Reader Opinion: Belt Bags and Pouches

Hello lovely readers! I have so many things swirling around in my head at the moement. Summer is the perfect opportunity for inspiration and starting new. I am so excited for the semester ahead, and for all of the amazing things that are to come in the future! Woohoo!

Okay, that being said, I've been really into a really free, natural feeling style vibe lately. I think it started with my roommate's job at Free People and continued on throughout my trip in Mexico.  I always joke around that I'm a punk hippie, which I think is funny because they can be so opposite. Anyway, I've ben really into things like wearing tons of things wrapped around my arms, feather and dream catcher earrings and accessories, and....bags and pouches.

like this pouch necklace! - wow, when searching for a photo of a pouch necklace, I found so many amazing pictures that I think I want to make a few...perhaps I will make a post on pouch necklaces? Would you guys like a tutorial? Or should I just sell some on my Etsy shop? BOTH?

I am going to the Electric Zoo Festival at the beginning of September, and I am searching for an alternative to a purse or backpack. I usually wear either a small backpack or small messenger-type bag to concerts and music festivals. This time, though, I don't feel like being restricted. When I dance, I hate having all of my belongings burdening me. That being said, I am like a Boy Scout when it comes to these things- always prepared- so not having any kind of bag at all isn't really an option.

So I ask you, dear readers:

What is a good, stylish alternative to carrying a purse?

I am open to all ideas! I am your guinea pig!

What do you guys think about belt bags? I am really interested in them lately. I think because they remind me of something a fairy or a Medicine Woman would carry around trinkets and powders in. The leather ones are also quite Medieval Times in an "I collect swords" kind of way. However, do they come across as simply being a souped-up fanny pack? Because I am definitely not a fan of the tourist-at-Disneyland look.

These examples from Etsy and elsewhere on the web seem nice actually!  What do you think?

And, an extra question, if you're still with me:

How do you make really girly or natural outfits feel more tough? My instinct is always to wear boots, or studded shoes. It's all in the shoes, sometime!

Bloggers Do it Better- My Arm Party

ARM PARTY- noun, "all of the crazy shenanigans you wear on your wrists mingling in a fabulous fiesta"

 -definition taken from the Nikki Dee Dictionary of Fashion

I am ALL ABOUT the arm party. Now that it has an actual name, coined by the one and only Man Repeller queen herself, I love it so much more.

This week on Pretty Shiny Sparkly they are having a Bloggers Do it Better challenge regarding our own personal arm parties! When I saw it, I immediately decided to take part.

A little background- when I was in Junior High School, I decided that I was SO DARN PUNK. I wore bracelets up and down my wrists and arms like ka-razy. My friend counted them one day in class (yeah we were great students) and according to his questionable math skills, I wore 50+ bracelets every day when I was in the sixth grade. These included rubber 80s Madonna bracelets (the kind you got in trouble for wearing because they were supposed to symblize sex acts), tied-on friendship bracelets, breaded bracelets, LIVESTRONG varieties, rainbow bracelets made of paper clips, and more.

Nowadays, I sport a tattoo on my left wrist that I don't like to cover up, and my right hand is my drawing hand (IN CASE YOU FORGOT THAT I GO TO ART SCHOOL YOU GUYZ) so I don't wear quite as many bracelets as Past Nikki did. However, I do like to indulge in a crazy arm party every once in a while. Oh yeah, it gets pretty out there- in fact I just accidentally typed "wild" at first instead of "while".

Anyway, here's my DAILY ARM PARTY- the bracelets I wear all day, every day, on a constant basis. I never take them off.

Simple and cute.. :]


Now.....for the real ARM FIESTA

Woooo-hoo! If my arm was a party, I think it would be an after-party at a Brooklyn art gallery where everyone gets a little silly and starts wandering in the streets..... YEAH.


Here are the party guests, from the top:
♥ a purple wire bracelet. It was made by my friend Bean (SHOUTOUT-THANKS GIRL!) and given to me for my....17th birthday, I believe?
♥ my most recent acquisition to the party- a stretchy peace sign bracelet on a turqoise- the color of peace and health- string
♥ a tied on seed bracelet that someone gave me in Mexico last summer. The bead is actually a seed called Job's Tears that is often used on rosaries or for medicinal purposes.
♥ a gold bracelet with gems that was passed down from my great aunt
♥ my RockBand cuff that I got in Miami a few years ago. The heart shaped stone is rose quartz, which is said to open the heart chakra, enhance love and understanding, and releases fears. The cuff is white vintage leather.
♥ That bottom one is actually a long, feathered and beaded hair attachment that I wound around my wrist and tied. Groovy, no?


As you might be able to tell, I love all of these wrist accessories. It is like partying with your closest and most treasured friends!


What does your arm party look like? Share a picture or link to your own arm party post in the comments! Happy partying!