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.

We’ve fiiiiinally gotten some new fashion-containing photos from Impact: a trio of snaps highlighting the newest additions to their roster. While I’m sorry to report that Laurel is no longer a Knockout (I really enjoyed her fashion!), I’ thrilled to have Madison back in the line-up. This snap gives us a look at the gold version of her gear and it is a stunning set! The clean lines and simplicity of this iteration, which she’s been using for two years or so, continue to make it powerful and compelling. The highlight is the holographic sheen to the fabric, which gives a futuristic vibe to the ensemble. I love how it keeps the gear – in no matter what color- from feeling flat or done; it’s a flawless touch! I also love the touch of sheer fabric at the shoulders. It adds a hint of sexiness without seeming thirsty – just what you’d expect from a queen of the ring like Maddy! Her dark red hair really pops against this gear set and she looks amazing! Also new to the roster is Tessa Blanchard, a third generation wrestler. Her black and gold gear features a copped halter top and shorts, a combination we’ve seen plenty of, but which suits her very well.  The gear has a polished, professional quality that I admire and enjoy. Hopefully, in future, we’ll see her explore some unique detail that will add her own personal touch - in addition to the diamond insignia- to this well-designed attire.  Impact’s newest Knockout, Katarina, may look familiar to you – she was previously part of the roster under the name Winter (and previously part of the WWE roster as Katie Lea, back in the early days of my fandom :)). I love that she finally gets to use her real name – it’s so pretty and unique! While she has a new, party-girl persona on-screen, in this snap we see fashion that reminds me of her Winter character in that she’s incorporated lace and a vintage vibe. It’s not quite Winter’s Gothic style, but it has vestiges of it. She paired the sexy, feminine plum blouse with simple black leggings. I’ve always enjoyed what Katarina brings to the table; she always has a creative take and I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes with this new run.

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.

Camo is such a complex print, between the multitude of colors and the organically-shaped splotches, that it’s super-easy to pair it with a neutral and call it a day. Black is go-to, beige is fab, olive is awesome. But Nikki was a bit more daring than that when she wore the pattern recently: she injected some fiery attitude by adding a stunning flame-red to her look via accessories and bright lip. I love how unusual this color story is; it’s unexpected and bold, but not outlandish, making it totally do-able and appropriate for a myriad of occasions and places. Start with your favorite/only/clean piece of camo, be that a blouse a la Nikki, a jacket, a skirt, a dress. Build the look depending on weather. Do it like Nikki with blue denim or keep things a bit darker with black jeans if it’s springtime-cool.  If it’s toasty warm where you are, add a neutral or denim pencil skirt to the blouse, a tank under the jacket. If it’s not-so-toasty, add neutral layers below each piece. Once you’ve got the camo+neutrals main elements together, bring the spark. Nikki’s choice of flame red will work just as well set against black denim and camo as it does with the blue. I also love the idea of a softer, sweeter color pop set against the tough vibe of the camo: try rose, blush or a combination thereof. If you just can’t red or pink with camo, consider adding cobalt blue or rich mustard yellow instead. Nikki elevated the hard-working camo print with her pointy heels, which works fantastically. Feel free to reprise that, or do it with sandals. Alternatively, keep the whole look more casual with bright sneakers – keep them on the simple side, though and avoid pairs with more than two colors so the look doesn’t get too overwhelming. Echo your shoe choice with your lip shade and/or jewelry -statement earrings, a pendant necklace, a bangle or two, a monochrome scarf in silk or cotton- to carry the accent color throughout the look. I hope this inspires you to add an unexpected color to your camo stylings! Happy fashioning, loves :)

Nikki slayed her trip to Cannes in the summer of 2016, wearing – among other fab pieces – this incredible lace dress (the Azalea) from Self-Portrait. For anyone who has been craving a stunning lace fit and flare piece ever since (*raises hand*), check out this awesome look-for-less from ASTR at Nordstrom. It includes the beautiful, feminine all-over lace styling, including the cutwork edges at the bodice, the (adjustable) spaghetti-strap design and the sweet shape, all in a nice range of colors. In addition to Nikki-esque white, there’s a deep blush, a rich eggplant, a warm spiced wine, summery mint and a dreamy periwinkle. And it’s fairly affordable; how’s that for a win? A lace dress is a classic piece that will hold its style value, making this quite a nice investment. Getting your Nikki vibes on is just a bonus ;). Wear now with a denim jacket, in the summer with simple ankle-strap sandals and in the winter with a faux fur jacket and ankle booties.

