I'm not going to lie and say the majority of this outfit wasn't purchased due to Influencer marketing. Truth is truth. Last year I can attribute this sweater to Lizzy Hadfield, and the jacket to Brittany Bathgate. And probably the pants too, though Brittany showcased the jean version of this style and I decided I had enough of those.

I think all in all this whole look is a good example of the direction I'd like my wardrobe to go in, at least when I'm not wearing sweatpants (shrug).

1) It's too cold to wear half of the outfits I want to, kinda like this one. I feel cool and awesome and almost froze to death taking these photos.

2) Even though it's progressively getting lighter in the afternoon/evenings, as far as pictures go the lack of ambient light is shit. Especially because upping the ISO levels as I did below, result in fuzzy pictures  (which I kind of knew it would but I was hoping I was wrong.

Maybe we should collectively decide I'm going for a "vintage" aesthetic? That could work. In fact, screw it, I put these in A Color Story and now they're *deliberately* retro. I'm fashion forward, that's right, and not a procrastinator.

So what's next after finishing an abnormally large crown? A dress of course!

(And yes, an eye patch, but that'll be later.) 

After taking a lot of time in Google examining Margo's outfits, I went with the one that realistically I thought I could pull off best with a combination of craft and shopping:


But even in going this far, I didn't totally decide until even more dress research. My plan from the start was to alter a purchased dress, so if I couldn't find one that fit my needs it was a nonstarter. Which is why while it's boring to say I went through 27 pages just of AliExpress, then went to Google, Poshmark AND Ebay before finding a serious contender, it is exactly what happened. And that contender was the Illusion Yoke Lace Gown by Adrianna Papell.

I found one on Ebay in kinda my size (16) for a well price $84 - good for the budget and more than likely guaranteed enough fabric to be able to play around with if need be. Long sleeves, high necked, all sorts of other details kind of taken care. Plus Adrianna Papell is a brand I know and trust, so I wasn't worried about the quality of the garment. The big questions were the lining and the beading accent along the waist. And thus begins the shitty mirror selfies, so my apologies in advance. I wasn't really thinking about capturing this at blog quality [face palm].

Not bad right? Fits better than I expected, and after getting my more experienced friend to take a look at it, we both agreed removing the lining should be doable. And my friends, it was *doable* but it was certainly not *pleasant*. Because what I found one weekend morning was that the lining seams and dress seams were sewn together, so I couldn't use my seam ripper without resewing the dress as I went. Which to be honest sounded comparable to death and so instead I spent 5+ hours with a tiny pair of scissors meticulously cutting everything out along each and every seam.


The seam ripper did coming in handy when I got to the bodice though, because the beaded accent was attached to a ribbon that was sewed through the dress to the first layer of the bodice lining, so...yeah. I got that off but it was also a hassle. Some lace was cut and kind repaired using navy thread and since it doesn't like ridiculous I'm just calling this whole process a long-winded win.

Now there were some other decisions made in and around this time: first that it wasn't a lace panel on the side but Margo wearing lace tights (purchased), and that the longevity of this costume would be better served by inserting a sheer piece anyway to give the lace something to hold on to. Oh and I bought a bodysuit. It's not nude and as such not 100% screen accurate, but when I tried beige/body toned options they looked like shit with the tights so... it is what it is. And let's not dwell on the fact that I didn't see that additional blue satin panel until just now and it made my soul cry. I'll figure it out or I won't (or Jessica won't) so wish us luck.

MOVING ALONG.

Because the next random, late afternoon weekend decision I made was to not only cut the right sleeve off as per the original, but to also play around with extending the left sleeve by using all the next extra material.

There aren't a lot of in-process photos of this because it was even more made up than everything else I've done.I slid it on the still existing sleeve to get the approximate full length I wanted, cut off the extra, and then slowly (very slowly) but surely used back stitches and slip stitches to attach it. After it was mostly secure I used both types of stitches again to slowly shape the opening (it was a little too suddenly angular - I don't know how to better explain that the slope from arm to wrist to hand was off. Sorry to suck). And this ended up having to be done right side up because when I tried to slim it from the inside everything went wonky FAST. I'm just thankful that 1) most of the messed up-ness from this ridiculous method is on the inside of the arm at the sleeve, and 2) the fabric being lace was very forgiving, so even when I did a final check the morning after in bright sun it didn't actually look laughable.

And that's we are. 50-75% of a dress that I actually think fits and works pretty well. Believe me, I'm just as shocked as anyone.


Don't miss out! You can find the other parts of this series below:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III

Another goal I have this year is to stop buying products in skincare categories where I already have too many options. Now as someone who looks at skincare with deep "what if" longings this is going to be difficult, but freakishly I'm really experiencing some joy every time I actually finish something. I know that's probably a weird way to introduce a skincare haul, but hey - I'm going to give myself a little grace and say that not only did I buy this in December, it's filled with products that I'd been lusting after for months/years. AND I hadn't realized until then quite how big a price difference it is to buy straight from the UK (with free shipping even) especially when you add in another 15% off code.

