Fictional Fashion Icon: Alex from Flashdance

When it comes to fictional characters who've inspired fashion, this is a big one. After Flashdance was released in 1983, women around the world started cutting up their sweatshirts and t-shirts and wearing leg warmers.

The creators of Flashdance didn't mean to have such a big influence on fashion, and they certainly didn't expect to -- they styled Alex that way because she was a dancer and those are the kinds of things dancers wear: layers that can keep their muscles warm while still facilitating movement -- but people responded in a big way.

And while Alex's frizzy '80s perm might be horrifying to modern audiences, the impulse to take the scissors to your wardrobe after watching is no less intense 30 years later.

I might do a post sometime about dance's overall influence on fashion. Every generation or so, people pick up on something dancers wear, something they've always worn, and it makes it's way into mainstream fashion for a while, shifting and evolving and being reinterpreted.

But Alex's style didn't just stray from the mean when it came to her dance attire; she didn't look like an ordinary girl in her street clothes either. With her ripped painter's jeans, work boots, and military jackets, she dressed more like her fellow welders than an ordinary 18-year-old girl.

And, she seemed to enjoy fashion too, and to have fun with it, from the fancy dress she asks Hannah to make for her to the Tuxedo she wears for a fancy lobster dinner.

...Umm, make that Tuxedo costume.

Always shocking, always individual, and still an influence decades later: Alex Owens definitely has what it takes to be called an icon.

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New shoes: rose gold sequin loafers and teal moccasins

These new shoes just came! They are both from urbanog.com, and I got the pair for under $50. Do you recognize the loafers from my all-things-pink wish list?

I recently came to terms with the fact that, while I love the look of heels, I wear flats 95% of the time and that's never going to change. It's just who I am, and the sooner I accept it, the sooner I have an excuse to buy more fancy flat shoes.

Tell me what you think of them. How would you style them? Which is your favorite pair?

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What I wore today: 02/19/2012 (Findlay Market)

Ryan and I were lucky enough to make two trips to Findlay Market this weekend. This is what I wore yesterday when we met my parents for a yummy Vietnamese lunch.

I like outfits like this: outfits that are classic, but have little unique details. Did you have a good weekend?

Leather boots - Journey's

Knee socks - Target

Nautical skirt - Anthropologie

Gingham shirt - Eddie Bauer

Triple-strand pearls - ?

Pearl earrings - birthday gift from my dad

Two-tone diamond watch - Citizen, Macy's

Leather cuff - Target

Swivel ring - Jamie Young, Layla Grace

Claddagh ring - Seventh Street Gifts

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All things pink, a wish list

Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean I'm not still totally into pink, especially now that pastels are popping up everywhere, like so many crocuses anxious for spring. There's never been a better time to think pink.

Clockwise from top left: Asymmetrical Studio Blazer, Zara (ass seen on Blair Eadie); Lauren Moffatt Eastward Dress Coat for Anthropologie; Pink roses in antique tin, thewhitedaisies; Sequin loafers, Urbanog.com; Cotton Mayfair pajamas, Victoria's Secret; Rose gold ring, Ross-Simons; Michael Kors ostrich-embossed tote, Nordstrom

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How to wear one item two different ways

One of my favorite bloggers, Jessica Quirk of What I Wore, recently solicited submissions for a Winter Remix Challenge.

Never one to pass up a good challenge, I began composing possible submissions as soon as I read her blog entry. Since I have trouble deciding on anything, I compiled quite a few.

The one I eventually chose to submit is this one: my favorite vintage suede skirt worn first with a vintage silk wrap top, yellow tights, and brown knee-high boots, and then with a blue tee, black cardigan, ice blue tights, and studded black ankle boots.

I also thought about showcasing that second outfit to show how I remixed the same black ribbon-ruffle-trimmed cardigan with a vintage fringy dress, quilted flats and a vintage Moschino belt for my anniversary outfit.

Of course, I thought it might also be fun to show how I wore this Missoni for Target black and white chevron dress over a knit top with a quilted vest and then later layered a sweater over it to make it look like a skirt, adding red tights and Wellies.

And, of course, there's my favorite red baby doll dress that I wore on Thanksgiving with yellow tights, brown boots, and a fall leaf crown I made, and then later on christmas with a fuzzy hooded cardigan, faire isle tights and saddle oxfords.

It was difficult to pick a favorite, but, in the end, I had to go with the suede skirt. It's one of my favorite items and it's so very versatile. I'm always discovering new ways to wear it.

How have you remixed a favorite item recently?

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