Ivy Frozen Presents: How to Layer Ivy Style

Layering is so last year. Toss grunge back in the dumpster from which it sprang. This year is all about ladylike looks.

Bwahahhahahahahahaha!

And once you're done laughing with me, let's forget that. I actually have no idea what bull they're pitching this year, but layering is always in with shizo California weather and temperaturaly challenged classrooms. And so, as my gift to you, I now present the proper way to layer.

Now I know, all those magazines make layering seem like a science. Or you know, you just wonder how the models can still move their arms since they've piled up enough clothes to rival the little brother in A Christmas Story's orange snowsuit.

Step 1: "I'm cold."

Step 2: Look in closet.

Step 3: Eyes land on tights and long socks; put on a pair.

Step 4: Eye sweaters and jackets.

Step 5: "But not that cold."









Step 6: Opt for a cropped jacket with short sleeves.

Because Ivy's have layers,

Ivy Frozen

P.S. Yes, that was a Shrek reference.

P.P.S. I know I've been MIA, but I've been busy with school and trying to make costumes this month. My return is forthcoming though. Cheer, masses. Cheer.

Everyone Else is at Style.com

And where am I?





Here. An Antique dress gallery. But look at the lovliness that is there and you won't blame me. Like that dress above from swan lake. ::drool:: That's the lovliness that led me to this site. But I must confess,



it's this beauty that captivates me. ::drool, drool, drool:: Just look at the collar! I suppose my actual fascination with this coat is because I've had the image of a cape in my mind that has a collar like that. My "dream cape" came about before I saw this, and is actually extremely short and striped. But I want that neck on it!

Look! They even have accesories like hats and shoes. And they're actually selling this stuff, for hefty pricetags of course. That doesn't stop me from totally considering selling my firstborn child for an antuque dress. Not even the fact that I would probably be to scared to wear the item ever can dissuade the dark recesses of my mind from turning that idea over.

Images: Clicky!


Should Not be allowed the have children,

Ivy Frozen


P.S. I did not eat Yoda.

Fashion Fun

Lessons in shopping from Kelly.

#1: Forget it; just get it.





#2. Shoes. Shoes. Shoes.

As per usual, clicky the pix or video for more details, different sizes, etc.

Rad,

Ivy Frozen

Ivy Presents:3 Steps to Bubblicious

How to bubbleify a skirt. Apparently, next year bubble skirts are out. In this heat, I like to take my long skirts and hike them up. I'll just tell them that I didn't get the memo. So, without further ado, here's my three step plan on how to take your maxi a-line skirts from this:

to this:

Materials:

long a-line maxi skirt
safety pins
(optional) needle and thread

Directions:

Step 1: Put on skirt.

Step 2: Grab a section of the hem and fold it inwards (towards you) and pull it up until the fold falls at desired length of skirt.

Picture of the inside. See how it hangs? I used six pins on this one.

Step 3: Pin from the inside or sew a few stitches to secure. And repeat until you're done.

Tips:

• I usally start with one pin in each of the four main directs, front, back, and the two sides, then insert and extra pins.
  


• It should only take about 15 minutes or less.
  


• The skirts I use are cotton, which folds just right to get that bubbly effect. Other fabrics might not work as well.
  


• You can probably thrift an a-line skirt, if you don't already have one.



• Try to keep pins relatively at the same height, depending on the shape you want. It gets more jagged and crazy the more you vary them.



• Less pins adds to the slouchy shape of these ones. Using more pins or actually sewing it up should be more uniform and neatly bubbled.
  



• I haven't tried it with a circle skirt, but it might work.
  


• I only used 4 to 8 pins and they're pinned to about the top of the pockets.
  
  

The same thing can be used on longer pencil skirts to result in a hem like this:

You want to put the pencil skirt on inside out to fold up and pin though.

Easy, no? It truly is. Just put on your skirt and go to town. I should warn, of course, that this could leave needle holes in your skirts. If you're having a tough time inserting a needle, try not to force it. Instead try removing the pin and then trying again to help prevent the tiny holes. The pin should go in fairly easy, depending on the thickness of the fabric.

My outfits: click the pics for additional details.

Bubblefied,

Ivy Frozen

Shirley Love!

Shirley Manson, the rocking frontwoman of Garbage, has captivated listeners worldwide with her signature huge green eyes, red hair, and sultry voice. Apparently the looks that we all love earned her beatings from her schoolmates when she was a child. That caused her to go into depression and while she's overcome the depression through music, she still struggles with how she sees herself. I don't understand the whole beating someone up because you think they're ugly thing. I mean, I'd be more likely to hurt someone out of jealousy that they looked good. I mean, what's the point if they're ugly? Just my two cents that they were totally jealous, Shirley, and anyone else who suffered teasing about their looks!

