WWE managed to give us a holiday-themed ‘shoot again this year, albeit with a bit of noire twist: yes, there is the usual holiday décor and cute outfits, but this year, the Riott Squad is giving us their best Grinch-impersonation and attempting to make the celebration a bit more …well, riotous :).
Things begin sweetly enough, with Alexa looking appropriately wintery in a layered look comprised of a white tank, black vest, white and black checked button-down and leggings. I love the way she’s styled this: the open cardi lets the textural and graphic play of all the layers shine, while the belt keeps everything tidy and adds needed definition at her waist. She takes this look from “any ol’ weekend” to holidays status with her gorgeous shimmery eye make-up. The glittering silver-blue looks incredible on her! We’ve seen her reach for it a number of times and its always on point. She warms it up with a wash of blush at the outer corners that ties in perfectly with the pink tones in her hair and her rosy lip shade. I’m so here for this, head to toe!
Mickie slayed in an ivory off-the-shoulder sweater, paired with burgundy velvet shorts. I adore this combo – its on-trend, luxe and sexy all at once! I’m firmly on the fence, though, about her leg warmers.  There are definite waves being made about a comeback for them and I kind of think they’re best left in the 80’s. However, here, the Fair Isle pattern adds a nice touch of contrast and they serve to carry the ivory color through the outfit, echoing Mickie’s sweater nicely before she rounds out the look with another touch of burgundy via her suede ankle boots. Let’s say that I might have preferred ivory over-the-knee socks, but I can live with this, especially since they don’t negate the incredible fashion statement of the top two pieces in the least. Nicely done, Mickie!

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.

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! :)

I was going through some of my archived folders and I discovered a bunch of images and collages from Melange that I re-fell in love with and wanted to share with you all :). Right now, Melange denotes special, capsule-type posts with a particular theme, but originally Melange was conceived as an online magazine, with three articles presented each month, as well as a cover. We started it with a Prom issue, about nine months after Diva-Fierce.com was born and it was so much fun! I have tons of great memories surrounding the brainstorming and collaborations that took place to bring it together each month. These colls are from a feature called Art Major which married several Divas' photoshoots with art, such as the one above of SoCalVal edited into my vision of a Helen Frankenthaller piece. We intended to present it in March of 2013, but it proved to be trickier to execute than we originally envisioned and it ended up not getting released until August. It still one of my favorite concepts that we did...although, that could be said about a lot of the content ;). I hope you enjoy!

I’ve never kept my love for shoes anything close to a secret. Whenever the Superstars (*whispers Diiiiivvvaaaaassss*) wear some incredible pairs, I go wild – especially if they’re designer because, face it, a little vicarious expensive-stiletto enjoyment never hurt anyone. We tend to see a lot of Louboutins from our fellow Superstar shoe-lovers. We see a good bit of Giuseppe Zanotti, too.  And Louis Vuitton.  And Stuart Weitzman. And I rave over all of them because…shoes! Then again, there are tonssss of amazing designers outside of the above Quad Squad that I totally wouldn’t mind seeing the ladies get their heels in. For instance? Oh, I was so hoping you’d ask! Come share my little fashion fantasy :)

Gail rocked this black monochrome look during mid-October, pairing a black cropped top with black shorts and a fringed leather belt. Using such a dramatic accessory really amped up this simple color story! I love the way it instantly gives the outfit weight and presence. She gave the combo a big dose of glam by adding a crystal statement necklace. I also wouldn’t have minded statement earrings here, as an alternate option. We don’t get to see her shoes, but black leather or suede sandal booties (like these, from her Silver Snap winning May The Forces Be With You photoshoot) would have been an excellent choice.
Lana experimented with gradient color, combining multiple shades of taupe in this look from her trip to Quebec. Her olive-taupe Want My Look bodycon dress got a modern twist from being topped with a gray-taupe long cardigan from Fashion Nova. Her caramel bag served as a bridge color to connect the two differing shades. Coordinating strappy pumps from Lola Shoetique elevated the look, while a golden choker from Windsor Store and hoops earrings brought in a hint of shine. The sophisticated use of color makes this ensemble very chic! A polished bun enhances that vibe. Lana is a queen of switching genres, so it’s no surprise that her next look was a nearly complete about-face: a casually sexy pairing of destroyed denim and a plunge-front ivory cami, taken galactic with of-the-moment metallic ankle booties and a matching bag. I adore the combination of ivory and silver, and I love the unexpected 80’s glam-rock vibe of her boots, as well as the fact that she doubled down on that statement with her bag, so this look is a winner for me. The boots, especially, make the outfit memorable. The one change I might have made is to swap to a silver coin pendant, instead of mixing metals. Her gorgeous half up-do is just icing on the cake! Next up is the blonde beauty in full-on Chic Mode: a one-shoulder crop top paired with high-waisted wide-leg pants (from TopShop), featuring the most fabulous side-tie detail at the ankle.  A gold choker, white ankle strap sandals and a black tote round out the look. The unique detail, the interesting way the side-tie and ankle-strap combine and the graphic power of black+white unite flawlessly to make this outfit seriously stunning!