Twenty five on the Twenty-fifth!

Yesterday, for my 25th birthday, which fell on September 25th, I had a 1925-themed party. Costumes, for Libby and me at least, were a must.Isn't she the cat's pajamas? Libby borrowed her friend's Halloween costume and showed up as a picture-perfect flapper. On her head, she's wearing something of a party favor I made: Feathers bought at Michael's craft store sewn onto elastic headbands bought at Target. It was a fun way to make someone not dressed at all thematically seem a bit more in costume and added something fun to everyone who came dressed but headpiece-less.
I didn't want to buy a halloween costume because the typical flapper outfit isn't the most flattering for me, and although I do think it's important to try and push those kinds of boundaries and I love dressing for many more reasons than flattering my body type, it was my party and I wanted to, more than anything, feel comfortable in what I was wearing. The outfit I'm wearing is my own makeshift version. The top is a dress from ModCloth that came way too short and way too spandex-ey for my liking. Instead of sending it back since I loved the gold ruffle so, I wore it as a shirt over a halter sundress I have, one whose dropped waist and ruffles always looked so nice in my closet but never seemed quite flattering for my shape. By layering it under the dress, it could sit lower on my hips, making the outfit more comfortable and party-appropriate. The only regret I have is wearing a leopard-print bra underneath and not realizing that it was visible through flash photography (I swear it wasn't in person).
The accessories were really key. I bought these pearls at Claire's, and they were so outrageous long, I knew they'd be the perfect jewelry.

I pretend bobbed my hair by pinning up my longer layers and curling, or leaving the natural curl in, the rest around my face. I pinned my bangs into curls, a move that left me feeling so strange (I haven't been bang-less since high school). After the bob was sprayed into place, I bobby pinned these two feathers (also from Michael's) into my hair, completing the outfit.

And the tights! The tights are really out of period, but I knew my dress would be short and I loved how the pattern reminded me of lace and dollies. I didn't know what shoes to wear and, since the party was at my house, chose to not wear any. Such crazy bootlegging, flapper freedom!
Dress as Shirt: Modcloth Summer Clearance

Dress underneath: Mango, Spain

Pearls: Claire's

Feathers: Michael's

Tights: Target

And a few more pictures because my friends (the ones that chose to dress for the theme) looked so great!

Lindsay and Will

Susan, who, it should be noted, does not dress up in costume very often

Mark, dressed as the prohibition police

And one last shot of some great friends having a fantastic time. Gregg is wearing the green visors from the poker room, another small provided piece of costumery for the guests. Sometimes you need to help these things along. xoxo Anna Rae