Thoroughly Modern Mary

October 4, 2012 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

lady mary crawley downton abbey michelle dockery — photo courtesy of BBC/PBS

I can’t help but love Mary Crawley, the bitch with the heart of gold, from Downton Abbey. At first I really abhorred her — she was rather snide and vain. But she became a lot more bearable (kind, even) in the second series, and then I found myself rooting for her and Cousin Matthew like a crazy fangirl! And I have totally developed a full-on lady crush on Michelle Dockery. How can you not? JUST LOOK AT HER. SHE’S SO CLASSY.

Besides the fact that the show is rich in delicious scandal, I love the costumes the actors get to wear! No doubt they’re probably painful, but damn, do they look ever so snazzy. I particularly love Sybil and Mary’s ensembles. I stumbled upon Society 6‘s collection of Nan Lawson‘s art (I LOVE HER!) on t-shirts and her Lady Mary tee inspired me to create a modern Mary-esque outfit centered around it on Polyvore.

Here’s what I came up with:

Modern Mary by chezfancypants featuring a lace skirt

Some things are on the way too pricey (and how-the-hell-am-I-supposed-to-get-this-if-it’s-in-Europe?) side, but besides that I think this outfit turned out quite cute. 🙂

lady mary crawley silk heirloom scarf — photo courtesy of Fancy French Cologne

I’m also loving this silk heirloom scarf by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. I find that it’s too pretty to wear, so I’d probably frame it.

Series 3 of Downton Abbey started not too long ago in the UK. Us Yanks have to wait until January for it to air on PBS. *cries* I CAN’T WAIT!!!

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Nerd Idea

June 16, 2011 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

[courtesy of Poketo]

I think it’s really awesome how Poketo has grown as a company. I remember about 6 years ago I bought a tee by them from Karmaloop that had a couple of pink fawns on it, which was designed by Jeana Sohn. I’d always see them at Comic Con too — they went from screen printed tees and wallets, to totes and housewares, and they even had a special line at Target last year!

Anyway, I browsed their site a few days ago and found these super amazing totes made out of upcycled mens blazers and collared shirts. Each tote is one-of-a-kind, and pretty damn pricey ($250!). But the craftsmanship is impeccable. My mom told me I could probably make my own, and then Janine, my internet BFF, saw me post it on my Tumblr and said it needed a bow tie a la Doctor Who, and then I got a brilliant idea! What if I made one that resembled the 11th Doctor’s outfit? I haven’t touched a sewing machine in a long time, but I think it would be a cool project to do one day.

[courtesy of BBC]

As far as outfits go, I think the 11th Doctor is pretty damn swanky.

And I’d apologize for talking about Doctor Who in almost every post, but I’m really not sorry at all. I love the Doctor, forever and ever amen.

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Baby, it’s cold outside

May 29, 2011 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

It rained last night in Stockton! We’re having some really odd weather considering that it’s usually hot as hell around this time of year in the Central Valley. I found the change in weather quite exciting though because I keep finding awesome blazers at thrift stores that I won’t be able to wear until Fall. But yesterday I was able to bust out my amazing orange and brown herringbone blazer with a fur collar that I purchased at Big Valley Thrift last week. It’s by H&M and I got it for $10. Woop!

My friend Jennifer invited me to go watch The Hangover Part II and I couldn’t pass it up since I was in my pajamas all day working on a few things that caused my stress level to sky rocket. When she saw me, she said my blazer made me look like a pimp. I felt more like a fancy lady from the ’60s though. To each their own.

The Hangover Part II is HILARIOUS, by the way. I still like the first one better, but the second one had me laughing and gasping throughout. I can’t wait till it comes out on DVD so I can watch the unrated version!

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