But ok, getting into the nitty gritty, I bought two products (the Ultramoor Mud Mask and the Complexion Perfector) and received one gift with purchase (the Oxygen Booster), which you can see below.


I first tried this mask an untold number of years ago as part of a gift with purchase grab bag, either from Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom (sorry) but what's important here is that all those years later I still remember what this mask DID. Which was make my face bright and feel fantastic, all without leaving it stripped or dry. A difficult combo for a detoxing mask, let me tell you. And while I didn't remember the slight particles in it that make it a light physical exfoliant as well, it's significantly more gentle than the Joanna Vargas mask that I also picked up last year (side story: that product description focuses on it being an enzymatic mask to the point I had no idea it had a physical exfoliation component. To be completely honest I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known that.).

Though to be completely honest this mask might not be for everyone because the first time I used it I didn't read the directions and left it on far too long and it IMMEDIATELY brought to head a big ol' zit/clogged pore on my forehead. It does what it says and does it well, which can be good or bad for you, depending on what you're looking for.

Next up was a new product in my endless attempts to wear as little base makeup as possible. 


I'm a little torn on the Complexion Perfector. Dark is too tan and too brown for my winter self, and even when I'm tan I'm not sure how it'll look because while it's not foundation, it does provide coverage. I didn't buy the shade  Medium because other online reviews indicated that it'd be too late, but I probably should have been less impatient and gone to see this one in store somewhere.

Since this is a product containing physical SPFs (Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide specifically), it's on the thicker side as far as texture goes. And it has a scent I can't quite put my finger on, but it dissipates pretty quickly so I'm not too concerned about it. I've been a weirdo and I've been mixing this with the Cargo Cosmetics CC cream and sometimes even a hydrating serum (which, don't buy this from Amazon cause it's twice as much but it was a link to share) to color correct and thin out the texture. I don't regret buying this, but I'm not sure it's my holy grail either.


Last up is the gift with purchase (GWP) which I'm not going to lie to you, I don't have much to say about. It's creamy white and thin in texture, a booster that as per the directions, you can use by mixing "one or two drops of Oxygen Booster into your serum or moisturizer to 'boost' your skin care". It's got Sodium Hyaluronate high-ish up in the ingredients list, but I'm not sure I would say this is worth the money. I'll use it instead of or in conjunction with the hyaluronic acid serums I already have, but perhaps this is better on more mature skin? I don't know folks. At full size at least I can say it was a good GWP for the brand?

Oh, and one last thing before I go. I knew about this price break between the US and the UK because of Goals to Get Glowing. She has an incredible spreadsheet tracking ways you can save money, and I *highly* recommend that you take a look so you're better prepared to when you do want to splurge on something from the higher end of your budget.

I consider the fact that January isn't over yet to mean I'm not late, so please excuse me while I ramble.

2020 entered with a ROUGH LANDING, and so many terrible things happened globally that even personal happiness was hard to remember. I'm going to take a crack at it, but forgive me if I'm not coming across like, super bubbly.

In 2019 I finally finished paying off my debt. Student loans, credit cards, all of it. I am incredibly privileged that I could put things like my tax return and work bonuses towards the balances, and that my credit score was good enough to qualify for a zero interest balance transfer that helped a ton. I don't want to seem like I'm bragging but I'm proud of doing this, and I'd like to kind of consider it a fresh start.

I know I have the ability to stay debt free. It'll involve a change in mindset that I'm already working on, but it's possible. People do it - not always and not easily, but they can, and I want to try too. So after thinking about what kind of wardrobe resolution I wanted to make, if any, I decided to borrow from the ever thoughtful (and fashionable) Mademoiselle and pick a word.

My word for 2020 is Intention(al).


But what does picking a word for the year mean Dana? It means that instead of numbers and challenges and shit that I don't appear very good at, I'm going to work harder at forcing myself to answer the questions of want vs need, joy vs settling, and space. I don't have a singular style that I stick to - just like everyone else I'm inspired by the media I consume and from time to time I run up against the reality of what they look like and what I look like. I'd like to spend more time with my wardrobe and hopefully document why I love, and how I find versatile, the pieces I already own.

Am I guaranteed to continue buying yet more exercise gear and athleisure stuff? Absolutely cause I'm not perfect, but all I can do is try and I think if I really face what I own then it should hopefully cut down on the need for more (maybe). I'm going to prioritize purging each season so that I don't hang on to pieces that no longer serve their purpose, and if they don't go on Poshmark or Depop then you know what? I will take my ass over to Goodwill. I already starting doing a "mini capsule" by rotating items out seasonally, which I think helped a lot with my ability to actually see everything clearly. I don't think I'm brave enough for wardrobe wear counts (or too lazy), but we'll see. I'm going to continue tracking my purchases seasonally, because I do want to get the ethical/thrifted percentage up into the double digits percentage wise, but I'm not going to hold myself to a hard number.

(Which could be a terrible mistake, who knows. I could hate this idea and put myself back within that structure in 6 months. )

But hey, it's a plan right? Stay debt free, buy with intention and joy, and wear what I have, while getting rid of what I don't.

Should be easy.

Ha ha. Ha. Ha.