Shirley is not just the vocalist and face of Garbage. When she first signed on to the band, she went through and heavily revised all the lyrics. She became their lyricist, and she plays guitar in the band. She is one talented and beautiful lady.

What I love about Shirley is that you can put her in anything, even the most conservative outfit, and she still gives off this rocker vibe. In fact, she often does keep it simple, and lets her hair and make up do the talking. Plus, she seems so fun in interviews and even in some of her videos and photos. And of course I admire powerful women, involved in music or otherwise, not afraid to do their thing.

I love her kind of Jetson/futuristic style in these two videos, for "Push It" and "Only Happy When it Rains". Push it might not be quite safe for work; it has some fetishy stuff and aliens. "Only Happy When it Rains" should be cool though. Love her brightly colored minidresses.

I was inspired by this, since I've been on a Garbage kick lately, and decided to do my own thing.

No, I am not widening my eyes to make them look really big. My eyelashes get stuck together and I widen my eyes like that to unhook them. It happened to be the picture that showed off the outfit the best. I kept it simple like garbage and added some fun rock accents. I also think the trash shirt goes well with my Garbage theme. I made those elastic bands on my feet and over the shoes because I've seen similar things built into shoes now, which I thought looked cool and I read somewhere that the trend originated from elastic bands used to keep models shoes on their feet on the runway. I'd say they work good. Really simple and cheap to make. Just some thick elastic from your local fabric store and stitch it into a tube, and you're good to go. Plus, I can wear them as wrist band-bracelet things.

My hair really has nothing to do with Garbage. I just felt like doing this to it. It was orginally going to be my usual ponytail with the front down, but I wanted the hair out of my face so I took the very front part of my hair and swept it back and pinned it with a bow.

Later on, I hiked the skirt up and tied it with a scarf.

Here, I simply didn't belt, despite my total love for the belt. It was hard, but it's for Shirley! I would have worn taller shoes too, but I was walking to campus from my condo for the fist time so I wanted to be comfy. Only took bout 15 minutes and I ran into Purple while I was there. I forget Purple's real name , it's something normal, but I dubbed him Purple since he has this plain purple tee that is just the perfect shade of purple. I earned my title as "Distracto Girl" again, since Purple always ends up passing where he's heading when he walks with me. Something to do with pirate ninja ghost zombie dragons, in disguise.

I leave you with various pictures of Shirley Manson throughout the years to the song "#1 Crush." ("I would die for you/I would die for you...") She's about 40 now and cute as a button, though I'd be wary about petting her...

Pics: Click for more info. The Shirley pic was on my compy and I think I got it off flickr. And the videos can also by clicked to head back to their youtube pages to see their info there.

Dressing for the MANson*,

Ivy Frozen

*Bwahhahahaha! I couldn't resist. Remember, I am a nerd.

Poison Ivy

On her way to a tea with the Garden Club, Poison Ivy hears a strange noise. She goes to investigate and discovers it's a tree.

She talks with the tree for a while and discovers the horrors it has been sufferening.

Poison Ivy was pissed.

What she did, I'll let you decide. But she was very pleased with the results.

Poison Ivy was my supervillain of choice for Gala's International Dress Up Day (IDUD) #007. I've had a thing for Poison since Uma Thurman's ridiculously over the to portrayal of her in the Batman movie with the breeze. I think that was Batman and Robin. Love her scene with the weird monkee suit-dancers. I also enjoyed her in animated form on Batman, where she hangs out with Harley Quin and is a general bad girl.

I love her so much my name is derived in part from her (Poison Ivy --> Frozen Ivy --> Ivy Frozen) and I relate to her. She became a super villain because some experiments left her with the ability to resist all toxins, but also left her sterile and unable to have children. Since she was a botanist, she then began to think of the plants as her children, and that's why she's so crazy for them. As a female villain, she just can't be evil just because. In fact, she can't be evil. She can be bad though.

As such, I developed my own vision of Poison Ivy. I know she runs around in a green swimsuit/bodysuit in the comics, but she can't wear that all the time? Interesting enough, my childhood vision of Poison put her in a sort '60s time warp where she wore a shift dress made from dirt and wire from which live ivy grew and covered it and big sixties hair with a head band made of ivy. When I investigated her for IDUD, I found that she first appeared in the comics in the mid '60s. My slight psychic powers win again!

I actually developed a characterr off this vision of her, Ivy Vine. Her chracter drew more on the meaning of the ivy plant which is friendship. She mainly played a supportive roles in my fictional land of Nowhere, being the reliable friend in a world populated by really interesting (read slightly crazy/unique thinking) people. Because of this, she is often stuck babysitting Fairy, a siren whose concept of right and wrong is that if someone asks her to help them do anything, she's doing good by helping them. While she doesn't get enough page time to display this really,Ivy does have an aversion to men like her spark of inspiration, and she would probably choose plants over a man.

