Fall Obsessions

Hi All!

No makeup in this post, just wanted to take a little time to talk about how excited I am for fall fashions! Fall has always been my favorite season; I love the weather, moving from hot and sweltering in September into cool and crisp by November, and I especially love the clothes! Houndstooth, herringbone, tweed, leather jackets, pencil skirts, boots, blouses... yes please! I can move back into my favorite colors, deep blues, plums, red, grey, and of course black. And then there's the makeup. I love coral as much as the next girl, but summery brights just aren't my thing. I love browns and dirty pewters, metallics, and red lips! And is it just me, or does overdressed play a lot better in the cooler months? I can wear pearls, a red lip, and a pencil skirt on a weekend night in October and not feel out of place. The faux-fur muffler might tip the scales, but to hell with it! I can wear what I want; I am a firm believer in the idea that confidence is the greatest accessory.  Speaking of wearing what I want, I've been contemplating the idea of making a slew of corsets and wearing an underbust in this fabric to work over a blouse. Too much? We don't have a strict dress code...

I don't know about you guys, but I am chomping at the bit for the change in season! I have a beautiful white and black tweed skirt with  some zippers to spare and a wide elastic waistband I want to break out, a pair of sky-high black suede peep-toe heels I snagged on clearance over the summer, some over-the-knee socks that need to be rocked, and I am dying to try out some 1940's inspired makeup. On my wish-list right now is a kind of dove-grey/ sable matte eyeshadow and a muted orange-red lip pencil. Hopefully I'll find something close to that shade of matte eyeshadow at Inglot in Vegas when I am there IN A WEEK AND A HALF(!). Of course, I'd kill to snag half of  NARS' and Chanel's fall makeup collections, too. Have you guys seen Chanel's khaki eye pencil? That would be killer on lower lash lines.

Rachael, of "Blade Runner"

Rachael in "Blade Runner"

I am making it my goal to dress more the way I want to this fall. That sounds stupid when I type it out, but I feel like I fall into wearing what's easy; jeans, a nice-ish top, and flats tends to be my uniform year round. Is it ideal? No. This is going to sound even stupider than this paragraph's first sentence, but Rachael from "Blade Runner" is kind of my fashion icon.
The dark take on 1940's noir fashion with a bit of a sci-fi edge does it for me every time. I think this is the reason that the steampunk aesthetic appeals to me, even though I can't quite wrap my head around the sub-culture. The few times I've costumed for steampunk events, though, I often have to scrap my first few designs as soon as I realize that they're things I'd wear "in the real world."  And I can't throw around phrases like "fashion icon" and fail to mention Bette Davis. I love that she embraced a strong yet feminine style and broke out of the movie-star mold. I could write an entire post on all the reasons I admire her both as a fashion muse and as a career woman, but suffice it to say she didn't fit Hollywood's vision of a beauty, but her look is so unique that I really do think she transcends Hollywood cookie-cutter beauty.

Bette Davis glamour shot! From "Now, Voyager"

In a perfect world, I'd have more time to sew and could whip up some made-to-measure pieces that would really bring my vision into crystalline focus, but for now I'm stuck finding pieces here and there that get me close enough. I'm not saying that this will be the fall I dress like a Replicant, but I am trying to keep a few key ingredients in mind as I browse the stores. I want more vintage and more edge in my wardrobe, and I want it now! I know this is the costumer in me talking, but what's wrong with that? I think getting dressed should be fun as frequently as possible, and nothing is more fun for me than putting together costumes.

I am so ready for a change in many areas of my life right now, but I am stuck doing some of the same stuff for at least the next year. One thing I can change is how I dress, though, and I am embracing that whole-heartedly.

Some shoes and hosiery I'm looking forward to wearing:

Never enough black heels! They're all different, right? 

I am especially looking forward to these. Aren't they gorgeous? 

And some of my favorite picks for fall jewelry and hair accessories:

How about you guys? Who are your fashion icons? Do you have any cool-weather pieces languishing in your closet right now that you're excited about breaking out?