We first saw Charlotte wear this gorgeous floral dress back in June of last year , when she styled it with flat thong sandals. It was a blast seeing her work with flats, which we don't see from many Divas (ok,. ok, Lady Superstars :)), outside of sneakers. It was a wonderful way to dress this garden-y piece down. I love that she re-used it...and I love even more that she re-styled it. And especially HOW she re-styled it. The flats were great; these heeled combat boots are FIERCE - a totally fabulous way to temper the delicacy of the design and silhouette. Recreate this concept with your favorite floral dress: long sleeve, short sleeve, sleeveless, it's all good! No floral dress? No problem. Lace, eyelet and embroidered pieces all work - all you need here is a dress that shades to the sweet side (feel free to do this with a maxi skirt and a matching blouse, as well!). Then add boots as a counterpoint. Give the look a festival vibe with flat pairs, especially in earthy brown or beige shades. Add practical-but-fun stars stud earrings to complete the look, or ramp up the bohemian connotation with beaded or tasselled earrings to complete the look.  (Flower crowns 100% acceptable as well :))  Weather still a bit nippy for sleeveless pieces? Np - toss an on-trend blue denim jacket on top. Alternatively, go for a harder edge in your look by completing it with combat, lace-up or moto style  boots in black (hardware is a yes!). Because the harsher shade can take over a look when set against a light floral, make sure to echo it elsewhere to carry the color through the look - especially if there's no black in the dress' fabric. Statement earrings or stacked slim rings will work fabulously, as will a waist belt - both narrow and wide pieces do the trick, so pick your passion. Chilly mornings and evenings? See above re: topping the look with a classic denim jacket - they're just the right weight for transitional weather. Happy styling, loves!

I apologize for the dearth of posts lately. And no, I haven’t forgotten all the Wrestlemania fashion – including the Hall Of Fame Fashion Review! The event is so huge that it requires hours of dedicated time, which I haven’t been able to scare up lately; often, I’m sitting down to start work here to 11:30 or midnight and that curtails my time frame since I do need some sleep :). Ordinarily I’d be regaling you with Inspiration Boards, but with the sale and unceremonious killing off of Polyvore, which I used for collages, I’ve also had to research and test new alternatives. I’ve finally found a workable one, which is allowing me to bring you today’s IB, and I have at least one more still to do test runs with. April was quite a month :p. And so, to fashion!
Maryse styled this fun look for her maternity-wear, but it translates equally well even if you don’t have a baby on board :). She started with a minimalist black canvas and added a pop to the look by accessorizing it with two different, but coordinating vibrant prints on a cropped jacket and a chain-handled embroidered bag. The look works because the wild effervescence of the prints is grounded and anchored by the dark background.  Almost any piece or set can form the backdrop of this look. If you’re craving a dress, do that. If you’re all about pants, go there instead. Skirts are a yes as well. Pick your passion – as long as it’s dark! All black is the go-to, but black with navy (i.e dark wash jeans or a navy skirt) or deep charcoal will work nicely too…just don’t get all crazy and start adding heather gray or beige to the mix :). With the edgy accessories, the styling will get busy in a hurry and overcooked isn’t a good look for anyone - person or vegetable! Once you’ve got the basic canvas selected, you can get jazzy. Grab a floral or embroidered bomber, floral scarf, printed or jacquard blazer or cardigan to toss over the top. Then add a second pattern. The one crucial aspect of selecting pattern #2 is that the colors have to be similar (not the same, similar :)) to pattern #1. Two florals with predominantly blush and burgundy tones work fabulously! So do rainbows (or pieces with enough shades in them to echo a rainbow). Feel free to mix prints and embroidered pieces. You don’t even need to stick with complex patterns: go for the simple geometry of stripes or dots, add a shot of gingham or a pop of paisley – anything goes, as long as the colors are predominantly close between the two patterned elements. Note: if your shoes are not one of your patterned pieces, take a cue from Maryse and complete the look with a black pair or another understated color or texture.  One of my favorite aspects of this look is the way you can vary its intensity through your pattern choices: pairing a pinstriped blazer with dotted heels will be much subtler than combining an embroidered bomber and a rainbow sequin-striped bag, so you can be histrionic or not and still have fun. I hope this inspires you to combine patterned accessories sometime soon :). Happy styling, loves; it’s so good to be Inspiration Boarding again!

