i call this my shanghai flapper look

Despite my own awareness of how annoying it is to come up with a New Year's Eve outfit at the last moment, I didn't really plan too well. The day before NYE, I was moving into a new apartment so I was shopping for pillows and duvets rather than showstopping dresses and accessories. But in the end I was able to throw something together by merchandising up a basic black tube dress. I call this my Shanghai flapper look. I was channeling Dita Von Teese ... in, um, a very Asian and fully clothed kinda way.

I had all these long strands of black freshwater pearls since they cost maybe less than $10 in the Philippines, so I just wore them in a big pile. All I had to buy was this hat by EEK! by Eugenia Kim at Urban Outfitters. For just $34, it really makes a difference to the whole look. I wish they'd had the white one; seems much cuter!

I think I'd love to throw a Shanghai flapper party one day. Any excuse to break out the pearls, fringe and feathers sounds good to me. Check out these pictures from the Nylon blog about Indochine's flapper party last November. Feathers, sequins and burlesque dancers ... now that's a party!