Upping the Ombre

What's nice about having ombre highlights is they allow you to touch up a lot less often than traditional start-at-the-root highlights. Since the look is grown out, it doesn't look bad when they grow out even more. However, it had been over six months since getting my balayage highlights and it was time for some freshening up. I decided to go full on ombre, but still somewhat subtle. Above are a few images I took in to Deeda Make Pretty Salon to show my stylist. I think she nailed it!

Tangerine Dream and a Peanut Butter Cookie

Tangerine Dream by vanessy137 on Polyvore

Recently I've been into playing with colors in different ways. I think part of it is that the color wheel has been trending lately as a means to plot out the color scheme for one's outfit. My current favorite color combination is one that uses two or three colors directly next to each other on the color wheel, i.e. the same shade of color in various gradients (like the water melon and light creamy coral pictured above).

The outfit below is a sorry example of the aforementioned color combining technique since I thought of collaging my love for the combo after the fact, but there's a tiny element of it in this outfit that I threw on for lunch today. Humor me!

Top: Emma and Sam, shorts: Car Mar, sandals: Sam Edelman, bracelets: Urban Outfitters, clutch: Scout Living, nails: OPI Mod-ern Girl.

I went to Magpie for lunch and sealed it all off with a vegan peanut butter whoopie pie. Super noms.

P.S. I scored Tina Fey's Bossy Pants for half price today at Beer's Books! I've been meaning to buy it ever since I found myself laughing out loud as I browsed through it in bookstore earlier this year. Isn't the cover genius?

Music Mondays

 Inspired By: Alexis Krauss

Alexis Krauss Inspiration Board (version 2) by vanessy137 featuring ray-ban eyewear

There's something sort of cool about having a style uniform, about having a look so distinctive and consistent that a comic artist could easily scribble out a caricature of you if he needed to, or a Barbie manufacturer could easily spit out your mini clone. Alexis Krauss, on the music scene as one half of the noise pop duo Sleigh Bells since just 2010, has already established a singular look: jet black hair with bangs, Ray-Ban's original wayfarers, red lips, a denim or leather jacket, and rock n' roll accents like studs, spikes, and bleach splatters.

Beyond the career perks of establishing your style as a recognizable brand, it must be nice to have a closet with one cohesive thread running through it. Shopping must be so much easier with one homogenous style! Of course, the drawback is that it's limiting; everyone likes to mix it up every now and then!

Krauss stuck to her denim jacket/Ray-Ban uniform for the video for "End of the Line" - which was just released today - in the scenes where she bikes through sun-spackled streets. But she did expose a softer side in the moody rural scenes in which she dons a vintage floor-length gown (pajama?) accented with Victorian-style lace. The femininity of the dress is especially beautiful against the striking red lip. Given the piece's mumu siluouette however, it doesn't translate to the every day. But lose the length and keep the lace and frills, and you've got the same effect. Check out the links below my collage for some variations on the look.

The video itself, directed by the band's Derek Miller, leaves something to be desired, however. The aimless bike riding falls flat against the darker scenes with Krauss. I would've liked to see some sort of narrative accompanying the sexy, melancholy shots of her.

I do really like the song though, so much so that it heads my Sugar Beats playlist on Spotify. Check it out below.

Quest for the Perfect Everyday Boots

Clockwise from top left: Rum Moto Boot by Jeffrey Campbell, Dolcetta by Dolce Vita Harness Heel Boot, Areas Boot by Jeffrey Campbell, Matiko Ace Boot.


When it comes to shoes, there are women who choose to buy many pairs at a super low cost, those who would rather invest in statement pieces that last longer, and then there are those lucky ladies who have both -- the arsenal of crazy expensive designer shoes. I'm a member of the middle troop. I like to invest in good quality, semi-trendy shoes that will go with a lot of things.

I've been in need of a new pair of boots for a great, long while. Fortunately, my go-to puppies look kind of cool scuffed up:

Although I've been able to prolong the life of these boots by polishing them every once in a while, sometimes I wonder if it's against their wishes and they'd rather me just pull the plug already.

Either way, I need boots that are more versatile - a pair that have a more of a heel so they're more feminine and can be worn with dresses (but are still tough-looking). So what do you guys think about the above candidates?