bells are ringing

A hot debate is currently raging in my mind as to whether or not I will wear this pretty dark green lace bell-sleeved dress on Christmas or go the cozy route and stay in pajamas all day. It's a tough call since I always want to look picture-perfect and it's so rare that I have a real opportunity to play dress up (other than "I can do what I want and today I'm wearing a cocktail dress to shop for groceries!" lol!) but I also feel a real tug to play it comfy and sit on the floor in pjs sipping hot cocoa.

Either way, I did wear this dress this weekend (like I said, you don't need a real reason to play dress-up!) and I felt so festive and fancy! Oh, and it's 40% off today only over at Modcloth if you spend $100 or more. I have been pretty good at curbing my spending lately but I have my eye on this sweatshirt, this dress, this dress, this dress, and this dress. It's so hard to resist when the dresses are already super on sale and the 40% off brings them down to about $20 each! I feel like it's actually responsible of me to buy them when they're discounted so much, right? ;)

dress - c/o modcloth | cat belt - modcloth | shoes - amazon

modcloth sale alert!

Do you remember those Staples commercials that used to play in August/September with parents doing back to school shopping to the tune of "It's the most wonderful time of the year"? My mom always hated those because she said that she missed us too much when we had to go back to school (I have the best mom ever) and of course we hated the commercials too because, well, school!

Anyway, now that I no longer associate September with homework and bullies, it really is "the most wonderful time of the year." That's right, it's time for one of Modcloth's huge 70% off sales. Now that's something worth singing about, right?! :D

If I had the money I'd probably be adding one of each of these dresses to my closet but for now I'm sticking with this one. It reminds me of a vintage dress, with the bow and lace. I used to stock up on the really cheap dresses during these sales, the ones that were marked down to like $15, but now I tend to get one or two that were marked down from a much higher price point, something that I could NEVER afford to buy full price. I think I'm more likely to keep and wear them, rather than just buy them because they're cheap. And this dress was originally $147 so catching it for $43 is pretty exciting!

You can shop the sale here!

truth in fashion

Yesterday, Modcloth co-founder Susan Koger shared an open letter to the fashion industry, asking for more truth in fashion advertising and pledging to help promote those truths herself. Modcloth asked if I would be interested in writing my own open letter to the fashion powers-that-be, and you better believe I was interested! So here it is --



Dear Fashion,

For most of my post-adolescent life I've struggled with feeling unattractive. Through blogging I've grown more confident in my appearance (in my very first outfit post I had blocked out my face because I thought I was so ugly) but I find I'm still susceptible to advertising witchcraft. I can get dressed in the morning and put on an outfit that makes me feel like a million dollars, and then walk into the mall and instantly feel like a chubby, hideous little freak compared to the beauties in the posters surrounding me.

I'm all for every and any advance that can be made in advertising. No photoshop? Fantastic. Every body shape? Wonderful. But here's what I really want to see -- regular people. I want to see advertisements with girls who don't fall into society's accepted definition of beauty. Some girls with bigger noses, like me! I want to see girls with scars, disfigurements, average features, disabilities, crooked teeth, freckles, pimples, and low cheekbones. Size 0, size 28. Pear shape, square shape. It's all well and good to say that you didn't photoshop your model, but when she still looks like most models do post-editing, it doesn't really help much. I want every girl to look at advertisements and see herself. See that her flaws can be beautiful, and she doesn't have to fit into one standard beauty mode to be considered pretty. Every girl is gorgeous, but hardly any of us believe it about ourselves. Seeing our own unique beauty reflected in the advertisements around us would do wonders for our collective self esteem.

I'd also like to see cellulite. I know, nobody actually wants to see it. But guess what? 90% of us have it. And yet I don't think I've ever seen it in an ad, catalog or online shop. Even though it's been statistically proven that almost all girls have it, I still find myself feeling insecure and gross when bathing suit season comes around. Because all of the images I've seen in my life have tricked my brain into thinking that I'm alone in my dimpled shame.

In the end, that's what fashion has done to a lot of girls -- it's made us feel alone. And it's a crying shame, because fashion is SO fun. When we were little, so many of us loved playing dress up. When we looked in the mirror, we didn't see our imperfections, we saw princesses and fairies staring back at us. The only thing that changed between then and now is exposure to advertisements that made us believe our bodies were bad and our faces were ugly or plain.

Let's finally have some truth in advertising, so we can all look in the mirror and see regal reflections once more.

modcloth sale alert! (it's a good one!)

I get really excited about modcloth sales since a lot of their items can be too pricey unless they're marked down -- but I'm really REALLY excited about this particular one because it's chock-full of super cute items. Sometimes the sale section is stocked with pieces I wouldn't want anyway, but this time it's literally almost 4,000 (!!!) ridiculously cute and pretty things marked down a whopping FIFTY percent. YESSS.

