25 Ways To Wear A Scarf.
it’s definitely the season to break out the scarves, here’s a video to show you how to do something new with them!
STYLE INSPIRATION: LISBETH SALANDER
I hope most of you guys are aware of the fact that a new film adaption of Stieg Larsson’s book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo that is being directed by David Fincher (of Fight Club and The Social Network fame) is coming out on December 21st. Words cannot even describe how excited I am for this movie. One of the things that drew me in immediately (besides the fact that I am a huge fan of the Swedish films) about this movie is how striking Rooney Mara’s portrayal of Lisbeth Salander is (and how freaking fast I got a crush on her). It is definitely different from the Swedish adaption’s Lisbeth Salander.
I love the style that the costume designer and makeup designer came up for Mara’s Lisbeth. It’s grudgy, dirty, dark, edgy, and striking. All black, greys, whites, and dash of red here and there for her. I am also a sucker for anything involving leather jackets and beat up boots, so Lisbeth is the perfect style inspiration for me (and maybe for some of you guys too!) Here are some of the basics of Lisbeth Salander’s look:
- LEATHER JACKETS: In all the stills and sneaked behind the scenes shots of her she is almost always wearing a leather jacket of some kind, whether it be a motorcycle jacket or your typical punk style leather jacket. These are currently a huge trend going on in the fashion world and sometimes finding a nice leather jacket can be difficult and pricey. From personal experience, I can say the best place to find one is at thrift stores and good wills. It’s gonna take some searcing but it will be worth it. If you live in an area that has an “edgier” or “hipper” part of town (think London’s Camden Town, New York City’s St. Mark’s Place, or Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco) that has thrift stores, you’ll be more likely to find one there. Some other stores you can probably find one are TJ Maxx, Target, and H&M. They won’t be real leather, but at least they’ll be cheap. Ebay is always worth a shot. Modcloth actually has some pretty cool ones available right now (that are a little bit pricier).
- LOOSE-FITTING TOPS: This one I’m unfortunately not gonna supply any places to get these because you can pretty much find these anywhere. But Lisbeth wears baggy, thing, ratty looking t-shirts or long-sleeve shirts. Always in black, grey, or white.
- TIGHT FITTING PANTS: And these are always a really dark-wash, black, or leather. Also beat and ripped up. And yet again you can find a pair of skinny jeans even at walmart nowadays. If you’re looking for maybe a bit of edgier feel to them (rips, studs, what have you) some great places to look are Volcom, Acne, and Trash & Vaudeville. Remember that a nice pair of jeans that fit really well are always going to be a bit pricey.
- BOOTS: Lisbeth’s tend to be combat, beat up, lace-up, or a motorcycle-esque looking thing. For these I’d totally recommend going to a thrift store. Why pay $40 or more for a pair of boots made to look beat up when you can pay like $10 at a thrift store for a pair that are already beat up for you? If you really wanna shell out the cash buy a new pair of Doc Martens, go right ahead.
- ACCESSORIES AND MAKEUP: She is sometimes seen wearing beanies, over-sized scarves, and slouchy hoodies as well. She of course has tons of piercings, but if you don’t have a nose, eyebrow, or nipple piercing already or don’t want them, they’re not that big a deal? Some small silver hoops or tribal style earrings would fit in just right. As for makeup I wouldn’t recommend bleaching your eyebrows like Rooney Mara did, but dark and I mean dark makeup will complete the whole Lisbeth Salander look. I mean pile up on the black eyeliner.
Those are pretty much her basics. But seriously Trash & Vaudeville is your holy grail for finding clothes that would suit her style. Speaking of clothes that fit her style, H&M is actually releasing an entire line based on her that is due to hit stores on December 18th world-wide. The design team of H&M actually worked with the costume designer for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Trish Summerville, to create it! HOW GOOD. Here’s a preview shot of the line:
You bet your ass I’m gonna try to buy everything from that collection.
Remember to check out The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo when it comes out. You still have time to read the books! Go forth and read my lovelies!
Vintage Style Post
I am a sucker for the 1940’s and 50’s. Betty Page, full skirts, bullet bras, back seam stockings, victory rolls, lipstick, I can see no fashion downfall. So where can you find all these same wonderful things today? I’ll tell you!
CLOTHING
This online store features amazingly fashionable dresses, tops, skirts, and accessories. Their new Dotty Noir collection boasts some amazing pieces such as the Minnie Day dress , The Proper Lady blouse, and the already sold out and up for pre-order again Dotty Doll Dress (which I myself have ordered). They also have a wonderfully colorful of full but soft petticoats to fill out your favorite skirt and give it that extra oomf!
The site also has some amazing jewelry, lace gloves, pillbox hats, and other accessories to get your vintage glam on.
