WWE has put together a gallery showcasing every lady champion that ever was, including all the various iterations of the belt(s). It's a fun look back to the past, highlighting some of the division's pioneers - The Fabulous Moolah, Alundra Blayze - as well as more recent ladies who paved the way for today's champions. From a fashion perspective, the gallery comes off like a style retrospective of ring gear through the years. The romper/unitards topped by jackets worn by Moolah and Mae Young gave way to the more athletic stylings of Alundra Blayze and her famous mock-neck top and leggings combo. Jacqueline's ring fashion took that sporty vibe as a starting point, but metamorphosized into a much sexier iteration, a concept that Sable pushed to new heights. Check out her latex catsuit with its thigh-high and beyond lace-up detail: it's spot on-trend for today! And just as smoking hot as it was then. Of course, it's hard to imagine an outfit that wouldn't be smoking with Sable in it ;).

Lita eschewed the traditional bombshell aesthetic in her gear, which was composed of straight-up street fashion: cargos, cropped tops, slogan tees. It was hot as h**l, but in a down-to-earth way that made it both appealing and accessible to WWE fashion fans of the era. In addition to her tremendous wrestling ability, Lita made fashion important to wrestling, while appearing to not especially care about it. Trish Stratus' looks had a similar point of inspiration, but incorporated a girl-next-door vibe that separated her from Lita's disaffected street urchin toughness. Molly Holly's looks were even more demure, focusing primarily on the athletic requirements of her pieces, spiced up with a bit of shine and an occasional foray into pretty, feminine colors: sherbet pinks and bright turquoises. There was a sweetness to her style which set her apart from many of the other ladies of the era.

Complexity entered ring gear with the advent of Mickie James' and Melina's reigns. Unique designs, gorgeous colors and bespoke details - the full palette of fashion seemed to collide with the concept of wrestling-wear. Mickie's crop top+pants combo became an instantaneous trademark, along with the luscious colors she gravitated to. Melina's looks were more dramatic - think one-person Cirque du Soleil :). Thigh cutouts, sheer insets,knee-high fur boots, patterns and metallics all caromed together to create her memorable looks. Beth Phoenix's superhero-esque metallic jumpsuits also arrived on the scene. Each of the ladies developed distinctive silhouettes or styles that set them apart. Michelle McCool used her various changes to mark separate eras in her character, not unlike the Undertaker has. The sweet and simple early pieces of her personal-trainer/schoolteacher gimmicks evolved into the cross-embellished halter top+lace-up leggings combination of her Faithful face era. I didn't appreciate at the time just how spectacular this particular gear is with the all-over crystals! I find the camo a bit busy (maybe that's why I missed the crystals ;)), but the jewel-work is spectacular. This snap was not widely released at the time, but it was used in promotions and, back in the day, Michelle cited it as one of her favorites so it's awesome to have a high quality version of it out and about! She exhcanged this style for the dark glamour of her heel turn, which included mostly dark fabrics embellished with crystal and studs. And that was succeeded by the Flawless Era which attained Fame-era Gaga-esque heights of fierceness. Layla came along for that ride and it brought her already-competent looks into truly amazing territory, something she maintained even after Michelle's departure. A few other ladies, including Natalya and Beth, took on the concept of metamorphosis-concurrent-with-persona - which led to the era which matched LayCool in fierceness: the maven-vixen Divas of Destruction, who ruled the ring in leather and spikes, softened with pin-up girl details like lace and bows. Barbie (Kelly) chose to stay with her hallmark push-up bra top and kabooty shorts from its inception until her retirement. And no surprise - it's hard to imagine it being improved on. This yellow-topped one was always one of my faves! (I'm sure you're shocked). Eve also carried the same chevron-waisted silhouette forward throughout her career, along she varied the sweetheart neckline extensively. Her gear was known for the myriad of stunning colors she employed: emerald green, bright melon, pale lilac, all embellished with hints of crystal, studs or sheers. Ditto Maryse, who explored variant after variant her keyhole-top+shorts combo with the most delicious, intriguing, luxurious combinations of color, embellishment, fabric and pattern. Nikki and Brie Bella were always closely in touch with the fashion world and they brought its influence even more closely into gear, breaking free of the idea of waiting for a persona change to update their ring-wear and using it as a way to freshen and reinvigorate their characters. Their looks run an unprecedented gamut from flamenco-inspired ruffled pieces to plunge-front catsuits to Britney Spears-influenced banded top+shorts combos that paired glam with a pop influence to the grunge-plaid era to today's sporty looks - which in a spine-tingling synchronatic way, brings ring gear full circle - back to its athletic beginnings.