If you're itching to take a look, you can view the sale section here. Everything pictured in my image is on sale (including this dress I wore in my last outfit post!) yay!

twirl around the world

A couple weeks ago I made this video for Modcloth's twirling promotion which just went live on their blog yesterday. Originally the theme was "twirl around the world" so I decided to become a tourist in my own living room, surrounded by animated versions of famous world landmarks. It looks like they changed the theme since then so my idea is kind of out of context now, but I'm still so happy with how it came out!

I know asking people to watch videos on blogs is like asking you to do 100 cartwheels while simultaneously braiding your own hair (at least it seems that way to me.. people don't like videos unless they specifically typed in youtube.com in their browser) but please, please give it a watch! It's only 32 seconds.

I am just so proud of it. It took me forever to figure out how to get the animation technique the way I was envisioning it in my head. In the end I ended up editing 500 individual frames in photoshop before I even knew if it was *possible* to layer my animation over my video. I can't tell you how relieved I was when it actually worked, lol! And now I have the animation itch again (actually, I always do!)

dress- c/o modcloth | sweater - forever 21 | hat - h&m | brooch- vintage

suitcase - vintage | sunglasses - forever 21 | shoes - c/o oasap

style gallery

For a while I used to post all of my outfits on Lookbook but eventually I stopped.. the site seems (at least to me) to be more for edgy streetwear than pretty dresses. I just didn't feel like I fit in. I actually had forgotten that Modcloth has their own outfit gallery until they e-mailed me recently about a contest they're having to promote their Style Gallery. I uploaded one picture last year and then it completely slipped my mind as I hopelessly sent my pastel outfits into Lookbook oblivion.

I'm going to start uploading my outfits there again, and if you're interested you can follow along. They just started letting users follow each other. To promote the new feature, the user who gets the most followers by 1/27 will win $100 gift card, and two of the people who followed them will also win $50 gift cards!

I spent way more time than I care to admit scrolling through the gallery last night and was favoriting looks left and right. There's so much cute style on there! And there's a lot of variety -- it's not like everybody is wearing the same thing I do. There's edgy, cute, spunky and effortlessly cool. I think it's so nice to see so many fun, original looks. You don't even have to be wearing modcloth clothes in your photo, either! You can see my favorite looks here.

If you take outfit photos you should definitely try it out! Or even if you don't yet, it's a great place to start if you don't want to take the leap into blogging just yet :)

modcloth sale alert!

Modcloth is having one of their huge massive sales right now! yay! It's perfect timing for me because (I am not even kidding) I was cleaning out my closet last week and found five $20 bills in a coat I haven't worn in a few years. A hundred dollars!!! I don't even usually use cash so I have no clue where it came from. It must have been a gift from the shopping gods, I suppose ;)

november wishlist + $50 modcloth giveaway! [closed]

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Modcloth is offering one lucky lady $50 in store credit! Obviously I can't win myself, so I'm just going to send this wishlist to my mom and keep my fingers crossed that the items will be under the tree next month ;) Modcloth has a bunch of really cool & creative gift guides this year (my favorite is the mid-century marvels one!) but I limited myself to shopping on the "for gals" and "under $20 for all" guides for this wishlist, because let's be honest -- this post could have easily had 400 items in it if I hadn't lol :) (ps. When you look at the gift guides page, hover over each image! They are really cool stop-motion animations!) pss. their black friday sale already started if you want to take a peek!



What you'll win: $50 store credit to Modcloth

How to enter: To enter simply leave a comment letting me know your favorite modcloth gift guide. And I need some way to contact you (twitter, e-mail, your blog.. whatever floats your boat!) Also, you must be a follower of this blog to enter! This is mandatory, too! (And, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!) This giveaway is open to everyone on planet earth!

For an additional entry: (leave a separate comment for each entry)
1. Tweet this "I just entered to win a $50 modcloth gift card on @kategabrielle's blog http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet. Entries from twitter accounts used for the sole purpose of entering giveaways will not be counted.)

This giveaway ends on 12/03/13 at 12:01AM EST. Giveaway has ended.

Winner:

the last hurrah

The Last Hurrah is two things -- the name of one of my favorite movies (it's really good, you can check it out here!) and Modcloth's annual end-of-summer blow out sale. Obviously this post is about the latter.

I think I mentioned this the last time they had a sale (which I *thought* was their major sale for the summer and was happily mistaken) but I'm currently on a spending freeze with Nicole. I've been doing really good about it so far. I think in order to make a dent in my savings I probably need to limit the amount of take-out I order in addition to dresses (my god I buy a lot of pizza) but on the clothing front I've been doing very well. I am letting myself get one dress, though, since I have a really exciting etsy milestone coming up next week and I think a celebratory dress is in order! :)

If you buy anything let me know in the comments so I can live vicariously ;)

modcloth sale alert!

