alternative fashion – The Big Hair Diaries

Nature Walk & Good Self-Talk

Published on February 15, 2022 by hellosamanthadear9 Comments

See that pink and white striped rug beneath my feet?!?!?!

My mom presented it to me the other day as a gift, and I immediately knew where I wanted it: in my bedroom, because I very much needed a new rug (my previous one was quite raggedy by now). At first, I wasn’t sure if the stripes looked right amidst the floral pinkness that is my room. But, I realized after placing it down, it totally made the room look a million times better, unexpectedly! And now I just can’t take my eyes off of it.

What’s the thing to learn here? That things don’t have to necessarily match. Sure, a floral rug like my previous one might’ve matched better, but who would’ve known stripes would add SO MUCH more?

Same thing with today’s outfit; initially, I thought the pink shoes didn’t look quite right. Then I thought, what the freaking heck. Wear the dang pink ones because it adds a PUNCH!

Bows: gifted from my sis // Clips: Target // Blazer: belonged to my mom

You could uh…say I get a little obsessive about matching things with my outfits. And I sometimes obsess over other little things like, Dear God in heaven…why can I never get my eyebrows to look alike? Or obsess over getting my poof just right.

But guess what? No matter how hard I try, my eyebrows never look the same. The poof sometimes has a mind of its own and wants to sit slightly lopsided. And guess what!!!!!!! The world doesn’t end! *gasp!*

My point here is that it’s pretty trivial on the grand scheme of things to obsess over getting things JUST right. In fact, it’s a losing battle. I’m learning that it’s okay for things to be a little askew. Because that’s life!

This is a mini bridge I pass on my walk, where couples hang up locks and write their names on it! 💕

I thought about this as I took a LOVELY nature walk yesterday…in nature, nothing is perfect (although it can certainly look that way at first glance!) But petals don’t grow the exact same size as the other ones on the flower. They’re different sizes and have different patterns. And don’t they still look beautiful? Yes!

So I take note of this valuable lesson from nature. Now, when I look in the mirror and see how gloriously uneven my eyebrows are, how one side of my face looks different from the other, how I can never seem to walk a straight line and I have the attention span of a squirrel, I bask in it. Roll around in it, even. Because perfectionism is unattainable, and perhaps even a bit of a bore, when you really think about it! 😉

See ya next time! 💕🌸

I Bought the Wrong Lipstick Color and I’m Glad

Published on January 29, 2022 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

First off, I LOVE THIS OUTFIT! I wore it yesterday. I don’t know what it is about it, but something about the muted green, khaki, with the colorful clips and black bow just made me super happy. 💕

Blouse: SHEIN // Clips: Amazon // Bow: SHEIN

So the other day, I stopped by Walgreen’s to purchase my usual lipstick that I had ran out of – my favorite, and the only lipstick I wear because it’s the only lipstick that actually stays on for me personally – Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink! The color I normally wear is called Driver.

But if you notice in the photo above, it says Poet. I accidentally grabbed the wrong one, because they looked similar. Well shoot, I thought. However!!! I tried it on, and while it has more of a pink tint to it, I actually really like it for a change. My normal lipstick color, Driver, is more beige. Poet is more of a dusty pink tone. It adds a touch of color to my face (I’m sporting it in these outfit photos).

Did you swat at your screen for a second? I hope so. Buuuuahahahahaha!!!

Outfits, Coffee and Cars: My Three Favorite Things

Published on January 28, 2022 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

I just loved this adorable handwritten note on top of my iced mocha I ordered at Starbucks the other day!! 💕 It really is nice to unexpectedly see a message written on the cup, which happens every once in a great while. 💖

It’s been a nice, quiet month. Here are my favorite outfits from lately!!

Harness Belt: ROMWE // Blazer: belonged to my mom // Bow: SHEIN

Turtleneck: belonged to my mom // Overalls: Amazon // Shoes: Dolls Kill

THE LONG BROWN THING IN THE TREE IS NOT A MASSIVE HORNET’S NEST, IT’S A ‘BIRD CONDO’. I’d rather not have it up, but my mom and I both own the house so, gotta share our décor preferences. LOL!

