend. We had worked together in 2008-2009 and had a successful "stable" (group of wrestlers banding together like a team, ex.WWE's Degeneration X) called "The Dynasty." Our colors were for the most part black and silver, sometimes gold.

On the left, a sparkly silver gown for a special event; on the right a publicity shot from the Dynasty era. Not shown are my metallic silver leggings that I used to wear under short dresses. Sadly, they had lost a lot of their shine. I wore those, my patent high heel boots, my silver sequin bra, a silver accented belt, and a faux fur boa thing. A bit of an overkill? Too much?

Yes

It looks a little over the top, which is good for wrestling shows, I think.

The necklace is just a black chain with one of those big pins attached. No need to be flashy. Bring on the narcissistic photo shoot!

The leggings used to fit better.

I will probably come back to this, but to wrap it up, the show went well, JOHN showed up and performed, and there might be more life in WAW. 

I don't have to explain myself! Late V Day

It's been over a week since I started writing the third part of my last story and I'm almost done, but oops, I seem to have fallen behind. As usual. Valentine's Day was days ago, so I figured that now would be a good time to share some red and pink crap. The post itself reflects the hasty, last-minute hurried feeling I get sometimes. Too many little chores; blogging/writing takes a back seat.
I'm behind as hell and don't feel like explaining myself, dammit.
On Thursday of last week, I knew I had put it off long enough and had to redo my hair color, but before that I threw together some half-assed outfit ideas that might be considered no-sew restyles. I had this skirt that I had already photographed awhile ago...

It was months ago, and I don't remember why I have it or why I used the dress form for the "before" shot. It's a large stretchy skirt with useless buttons and tiny pink polka dots. Tiny pink polka dots, despite being a color I don't wear are considered acceptable because they have a certain retro kitsch value.
I digress. Anyway, I did the usual "pull the skirt up over boobs" trick and then to make it a little more fitted, I added two safety pins to create darts in the bodice section.

Do you see them? You see how I added safety pins? Not that there is much daylight around here anyway, but it was totally nighttime when I took these pics. I hid the pins with a sash and added more layers, plus a heart shaped necklace.

The tired, thrown together me that was captured here could only be saved with some heavy photo editing. 

This following thing is really just a sweater I love and have had for many a Valentine's of yesteryear. It's somewhat ill-fitting and there wasn't much I could do.

Ugh, no to everything. I tried to add "pops" of red with the belt and shoes to bring out the sweater's design. Pencil skirt's too small and I look super mad about it. I did have to shorten that elastic belt, though. 

My sweater with the gorgeous sacred heart embroidered on:

I bought it when I was much younger and badass-ier. Love the sacred heart image and if I weren't so wishy washy, I'd have got something like that for a tattoo while younger and badass-er. The sweater came from an alternative indie clothing store (do people still use words like that?) in Cambridge, MA and probably cost a fortune. 

Finally...this goddamn adorable cat print dress. It's sheer black with more tiny pink polka dots and retro style kitties on it. I got it a few years back at Savers, I believe. It's a small junior's size. It has a weird fit at the sides and two stupid strings at boob level.

Lolwut. What are these? Am I wearing it wrong? Don't answer, I know what's wrong; I'm not a size 3 teen. But, seriously, why pointy hips? 

I don't really know what to do, but for the sake of getting this shit done, I started by cutting off those strings. Then I added a different red waist cinching belt to hopefully fix the "hang" of this dress or at least draw the eye towards the middle. 

This pose is like, "What's that? Damn right I matched red and pink and you added some big-ass fake pearls. Think it's tacky?"

Come at me, bro*

*Any time I see someone posed with arms outstretched, I'm reminded of the old meme phrase which translates into "approach and we shall engage in fisticuffs."