Once Upon a Teenage Dream

The plan for princess week’s polish was to find a glittery blue that was the exact shade of Cinderella’s dress. I saw a polish that matched these guidelines once, and passed on buying it, and then never saw it again, so that plan had to be abandoned. Instead I present you with the glittery-est, sparkliest, most ridiculously princessy polish from my collection: OPI “Teenage Dream” from the Katy Perry Collection. Thanks Aina for getting me this polish for my birthday, since I probably never would have picked it out for myself, and I actually rather love it. It’s just SO SPARKLY! The overabundance of sparkles kept distracting me when I was wearing this as a manicure, and suffice to say I didn’t get much done that week :p

If the Tiara Fits

Since it’s grad season (the Canadian version of prom), as well as Disney Princess theme week, what better fashion trend to feature than pretty party dresses fit for princesses?

It’s been five years since I graduated high school (oh GOD I’m old…), and five years since I got all dolled up for the spectacle that is the “Grand March” and our grad dinner and dance. Oddly enough, the dress that I chose to wear for grad is one that I still love today, and that I do wear on occasion. It’s a pretty simple dress: A-line skirt, strapless, and just a little bit of crinoline under the skirt. What makes it so special is the colour. Emerald green is not a normal colour for a prom dress, and this dress isn’t actually a prom dress. I actually bought it over a year before my grad during a clearout sale of Christmas party dresses. But I was determined to get a jewel-tone dress, not a green that’s lime, celery, or heather coloured!

Aina’s grad dress would have been perfect for this photoshoot, but she isn’t feeling the love towards it. In fact, the outfit that she chose to wear instead is almost exactly opposite what she wore for grad. The original was cream, the new one is black; the original was highly detailed (full body ruching), the new is a simple sheath; the original didn’t need much jewelry, the new is all about the bling. But I have to say I rather like the focus on jewelry, since it’s an easy way to be super fancy without spending a fortune on a dress.

I’m not even going to mention what Liz’s original grad dress looked like, and I’m definitely not showing you any photos. Suffice to say that Liz does not approve of it anymore, and I agree. Plus she would probably have my head if I posted any pictures of it. Instead you all get to see the dress that I cajoled her into buying a few years back, just for fun. Not only is the gorgeous amethyst colour better suited to Liz’s skin tone, but the flounces are super cute without being overwhelmingly girly. Don’t forget that historically purple was the colour of royalty!

BTW sorry that this post is so late! It's been a super crazy busy week at work, and I just haven't been in the mood to deal with photoediting and putting stuff together. I could have done it this morning I guess, but I wanted to go shopping :p But it's up now, and it's fabulous, so forgive me <3

Playing Princess

Love isn’t something that you can search for; it finds you along the way while your life is happening around you. We can make choices that bring us closer to, or further away from, our Prince Charming (to party, or not to party, that is the question), but when it comes down to it everything is up to pure chance.

It’s no secret that Eric from The Little Mermaid is my favourite Disney prince (that luscious dark hair, those sparkling blue eyes, the giant dog companion, and he has a ship to top it all off). But he’s not the real reason why The Little Mermaid is my favourite princess movie; I’m much more impressed by the lengths that Ariel goes to get her prince. She doesn’t stand idly by (like many of the other Disney princesses), she makes a deal (albeit a dangerous one) so that she has a chance to meet Eric and win his heart. Even when everything is turned against her and the sea-witch is about to marry Ariel’s love she doesn’t sit and cry for long; she swims against the current (literally) and refuses to give up on what she wants.

What I’m adding to this my Wishlist isn’t a simply a prince of my very own. What I wish for is the courage to chase my own dreams and fight for what I want. I want Ariel’s bravery to venture into the unknown, and her courage to change her life entirely just for a chance at happiness. It is these risks that define us, and these chances that have the potential to give us everything we’ve hoped and dreamed for. What’s life without a little bit of danger? How can we expect to win it all if we’re not willing to put everything on the line? So what if we could fall and lose everything. It’s the fear of defeat that makes the risk worthwhile, and the taste of victory so sweet. 

art by moonchildinthesky via Deviantart
(her other art is so cute, so check it out!)

I am a princess, damnit!

Most of us who grew up during the 1990s were subject to an overabundance of Disney movies. Along with unrealistic expectations in relationships these movies also inspired many of us, including this blog-mistress, to want to be a princess of real life. Yet there aren’t that many real life princes, and those that are available are incredibly hard to get to. So instead we have to settle for dressing like princesses in everyday life.

When most girls turn 19 (or another “special” birthday) the tradition has become to adorn them with tiaras during the festivities. If they do not take charge of this themselves they are often subjected to dollar store crowns meant for children (and which often come adorned with Disney princess pictures), but those of us who are lucky enough to have good friends get to wear rhinestoned tiaras that actually look nice. Being the control freak that I am, when I turned 20 I insisted that I buy my own tiara so that it would be one which I actually wanted to wear. Of all my ridiculous purchases in the name of fashion my tiara has become something that I am rather proud to own J

Two and a half years later I’m still wearing the tiara, but for an entirely different purpose. As one of the Halloween Costume Consultants at work it’s my responsibility to dress up, and inspire other people to be creative with their own costumes. While all of my costumes are creative and adorable, my princess attire garners me more compliments than any other get up. Whether I pair it with one of my own poufy princess dresses, or the “baroness” costume from work there are “oohs” and “ahhs” aplenty. There is no age limit to who can dress up as a princess for Halloween; we see children, teenagers, and even some moms requesting princess dresses!  Unfortunately dressing up as a princess seems to be a complicated idea for most people, as we don’t carry pre-made princess costumes for adults. There are two easy solutions to this connundrum: find a poufy party dress or find an old prom dress. Either of these are easy to find for relatively inexpensive prices, and then all you need to do is add a tiara and some sparkly jewelry! Most novelty jewelrey stores carry a variety of tiaras and crowns, with Claire’s, Icing’s, and Ardene’s having the best styles. Now all you need is a prince to make the costume picture perfect!

What I’ve found when wearing my tiara in public is that I get two very opposite reactions. Most people are extremely complimentary, and treat me like the princess I am, but some people have the nerve to scoff and be derrogatory. My only response to those people is: “Off with their heads!”