Sweater: belonged to my mom // Turtleneck: belonged to my mom // Choker: Etsy

BLOOPER PICS NOW. The first one, I backed into the screen door and for some reason I found this amusing, as you can tell. The second photo is mid-stride as I approach my camera to quit filming (I use video to get screenshots of distant outfit photos).

And last but not least!!!! Today, I went for coffee with a good friend of mine, and after we enjoyed coffee and conversation, I couldn’t resist this photo op of our cars parked side-by-side! (Mine’s the Challenger):

Freaking SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🔥 I am in love with this photo. 😍

See ya next time!!! ❤️

Seeing the New Scream Movie!

Published on January 15, 2022 by hellosamanthadear5 Comments

Obsessed much? Even Ghostface looks like he wants me to buzz off.

Needless to say based on my Photoshop work featured above, I was BEYOND excited to see the new Scream film!!!! I’d actually been counting down the days! (Not joking…I literally have been, for months.)

I saw the first Scream film at age 9 and it’s a franchise I grew up with. Being 34 now, it’s surreal to think of how much time has passed since the first film came out in 1996!

Before I get into my thoughts about the new film, here’s the outfit I wore to go see it! I was in full Ghostface fan girl gear:

Now for the movie!!!!!!!! I will not discuss too much because this film is so new and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who plans to see it. But let me just say:

The movie EXCEEDED my expectations, and played with my emotions more than I imagined it ever would. It really kept me on my toes through the end, and there were many times I jumped in my seat, or my mouth was just hanging open from shock. I FELT SO MUCH DURING THIS FREAKING FILM!!! Loved it!

Lastly, can I just say, I was OVER THE MOON WITH JOY from the fact that Ghostface utters the words, “Hello, Samantha” in this movie. Can I just fan girl over that for a moment?!?!?!?!!?!? Or maybe for the rest of my lifetime? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! *ear-splitting squeal ensues*

That’s about it, folks! See ya next time!! I’m going to go bask in the glow of how happy I am having seen this movie. 💖

Pink and Purple, My Forever Favorite Color Combination!

Published on December 18, 2021December 18, 2021 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

I was always wearing pink and purple as a kid; the colors together were just perfect to me, and complimented one another so effortlessly well. Whether it be bright pink and purple, or pastel pink and purple, I’d wear them together. And as you can see in these two outfits, not much has changed – I still love the two colors united!!!

Bow: Childhood // Pink clips: Sally Beauty // Butterfly clips: Target

Another thing: I really love corduroy! As you can tell from my overalls. It always makes me think of a really funny line from American Sniper, when Chris Kyle meets his future wife, Taya, at a bar (one of my favorite scenes in the movie). She is angry that a married man came up to flirt with her before Chris starts chatting with her.

Chris: “It might’ve been the leather pants.”
Taya: “What kind of pants does a girl have to wear to be left alone?”
Chris: “Maybe corduroy.”

I think of that line, hearing it in Bradley Cooper’s voice (the actor who played Chris Kyle in the film) every time I wear corduroy!!! 😂😂😂

Gloves: gift from my sister! // Overalls: Amazon

Choker: Etsy // Blazer: belonged to my mom // Turtleneck: belonged to my mom

Can I just say how in love I am with my new Dolls Kill shoes AND these gloves my sister gave me??? The little deer on them!!! 😍💞 And the shoes are so comfortable and lightweight! I love the blocky look of them. I was all too eager to tear open the box when it arrived at my doorstep, and five seconds after I opened the box, I’d already put them on my feet and started strutting through the house merrily.

Fashion + shoes + coffee + books about the Eastern Bloc = YES PLEASE!!!! 😍

See ya next time!

The Christmas Sweatshirt; First Time Wearing it Since Sixth Grade!

Published on December 14, 2021 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

I found my favorite Christmas sweatshirt from elementary school!!! Finding it in the back of a closet, I knew I had to wear it again. This was back in the ’90s when iron-on transfers were all the rage, and I’ve always loved the style! My sister made me this one, back in the day.

Ain’t it a hoot? North Pole Hot Tub Club, it reads. Cuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!

