Fashion Inspired by Adventure Time Part I: Princess Bubblegum and Marceline

WHAT TIME IS IT? Adventure Time is a strange "kid's show" on Cartoon Network that takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth known as Ooo. The denizens of Ooo are all mutated life forms as a result of the "Mushroom War" except for Finn, the hero and only known human. Despite its bright colors and simplistic art-style, Adventure Time's stories often have thinly-veiled adult humor and sometimes morbid themes which accounts for its large following outside its target audience. 

Adventure Time also tips its hat toward various geek cultures through references such as D&D alignments and video game-like "boss fights" and music. It also has ton of unique characters, so for my first installment I decided to focus on the two main ladies -- Princess Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom and Marceline the Vampire.

I love Adventure Time for characters like Princess Bubblegum. At first glance she's a typical pink-wearing castle-living princess cartoon character, but she has a passion for science and serves as a voice of reason  for the heroes as well as the citizens of the Candy Kingdom. That said, she can also do some morally questionable things such as attempting to bring deceased Candy People back from the dead. Twice.

Even though PB has a default costume, she has a range of other outfits ranging from casual to dressy that all play on the same color scheme of bright pink and purple. A bright pink dress with a purple sash sets the base for this Peebles inspired outfit, with pastel lavender accessories to tone down the brightness. A rhinestone candy necklace serves as a shout-out to her servant, Peppermint Butler.

Marceline is a thousand year old vampire who plays bass guitar and eats shades of red. Marceline is similar to Princess Bubblegum in that she can also be morally questionable, but Marceline doesn't hide behind any pretense of being righteousness. She's a pretty classic chaotic neutral who likes to play tricks that make her seem much nastier than she actually is.

Marceline has a casual goth style and usually dresses in black, red or grey. Plaid and stripes are popular prints in her wardrobe, and she can go out in the daytime with the aid of a sunhat or parasol.

Do you watch Adventure Time? What other characters would you like to see featured?

{Image Credits: Adventure Time title, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline}

Another True Blood Beauty Collection!

I am a ginormous True Blood fan, so I was super excited when I found out via InStyle that HSN will be releasing a beauty collection inspired by the show which will be available on August 9th. Tarte already made a relatively small True Blood collection which I did check out at Sephora, but in all honesty nothing seemed unique enough that I felt I had to have it.

The HSN collection appears to be much more extensive than Tarte's, and I'm especially intrigued by the Forsaken perfume (pictured below.) I'm a total sucker for a pretty bottle, and this one looks completely different (see: less girly) than anything else I already own. The scent is described as "... a very sexy fragrance that any woman can wear anytime when she wants to feel ultra-feminine, yet sultry." 

The collection also includes a set of nailpolishes inspired by Sookie, Jessica and Pam for $25. Though they come as a set, I'm the most interested in "Bad Blood" (on the left) inspired by Pam.

 I would have preferred a girlier route with Pam, one of my favorite things about her style is how seamlessly she switches between leather-clad dominatrix-esque outfits to pink cardigans and pencil skirts and I think a homage to her versatility would have been a better reflection of her character. One of her best quotes is "I don't know what it is about me that makes people think I want to hear their problems. Maybe I smile too much. Maybe I wear too much pink." A hot pink polish with a bit of a twist -- black glitter maybe -- would have been way cooler in my opinion. 

Fun fact: Pam is actually my spirit animal. 

The center polish is called "Strange Love" and is inspired by Jessica, and I rather like the color choice. Jessica is as sultry as it gets, but she's also a bit goofy and naive. A sexy but not too dark color seems perfect. And then there's "New Flesh" inspired by Sookie. It's beige and bland. Fitting. 

Are you a fan of True Blood? If so, how do you feel about the color choices for the characters? Tell me in the comments! 

