An all ages geek/nerd fashion, mash-up cosplay, bounding and lifestyle blog with an emphasis on body positivity and confidence.
The Disney Dress Shop is a fantastic source for dapper and vintage looks for all the Disney fandoms.
They are also size inclusive, so everyone can have fun with fashion. The fit is true-to-size as well.
The Dress Shop also has ties, brooches and bags to accessorize your look.
Here are some of my favorite dresses from the shop.
Visit their site here
Happy shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
*Pro photos by Justin Davidson Photography
I recently treated myself to a new Loungefly bag.
Get your own Cap backpack here.
Loungefly continues to create amazing, well-made bags in a variety of fandoms. The small backpacks are my favorite for adventuring out. They hold all your gear for the day without being too heavy. Because they are on your back, they free your hands up as well.
My other favorites are the cosplay style cross-body bag. These are perfect for everyday and again, available in a variety of fandoms.
Click here for the Loungefly site.
Happy shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
Previously, we spoke about how to style an outfit. Now, here are some examples and some suggestions how you could re-style them for different situations.
Loki dress by Her Universe for Disney Dress Shop. All paired pieces are from Amazon. I styled this look specifically for blog photos. So I have on all the accessories here. The headband, necklace, tesseract-inspired bag, petticoat and shoes. The bag, petticoat and shoes are mid-century styles, which match the dress’s style. I chose a blue lucite bag instead of a clear bag so it would look like the tesseract and fit the Loki theme of the dress. The Loki helmet necklace compliments the dress as well. How to change this look? For cons or theme parks, I would lose the petticoat and change the shoes to a saddle shoe or a pair of Chucks. For work, I’d lose the headband and change the bag.
My stealth Cap uniform dress is from Amazon. Stars and stripes are a DIY. I paired it with a brown belt, petticoat, foam shield and my DIY saddle shoes. The petticoat and saddle shoes are 50’s style, which matches the dress. For work, I’d change the shoes and add a bag.
This Universal monster dress is from Unique Vintage. I paired it with a monster bag and a pair of Chucks. For a more formal or business type of event, change the shoes and go with a smaller bag.
My Alan Grant bound that I wore at Universal Studios was a big hit at the theme park. Skirt by Retrolicious. Shirt and bandana from Amazon. There really isn’t a time period associated with this outfit, but the pieces I chose are for the character. To wear this skirt to work, lose the bandana and maybe a different shirt or sweater.
I hope that these tips helped you out. Let us know in the comments if you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share. We love to hear from you!
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
So, you found the perfect dress or the perfect outfit. Congrats! However, now you need to know how to style it.
What is styling exactly? Dictionary.com defines it as, “to design or arrange in accordance with a given or new style.” Accessorizing the outfit is a start, but there is also your make-up to consider as well as jewelry.
Jewelry is technically an accessory, but it is important enough to be listed seperately in this case.
So, how do you get started styling an outfit? Here are some steps to consider while you are styling. There are no hard set rules by any means, but this is a handy guide to help get you started. You’ll be styling your own outfits in no time at all!
When using your Team Build Checklist, styling the outfit consists of the Scientist, Exotic and Blaster steps. Download your own copy of the check-list here.
Even if you aren’t using this guide to style a cosplay or bound, the tips still apply.
Is your outfit a vintage style or 80’s inspired? Maybe it is a more formal style or a business suit. If it is a 50’s style dress, then you’ll want to pair it with more vintage-style accessories. A business suit would be paired with more subdued and professional accessories.
Are you wearing this 50’s style dress to work or to a con? Are you wearing this dress to Disneyland for Dapper Day? How about to a wedding? I’ve worn the same dress to all of the above, but it was styled differently for each event. What’s great for Disneyland is not appropriate for work and so on.
While you are considering your venue or event, think about what kind of functionality you need. Are you going to a con? You’ll need the most comfortable shoes you can get that also compliment the outfit. Disneyland? What is the temperature going to be that day? If your day out is in August, then you might want to leave the petticoat at home (trust me on this one). Do you have a parasol? If yes, then you can leave your hat at home if you want. What kind of bag should you carry? Take all this into consideration when putting the pieces together.
Your base outfit is what you work from here. A big fit and flare dress should really have smaller, more tailored accessories to create a balance. If you have a hat, then make it smaller with the big dress. Same with the bag. Very colorful dress or outfit? Then more subdued make-up.
The last piece when you are styling an outfit is what do you want people to see? I know your outfit is the focal point, but what do you want people to take away from it? If you have a bound, this is kind of done for you. If you are bounding Captain America for example, then the star on the chest or the red and white stripes on the bodice tell people that you are bounding Cap. If you have a dress that is a great color, then you want to keep things simple and just draw the eyes to the pretty color. Don’t overthink it.