The photo of me wearing it was taken in sixth grade, so it would’ve been in 1998. I actually still remember that day; it was probably the last day of school before the much-anticipated Christmas vacation, and it was taken outside the Campus Club room (for kids who needed somewhere to hang out after school, waiting for their parent(s) to pick them up).

Anyhow, I was beyond happy to have found it again and even more excited to put it on after 23 years! Eleven-year-old me / thirty-four-year-old me!

Hair bow: used to be a headband, but I cut it…snip snip! // Choker: Etsy

Shoes: Dolls Kill // Skirt: belonged to my mom

Round ring: gumball machine prize from childhood // Santa ring: childhood // Pink clips: Sally Beauty Supply

I couldn’t take a full-body photo of the whole outfit because it was RAINING HARD and I didn’t want my phone or the tripod to get soaked. ☔️ However, you get the picture of the whole ensemb’! I feel like I am in elementary school again, although this time, with my style, it creates an eclectic Christmas look that I definitely love. 💕

In the Christmas spirit, I made some sugar cookies recently. A mix of traditional red-and-green colors and also winter wonderland colors!!! GOOOOOD STUFF!

Seeeee ya next time! 🎄

Finding Gym; Fitness and Exploring New Color Combos That Ignite My Imagination Apparently

Published on November 18, 2021 by hellosamanthadear2 Comments

It was 2016 when I last went to Fort Washington Fitness, and I had discontinued my membership only because I had been let go from the law firm I’d worked at for 11 years, and I wanted to watch my money (that was the first and only job I’d had at that point in my life, and I’d started straight out of high school!) It had been the perfect little gym for me: not busy at all!

As I was sitting at a coffee shop last week, my mind wandered over to the biggest question on my mind: what was I going to do for fitness this fall and winter? For me, it’s already too cold to go for walks now (I have a low tolerance for cold temperatures, unfortunately). I needed walking in my life, though…so what was I goING TO DO?!?!?!?!

That’s when I remembered: why the heck don’t I just re-join Fort Washington Fitness? I have a good career and feel comfortable re-enrolling again, financially. That was the answer I needed! After having coffee, I drove over to the fitness center, giving myself a mental pep talk not to be nervous about re-joining a gym and to go ask about a 7 day guest pass to ease into it again. So I did!

This past week, I tried a few days out and quickly fell in love with it all over again. It turns out, I’ve missed going there! The treadmill and the elliptical are my go-to’s! When I go, I wear simple fitness clothes, as pictured above…but you bet your bottom dollar I still wear my hair just as I always do, decked out with colorful accessories! I gotta stay true to myself even at the gym, right?

In other news, I tried out some color combinations I typically don’t wear together this week, and I love the looks! I’m getting into colored tights; I just ordered a pair of yellow tights (helloooo ’70s) and deep fuschia. I’m excited to get them and create new outfits!

Sweater: H&M // Skirt: Amazon // Shoes: Dolls Kill

Bow: Childhood // Butterfly clips: Target // Choker: Etsy

Tights: Vintage from Mervyn’s (belonged to my mom!)

Choker: ROMWE // Turtleneck: H&M // Skirt: I forgot! // Bow: Childhood

Bow: Childhood // Jacket: vintage (belonged to my mom!) // Dress: Forever21

The last outfit makes me feel like a late ’80s career woman. But not a typical career – like an art career or something. Perhaps working at some hip art museum in West Berlin as an American, while spending my evenings checking out the nearest coffee shop or music store (to buy cassette tapes no less!) and going for late-night strolls to try to sneak peeks from a viewing platform along the Berlin Wall, eyeing the elusive communist East Berlin from a distance???? My curiosity is fierce. The East German border guards eye me suspiciously. What kind of capitalist weapon could she be holding in that huge hair?!?! Already, they’re on the phone with the Stasi, and soon even Erich Honecker himself will know about my threatening hairdo and eventually it’ll pass onto the Kremlin. Nena could have re-written the song 99 Red Balloons as, ‘massively huuuuge, bouffant ‘do goes by…” inciting Cold War tensions and all out nuclear war.

Yikes. I’m just going to stop right now because I could go on and on with my imagination. But yes, the last outfit makes me think of the 80’s, and apparently my alternate-universe life in the 80’s as an American living in West Berlin. Perhaps I am listening to too much Billy Idol still?

