Accessorizing for Carmen

I've narrowed my restaurant choices to two for tomorrow, but I still don't know what to wear!!!

At this point it's down to two non-matching accessories: A necklace and a purse.

The necklace is really cool - more so because I got it in a pile of junk, broken jewelry and loose beads for which I paid $8. Here's a photo of it, next to some earrings I had made last year to match a different necklace:



And here are pictures of the back to show the clasp:




Isn't that cool? Mixed in with a pile of broken stuff??!! I would have paid more than $8 for the necklace alone.

So if I wear the necklace, I have to wear brown. I'd wear this brown top with a multicolor, ankle-length peasant-type skirt and grey pumps. The problem is that all my brown purses are sort of clunky and not very elegant. I have one maybe... but it might be too small to hold all my girlie things and the little camera.

If I bring my black purse I can fit all my stuff but then I can't really wear the brown... which means no brown necklace. And I really want to wear the necklace. But can one wear brown to the Met? The rhinestone bling really dresses it up, but still... the old fallback, long black skirt with the flowers and black top, would go with the purse. On the other hand, the purse has seen better days and I actually had to do some surgery on it today with... yes... packing tape. The lining was torn and it was that or black electrical tape. Hey at least I didn't go with silver duct tape. It doesn't really show, although I know it's there. How classy to wear a purse repaired with packing tape??? Ha! But at least I'd be in black. So I guess I'm leaning toward taking the chance on the brown and choosing between the least clunky of my brown purses.

Well here's a thought. Because we'll be walking uptown from Penn Station, I'll be wearing my hiking shoes and carrying my dainty shoes in a little shopping bag. I could also carry whatever little extras don't fit into the purse. Oh plus I'll have a coat. A ... purple raincoat. Classy again. BUT it has many large pockets.

There. Problem solved. I'll wear the new necklace and the brown-based outfit, carry a brown purse and will stash whatever doesn't fit in the purse in the inside pocket of my coat.

I'll post dress-up photos at some point. And don't be surprised if I end up in the black. With the brown necklace....

Bejeweled

I knew I'd be able to whip something up. I like these earrings much better than the ones I made yesterday, and they match the necklace I whipped up. It's easy to make pretty jewelry when you start with cool beads. So here we have it, the jewelry that will be going to the opera and the Firebrand thing.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Of course I think it does so I'm not posting the picture. I think I need to invest in some Spanx ASAP. Yes, that link does indeed bring you to a product called Power Panties.

But I will post the picture of the necklace I found and the earrings I made to go with it. If you click on the photos you should get a bigger image. If that's what you want...

So here's the necklace. It's cool but the chain is too long. As soon as I put it on I realized that a long necklace is a no-no for me because of, uh, my body shape.





So I plan to shorten the chain like this, to use that body shape to my advantage:


Damn I think I need a new bra too. See, this is why opera is so expensive - it's not just the ticket. It's the underwear.

Here we have the earrings, and then a shot of the earrings next to the necklace.


And when I was putting all my supplies away, I came upon these fabulous beads!! But I was too tired to try and create another pair so these shiny baubles will have to wait until next time.