Bag: Dancing Days by Banned, Modcloth
Pink Rodeo Clown Barrette Brooch
Boots: Simply Vera, Kohl's
Coat: Candie's, Kohl's
Tights: Mixit, JCPenney
Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's
Sweater and skirt: Anthropologie, Zulily
Coat: Anthropologie, Zulily
Shoes: 2 Lips Too, JCPenney
Bag: Marshalls
Fabulous Felt Sea Turtle Barrette
Coat: POPSUGAR, Kohl's
Yep, I'm wearing a Rodeo Clown Barrette Brooch on my coat and one in my hair. Because unlike a mullet, they bring the party in the front and the back. As a bonus, my boots have beloved (to me, anyway) ring zippers. Which nearly makes for a tidy three ring circus analogy. You know, if there were three zippers instead of two.
Now, for the schtick surrounding this title. Remember that short story, "The Lady, or the Tiger?" from back when you were just a chit trying not to drool on your desk (or even if you always got your full eight hours and never desecrated school property)? Here's a recap if you're drawing a blank. (Full disclosure: I misremembered some of the details and had to hit up Google. Thanks, Internet!)
"The Lady, or the Tiger?" takes place a long, long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away. A cruel king forces alleged criminals into an arena and commands them to choose door number one or door number two. One of the doors has a tiger behind it, and the other has a lady, or, more precisely, the man's ideal woman. If the tiger comes out, then it means that the man is guilty, and the tiger kills him. If the lady comes out, then it means that the man is innocent, and the lady marries him. The king happens to have a daughter. This princess, who is heartbreakingly beautiful, has inherited his cruel streak. Yet as is so often the case in these stories, she falls in love with a man beneath her station. The king finds out and tosses the man into the arena. The princess is in the audience. Unbeknownst to her beau, she knows what's behind each door. She also knows that the lady behind the door is of the man's social class and is gorgeous, perhaps even more so than herself, making her a bitter rival. The man looks up at the princess, and she very discretely indicates the door on the right. So, trusting his love, the man picks that door . . .
And that's where the story ends. We never find out if the man gets mauled by the tiger or betrothed to the maiden. All we know is that he doesn't end up with the princess, a woman who may have sent him to his death or safely into the arms of another. It's an age-old moral conundrum.
Now, as a wearer of not one but two tiger prints (in outfit number two), I'm, in a sense, the lady and the tiger. Which doesn't mean anything but kind of sounds like it should.
Eclectic Unicorn Necklace
Speaking of fantastic (albeit gentler) beasts, I loved making this Eclectic Unicorn Necklace. It started out as a bargain buy. I planned to embellish the wooden crescent, but it turned out to be much smaller than I expected. No worries! I just happened to have the perfect size ceramic heart beads to slip along the gold-tone chain, then, for the piece de resistance, an adorable unicorn charm to chain to the crescent. I like the contrast between the wood and the candy shop extras. It's -- as so many things turn out to be -- very kawaii meets commune.
Getting back to our story, though, I don't remember what I thought happened at the end when I first read it in high school. But now I think that the princess steered her love toward the lady. Or at least, that's what I like to think. Even if experience has taught me that more often than not, people throw each other to the wolves. Because an arena is like a circus -- and any place there's an opportunity to exploit human frailty.
Still, maybe's that's why I made this unicorn necklace, and so many others before it. I want to believe in goodness and magic even if everything else points to evil. There's good and bad in all of us (aha! Being the lady and the tiger does mean something!), but that's no reason why the bad should win.
Except for with Cats. Catty or not, it's a bad business.
Maybe that's because it's in cahoots with the tiger.