Sneakers at the Grammys? What's going on?

Are sneakers the new formal wear? I like the funkiness of these three outfits, but I 'm not sure its "appropriate" to wear sneakers to formal affairs. Readers, what do you think? Is is somehow disrespectful, or does it reflect the rock and roll influence on the industry?

I particularly like the sneakers in bright colors!

Fashiontoast.com is a great blog!

Thanks to Susie Bubble at the Style Bubble blog for referring me to www.fashiontoast.com. This blog has the latest styles and great photography. I wish I could afford to buy all of the stuff this girl wears! Check it out for yourself!

I couldn't help noticing that she likes red shoes as much as I do.

Belly dancing costumes are so glamorous!

Last night I received my first belly dance instructional DVD in the mail and I spent some time trying to imitate the dancers. Fairly quickly, I realized how out of shape I am and I felt totally awkward compared to the beautiful and graceful women in the video. Belly dancing is harder than it looks!

I am pleased with the DVD, which is the Bellydance superstars introduction to bellydance, that I purchased from dancingrahana.com. It seems reasonably easy for beginners to follow. I really enjoyed myself, but I was glad that no one else was watching yet!

I'm not sure if I'm ready yet to invest in a costume. I'm still looking at my options, and trying to decide which ones I might want to get and how much to spend. Simplicity patterns also has several good bellydance costume patterns that I might start with. These pictures are from http://store.egyptioan-princess.com.

Bebaroque Tights

Aren't these the coolest tights you've ever seen? Thanks to Susie at the Style Bubble blog for posting about these great tights. Although it is an English company, I believe that Americans can buy these at mytights.com. Prices are steep though, between $40-$80. According to Susie Bubble, they are long lasting.

John Galliano fantasy dresses

These are dresses from Christian Dior's spring 2009 collection. They were designed by John Galliano, with 17th century Dutch painters serving as the inspiration. Although I would have no place to wear this type of dress, I can appreciate the fact that Galliano believes that we all need some fantasy to escape from bad economic news. I totally agree. Here in Ohio it's cold and gloomy and I'm finding myself looking for fun things to do to keep my spirits up. Escaping into the world of art and design is the best drug for me.

Dance away those winter blues!

I've decided to try learning to belly dance while I'm stuck inside the house on these snowy days. I ordered an instructional DVD online at dancingrahana.com, and bought a Simplicity pattern at Walmart in order to make my own costume. I've dated a guy from the middle east for several years now, and I thought it might be fun to perform for him as well! The costumes are really beautiful and sexy. Maybe I want to learn the dances as an excuse to wear the costumes! I was inspired to do all of this after watching an old movie from India called Kama Sutra, which was a sexy movie targeted to a female audience. I would highly recommend it!

Jason Wu designed Michelle Obama's gown

I never noticed this designer, but I'm sure he's getting more attention now that Michelle Obama chose to wear his gown for the inaugural balls. I think that she made a pretty good choice. I also looked on style.com and found some dresses from his spring 2009 ready to wear collection. I love the pretty colors and feminine shapes.