In yet another wrestling-themed photoshoot, several Lady Superstars dressed up as their favorite ECW wrestlers. This kind of theme has been a favorite of WWE, going all the way back to 2013 when Natalya won our Silver Snaps Award with her portrayal of Sean Michaels.  I loved this idea much better back then when it was rarer, but I’ll take it.
Track pants and an ECW tee: Tommy Dreamer’s trademark ring gear  was made for Becky! She looks very much at home in this type of styling, and stays true to Dreamer’s choices, all the way up to his taped hands. She replicates his gritty stare perfectly and the background lighting helps to add interest to these snaps, which makes them particularly appealing.
Lana replicated The Sandman’s signature look of a personalized tank and denim (sometimes track pants). Her choice to go with all-black plays well against the barbed wire and chain link background, as well as the red and blue lighting that somehow creates a grimy atmosphere.  She utilizes his trademark prop – a kendo stick – in her poses to good effect. Her work here is stellar, as usual…though I admit to being quite distracted by her gorgeous messy braid!

WWE created one of their lately quite rare photoshoot opportunities for the Lady Superstars concurrent with the 1000th episode of Smackdown. The theme? Smackdown tees. Novel? Not so much. Slayable? Abso. The pull toward blandness is understandable, though:  add a pair of pants and ta-da: you’re done. It’s so simple…maybe a little too simple for anyone who considers these activities not as art or expression but as a not especially interesting aspect of the game. Consequently, I can’t help but give a few more XO's to the ladies who put in extra effort to switch things up.
Billie Kay and Peyton each tossed a t-shirt over their ring gear, with Billie going for blue and Peyton for black. Their saving grace is their pose, one of their interesting and unique two-for stances. Billie also scores and extra point for her bright red lip that gives her look a bit of pop. I’m not sure how Charlotte managed to turn her tee into a cutout mockneck piece, but whatever forces she used, I’m down for them. She threw an on-trend sporty spin into her look by adding striped track pants. Her pose drips attitude and I’m here for that. Though not groundbreaking, the snap is 100% solid. Becky and Zelina chose the same leather leggings and were saved from the dread fashion sin of wearing the same look by Zelina opting to make her top a cropped silhouette. Her look works well and her pose is competent . I would have loved to see her chose a punchier lip shade to add a real exclamation point to the outfit. Beckys’s super simple tee needed the impact of the leather leggings to save it from yawnsville. Irl, the success of this look would come down to shoe choice. We don’t get the chance to see Becky’s choice, so I’m just going to imagine she went with some fab pair of boots or sneakers. I won’t dare go so far as wishing for blue suede pointy pumps ;). I’m wild over her hair and make-up here – these nude and peach shades are flawless for her and the soft volume in her hair is crave-worthy!

WWE recently released a photo gallery showcasing some of the most dominant duos in sports entertainment. Naturally, they included my favorite pair: LayCool, and coincidentally also one of my favorites snaps of the devious ladies (I had nothing to do with this, I swear!).  This fabulous wordy white tank paired with black shorts is from one of their series of Famous & Flawless ‘shoots. We just don’t get moments like this nowadays *nostalgic sigh*. I love what the ladies are doing now, but I miss the fashion-high of those days. Can’t lie. The ‘shoot was so well put together, with fantastic style (crystal-covered belts added a shot of glam to this chill look) and gorgeous, fierce poses. Even against the simple black backdrop, this set had such a powerful effect! Mickie is an established queen of the ring these days, but back when she debuted, she was  best known as Trish Stratus’ biggest fan, eventually earning her place as Trish’s tag partner.  With the significant skills of both ladies, they became a serious force in the Divas’ division in no time! Trish’s girl-next-door vibes perfectly matched Mickie’s Americana-hottie looks, making for sexy, effervescent photoshoots and in-ring moments.

I’m going to do something a little different this year: instead of releasing the Hall Of Fame Review in one fell swoop, I’m going to keep adding a new group to the post each day. This will let me get the post up sooner ( I reeeeaaaly don’t want to be doing the HoF in June again!) and lets me devote time to each review and not feel like I’m rushing to get it all done so I can get the post up.
Every year, this is probably the most difficult review I do. There are always so many killer looks that I’m splitting hairs and weighing miniscule differences to determine who lands where on the count-up. The only choice that was easy this year was the top spot. I knew that placing immediately after going through all the looks the first time. Who earned that nod? Well, stick with me :). We kick things off with the ladies who I loved, save for one something or other.

