Etsy Finds - Necklace from The Navigatrix + Outfit

I recently took part in a giveaway that the inspiring Sally-Ann Livingston hosted on her blog. And I won a £15 gift voucher to be used in her Etsy shop! Sally-Ann is a UK based creator of mostly one of a kind upcycled Steampunk jewelry and accessories. Her shop is cleverly named The Navigatrix, a name that is fabulously Steampunk! And you all know how I love Steampunk! I was already quite familiar with her shop so I went right ahead and bought a necklace I had looked at earlier for the voucher. But there are a lot of other gorgeous items in her shop! I was also tempted by this pretty clockhand necklace, this other beautiful choker and this hilarious brooch! 

-----> Sally-Ann has been nice enough to offer all readers of this post a special offer of a 15% discount for any purchase from her Etsy shop, using the coupon code BLOG15! So go and have a look!! 

Handling and shipping were very fast (is it just me or has international mail picked up speed lately?), so I had the package in my hand about a week after entering the giveaway. The necklace was beautifully packaged, using Victorian Steampunk aesthetics! I love the image of the compass on the package, such a suitable symbol for a shop that is named The Navigatrix!

                                               

The necklace itself is of a choker type with an oxblood brocade ribbon and a brass heart. Normally I´m very much not a heart kind of person, but this one is fine and that oxblood colored ribbon just charmed me! Oxblood is one of my favorite colors on me, that and dark teal, so I knew that I would have items to match this necklace. Also, it is both dramatic and demure at the same time, I rather like that! It sits very elegantly around my neck! The brass heart is light and the ribbon soft so the necklace is very comfortable.

Of course, the first thing I always do when I have acquired something new to wear is to find outfits that suit it. So here is an outfit! This necklace prompted me to bring out my ridiculously sexy little black dress, yet another Beyond Retro find... Of course I also wore Vixen by BPAL while choosing an outfit, so maybe that influenced me a bit... ;) This dress is so sexy (the pictures do not quite do it justice) that I feel slightly uncomfortable wearing it, and I´m not terribly prudeish! This outfit would probably be the perfect one for a Valentines Day date, only I´m asexual and I hate Valentines Day... It is definitely a dress for very special occasions and I don´t have many of those, sadly. So this dress spends most of its time in the back of the wardrobe... I have only worn it out once and man did I get stared at!

In any case, the necklace fits quite well with it and with those thights! I feel like a film noir heroine in this!

So, did you find any favorite items at The Navigatrix? What are your favorite colors for clothing? Which is your favorite sexy perfume? Is this dress too sexy for an asexual?? ;)

Muse - Marlene Dietrich

Speaking of 30s glamour I came to think about Marlene Dietrich... Amazing style! The suit in the first pic makes her wonderfully androgynous. In the orher pics she is darkly elegant and never vulgar! I love the black veil in the middle and the white lace in the last pic. Dietrich is a truly elegant muse! An outfit does not have to be comlicated, simple is just as, if not more, elegant. People nowadays have a tendency to overcomplicate their outfits, sometimes making outfits messy and uncoordinated. Simplicity without minimalism is definitely undervalued today!

I find it funny that Dietrich smokes in nearly every picture. You never see that nowadays, people are to concerned with being politically correct. But damn, smoking is elegant. I could start smoking just for the elegance and flair of it...

Wish list: cigarette holder!

Inspiration - Lanvin Pre-fall

Usually I think Lanvin is kind of boring, but the last two years pre-fall collections have been very exciting! These images are from the pre-fall 2010 collection. The clothes have a wonderful retro feel. The first pic seems rural-inspired, it alludes to contry life with the headscarf and the grey colors, even the fabrics have a rustic feel almost. This is then kombined with lace stockings and extravagant red shoes... I love it! The contrast between rustic and luxurious makes for an enrapturing outfit!

The second dress is simply sublime with its bright golden lace, the material and style of that dress, as well as several more attires in this colection, makes me think of 30s glamour. The moviestars of the 30s inspire me to no end!