I wore this out with friends Saturday night. The dress was originally a plain white gauzy beach dress, and like anything white in my wardrobe, it was asking for the DIY treatment.

• DIY dyed gauze dress - I love how it turned out, kind of cage-like and stormy.
• Feathered waist belt - Worn a little too high as usual. :/
• Necklace thanks to Via Christa Chains
• Rebecca Minkoff bag thanks to Shopbop.com
• 80%20 Molly Mesh shoes thanks to Karmaloop

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: Outfits by Annie Spandex
15 Comments »

Whenever you see me wearing rings in a post, it's usually some sort of combination of these. These are my favorites, no bench-warmers here.

Clockwise from left:

• Purple teardrop ring from eBay - I have no idea what kind of stone this is. It could be acrylic for all I know. I like to find $1.00 silver rings on eBay.
• Double-finger gold-tone snake ring from eBay- Some of the gold plating is wearing off, but I don't mind.
• Abalone and silver ring - My super-stylish mom gave this to me. She always has the best rings. (Hi Mom!)
• Made Her Think ring from Shopbop.com - I've been obsessing over rose gold lately, and this ring was the catalyst.
• "Holographic" drusy ring - From Arizona, a birthday gift from my sister after some pointing from me. It changes from yellow to pink in the light.
• Black sitara ring from eBay- This is black with tiny silver flecks like a night sky.
• Faceted abalone-looking ring - I think this is meant as a sort of faux abalone. I don't know, but it's pretty. A gift from Benjamin, who picked up on my love of anything multicolor.

Which one do you like best?

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: Jewelry by Annie Spandex
13 Comments »

I wore this to a dear friend's small birthday party in my hometown across the border in Kentucky, where I was among close longtime friends. We spent the night drinking a horrible concoction of cinnamon schnapps and jagermeister (my stomach churns at the memory - never again!) and looking at photos of us all when we were 18.

• DIY crop top - dyed and cut
• Target jersey dress
• Cut-off leggings
• Custom acrylic "BB" necklace
• Quartz/amethyst? necklace
• Assorted rings and leather bracelet - I was going to do a post about the rings I wear, but I've misplaced them! Hopefully they'll turn up soon and I'll show them to you.
• SST Records bag
• 80%20 Georgie's - from adorable Jessica!

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: Outfits by Annie Spandex
45 Comments »

I wore this Friday night to a dive bar dance party.

• MINKPINK "First Impressions" dress thanks to the crazy sweet Threadsence team - Loving this! It's actually floral but from far away turns into multicolor static on black, something that has always meant instant delight to my brain. ♥
• Layered over a Wet Seal acid wash denim dress
• Necklace thanks to Via Christa Chains
• Beaded bracelet from souvenir shop in Chloride, AZ
• Rebecca Minkoff bag thanks to Shopbop.com - My new favorite purse. I've wanted one of these Boyfriend Crossbody Pouches for a long time. I like how the zippers resemble a maze. This one has a black & white staticy design made of marled leather. L.O.V.E.
• DIY thumb tacked shoes - I should maybe clarify that my toes aren't mashed up in these, I have congenital curly toes. They're kinda funny-looking, but what am I gonna do? Have cosmetic surgery on my toes? No way. Call it wabi-sabi.

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: Outfits by Annie Spandex
37 Comments »

I put pink highlights in my hair using food coloring.

Are you feeling the punky hair trend? This tutorial will teach you how to make your own hair color dye using stuff you might already have at home! And it's not as messy as you might think.

What You'll Need:

• Food Coloring (or Kool-Aid)
• Clear Aloe Vera gel (if you don't have aloe, any clear hair gel will probably work just as well)
• A small jar or cup
• A paint brush or chopstick for mixing
• Gloves
• An old t-shirt or smock

First Things First:

First you'll want to put on an old t-shirt and gloves so you don't get dye on yourself. (Minors, make sure your parents are cool with you doing this.)

Make Your Own Hair Dye Mixture:

For highlights, squeeze 1-3 tablespoons of aloe gel into the jar. Use more if dyeing your entire head. Mix in 3-5 drops of food coloring per tablespoon of aloe, depending on how rich you want the color to be. You can mix food coloring to make just about any color you like. The back of your food coloring box should have a guide for mixing, but you can also experiment. What's great about this is you can easily and cheaply make a whole rainbow of hair colors without spending $8 on each one. The possibilities are endless! You can even try mixing complementaries like red and green to make brown shades, just do a strand test first and be aware it might look funky as it fades. The aloe makes the dye easier to work with (way less messy) and nourishes your hair. Keep in mind, of course, colors will show up more on bleached or blonde hair.

Dye Your Hair:

Work the dye into sections of clean, dry hair the way you would any other hair dye. Definitely do a strand test first if you're mixing a color, because some pigments will set faster than others. Warm pink/red tones set faster than cool tones in my experience. For example, pale cotton candy pink can take as little as 30 minutes. Blue takes much longer. In most cases, you can expect to wait for several hours, as long as possible for richer colors. It's okay if you leave the mixture on for a long time. There are no harsh chemicals and this will not damage your hair. If you make too much, the extra can be stored in a jar with a lid for later use. When you're ready, rinse your hair until it runs clear and use conditioner. The dye will be semi-permanent and will eventually fade with regular shampooing.

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: DIY, Hair by Annie Spandex
24 Comments »

Betsey Johnson "Bow-tiful" Multicolor Sequin Oversized Clutch
...eventually.

 Subscribe! Add To Bloglovin' Follow Me On Twitter
Filed under: Accessories by Annie Spandex
25 Comments »