I hope that these tips help you. In our next post, I will post some photos of outfits with explanations why I styled them the way I did, and how I would, and do, style them differently in different situations.
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
I recently took a quick inventory of my basic wardrobe staples and found my leggings to be rather sad and in need of replacing.
I shopped around and found that leggings are super expensive these days! You can get a deal if you join various clubs online, but it is a hassle to skip month after month or endure a long “hard-sell” phone call to cancel that membership. So, I did some shopping on good ‘ol Amazon.
Now, Amazon clothes shopping can be a disappointing experience. The picture vs. reality can be a real let-down. But, I found some great leggings, so I had to share this great find with you!
I took them on a test drive, and I am happy to say that they stay put all day long. They keep their shape. They pass the bend-over test! Last but not least, they are true-to-size and size inclusive! So, I cannot recommend these highly enough!
Here is the link to buy your own.
Happy Shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
I’ve always loved red lipstick. My grandmother, Doris, always wore a nice red lip. She preferred Fire and Ice by Revlon. Growing up, there were different trends in lipstick- the super gloss of the 70’s, the frosted lip of the 80’s, the nude and chocolate lip of the 90’s and so on. I tried them all, but I love coming back to the classic red lip.
Fire and Ice has too much of a warm undertone (yellow tones in the red) for me. I prefer the cool toned reds (blue tones in the red). How do you know which red is for you? Best way is to try them on in store. Take selfies and then compare them. Warm tones tend to work with people with darker skin, but the photos you take will show you which one is better for you. Take a look at the pictures below for examples. Russian Red is the cool toned red and Lady Danger is the warm toned red.
Once you know if you prefer warm or cool, then it is way easier to buy a red from any brand. Then you need to decide if you want matte or gloss finish and the level of pigment. That is purely a matter of preference.
I have some links in a variety of price points below. These are all cool toned reds, for reference.
MAC Lipstick in Russian Red (See above for picture) $19.00
Revlon ColorStay Overtime Lipcolor in Nonstop Cherry $10.99
Revlon Lipstick in Love Is On $8.49
Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey $19.50
Colourpop Lipstick in Fred $8.00
Besame Cosmetics in Victory Red $19.00
Happy Shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
We’ve talked a lot about body positivity and confidence here. A lot. That topic is a main focus on this blog, actually. Recently, I was having a think and what crossed my mind was about the day-to-day of a person that is body confident and body positive. How is that working out for ya?
I’ve spent the last five years really getting down to it in terms of being body confident and positive. You can just decide to be the thing and then be the thing. However, maintaining the thing is a different story. That takes work. Hard work. Looking in the mirror and always, always, stopping yourself before you say something negative about yourself. Stopping yourself from making a comment about a picture a friend took of you at a party when you weren’t ready or didn’t know it was being taken. Heck, stopping yourself from negative talk about photos you DID know were being taken because you booked a photography session. These are hard habits to break, but I did. You can too.
Breaking these habits took literally years of constant vigilance to kick them to the proverbial curb. Stoppping the negative from being spoken into that mirror. Not saying the negative thing about that photo before someone else says it (at least that is why you claim to say it, but in truth your friends are too busy looking at themselves in that photo and having their own battle to say anything nasty to you about you).
I now get to reap the benefits from all that work to be sure. Now I get my photos back, and I am genuinely happy with them and want to share them with my friends. I get ready in the morning and genuinely like what I see before I head out the door. Those are the confidence crisis moments. When you are put to the test. If you were on “The A Team”, it would be welding time! You welded real good, too! Congrats! Now what?
The habits are broken. Now it is time to make body comfort happen. This one isn’t quite so sexy. This one is tricky. Body comfort is when you get up and get dressed, get through that little mirror crisis moment without a second thought. Body comfort is when you spy yourself in a shop window and just keep on walking. You don’t have a crisis moment. There is no test. You didn’t even think about your reflection at all. Just imagine it! It is possible. It is. The crisis moments still will happen from time-to-time, but for the most part, you are just, you. You know? Cool, right?!
How do you make this happen? Honestly, I don’t think this is one you can make happen by doing anything. It seems to be a by-product of constant body confidence and positivity. You get yet another benefit and isn’t that nice?
I realized that I had indeed achieved this state recently. I was having a discussion with someone about life and junk and stuff, and I said, “I am the love of my life. I love myself enough.” You know what? Every word of that was true! You’ll get there. I did.
Love, Kim and Scout
If you’ve ever met me in person, you know that I have mobility issues due to severe arthritis in my right knee. I have tremendous pain when walking and standing. I need, and will be getting, a knee replacement at some point, but until then, my pain took over my life.