Wrestlemania 34 featured the first - and hopefully inaugural – Battle Royal for the Lady Superstars and there was a LOT of ring gear flying around the squared circle…and out of it! Consequently, we decided to dedicate an entire post to  :) breaking it down, analyzing it and raving over it. Are you stoked yet?  We are! First, a clarification: although Nia is part of our collage here, she was not part of the Battle Royal; she won the Raw Women’s Championship later in the evening, defeating Alexa Bliss. So why is she here? Basically, we had this awesome snap of her gear to show off, so show it off we did! :)

Woops – I’ve been so focused on keeping up and catching up that I nearly forgot about Pt. II of the Rumble gear! Fixing that now :).
Maria Menounos went for full-on athleisure in this sporty jumpsuit. Zipped up and paired with sneakers, it could easily have felt underwhelming, but she intelligently spiced it up with a gold bodysuit below and unexpected metallic peeptoe booties. The shoes, in particular, shifted the vibe of this look toward Fiercness and I approve! Statement earrings cemented that direction.
I’m on board for the Gothic leanings of Nia’s gear: the shield-like red lace looks powerful and imposing set against the black leather, but still retains beauty, preventing the gear from looking too stark and brawn-heavy. She previously did iterations of this look where the upper edge of the colored front-piece was extended farther to each side, creating a visual empire waist. That look is excellent for Nia and I wish she would explore it further.  While the sections of black lace break up the leather nicely, they also reduce the cohesiveness of the piece. A simple sheer fabric could have a similar, but simpler, effect.  The concepts she has for her look are fantastic and super-fun; just a few small tweaks to the execution could really put them in a class by themselves.
The Bella’s triumphant reunion was more about the feels than the gear, but it delivered so well on the feels that I can overlook the absence of anything novel on the attire front.  Both ladies slayed in red. Nikki reprised her most recent era of sporty gear, with a short-sleeve cropped tee accented with lace-up detailing and paired with color block shorts.  Red knee socks and black+red sneakers rounded out the look. Brie went for red latex in a one-piece silhouette, embellished with slashes and a plaid waistband that recalled her grunge-tinged Brie-mode looks. The sisters rarely fail to deliver and these looks are both solid, competent and visually impactful – the work of women who know exactly what they’re about.
Carmella’s gear looks like gray marble print from a distance, but on closer inspection it is revealed to be a graffiti print. I’m totally in for either print; they both look fab! And I’m really impressed by the way that the look works so incredibly well from both vantage points. Many times, something can look amazing close-up but lose impact from further back, or vice versa, but this look covers it all! The orange piping was an awesome choice and works brilliantly, bringing the shot of color that makes this gear pop. Surprisingly, I can even get behind the faux high waistband created by her fishnet hosiery showing above her shorts. You gotta be fab to sell me on that kind of a look! :)

Yes, I am reviewing October fashion. I know, I know.
It was only a matter of time until Barbie explored the latex trend! She dabbled in the fabric with this LBD from House of CB for an October event. The simplicity of this dress is a perfect choice – we don’t see the kind of envelope-pushing cuts Barbie often reaches for. Here, the sensuality all comes from the fabric and, with a daring material like this, it’s exactly the right way to go. Black ankle strap heels complete the look, along with an eye-catching make-up choice: a super-pale nude lip that nearly matches Barbie’s skin tone. While it makes me stop and take notice, I think I would have preferred something a touch warmer – a dusty cinnabar or quartz. Next up is a flowing romper from Planet Blue. The color pairing of camel and black and the looser cut of this piece combine to give it a much more chic and sophisticated feel than your standard version. Barbie adds a shot of fierce with her suede OTK boots and oversized sunnies and look comes together with the kind of unstudied, tantalizing style that is her trademark. From there, she swung into the relaxed modernity of a denim on denim pairing, utilizing J Brand denim. A House of CB bodysuit in olive provided the underlayer, while suede peeptoe OTKs from Pretty Little Thing gave the look some edge. I like the mix of soft neutrals in this outfit. I’d love an embellished bag here to tie everything together! While it’s not really an “outfit” per se, I couldn’t resist sharing this snap from Barbie which featured this show-stopping statement necklace from For The Stars Fashion House, a custom creator of one-of-a-kind designs. With layers of gold chains and crystals, this piece is ahhhhMAYzing! Barbie got the full effect out of it by pairing it with nude bikini bottoms – doesn’t she look like a divine siren, rising up out of the sea?! -, but I’d be interested to see it tried atop a minimalist LBD. She got her grunge on with this combo of a cropped boxy sweatshirt and white denim. I’m not generally a fan of shorts cut to reveal the pockets, as it tends to look messy, but here, it fits the bored-punk theme so well that I’m breaking my rule :). Barbie completed the look with a black and white plaid shirt knotted at her waist on true 90’s style. I love the way it pulls the whole look together!