See ya next time!!! 💖

Enjoying These November Days

Published on November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

This outfit I wore yesterday totally put a smile on my face, and not solely because I wore a smiley face pin with it – but that did add to it, hahaha!!! The color combos were fun, in my opinion. Bright pink and muted green…something about it, I just LOVED! ❤️

Smiley pin + beaded ring: childhood // Rose rings: made by me

Blouse: SHEIN // Suspender Shorts: SHEIN

Blouse: SHEIN // Suspenders: Amazon // Butterfly clips: Target // Bow: Made by me

I went to a place called The Healthy Fix (next door to one of the regular Starbucks’ I go to) and their Mint Chocolate Chip shake is sooooooooo good (and healthy, too!) Their little lounge in the back is awesome, to boot!

See ya next time!!! 💖

Pumpkin Spicing Things Up; Going to a Pumpkin Patch and Seeing Halloween Kills By Myself (Literally…I was the only person in the theater)

Published on October 20, 2021 by hellosamanthadear11 Comments

Since it’s October and all, I wanted to take myself on an autumnal date to do something seasonal and festive; I decided to do two things that were both seasonally festive but entirely opposite of each other: 1) take myself to a pumpkin patch and 2) go see a scary movie. The difference is that the first one is cute and second is SCARY.

Let’s start with what I wore to the pumpkin patch, and then some snaps of other spooktacular fall outfits I’ve worn this month!!! 💗

Pinafore Dress: Amazon // Blouse: H&M // Pumpkin Clips & Bows: Claire’s // Choker: ROMWE

This cute bird sat next to me outside Starbucks!!

Pinafore dress: Amazon // Choker: ROMWE // Cat ears: Amazon

Bow: SHEIN // Choker: Etsy // Shirt: Etsy // Skirt: Etsy

So I loved all these fun outfits but the Ghostface one was my FAVORITE!!!!!!! It paired so nicely with my new Dollskill shoes and purse! 💕💗 I also wore that shirt because I was hyped after seeing the new trailer release for Scream coming out in January next year! And a big shoutout to my new strawberry bow from SHEIN. It reminds me of strawberry shortcake!

Lastly, I went to see Halloween Kills… (I’ve never seen any of the Halloween movies, so this was all new to me)!

I had every intention of going alone, but holy freaking cow, I did NOT EXPECT TO BE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE THEATER!!!!!!!!! I went on a Tuesday afternoon, and no one else to be found in the theater besides me! I would have never guessed, and yeah, it brought the whole ‘going by myself’ to a whole other level that was totally terrifying while seeing this particular movie!

I kept looking over my shoulder during the super scary parts, shrouded in darkness, the movie basically only playing for me…DID I DROP SOME POPCORN? YES! (Don’t worry, I picked it up after the movie, I don’t litter!) DID I SCREAM OUT LOUD AT ONE POINT? YES!

As terrifying of a movie as it was…I actually had a spooktacular blast!!!! Happy Halloween month to me (and to you, too)!

Smell ya later!! 💗

Bows: A Show Stealer

Published on October 5, 2021 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

There’s just something about bows that I freaking love, and I feel I’m constantly on the lookout for new hair accessory ideas. Most of the time, they involve bows. They are just so eye-catching and sweet – always!!! Even though I’ve grown very attached to the goth-inspired accessories like chokers, I always sweeten it up with cute hair accessories, like bows. The more childlike bows, the better, in my opinion!

Shoes: BAIT footwear // Ring: Pinkbopp (my line of jewelry!)

My sister actually gave me that bow haul, but I modified them all, apart from the smaller brightly-colored ones! See, she used to sell her own jewelry and little girls’ hair bows at a pumpkin patch each year, but no longer does, so she’s trying to clear out her inventory and knew who to pass the bows down to. I trimmed them and added the center charms, so they have a whole new look!

Add my black T-strap shoes to the ensemble, and I was ready to go out for the afternoon, braving the smoke-clogged valley air from distant wildfires to go get a Starbucks and chill! Despite the smoky skies, it couldn’t take the pep out of my new bows, or my step. And that’s the power of hair accessories, my friends! 💝

See ya next time!! 💗