backless - The Seventh Sphinx

The impulse and the will to carry through an unorthodox style are no casual matter.

I finally had a chance to try out a turban look I’ve been mulling over for a few months.

This is just a raw piece of fabric a few yards long that I’ve wrapped and knotted and wrapped and knotted. Nothing remotely special about this technique (I just fiddled about until I liked the shape) but type ‘turban wrap tutorial’ into YouTube and prepare to be amazed.

I love the clean look it gives, similar to the look of a bald or very closely shaven head. It’s austere but can be very striking with angular features and big accents. The austerity is the key to its charm, for me.

We are loving this dress, and for the obvious reason. The view from the side is nice, too, with the cut such that the back is completely open rather than framed.

I opted to go with bold jewelry but the turban is enough of a statement on its own, to be sure. I don’t think I have quite enough eyebrows for this turban. I think I’ve demonstrated, though, how truly I needed this necklace.

Open back maxi dress from GoJane, Kara Ross bracelet, antique necklace and earrings, Gian Luca gladiator sandals, mirror aviators from eBay, on the lips: NARS lipstick in Heat Wave.

♪ ♫ Blackalicious – If I May ♪ ♫

p.s. The winner of the pearl giveaway, chosen via random.org, is Penelope Tree! Penelope, I have messaged you as well, please contact me with your address. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Striped dress from American Apparel, sash from American Apparel, TOMS suede wedges, Skagen watch, Pearl Paradise studs, Solange Azagury-Partridge ring, eBay faux pearl bracelet, eBay fox ring (do we not love this ring? We love this ring). On the lips: Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang. On the nails: Sally Hansen Jaded.

It’s incredible how lopsided my lips and nostrils are. Even more incredible that I only notice in photos/video. Actually the entire right side of my face seems to have a slightly larger version of everything. This is standard, I know, nearly everyone has asymmetrical elements in their face and body. It is even a little disturbing when someone doesn’t, or when all of the asymmetry has been photoshopped away. Still. It looks so strange, this unmirrored version of myself. I don’t look like that.

Only of course, I do look like that. That is what I really look like. And to others I would look strange in a mirror, or possibly they wouldn’t notice either way.

I understand that I can fiddle with the lipstick to balance my lips out, but I honestly can’t even see it in the mirror, my face looks so familiar and normal to me. I keep trying to remember which side is which, which side is more rounded and which more flat on my top lip, but looking in the mirror I guess wrong about half the time. I suppose this is also a testament to my poor memory.

Start taking a bunch of pictures of yourself and you learn about all of these strange things you do with your face.

Here, for example, is this thing I do with my mouth evidently all of the time. I am forever making this kind of dubious face. And often lifting my already lopsided lip into a kind of sneerface. Not ideal, face. Not ideal.

[Side view. Sneerface omitted.]

And finally you see why I like this dress.

Tag: backless

the turban

turquoise + stripes