Armor Bijoux | Frivolous Universe

Silk, Acetate, Ruffles and Bows: the Boos are united again

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

12-03-2012

Nicole: Two weeks ago I arrived in Boise for my first visit since I moved to New York. I wrapped myself in a bow and presented myself as a gift to Boise.

I got this amazing vintage dress at the Idaho Youth Ranch ages ago, and have been dying for the right occasion to wear it. It is made out of 100% Acetate. If I stand too close to a candle in this dress, it will likely melt into my flesh. Kelly did a handy bit of tailoring in the arm holes to make it fit like a glove.

Two days ago I celebrated the six-monthiversary of my moving to New York. It’s been an incredible experience so far, even if it has the draw-back of boo loss. This loss affects not only us, but the general public, who do not get to experience the awesomeness of our powers combined. Like how we coordinate our outfits.

For Story Story Night, we kept a very neutral color palate and long hem-lines. Kelly is wearing a brown silk skirt as a dress, layerd over a tiered-silk skirt and made into a dress with a woven leather belt. When in doubt, wear silk and leather.

We both add a little bit of drama with our neckwear. Me with a tulle scarf tied into a floppy bow, Kelly with a borrowed (and totally rad) Armour Bijoux breast-plate.

Who wouldn’t want to be our friend?

My boring Target booties are classed up a notch with vintage shoe bows, part of my birthday package from Kelly. She’s also gave me the lovely jade ring I’m wearing and letting me borrow her vintage beaded clutch. Our outfits are always better with the combined force of both our wardrobes.

The pretty embroidery helps make this dress special. Add it to the dramatic length and high-neckline, this demure number is better than your average little black dress.

My bows match! Details, details, details…

Story Story and local food and cheap drinks and old friends and dancing boos made my Boise trip a blast. But New York is buzzing, and I’m glad to be back.

Dip!

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PMSING FOR A BETTER WORLD

By: Bethany Walter

02-03-2012

Bethany

My mood dictates heavily what I wear. This night, Story Story Night, I planned on dressing more glamorous and wearing my Kim Basinger cream wool dress circa 1990’s Batman. Earlier in the day, I had even made it over to Tanzanite Salon and stylist Jen Brown fixed my hair into this 2012’s popular side swept look.

ooooo . . .

2012’s popular side swept hair: Tanzanite Salon, styled by Jen Brown

My female cycle is coming. That night I was feeling emotional and vulnerable. I wasn’t wanting to embody the feminine and delicateness of my preselected dress or it’s white coloring sure to spotlight against an audience of dark colors. This is my last minute scramble for an outfit styled by PMS.

Gray campy t-shirt: GAP, over a year ago
Emerald velvet dress: Betsey Johnson, Lux Fashion Lounge, Christmas gift from Jessica

Anna wrote this week about chromotherapy and how color can change a person’s mood. Anna, I’m not sure if I believe in it either but I am definitely drawn to certain colors based on what I feel or want to feel. When I am emotional, I usually want to counterbalance and dress for strength, which usually translates into minimal and or darker colors.

Tibetan breastplate: Armor Bijoux

Adding to the empowering strength of a dark color palette, I also like to wear big and bold jewelry for extra emphasis. Accents of fierce colors such as the red in this Tibetan breastplate helps too.

Vintage rings: old pawn Navajo, gift (see this post for close up photo)
Black lace-up leather boots: We Who See, Urban Outfitters 3 years ago

Why stop with color and big jewelry might as well wear black lace-up ankle boots that say I am durable.

Photography by Anna Demetriades

My female cycle has a pattern of inspiring me to want to move to another country, change careers, and save the world in one week.

My current fantasy for a better world is wage laws that make it so that everyone who works a full week can afford a humane way of living, which includes the occasional vacation, healthy organic food, day care, health insurance, housing, and time to be physically active. It would also be nice if there were laws that regulated how businesses operate, i.e. not over working people because of labor cuts or slave driving people over seas because they have less protection. Maybe there are some laws, but right now it seems too easy and acceptable to exploit another person for profits. We need more accountability.

What is the psychology of how you dress?

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BREAK-UP

By: Jessica Holmes

01-03-2012

Jessica

Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded a plane.

Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues, in the middle of the pouring rain.

-Walkin’ in Memphis, Marc Cohn (version embedded in my soul by Dan Costello)

Story Story Night‘s BREAK-UP: Stories of the End of the Affair was on Monday. As you may know by now, I am the driving force behind this ever-blooming live storytelling phenomenon. I do what I can to keep up, but on this night in question, with endless lines around the block confronting our sheepish and over-long will-call lists, facing my doom (erm…hosting duties) in the Rose Room was like touching down in the middle of the pouring rain.

After some heartburn, we somehow packed 500+ people into the Rose Room to hear stories of Splitsville, with fantastic featured storytellers and random intervals of Braveheart bag-pipe music inexplicably wailing in from the restaurant below.

Luckily I had on my Jeffery Cambell blue suede shoes ($60, half off $120 MSRP-Piece Unique & Shoez), as I boarded that rocket plane. No clothing item better connects with the blues, and how to rock the sh*t out of the blues, than these edgy shoes. My Tibetan turquoise, coral and beaded breastplate ($140, Armor Bijoux) also puts up a good frontal defense.

The above photo represents how I feel on Story Story Nights. Blurry with continual motion, and tired around the eyes. Or maybe I’m just trying to look like a fashion model. OK, you got me, for BREAK-UP, I was actually trying to look like a fashion model.

This model, actually, from Sophie Theallet’s fall 2012 Ready to Wear line. I always try to dress for the theme, but I just wasn’t feeling anything BREAK-UP worthy in my closet. Then a few weeks ago, I spied this look. The top reminds me of the 70’s couch you awkwardly had your first kiss (or groping) on. Worn with all the sweatervest and turtlenecked geekdom of your adolescence. Then, on the bottom: drapey drama, drama, drama; broken up by a slit that never quits…rawr. All bottomed out by those awesome, quirky, laced-up shoes. I star-cross love this look, as I can never, ever possess it.

So instead, I sent up my wish into the Universe…

And this is what came back to me. Vintage Liz Clairborne rose print red dress ($5-Good Samaritan).

And by the Universe I mean I posted this look to our FU Facebook group, with the noted desire to find something “similar.” On a thrift run, Kelly Lynae texted me a photo of this dress. She knows vintage Liz Clairborne has a thing for my body. A love affair over the decades.

I know, I know, this dress sort of looks nothing like the Sophie Theallet. But squint. It does everything I wanted that look to do. Bold color in an old-school update print. A bit innocent with the boxy shape and pleated bottom. A tad naughty with the bare legs and shoe laces. A pinch bad ass with the breastplate and the blue suede shoes.

Photos taken at Red Feather, site of the Story Story Night Afterparty, by Bethany Walter. Cheers to the rose period.