Swanky Sweepin' Volume 95

Sweepstakes of the week:

Daily:

$20 Melting Pot gift card  500 winners, ends 9/8

Original Andy Warhol art  and other weekly prizes. Ends 9/30

Trip to NYC for the Project Runway finale  plus 201 winners of Belk gift cards, ends 10/25

Ford Escape  and 28 winners of get away packages, ends 8/31

Single:

iPad  4 winners, ends 8/30

$500 Zappos gift card  Pinterest contest, 10 winners. Ends 8/31

$2,500 ASOS shopping spree  Ends 9/8

$1,000 Bergdorf Goodman shopping spree  Ends 9/9

Glamour anniversary gift box  500 winners, ends 9/10

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 52

Daily:

"Brawls"  (a.k.a. "bras")  1 winner a day, ends 10/7

Single:

$2,500 ASOS shopping spree  Ends 9/30

Trip to NY to see Blondie in concert  Ends 9/27 

Trip to Thailand  Ends 10/5

Krispy Kreme coffee for a year  75 winners, ends 9/29

$100 Macy's gift card  10 winners, ends 10/15

Keurig brewer  1 winner a week, ends 12/16

$1,500  6 winners, ends 10/5

$500 bareMinerals gift card  10 winners of $50, Pinterest contest, ends 10/7

Trip to LA and a chance to meet Katy Perry  Ends 10/31

Trip to Aruba  Ends 10/23


video: The Beach Boys, "Kokomo"

Put it on: Depeche Mode's Blue Dress

Hey girl.

Throwback time! I can't deny it, the older I get and the more and more distant the wannabe goth 15 year-old me becomes, the more creepy I notice Depeche Mode's lyrics to be. Although still a not-so-guilty favorite of mine, the clarity of adulthood has made it impossible to ignore all the carnal lust and fetishizing (and um, more than a few mentions of fifteen year olds) that my beloved DM exquisitely broods about. That being said, I still think Depeche Mode has made some of the sexiest music out there and their 1990 song "Blue Dress" from the album Violator is as sexy as it gets. Maybe that makes me a creep too? I'm OK with that.

“Blue Dress” is a sweet, kinky little song about a woman who becomes even more painfully desirable when wearing a certain, special dress. To me, this dress is understated and far from overtly sexy but becomes a focal point of desire because of the fine creature that it covers. It's the little things that matter sometimes in this big world and this song is about just that. Here are my picks for dresses that may do the same, all under $50! Blue isn’t a color I picture of when I think about a sexy dress, but that just may be exactly why these dresses work. 

Clockwise: Urban Outfitters $39, ASOS $45.45
ASOS $31.81, Go Jane $34

Flapper Frocks and the Future of Downton Abbey

Have you heard the word on the streets? Well, ok I guess there is really nothing "street" about the mind numbingly addicting PBS series Downton Abbey but rumour has it (among other things) that the third season, which enters the 1920s, will be jam packed with cocktails instead of cordials, flapper-riffic slang, hot jazz, and an overall roaring twenties good time. It may be a little early to start planning a season three premiere party for Fall 2012 but it's not too early to start pondering the Grantham ladies' new fashions, which will no doubt be deliciously more daring than demure and more tawdry than Titantic (while hopefully still keeping it Crawley-style classy).

Lady Crawley, is that you?