But anywho, for IDUD, I wanted to show her more ladylike. She may be a vixen to men, but she doesn't seem to have any particular dislike of women. Other then if they jack with her plants. so I did Poison Ivy on her way to the Garden Club. I think she'd adore it. No clear face in any of the pictures, because I wanted it dark and like the dark nature of women. So much imagery of Poison Ivy seems to be that, kind of a mother nature thing.

I suppose I actually did Poison Ivy's alias, Dr. Pamela Isley, but when it gets down to it, they are one and the same.

Pix: Clicky the middle pic for deets.

Poison Ivy,

Ivy Frozen

Josie and the Pussy Cats

I've really been thinking about the Josie and the Pussycats movie lately. Come on, you know you love it too. It's up there with the Spice Girls, and we're all excited about their pending return, whether openly or secretively.

How the uncool girl was dictating to everyone what was cool reminds me of many, many fashion magazines. Take Seventeen's August issue. (I just read it because my dad neglected to tell me he gave it to me until recently, and he has my September copy.) Anywho, I love the section where they tell you the cutest stuff at the mall, so you don't have to work that tiny brain of yours to pick out something you like and put your own outfit together. I mean really, who has time for thinking for themselves?

That's generally why I stick to fashion blogs, although some blogs have the same sort of attutude, like they are Lisping Lisa trying desperately to be cool by telling you what is cool.

But, I digress. This post isn't about raking our practically zombie-ish society over the coals. I also love the movie for another reason. Shiny and leopard print, need I say more?

I actually totally adore Tara Reid's hippie sweet style in the film. Never thought she'd get fashion icon status, did you?

While she still does not have a bra on, I feel she shows skin at the waist in a chicly sexy way. It's really tough to do that. Most of the time, skin shown at the waist tends to make you look street whore rather than rich/classy/snob whore that I prefer. Unfortunately, there are a lack of photos online of her good outfits. I like the one in the picture above though. She's rocking those tie-tied, wide-legged pants with the simple, flowy top.

I also adored Paulo Costanzo's-- who played Alexander-- style too. It's actually a lot like a cross between the two brothers in The Royal Tenenbaums and/or Duckie from Pretty in Pink. You can see some bits of him in the videos I posted above, but they're like flashes. Just watch the movie. It's silly, and fun, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Just how I like my movies. It also has some great pop-y music. I got the CD, cried when I left it in the CD player of a rental car in Florida, where it was taken by someone, and cheered when I received a new copy via one of my sister's friends. It's nothing prolific, but good music to do something to, like driving or cleaning. It's got the generic pop rock feel to it.

Here's a better look at my outfit. Going a little boho with the scarf in the hair, but I just had to have that scarf hitting the shirt somehow. Too hot for pants, so I used a flowy tunic tucked inside the shorts. I altered the top of the tunic so it wouldn't fall off me, like it usually does. Gave it a whole new neckline which I love and might just make permanent.

Pix: Clix them for more info.

With the Pussycats,

Ivy Frozen

Grant Who?

It was Fred Astaire vs. Cary Grant for the title of best dressed man of old hollywood over at The Sartorialist earlier this weak. As usual, I'm late to join to join the fun, but better late than never. If my title didn't tip you off, my vote goes to Astaire.


For Grant, his clothes are the frame. For Astaire, his clothes are part of the artwork.


Astaire's style manages to express his personality or the persona he wants everyone to think he is. Witty, casual, approachable: Astaire's clothes help convey all this. The Sartorialist says Astaire's less-than-perfect looks made him more relateable and attainable to male fans. I say that it goes beyond his genetically created looks and extends to his clothes, which also portray a more welcoming, friendly air than Cary Grant's.

While I admit to giving Astaire bonus points for pulling off that effortless casual chic look that I think is so much harder to pull off than polished formal looks, Astaire is just overall more creative and inspiring with his clothing. He mixes patterns and colors that even I hesitate to mess with, and that says a lot. Colors and patterns are much more difficult to work with, and Astaire handles them with aplomb.

I must also point out that in a google search of images for both actors, most Cary Grant pictures were headshots while Fred Astaire's more commonly depicted his whole body. While this may have been to showcase Astaire's big claim to fame in the dancing arena, it's also important to note that his clothes always seem like an extension of the dance and Astaire himself.

To be fair, I must also admit that I have far from seen all the movies of either of these two actors, etc., etc., and I tend to find Grant's films boring. He's kind of my male Audrey Hepburn: goodlooking, dresses nice, but I find them both terribly boring.





I do like the tie he's wearing in the picture above though.

Inspired by my posts this week discussing color, I decided that I needed to wear some more. The bush and I had a very good conversation in the picture above, by the way.