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! :)

The ladies of WWE brought their fashion game to the Superstars For Hope event, giving us some fabulous formal looks for this charity night, which benefits the boys and Girls Clubs of America this year.
Dana Warrior looks fantastic every time I see her and she rocked it again here, wearing a highlighter yellow gown done in notoriously challenging charmeuse satin. Naturally, I’m wild over the color of this dress :), but Im also super-impressed with the fit. Charmeuse can be unforgiving but we see no evidence of it here. It fits Dana flawlessly and we get to concentrate on the effect of the movement and the beautiful sheen. She added some warmth to the look by completing it with metallic gold sandals. Her long, loose hairstyle kept the ensemble from feeling excessively formal and her smoky eye and pale rose lip looked gorgeous!
Renee chose a scarlet mini dress covered in massive paillettes that reminds me of something Paco Rabanne would do (The piece is from House of Harlow 1960). I love how the black-on-red  represents a unique take on the classic sequin dress. This piece is so much fun! Renee completed it with block-heeled ankle strap pumps. Her red lip is the perfect way to carry the color upward. This whole look is fab, especially with her short, platinum hair – it really makes the red pop!
Carmella’s choice was equally stellar: a teal sequined gown by Stello that wrapped into a ruffle at her hip. This gown has me in ecstasies! The color is heavenly and the daring lines of that bold ruffle give the piece distinction and a futuristic quality that’s crave-worthy! Carmella added glittering, silvery statement earrings that accented the gown’s cool shimmer (I loved the snaps where she flipped all of her hair over one shoulder so we could really see them!) and completed the look with platform ankle strap sandals. This is a glorious choice of dress. It’s fabulous here, and could easily have worked for the Hall Of Fame as well.

Mid-February found Nikki in this stunning Ronnie Kobo dress, which is perfectly simple, except for its daring cutout back! I love the way the drama of this piece is concentrated around that single detail! Nikki enhanced the effect by wearing a station pendant necklace set to the back; it’s an incredible and perfect choice that looks fabulous and works flawlessly. It also reminds me of the way Coco Chanel wore her pearls dripping down her back in one of her most famous portraits, which does nothing to dissuade me from adoring Nikki’s styling. She added red statement earrings that bring out the colors in the necklace, as well as a black Louis Vuitton bag. We don’t get to see her shoes, but I’m guessing pointy pumps in black or red :). She’s repping Birdiebee in her next look, with the most vintage of snaps. Posed in front of a red theater curtain, she wears a white brassiere and high-waisted brief from the line, topped with a two-tone faux fur jacket. I love the backstage-chanteuse connotation and nostalgic vibe of this shot – it’s gorgeous!
If that snap from Nikki isn’t enough glamour to slay your life, how about this one from Noelle?  She’s enjoying a slice of pizza while looking thoroughly fabulous in a ballgown featuring an embellished bustier-type top and a black-and-white striped skirt. She’s topped the look with a cropped faux fur jacket in black and added a statement bracelet to complete the ensemble. Her messy bun is straight up gorge – she needs to wear her hair like this more often! I’m also totally here for her dark cranberry lip, which adds a very modern moodiness to this chic ensemble. I love this shot and I will be adding “eat pizza in a ballgown” to my Must Do In This Lifetime list because of it :).