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The IKEA catalog came in the mail yesterday and today Modcloth started one of their huge semi-annual sales. It's been a good week for shopping. I'm embarking on a one month spending freeze with Nicole in about 2 weeks so I think one last hurrah might be in order ;)

I already own a couple of these dresses.. the one in the bottom right corner is basically the prettiest thing ever. I have it hanging on a dress form in my closet (which you'll see in my closet tour in a couple days, yay!) just so I can look at it all the time even when I'm not wearing it. The one in the middle of the bottom row is my namesake dress from when I was blogger of the moment earlier this year. It was kind of pricey so if anyone liked it but couldn't afford it, now's the time to snatch it up :)

Even on sale it's still out of my price range, but my favorite of the bunch is the one in the middle of the top row. The left side has a photographic print of people at the beach, and the right side is water. It's like an overhead view of the seashore! I think it's just so clever!

modcloth sale alert!

Modcloth is having one of their giant semi-annual sales at the moment! These are just some of the pretty things I've got my eye on. That peach and cream dress in the bottom left corner reminds me of this one that Deborah Kerr wears in An Affair to Remember. I want it basically for that reason alone. You can check out the sale here.

If you get anything let me know so I can live vicariously ;)

modcloth sale alert

I just saw modcloth is having their cabin fever sale today! They have like 2,000+ things marked down 70% off.. I wonder if it's a coincidence that it starts on blue monday (supposedly the most depressing day of the year) I don't know about you but when I'm feeling blue I usually either spend money or eat. Or watch the Office. Or all three at once.

I was pretty good though and only bought one single dress (the plaid one in the bottom left corner) I do love these other pieces I pictured above though! I wish I could justify buying one more coat because the side-button closure and pretty colors on the grey one are just so tempting!

You can take a peek at all the other goodies on sale here! The site was kind of wonky when I was trying to buy my dress but hopefully they've fixed it (or are fixing it) now..

modcloth blogger of the moment! eep!

Do you know how hard it has been to keep this a secret?? ahh! To say that I'm beyond thrilled would be the understatement of the century. I mean, in these photos I am wearing a modcloth dress that is literally named after my blog. I am so honored to have such an incredibly pretty namesake dress! I have more than my fair share of lacy frocks and this one just puts the rest to shame. I'm not sure what I like better -- the sweet little embroidered flowers, the fact that this is totally swooshable (swooshable- adjective; meaning the skirt swooshes easily whilst dancing around your bedroom) or the fact that it is named after my blog (!!!!!)

You'll know that this is an exciting post for me just by the fact that I've included not one -- not two -- but SEVEN photos! I know, very unlike me... but I was pretty darn excited to be taking these pictures and couldn't resist including more than I usually do! :D





I love that it can easily be dressed up or dressed down, too! Of course my first inclination was to pair it with the most pretty pastel items in my wardrobe! Mint tights, shoes and a belt, a fuzzy peach cardigan and my sweet and lovely rainbow sweater clips! I have so many outfit ideas swirling around in my head though.. I already have a "three ways to wear it" post planned for next week!

If you buy the dress and wear it in an outfit post please send me a link! I'd love to see!! :)





Of course getting a dress named after my blog isn't the only perk to being Blogger of the Moment! I also got to do a fun interview over on the Modcloth blog! yay! You can find out my favorite way to eat a potato (seriously!), check out my 60's movie recommendations and see how I would style this dress with other Modcloth items for a "Trip to the Natural History Museum" over here!

It has been so surreal typing this post. I actually have goosebumps!

dress- c/o modcloth | cardigan and tights - h&m | shoes - c/o bait footwear

rainbow sweater clips - sweet and lovely | belt - asos

autumn wishlist

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It's been a while since I did a wishlist wednesday (I don't seem to have as much time for online-shopping nowadays, which I guess is a good thing for my wallet!) so I thought I'd put together a little list of things I'm coveting from Modcloth for fall! As much as I adore my normal pastel palette, I'm just as much of a sucker for autumn hues as anybody else :)

By the way, if you've never purchased from modcloth before, now is the perfect time to start... they're offering $20 off your first order of $50 or more if you follow this link. But the offer expires October 2nd so hop to it! ;D

modcloth sale loot!

1. Lace Everyone in teal dress $49.99 $14.99
2. La Vie en Rosebuds dress $107.99 $31.99
3. Box Seat Beauty dress $54.99 $16.99
4. Best Daisy Ever dress $84.99 $24.99
5. Bookbinding dress $74.99 $21.99



6. Sparkler Personality dress $99.99 $29.99
7. Like a Dreamsicle dress $59.99 $17.99
8. Coastal Conservatory dress $104.99 $31.99
9. Patio Perfect dress $82.99 $24.99
10. Powdered Donut Delight dress $117.99 $34.99

Soooo I went a little overboard! eek! I also got this sweater and a few other things, too. In my defense, I have had a REALLY stressful month *and* I was very financially responsible and paid off a big student loan bill last week... so I'm not beating myself up too much about splurging, especially when everything I got was reduced by SO much!

