Happy Birthday To Me

I don't usually go in for designer things -- I don't own, or feel the need to buy, an Hermes scarf, Louis Vuitton luggage, Tory Burch flats, a Chanel LBD, or a Coach bag -- but there are exceptions.

1. My wedding shoes are Kate Spade -- not the Jimmy Choos my Younger Self vowed to buy. Hey. That was like peak Sex and the City time. 
2. My glasses are Burberry -- and I buy their perfume. One day, I will own a Burberry trench, but that's in the distant future.
3. I'm a sucker for the Disney Dooney & Burke bags. Now, I'm super picky about the prints and the look -- a lot of the bags are bright and colorful and scream "Disney" in a way that I just can't get behind. But when the design is subtle or muted? I want to buy all. the. things. 

Well, maybe just one thing. 😊

Peter Pan Dooney & Burke released *on* my birthday. #happybirthdaytome #treatyoself #disneydooney #buyallthethings pic.twitter.com/wBLQB7yhZv

— Lisa Andres (@TheDisneyProf) November 17, 2017

Disney-Bounding -- Tinkerbell

A few classes ago, a student asked me if I dressed like a Disney princess on purpose. (I hope this was a compliment.) I said I didn't, and it's true. I don't consciously dress like a Disney character to go to work, but I'm sure the Disney movies I grew up on and the characters I adored subconsciously influence some of my fashion choices.

Due in part, I think, to the popularity of Dapper Days as well as the Disney rule that anyone over the age of 14 (how arbitrary!) can't dress like a Disney character in the parks (lest it confuse the tiny humans) unless it's at the Halloween party, there's been a uptick in DisneyBounding. What is DisneyBounding? Basically, it's dressing like a character -- being inspired by them -- but not wearing an identical costume. Check out a few examples here, but Googling and/or Pinteresting will yield copious examples.

I was thinking about that again this morning when, because of the rainy forecast, I threw my hair up in a top-bun. I've never been a girl who spends a ton of time on her hair or makeup, probably because I never really "learned" until I got to college. That was never something my mom taught me -- if I needed make-up done, we went to the Clinique counter at Belk -- and my high school friends were similarly disinterested. And my swimming friends -- well, I think we all realized the futility of spending 20-30 minutes after morning practice blow-drying and straightening our hair and applying make-up when it would all be undone 6-7 hours later during afternoon practice. The number of times I went to school with sopping wet hair...

But I digress. My point is that, yes: the top-bun is easy and fast (although it probably takes me much longer than it should) but it has the added bonus of making me feel like Tinkerbell. I know that Disney critics and scholars probably have their opinions about the Disney version, but I don't care. She's my favorite. She's blonde and sassy and petulant and a little bit vengeful. So if I ever stumble on a green dress suitable for teaching, you bet your bottom dollar I'll buy and proudly wear it to teach:

I'd probably substitute the wings for a sensible cardigan though. 😉

Confession: I have never DisneyBounded at a Disney Park, mainly because I have too many geeky Disney shirts and I prefer comfort over style when I'm spending 12+ hours on my feet in the Orlando heat & humidity. But maybe now that The Dress Shop is open at the Disney Parks it'll be easier to coordinate? 

New Disney Dooney & Burke Bags

When we were in Disneyland for our honeymoon, my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday and if there was anything Disney-related I might like. (Our anniversary and my birthday are 15 days apart and he admitted that he'd been so focused on the wedding, that he hadn't had time to give it a lot of thought.)

Now, I've never been an "expensive handbag" kind of girl: I can appreciate them, but when it comes down to it, as long as it holds all my stuff, I don't mind if it comes from Target or a designer store. But when my husband asked if I'd like a Dooney & Burke bag, I didn't hesitate. Yes, I said. I love the one you picked out.

They have a color version of this design, but part of the reason I love this bag so much is that the Disney is really subtle. Unless you're looking really closely, you can't tell. And the people who *do* notice often ask me, in hushed but excited tones, if that's a Disney bag. I nod, and we share a little conspiratorial smile and recognize each other as Disney nerds. It's great.

My current bag is currently showing a little wear, so my husband's been on the lookout for another print  that he thought I might like, but most of the recent prints have either been too cartoonish or just not my thing. 

But. 

Today I saw this: 

And I may have texted it to my husband reminding him that our anniversary/my birthday/Christmas were all coming up. I love it. I love that it's Peter Pan, and that Tink is prominently featured, and I love that it's not in color -- the black-and-white color scheme make the Disney aspect a lot more subtle than most of the Disney Dooney & Burkes. 

For a comparison, here's the new Snow White collection -- I think in honor of the 80th anniversary:

There's also a new Christmas print coming out, which, I have to admit, did set my Disney-consumer-heart aflutter. Fall/Halloween is my favorite time to visit, but Disney-at-Christmas is...magical. But this print just doesn't seem practical. I would feel weird using the purse in, say, May, so it's an expensive purchase to just it for a few weeks. But still pretty. 😊