Here we have another one of those 'shoots that I walk the love-don't love line on. The fashion is either already seen or barely able to be seen. Either way, it pretty much precludes a review of it. On the happier side, the theme of this set is even more up my alley than the superheroes one. The Big Dub had a field day with Photoshop to show off the "spirit animal"..in some cases, spirit material :) of several of the divas. The choices were on point and executed quote well. Money was an obvious pairing with Sasha Banks and she definitely rocks the Lady Warbucks feel. The crazy colors of this gear works perfectly to add color to this snap..although thematically, I might have preferred her bedazzled trench coat.  The spinning gears represent Becky's magic-infused steampunk persona. Her expression in this snap is top notch and the angle is gorgeous! I hope she keeps that on file for shoots that are to come in future.  Quite possibly my favorite piece of the three are the soaring ravens exploding from Paige's rebel heart. Although she may draw the line at feeding on death as they do, they're dark spirit and deep connection to rebirth parallels her never-say-die attitude. The artistic execution of this snap is especially compelling. The choice of her jumping pose harmonizes beautifully with the birds' flight.
Just recently, I read a quote over at one of my favorite blogs, TaySwiftStyle.com - Questions section, which captured one of my beliefs about photoshoots for the divas..uh..cough...superstars. Apols, ladies ;).  Sarah was discussing Glee when she said "I'm a strong believer that a show's fashion can speak volumes and can create storyline through its subjects just as much as dialogue or even music". But I think her words apply to 'shoots as well. We see the ladies on tv, we get o know they're wrestling personas. To really flesh out their characters, however, and to really bring depth to the action, the avenue of the photoshoot is unsurpassed. How many divas teased and developed a heel turn via a sudden switch in the their fashion? We've seen WWE recently veer away from fashion-style shoots and it's a nice change...but I wouldn't want them to become a lost art, either. They offer too much potential to be relegated to some attic of forgotten media. In fact, if anything, I think the Powers That WWE have possibly even been guilty of under-utilizing the potential of 'shoots to add dimension to what we know of the ladies. We've seen flashes of it in the past: AJ"s fashion always firmly reflected her nerdy-geek leanings, spiced with 90's grunge. We saw hints of the business woman and the just-married dreamer, but primarily, her fashion conveyed her particular, specific character. While AJ stayed true to one persona throughout her career, Michelle McCool metamorphosized from wallflower personal trainer, to bright-eyed All-American girl, to crazy chick to glamourous Mean Girl. Her fashion reflected this, shifting from workout gear, to classic sexy pieces, to black monochrome ensembles to sequined tanks and OTK boots. There was a direct connection between the changes we saw on tv and the fashion we saw in her 'shoots that emphasized and reinforced the changes, and created a connection with character during non-tv time. It was a subtle, but meaningful gesture that brought added impact to each variation Michelle made. Lana is one of the current divas who made use of 'shoots in a similar way, shifting from Ice Queen to rock n'roll girl as her on-screen relationship with Rusev cycled.  It was - as it always is - mad fun to watch the shift in each era through the lens of her style. Just as fashion is the art we use in daily life to describe ourselves to the world, so too it is the vehicle through which the superstars convey who they are to us throught their careers. And the photoshoot is the delivery module :). So, all you wrestling promotions: keep 'em comin'!

What better way to end Halloween night than to come home after Trick-Or-Treating and check out diva-fierce.com's Top 7 Halloween costumes. Why seven? Idk. It's a number I like :).
#7 goes to Brooke for one of the cutest monster costumes ever. The ladies of wrestling generally go for general themes rather than specific identities, so it can be hard to stand out, but this one does! And that's especially true because it's so out of character for Brooke. When you think  "Brooke", you think fierce, sexy, smoking hot. 'Cute' isn't at the top of the list. This costume lets her show her playful side and let her personality..well...run wild :D. That's a win!
#6 goes to Eva Marie for he Jessica Rabbit look. It's rare that a cartoon personality matches a reali-life look so well, but these two characters where made for each other! Jessica was a femme fatale par excellence. Eva Marie has no trouble in that department. She rocks the gloves! And,of course, the shared red hair seals the deal. Eva was born to be Jessified!
#5 goes to AJ for her Kitana costume. This is a great get-up and spot on Kitana's look. BUt what I love most about it is that its just a plain-a$$ cool costume. Even if you're one of those people (all 5 of them) who have no idea what Mortal Kombat is, this gear still looks massively cool. Who doesn't love blue metallic? Plus, we all know AJ could ttly pull off the Kitana role. Fab on all levels + picking a character that's "you" = memorable!
#4 is all about Velvet Sky's Freddy Krueger look. She nails it - right down to that hat and striped sweater! She gets MAJOR points, though, for the rips in said sweater. They add an element of the fearsome and grotesque that made this costume stand out. It's easy to associate Velvet with hotness, but really, would you want to take Freddy on a date? Umm, no. Changing up your look  - from hot to horrifying - is brilliant!