While dealing with doctors, figuring out healthy ways to manage my pain and just plain old living life, I found myself starting to avoid doing the things I love. I had to gear myself up for comic cons and theme parks- two of my favorite things to do. I would go, spend that time in tremendous pain, and usually have to leave early. When you take away the things that make you happiest and are in constant pain, it begins to have an effect on you, and not a good one.
These things also have a tendency to snowball. Not going out means less invitations to go out in general. Staying at home is isolating. My pain got so bad I had to stop my workouts. I have worked out on a regular schedule since I was in middle school, so stopping for the first time in my life has been depressing. On top of all this, I’m a 52 year old woman, so that means menopause. I found very quickly that menopause means weight gain. So, the added weight and not being able to workout, made the pain even worse.
Thankfully I have a very smart kid…
He sat me down and just said, “Please get a scooter. Then you can have some fun again.” My first response was, “NEVER!” Like you, I had the image of a lazy, fat and old person on a scooter at Disneyland. I wasn’t that person, and darn it, I wasn’t going to become that person. But here’s the thing…
That person does not exist. I was taking a stand on a complete non-issue. People on scooters have any number of conditions that make walking and standing impossible for them. I was one of those stupid judgy people. My thoughts were, if they were really disabled, they’d be in a wheelchair. For me I thought, wheelchair=legit. What an idiot I was! So, I guess Karma came calling for me on this one. Fair enough.
So, how was the first day out with the scooter? Humbling. Embarrassing. For about 5 minutes. I wheeled up to bag check and the trams to go to Disneyland, and realized that without the scooter, I would already be in severe pain, looking for the next opportunity to sit and gritting my teeth through the day, quietly gutting it out. With the scooter, I was smiling and laughing with my kid and no pain! I was looking forward to, and enjoying, a great day! Believe me, your embarrassment disappears really fast when you’re out of pain and enjoying life again.
Now, I go all the places I used to go again!
Are there people that don’t want to be hanging out with someone traveling on a scooter? Maybe, but I am pretty sure I haven’t met them yet. My kid, a teenager, is not even a little embarrassed. If anything, he wants me to get a side-car for him (um, yeah, No.)
So, I’m going to my first comic con with a scooter in April at WonderCon, which is daunting. I am super anxious to roll into the con on my scooter, but I’m going to take care of myself. If I run into an ex and they think me travelling on wheels to be amusing, well, they’re the asshole, not me. If you see me, know that I’m grateful to not be on my feet, not due to laziness, but I am out of pain and can now participate in my life. Turns out living my best life just needed a little transportation upgrade.
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
I recently got to be interviewed by Plus Size Nerd on Facebook Live.
We talked about a few topics, but mainly my decision to get a mobility scooter to take back my life and get out in the world again. Video is below.
If you have a sec, please give Plus Size Nerd a follow and a like! Her site is full of great information; from style guides to realistic size guides. What a great resource!
Thanks again to Plus Size Nerd for the interview!
Love, Kim and Benji
*Photo from plussizenerd.com
When you are prepping a new dapper look for a convention or just trying to accessorize a new dress, one key item you need to think about are shoes to complete your look.
Here are a few styles that will work with vintage-inspired fashions. All the choices are reasonably priced with shopping links below as well as photo examples.
This style is perfect for not only dresses, but pedal-pushers or capri pants as well. I’ve never been a big fan, because they have a tendency to give me a blister on my heels. However, I just found this flat from Skechers that stays put. The shoes also have more cushioning than the usual ballet flat. Buy your Skechers ballet flat here.
The OxfordThis shoe has a few different types as far as heel styles. There are flat, block heeled and traditional heeled options. I really love this block heeled version I got from Amazon. They have padding on the inside and the block heel gives me lots of support. Buy your Block-heeled Oxford here.
This shoe is not only great for 50’s looks, but for 80’s, goth, punk or rock looks as well. It is the ultimate casual shoe. Now, while it is not padded on the inside, you can get insoles that provide support if you need it. Chucks come in every color imaginable, and a high-top version as well. Buy your classic Chucks here.
Besides the Chuck Taylors, the other shoe that leaps to mind when someone is thinking about vintage 50s fashions is the saddle shoe. Named because the contrasting stripe resembles a saddle on the shoe. You can get saddle shoes in a variety of colors and even high heel versions, but the classic black and white flat-heeled version is the best way to go. Get your saddle shoes here.
Saddle shoes aren’t the best for long days on your feet, so I created a comfy version from a white sneaker. To create your own, will only take a few minutes of your time. Click here for the how-to instructions.
If you have any go-to styles for your dapper looks, please leave us a comment below. We love to hear from you!
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