{Image Credits: College Candy, InStyle)

Fashion Inspired by Game of Thrones

// Dragon Earrings // Bangle (similar) // Shoes (similar) // 

Daenerys is my favorite character in the books and the show. I find her interesting because of the tremendous amounts of growth that she goes through as a character. She begins as the property of her brother, then sold into marriage to Khal Drogo. However, she emerges as a queen (or Khaleesi) in her own right, with the weight of a dynasty on her shoulders. Sure, she doesn't always make the best decisions; but Game of Thrones is a series chalk full of bad choices, and I personally appreciate characters who aren't infallible.  Daenerys regularly switches between flowing, exotic dresses for special occasions and more practical roughspun clothing for riding through the Dothraki sea. I chose to emulate her more formal attire; all of the gowns that she's worn are absolutely stunning. I added silver accessories to this rhinestoned dress, including a pair of subtle dragon earrings to reflect her house sigil. I couldn't help adding the official HBO dragon egg necklace into the mix as well. 

// Dress (similar) // Earrings //

New to the game this season is the mysterious Melisandre of Asshai, a fire priestess from a distant land who has allied herself with Stannis Baratheon. There is something extremely unnerving about her. She's seductive, yet dangerous... and sometimes a little bit creepy.

Melisandre wears nothing but red, and is often referred to as "the Red Woman." The ruby on her neck is especially important, make sure to watch it whenever she does any freaky stuff. I went with a femme fatale look for my interpretation of Melisandre, going with a deep red wiggle dress and a scarlet scarf to be used as a wrap or shawl.

// Shoes (similar) // Necklace (similar) //

Sansa is another character that I'm very fond of, but the majority of fans seem to dislike. Sansa begins the series as a naive young girl with the hopes of marrying her prince charming, but she's dragged screaming into the realization that life isn't as romantic as she envisioned. Even though Sansa's tomboy younger sister Arya gets a lot of love for being a "strong female" character, I think Sansa is a great example of a different kind of strength, she demonstrates that strong women don't have to reject their femininity entirely. Sansa may seem delicate on the surface, but her strength comes from her resolve to hide her vulnerability.

I emulated the light, summery colors of King's Landing for my Sansa inspired outfit. Though, I chose to add small hints of the North such as the wolf ring and the snowflake earrings to illustrate how even though Sansa is out of her element, she still holds on to her identity.

// Dress (similar) // Blazer (similar) // 

Margaery Tyrell is another new character this season. She is Ser Loras' sister, and wife to Renly Baratheon. In the books, Margaery is a peripheral character and the reader never gets much insight into what she's actually thinking. HBO has made Margaery's intentions crystal clear, and I think they have done a good job of making her a more intriguing character. Though most of her screen time this season was in the first few episodes, I'm looking forward to seeing her be a viable player in the game.

For my Margaery inspired look, I went a little 50's housewife because of how... ahem, loving of a wife she is. And of course, the obligatory incorporation of the house sigil: the rose.

// Shoes (similar) // Dress (similar) //

I would be lying if I said that I like the Queen Reagent of Westeros. Cersei is cold, manipulative and almost entirely selfish except when it comes to her children. That said, I certainly find her to be an interesting character and I can empathize with her plight. Cersei is the only character who actively acknowledges the patriarchal society of Westeros, and laments having been born a woman only to be treated like a bargaining chip in forging alliances. Her husband, Robert Baratheon repeatedly rapes and hits her, and there isn't a thing she can do about it because she's viewed as his property. She wants to be powerful on her own, and not on the arm of a man and she finds herself battling an entire culture to have what she wants.

As the queen, Cersei dresses extravagantly, often in the colors of house Lannister: scarlet and gold. Most of the pieces I've chosen are very expensive, to reflect Cersei's status. I love the ruby and gold leaf necklace because her father Tywin's battle armor invokes images of ancient Rome and I thought the necklace would add a touch of that vibe to Cersei as well. The Lannister sigil is the lion, and Cersei takes great pride in being a lioness and of course would love to wear lion jewelry.


Do you watch Game of Thrones? What sort of looks would you create based on the characters? Tell me in the comments!

(Image Sources: Daenerys Targaryen, Melisandre of Asshai, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, Cersei Lannister)