Plus size, I believe ships world wide, moderately priced, online only.
With an amazing selection of full swing dresses and wiggle dresses, you will be able to glam it up to your hearts delight. The amazingly gorgeous Alika dress comes in both pencil skirt and full skirt styles for dressing up and looking fabulous. The Margarita Sundress is fun and stylish, perfect for the beach or poolside. They also have some lovely tops and skirts. I have been to their flagship store in the Mall of America and can tell you how amazingly crafted and worth the price their items are.
sizes 0-20 US, ships world wide, expensive, one store (MOA, Minnesota) and online.
this etsy seller creates lovely yet simple vintage inspired skirts and does custom orders!
regular and plus sizes, moderately priced, ships world wide, custom orders, online only.
Another amazing etsy seller with lovely vintage inspired dresses and skirts. you can buy her ready to ship things, or custom order!
regular and plus sizes, moderate to expensive, ships worldwide, custom orders, online only.
Lots of vintage inspired pieces, as well as steampunk, victorian, and lolita.
regular and plus size, moderate prices, ships world wide, online only.
Lots of lovely vintage inspired ocassion dresses, and even wedding dresses.
regular and some plus sizes, expensive, ships world wide, online only.
Lingerie
This gorgeous store boasts some seriously hot, and seriously authentic undergarments! From the simple yet sexy Harlow lingerie collection, to the daring Lulu collection, and the delectably naughty Maitresse collection, their lingerie selection has something for everyone, for the bedroom, everyday, or for the stage! Their amazing corsets also range from plain, underbust, leather, to ornate styles. They also have a lovely selection of hoisery, including authentic, non-stretch nylon stockings with real sewn seams.
Regular sizes only, expensive, ships worldwide, online only.
this store has some amazingly lovely lingerie in several styles for any dress type, steampunk, victorian, and 40’s-50’s. some amazing corsets in all types. A great selection of garters and hosiery. As well as some amazingly sexy sleepwear, and bedroom fun kits. They also have a wonderful selection of burlesque and steampunk accessories. This is definitely a site to engage your naughtier side while keeping it classy.
some regular sizes and plus sizes, moderate to expensive, ships worldwide, online only.
Accessories, Hair, Make-Up tutorials
incredible burlesque, vintage, and comic inspired hair pieces.
moderate to expensive, ships world wide, online only, custom orders.
top off your sexy vintage up do with a scarf
In depth victory roll tutorial.
and another
and another
NAIL OF THE WEEK:
Hey guys! I had recently painted my nails this week and decided that a nail polish post would be a good start to this blog.
The black nail polish is Sally Hansen’s Midnight in NYC (2 coats). The black has a very slight smidgen of silver glitter and it’s a nice alternative to simple black nail polish. The glitter makes me feel like I’m not going back in time to my Hot Topic days of terrible band tees and only ever wearing cheap, chipped black nail polish. On top of the black is Confetti’s Tazmanian Devil, which I personally think is a really weird name for a chunky rainbow glitter polish but I digress. There’s not specific coat number that I put on of the glitter, I just added the glitter here and there as needed. But it’s a totally awesome glitter polish and I would actually say that it’s my favorite (and it’s not even minem it’s my friend’s). It’s not difficult to get off at all and the coverage for one coat is really great. It also has a nice variety of big, medium, and small pieces of glitter. And then I just did a coat of top coat and that’s it!
I think my nails look like space. I like space. Space is cool.
(I apologize for the slight chipping of it. I’ve been wearing it for a couple of days already)
Hiya, I’m Hannah. I am 19 years old, and I go to university at Southwest Minnesota State for Literature. I’m really into plus size fashion and body positivism, I keep my make up simple, but I know lots about it. I love books, movies and video games. I’m addicted to comic book movies. I’m a huge dweeb. I like naps and grilled cheese too.
FASHION/BEAUTY STUFF:
- Favorite clothing store: Target, Torrid, Domino Dollhouse, Evans, Etsy, Walmart, Lane Bryant, Dress Barn (ha.)
- Favorite item of clothing: my black cardigan
- Favorite high end designer: Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vera Wang
- Favorite high-end makeup brand: MAC, NARS, Sephora brand, Smash Box, Benefit, Tarte
- Favorite drugstore makeup brand: Maybelline and Revlon.
- Favorite makeup item: MAC Red lipstick by MAC.
- How would you describe your personal style?: Hobo chic meets pin up girl.
- Fashion icon?: River Tam (Firefly), Betty Page, Beth Ditto
NERD/GEEK STUFF:
- Favorite movie: Captain America, Speed Racer, Synecdoche New York, The Living Wake, The Dark Knight
- Favorite TV show: Battlestar Galactica, IT Crowd, Community, Dollhouse, Firefly, BBC Merlin, and BBC Sherlock.
