Lana exuded causal urban cool in this simple combo of a cropped gray knit cami and blue denim. The soft-knit-meets-smooth-woven is a classic and appealing. While I would probably think of silver first as a jewelry combination with this light graphite shade, Lana warms things up by using gold instead. She uses simple, delicate pieces that add a hint of shine and pull the look together in a subtle way. This look could be completed as easily with gray sandal-booties as with metallic gold pointy pumps.
Maryse broke out her fabulous Louboutin Gypsandals again, this time to pair with a black midi dress. The LBD has a bevy of straps at the back which create an intriguing detail that has the added benefit of not competing with the focal point of her look: those incredible shoes! Her mid-height pony keeps the look polished. Her look for the Extreme Rules photoshoot showcased the opposite side of her style: a mod, rocker compliation of futuristic latex and knit leggings paired with an ultra-cool sheer+leather-striped moto jacket. The black monochrome look has plenty of variety for the eye, while still being cohesive and offers a indubitably tough vibe. Maryse layered a graphic tee underneath and then piled on plenty of glam via a chain waterfall necklace and a crystal statement belt. We’ve seen a number of variations of this black, crystal and sheer mélange from many of the divas, but it’s a tribute to Maryse’s fashion sense that I’m still on board for the street-glam vibe of this look. From there, she moves to this gray midi dress from J Lux Label. I’m enjoying the departure this piece represents for Maryse – the belt and double-breasted detailing give it a suiting vibe that we don’t often see her explore. It still has plenty of sultriness though, due to the deep-v neckline and thigh-high slit. She gets an extra shot of fierce into the look with her ankle cuff heels (better pic of those beauties below).
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Maryse kept the nearly-monochrome theme going with her next outfit, which paired leggings (by Givenchy - a brand with a fabulous aesthetic, which I always enjoy, despite the fact that it's strayed far from the classicism of the days when Hubert de Givenchy designed for Audrey Hepburn) with a slim tee and cropped statement jacket. I much prefer the look of the leggings with this body-kissing tee over the pairing with the blouson-styled piece. It maintains the sleekness of the line. As to her topper, Maryse is the Queen of Statement Jackets and she has outdone herself with this one, a military-themed piece with gold embroidered-leaf detail and brass buttons. This Comino Couture piece is crave-worthy! It stands out beautifully here, against the black backdrop, adding spark and panache to the look, but it would to the same against color or lighter neutrals. As with so many of her other choices, the classic design will keep it relevant far into the future. Equally fun are her mid-calf flat boots. There's a casual toughness to the flat boot that makes a great addition to any fashion palette. This shaft height can be tricky to style, especially if you're of shorter stature as it can reduce the leg line. Be aware of proportion and lean towards pairing them with skinny pants or knee-length or above dresses or skirts. It's less of an issue with Maryse's height, but she, too, chose skinny pants as a combo. Note: heeled mid-calf pairs will help counteract this challenge.
Natalya's love of neutrals was in evidence this spring, beginning with this beige bodycon dress. The tonal pieced detailing gives the piece a distinctive touch and I love the way it enhances Nattie's curves; she looks amazing! Neutral sandals from Stuart Weitzman complete this monochrome look. Next up is a blush-nude jumpsuit with a deep-v front. As with the dress, this piece is tailored beautifully for Nattie's shape. I'm especially impressed because a charmeuse satin such as this can be challenging - the drapey-ness of the fabric can be very unforgiving, but this one looks polished and sophisticated - just what I'd expect from Natalya! Stand-out lips have been a long-running trend, but for summer, I'm loving the way she kept her whole make-up palette soft. The slight lavender tone in her lip hue picks up the blush tinges of her jumpsuit, pulling the whole look together flawlessly. Her next look is a 180 in both color and style, as she went for black monochrome in a much more relaxed styling. With her black tee, black leggings, cropped jacket and mid-calf flat boots, it's super-similar to Maryse's look and works equally well. Like Maryse, Nattie used skinny pants to elongate her leg and balance the shortening effect of the shaft height. Unlike Maryse, she chose a longer tee underneath her cropped jacket, a look I love! I couldn't resist the opportunity to yabber on about this look. It's #tbt Maria posted from her previous run with WWE and the look is classic Maria! Studded leather pants paired with a floral gemstone bra topped with a cropped fur jacket - it's 100% dramatic and glamorous and daring! She accessorized with a wide studded waist belt, a bold pedant and hardware-embellished chunky-heeled black leather boots. It's a reminder of Maria looking like a total rockstar, a look she excels at. On days when you feel like setting your onstage persona free, look no further than Maria for some inspiration :) On a much more somber, but equally praiseworthy note, Maria earned her college degree this year - congrats, girl! (Yes, in addition to working for the Co. formerly known as TNA and WWE and doing who knows what else - she's a busy lady!) I love seeing her dedication to her goal and the hard work she put in to pursuing it. It's as inspiring as her fashion is! She wore a blue bodycon dress for the occasion, finished with de rigueur nude pumps. She has a wonderful ability to change her style to be appropriate for the occasion, something I very much admire and applaud.