Oh, also my favorite dress of all time is on clearance, too! It's the neapolitan ice cream one that I got for myself as a reward for reaching 5,000 sales in my etsy shop :)

modcloth sale alert!!

Modcloth has major sales so infrequently that I get kind of REALLY excited about them when they finally happen. And one is happening right now. And things are 70% off.

Are you still with me? Because I almost passed out myself when I heard, so I'd totally understand.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go check out the sale section and see which of my favorite things are marked down, and then hurry and buy them before they sell out. Like I said, these sales are pretty rare and anyone who shops there knows it. It's like a virtual version of the Wal Mart stampedes on Black Friday.

I'll be back in a bit to show off what I got.. if you get anything I'd love to know what in the comments! Now GO FORTH AND SHOP! ;)

my wardrobe in review

Modcloth is having a contest where you can win a $100 gift certificate if you post a video on youtube showing off your 3 favorite vintage or modcloth dresses in your closet. This is my entry! I had so much fun making it, I might do more videos in the future :)

In the video I'm wearing the Milkshake Things Up dress, the Scene and Believed dress, the Feline Fabulous dress, and the Sprinkled with Sweetness dress. The song is Three Little Words by Claude Hopkins & his Orchestra. I got it from my favorite site for early 20th century public domain tunes - Jazz Online.

If you want to enter, the details are here and the deadline to enter is May 29th so hop to it! ;D

uh-oh spaghetti-o!

Modcloth is having a huge sale again... Is it possible to be a dress junkie? Because I just took some money I had put aside towards paying off my student debt and spent it on new dresses. eeek! But I'm seriously not feeling the least bit guilty because these babies were all ridiculously marked down, and they had all been sitting patiently in my wishlist for months just waiting for the day that modcloth would reduce their price so they could come home to me.

I'm so helpless when it comes to these sales (can you tell?!) but I don't think I've ever regretted indulging myself when they come around. Some of my all-time favorite dresses were snagged during huge modcloth blowout sales, and I know that some of the dresses arriving on my doorstep this week will be future favorites that I'll love for years to come :)

Here are some of the ones I snatched up today (from left to right)

1. Vibrant variety dress - $47.99 $13.99

2. Wish in the wind dress - $109.99 $32.99

3. For the right moment dress - $149.99 $44.99

4. Out to sea foam dress - $64.99 $18.99

5. Seeing bubble dress - $107.99 $31.99

6. Fondue of you dress - $119.99 $35.99

we interrupt this christmas break to bring you exciting news...

The elusive modclothcouponicus has not been seen in the wild for more than a year. The legendary creature was often spotted in 2009 and 2010 but has been hibernating in exile for more than 12 months. But, alas! I opened my inbox this evening and low and behold... a coupon code was waiting for me, standing in plain sight! I could not believe my eyes!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the modcloth coupon code has been sighted once more! Once a candidate for the endangered retail species list, it is now alive and well! Hurrah!!

Okay, but seriously. 25% off all sale stuff with the coupon code SALEAWAY. If you've fainted, here is some virtual water in the face and slaps on the cheek. Wake up! It's true! It's real! I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at the sale dresses and thought "okay, that's nice but it needs to be like $10 cheaper before I can actually buy it." And now, it can be! aghhh! The four beauties at the top of the post are all going in my shopping cart before they sell out (hey, I finished my Christmas shopping earlier tonight.. I can spoil myself a bit now, right? ;) That one on the far right, the beading heart dress, is only going to be $38 after the coupon!! wheee! If you get something let me know what! I love shopping vicariously :D

Ok, now back to the Christmas break ;) I might pop back in with some photos of Christmasey stuff and the cats, but no outfit posts or scheduled features until after Christmas :)

ps. I scheduled this for 6am, but I have no idea what time the sale actually starts. I'm hoping the code will already be working by the time this post goes up, but right now (1am) it's still not live yet :p

ink stained

dress - modcloth

tights - we love colors

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

This was the first dress I ever bought from Modcloth, almost two years ago... and I think it's still my favorite, actually! It just fits so perfectly, has the most pretty ruffled neckline and a-line shape and I absolutely adore the 60's schoolgirl style! Unfortunately, one of the many times I wore it I sat on a pen. I had no idea that this happened until I was putting it on yesterday and saw a massive blueish purple spot smack dab in the center of the back hem. Seriously, it's really huge. I must have been sitting on a pen without knowing it for like a month to make this big of a stain!

Oh well. I wore it anyway. If someone in line at Staples (totally random scenario) wants to stare at my behind, that's their problem... I still love the front, and that's really the only side I ever see, so who cares, right? ;)