- Favorite video game: Sims (all of them), Arkham City/Asylum, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Guild Wars
- Favorite comic book: Deadpool, Batman, V For Vendetta, Watchmen, Amazing Spiderman, Marvel Civil War, Dare Devil: Man Without Fear
- Favorite superhero: Batman, Dare Devil
- Favorite book: The Book Thief, The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Favorite author: Oscar Wilde
- Favorite band: Single File, Karate High School, Jay Brannan, MC Frontalot, Motion City Soundtrack .
OTHER INTERESTS?
I am a literature major so I like to write a lot, just started writing reviews screen plays. I’m really into GLTB rights, particularly trans acceptance. Fat acceptance and body positivism is big on my agenda, also sex positivism. that’s about it. Joss Whedon is my king.
Meet Who’s Behind The Blog: Ria
Hello everyone! I’m Ria and here’s a crappy iSight webcam photo of myself. I’m 16 years old, a junior in high school, and from New Jersey. I’ve been a nerd longer than I’ve been into fashion and beauty stuff. Some people who are into beauty/fashion think it’s not okay to show that you like nerdy things and some people who are nerdy think it’s not cool to dress nicely and be into beauty/fashion. But it’s totally okay to like both things and to show it off too! To organize my about me section I’m just gonna bullet point it because it’ll be easier for you to read and for me to type.
FASHION/BEAUTY STUFF:
- Favorite clothing store: Target (hey don’t knock it till you try it), Urban Outfitters, thrift stores, and H&M.
- Favorite item of clothing: My black leather motorcycle jacket.
- Favorite high end designer: Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Jean Paul Gaultier.
- Favorite high-end makeup brand: Urban Decay and MAC.
- Favorite drugstore makeup brand: Maybelline and Revlon.
- Favorite makeup item: Urban Decay’s NAKED palette.
- How would you describe your personal style?: I’m still discovering mine, but as of right now it’s leather jackets and boots with almost everything. Slightly edgy with a bit of feminine flair? Yeah let’s go with that.
- Fashion icon?: Amy Pond from Doctor Who, Wanda from Cry-Baby, Audrey Kitching (her now, not her scene queen days), and Patti Smith.
NERD/GEEK STUFF:
- Favorite movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Inglourious Basterds, and A Knight’s Tale.
- Favorite TV show: Star Trek: TOS, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Community, Parks and Recreation, Firefly, BBC Merlin, and BBC Sherlock.
- Favorite video game: Final Fantasy (series), Assassin’s Creed (series), Pokemon (series), Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, and Ocarina of Time.
- Favorite comic book: Deadpool, Young Avengers, Fear Itself, Mighty Thor, and Uncanny X-Men.
- Favorite superhero: Black Cat and Gambit.
- Favorite book: Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Good Omens.
- Favorite author: Neil Gaiman, John Green, Chuck Klosterman, and Walt Whitman.
- Favorite band: The Decemberists, My Chemical Romance, and The Matches.
OTHER?
I’m a photographer and I also dabble in painting and drawing (which I did before I found a passion for photography). I mainly shoot B&W and color film, definitely more than I shoot digital. I love European history and British literature and plan on going to school for those things.
You should know that I’m very opinionated and I stand by what I believe in. I’m a democrat, atheist, pro-choice, feminist, gay-rights advocate, and pro body-positivity. My opinions may come up when we post about political and social issues so I just want to lay them out ahead of time.
Welcome to Cleverness & Pulchritude!
Cleverness & Pulchritude is a beauty and fashion blog, and eventually vlog as well, dedicated to people who are nerds, geeks, what have you. There is a distinct lack of blogs and vlogs dedicated to beauty and fashion for nerds due to an unfortunate animosity between the two communities (the two communities being the nerd/geek and beauty communities). This is a blog for the nerd or geek who appreciate things related to beauty and fashion. We’re going to post:
- Blog posts as well as videos
- Discussion about how fashion and beauty is perceived in the nerd world
- Self-confidence and body acceptance
- Tips on cosplaying
- Upcoming brands
- Nerd inspired fashion and jewelry (esty finds!)
- Tutorials and outfit of the day posts
- Haul and favorite videos/posts including more than just makeup/clothes/body products. Things like books, music, art, TV shows, etc.
- Gift ideas from nerd approved stores for the holidays
- Fashion and makeup looks inspired by characters from anything ranging from history to comic books
- Fashion editorial discussions featuring prominent “nerd” actors (think along the lines Karen Gillan and Andrew Garfield)
- Posts about fashion for ALL genders
- Discussion of popular nerd subcultures like steampunk