Maryse embraced the dark floral trend with this sheath dress, in a gorgeous, oversize rendition of the print. With the dark backdrop, the whirling florals feel less frivolous and much more sophisticated. Maryse plays that up with a leather jacket and taupe ankle boots (from Gucci). After the long reign of the pointy toe (which isn't over, by any means) this rounded shape has a fresh and interesting vibe to it. Next up is a re-use of a perforated pencil skirt from Mistress Rocks. This time, she pairs it with a diamond-printed top from Revolve Clothing, which sports a mock neck and sheer sleeves. The way the look plays on the two different geometric patterns is quite intriguing and unusual, while the black and white/ivory is as classic as it gets. Her Valentino Rockstud pumps round out the look with a nice contrasting delicacy and shine. Her visit to the Porsche Museum (oh my - I could def get carried away in there!) was all about statement outerwear. She paired a simple black top and pants with a Mossman Clothing overcoat: a classic silhouette with flap pockets and a statement color with distinctive military-esque button details. The rich burgundy is hard to ignore! A coat with this combination of iconic styling and unique hue is the kind of investment piece that will last decades and which everyone should have! I wish I could say the same about her Louis Vuitton boots. I love a good pair of derriere-kicking, lug-sole boots as much as the next girl, but even Maryse can't sell me on these. The white laces unfortunately give me clown vibes that I just can't get past. Oh well. Chalk that up to an extremely rare (like rarer-than-a-solar-eclipse-rare) questionable selection by Maryse. I love the multitude of colors in this look from Emma it's like her bright, bouncy, print-happy introductory fashion persona, but done in a much more grown up and sophisticated way. She pairs a simple, deep blue cropped top with a vibrant, free-form print that looks as it was done with washes of color. A mallard blue blends into amethyst, bittersweet red and magenta. It's a perfect example of mixing without matching. I also adore how her dark nail shade adds moody gravity to this look.
We've seen a couple of great ring outfits from Laurel, so I went off to see what the rest of her fashion is like and lo and behold, she kills that too! First up is a sweet floral romper, which she toughens up with split-sided booties. The warm tones of her boots work perfectly with the muted red and sage tones and ivory backdrop of her romper. With a caramel-toned jacket tossed on top, this is a flawless transitional look. Next up is a super-cute and playful combination of a Mickey Mouse tee and cut-off blue jeans. She finished the look with black Converse sneakers and a high pony tail. I love the 90's vibe of her sneakers and the laidback, youthful ease of her styling. She then switches things up with a breezy, feminine off-the-shoulder blue dress (from A'gaci store). Embellished caramel wedge sandals give a beachy, summery spin to this on-trend, pretty dress. A low bun and tendrils enhance the femme vibe. She takes things in a fierce direction with her next look, an envelope-style LBD with a deep-v neckline. She's accessorized it simply, with a slim black choker and ivory ankle-strap shoes. The minimalist philosophy works beautifully. She then does an about-face color-wise, going to an all-white look that pairs a frothy dress with strappy flat sandals. The lace bodice, pleated skirt and criss-cross details give a gentle formality to this dress. Laurel counteracts that by choosing flats and enhances the casually femme vibe with a low pony. I'm so impressed by her wide range of style genres and the way she uses different hair styles to accent her look. Often, we see ladies with gorgeous flowing locks getting stuck on one or two styles, but Laurel works a whole range of options. Brava! Back when the Big Dub took their Summer Skin seriously and didn't just dash off a crumb to the anniversary with a mere four photoshoots *ahem*, they gave just about every diva on the roster their own day of swim snaps. I remember how freakin' amazing that summer was, waiting to see who was going to be next and what they had chosen for swimwear and the locations and just...ogh...so much fantasticness! That - and I can hardly believe this because it seems like this blog's been my baby forevs - was back in the days before I was a fashion writer. So, although I got to savor and be inspired by each 'shoot, I didn't get to review them. Remedying that as we speak :)...or rather as we share thoughts electronically via various networks. It's so funny to think back to those moments - I had a different car, different laptop to race to wwe.com on, different hair color, same love of wrestling in general and divas in particular (thank Maria and Michelle for that; they hooked me). The continual and unprecedented 'shoot releases kept the whole summer lit...not that lit was in common usage then :). It made a huge impression on me because it coincided with the first summer I was a huge diva fan. I don't remember what order the snaps came out in, but I do remember raving over Maria's, Maryse's (some things never change ;)) ... Maria's set was as diverse as her fashion is, ranging through some girl-next-door blue denim-esque and skull-accented, rocker chick piece before getting to the heart and soul of her fashion: glam. This mint-and-gold set had me drooling with it's shining beauty. Maria went heavy with gold statement jewelry, adding plenty of va-voom to an already attention-getting look. She pushed her poses to the dramatic limits - sometimes blowing right over them, but whatever :) - now that's how you work some bamboo! And thennnnn, she busted out the bikini I can't forget. Well, ok, maybe I can forget those metallic boy shorts, but that triangle top covered in massive silver paillettes? Never. Oh, and there was a star charm dangling off the center. I still want that piece. Her roll-front side-pony was about as glam as glamour gets. And there were also stud bracelets. Not sure my heart ever left that shoot. So maje.