I've also been kind of on a personal mission lately to wear all the pieces I usually don't wear often because I find them hard to work into an outfit I like. This shirt tunic--three more inches and it could have been a dress!-- is difficult for me to wear because it does the same thing to my boobs as my last outfit. Basically, I think it make them look droopy. Blech! So I employed the same bow trick and voile! The girls appear as they should.

I lunched at Burger King and forgot I had this crown on my head, so I walked around with it for much of today. I kind of like it though.

My Outfit: Click the pics for details.

Other Photos: Yahoo and Google Image Search

Her King-ness,

Ivy Frozen

I just Can't Hide It

I love shoes. The sexy curve of a high heel, the dangerous implications of red or leopard print, the sweetness a bow adds. Shoes are very talkative items of clothing. Perhaps it was the song "Meet Virginia" by Train that turned me on to them. Virginia is decribed as wearing high heels to exercise, which sounded and still sounds terribly glamourous to my young, impressionable mind, especially considering the rest of the song.

Regardless of when my love affair started, I have a deep appreciation for the shoe. Especially pretty, pretty ones! When I find a perfectly beautiful shoe, I get a warm feeling inside. It's like cotton candy or chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven without the carbs.

It's not surprising that shoes are popping up in my art.

It seems they're invading my home though too.

If you have a lot of something, don't try to hide it! Use it for decoration. An easy way to let people know what you love, and you no longer have to curse yourself for buying your large collection everytime you clean.

Jungle Dream Pagoda likes to use pretty vintage frocks for decoration. I personally prefer using shoes, although I will have some signed shirts on the wall soon. Perfect to showcase my book-nerdiness to all, even though my desk turned out to be a little Kim Harrison themed already...

They go great on the window too. The two pairs on the ledge keep the blinds from doing that annoying swingy thing too when it gets breezy. I put some little bow hair clips on those white shoes too. Me likey the results. One of the bows is messed up though and I'll have to get a hot glue gun to fix it, although I'm going to try just using some thread.

Pictures: Clicky on them for more information.

The 1000 Shoes of

Ivy Frozen

Movie Style: Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy. It was a decent movie, but I'm crazy about the costumes.

The colors! That was a clip from a meeting of the bad guys. They may be mean, they may not be the most physically attractive people in the world, but each and every one is impeccably dressed. I need every coat in the movie. Seriously. Look at this old commercial for a McDonalds scratch and win game.

It's proof that the Dick Tracy costumes make everyone look better. Bright coats ad hats rule.

As for the whole film, it kind of came off as sub par despite winning three oscars with five more oscar nominations. It had quite a few of those radom music videos that films that feature music stars tend to have. Despite my love for the woman, I didn't really like Madonna in the film. She's just not a bombshell. She's beautiful, she's sexy, but she's not the boss's gal. I pictured more of a Jessica Rabbit type with some dangerous curves in that role. Plus, the character was kind of random, so it wasn't all Madonna's bad. But I do feel a different actress could have made it work. Al Pacino, playing Big Boi, was wonderful in the movie and his character was similarly a little random. But he made it work.

My favorite character in the movie was The Kid. He was awesome. Impeccably dressed, humorous, and a helpful sidekick. Think suspenders, knickers and newsboy caps all in the same deliciously bold colors seen in the clip above. I'd post some pictures here, but it seems that despite the movies fabulous visuals, which is really it's strongpoint, there arn't too many pictures or even video to be found. But, it appears you can find some of the old Dick Tracy series on youtube.

It's black and white, but the clothes are still luscious. I love every outfit the women in this clip wear.

As for my outfit, it not as colorful as the ones in the film, but it carries a bit of the same charm to me. I've had this top for a while, bought back during my ruffle obsession of 2005 maybe and have had trouble wearing it. I did wear it more back when I first bought it, but now I just feel it makes my boobs look weird. I decided to try tying that satin ribbon around my neck as a bow, and I like it works wonderfully! And the shorts I just love now that I took out the cuff in them. They suffered a similar fate as the shirt, since I decided I didn't quite like wear they ended on my thighs. When I tried them on in the store, I had the aist pulled lower down than it actually fits on me. The shorts are also the first jean shorts I have ever really like, since mose of the other ones in store have a trailer trash vibe to me: short and messy. The whole nice shorts treand that has taken hold is my favorite! I would wear shorts, miniskirts, and minidresses all the time if I could. Oh wait, I already do...

My outfits: click on the pics for more info.

The detective has missed her train,

Ivy Frozen

P.S. Anyone else excited about the upcoming Beowulf film? I'm a little worried though, with them employing the now standard ancient accent, because apparently long ago the whole world had the same English-speaking accent. It also describes Hrothgar as the corrupt king, and i don't remember that from the book. And with such great lines as, "I'm here to kill your monster," well... It does feature Angelina Jolie though, as the voice of Grendel's mother. I've never disliked Angelina in a film, and Grendel's mother promises to be interesting.