Then again, Maryse didn't go easy on the heartstrings with her looks. She included sequined sets in magenta and red, a pure white bikini shot in the spray, a glittering blue bikini and then these two: a black triangle set covered with crystals and the curveball of the line-up: a floral-printed french top paired with white bottoms which boasted super-long side ties. It was basically a "You'll need oxygen for this" set of snaps from stem to stern, but these two stood out particularly for the backgrounds and poses. The black bikini was shot with Maryse perched on an outcropping of rocks. It looked challenging, but that brought out the best in her, as she draped herself over the rocks for a stunning series of shots. The floral bikini was shot primarily on the beach, with Maryse half-in/half-out of the water. Her poses, all the way from laying in the sand to kneeling in the foam evoke quintessential summer. Oooookay..since the Big Dub has just released a finale of unreleased snaps from these last four photoshoots, I assume that "Summer Skin 2.0" has officially concluded. Booo! Four divas? You're kidding, right? I call serious gyp-age! And now, before my rant goes into unprintables and bleeps, let's talk about Maryse.
She graced us with two bikinis and a one-piece. I was particularly struck by her choices for the bikinis. Both pieces had wonderful, saturated summer colors - cherry red and bright aqua , but beyond that, both swimsuits are very simple. I was surprised by that because we've often seen Maryse reach for be-crystalled, sequined and otherwise-embellished pieces that bring a lot of energy to a 'shoot in and of themselves. The iconic red bikini pairs a french top with absolutely plain bottoms. Maryse naturally rocks it, because she is Maryse, but I'd have some reservations about recommending this set to the general populace. Her silver statement cuff and the trendy pink-red combo created by her lavender-pink nails add some spark. Even so, the look is a tad short of punch on its own. Consequently, it's the poses where Maryse injects her own formidable panache and personality that work the best. When she does a simple stance in front of palm leaves, the set feels uninspiring. When she plays with her hair and looks down as she laughs, it steals the show. When I saw this shot of Cara Delevingne on her promo tour for her movie Valerian and The City Of A Thousand Planets, it immediately had me flashing back to Maryse's looks from last summer, where she unveiled an amazing crystal accessory, set above black clothing. I love Cara, but sorry girl - divas done it first ;). The basic concept of the look still holds it power - that's the genius of an iconic styling spiced up with a handful of statement modernity. Cara's simple black suit is gorgeous - streamlined, minimal, flawlessly tailored. She added some intrigue by wearing it without an underlayer, but the main impact of the look comes from her magnificent crystal capelet. The styling is so unusual and bold, yet still has that element of classic sophistication. She echoed the capelet with her crystal-embellished sandals and brought in a sweet, feminine twist with her black hair band. Maryse went with a glamorous body chain, set above a black bodycon dress. The principles and effect are the same: chic, modern glamour. Cara's pixie cut keeps her look refined, while Maryse added polish via a ponytail.
If you're head-over-heels for this look, you can recreate it with a little black something. Both Cara and Maryse's looks come off fairly formal, but a black monochrome pairing of slim twill or ponte pants, skinny jeans or shorts will begin this styling on a more casual platform. Bear in mind that laidback pieces will be elevated by the dramatic presence of the crystal jewels. If you're going for pants, choose a cropped silhouette or roll full-length pieces (that's to show off your shoes ;)) Keep your second piece simple: a plain, refined tee, a classic black button-down. Avoid prints, lace or other complex fabrics like mesh or distressing (we're going to zigzag around grunge-glam here) or busy embellishments like ruffles, embroidery and tulle. Sleeveless and one-shoulder necklines are do-able, though! For shoes, if you own crystal-embellished sandals, grab those first! (Be-crystalled flats totally allowed!) Other options include solid black sandals - avoid anything especially informal like espadrilles - and crystal-studded pumps. Simple black pumps or peeptoes can work as well. Now, to the coup de grace: the crystals! I don't know too many fashionistas who have a crystal capelet on standby, but if you do, now is the time to rock it! Ditto if you own a crystal body chain. The rest of us get to be a tad more creative. Create a statement by piling up the crystal pieces you own - set a choker necklace above a collar or layer multiple chains of different length. Reach for statement rings or bangles, or trendy, unique pieces like ear cuffs. Concentrate your sparkle in one area: ears or neck or wrists+hands. Or, go with more delicate jewels scattered throughout your look: blend glittery earrings with a delicate ring and add a station necklace at your waist as a belt ( you can clip two together if they're short. Swag the end (clip it unobtrusively in place with a small silver safety pin), or let it dangle. Start with what you have and imagine from there how you can blend the pieces for best effect. I hope this inspires you to get your Maryse (or Cara ;)) vibes on sometime soon :) Happy styling! |
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AuthorBrie: shoe-lover :) fashion-lover and generally glamorous semi-dork Archives
July 2019
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