I’ve never been someone with a knack for sewing/knitting/crocheting. How I got a decent grade in Home Ec. (as we called it back in the day) is one of those mysteries best left unexplored. Although my sister reported that when she took the class four years later, the teacher still remembered me. Fondly.

Uh. Whatev.

That being said, I love dresses. I’m not really a girly girl either (she says, clad in camouflage Chuck Taylors) but I could spend hours searching for the perfect prom/home coming dress online. Because, you know, that’s practical.

And I love it when bloggers post their sewing/craft projects. One of my favorite dress sites is:

A Dress a Day

And, if I’m remembering correctly, Darcy has a special fondness for Tetris. (Am I remembering correctly? You do <3 Tetris, right?) So, this is for her, courtesy of A Dress a Day:

When geekdom and fashion collide: a thing of beauty

When you let your heart win.

Have you guys seen Polyvore? According to their About page, they are:

Polyvore is a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. It is also a vibrant community of creative and stylish people.

What they also are is a really cool pre-work writing tool. Sure, you could do it the old-fashion way with glue and scissors (people get nervous when I use scissors) and magazines (except I don’t subscribe to any–I’m all about digital media).

Or, you could do it online. You could easily build a set for the story as a whole, or for each character, or even the theme. I’m kind of excited to get back into draft mode and try this out. In the meantime, I’m avoiding the the site because: Hello, time suck! I already spent way too much time looking at the Converse All Star sets.

Why am I mentioning this today? Well, look below:

That’s What You Get When You Let Your Heart Win by marylinopen on Polyvore.com

Someone added The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading to a set. There it is, in the bottom right hand corner. I love all the blues in this set as well. I would also totally buy that skirt if I were–well, let’s just say several years younger.

What about you? Have you heard of Polyvore before? Have the urge to explore and create a set?

white toed, old laces and ankle covered
By Acoustical

broken-in black and red high top
converse with hand painted
cities and cyborgs on the sides
waving to those who are keen of eye
and smiling enough to remember me.
squeaky on linoleum and midwestern
when worn with corduroy skirts
lime and watermelon scarves, floor length …

Read the rest of this great poem here.

The shoe gene skipped a generation in my family. My grandmother had it. I remember the neat rows on her closet floor: flats, pumps, stilettos, organized by color and style.

My mom inherited it too. Who else has red shoes, white shoes (in chalk, alabaster and bone), blue shoes – and the patriotic pantheon of pedestriosity – red, white and blue shoes? I was with her the day she discovered a pair of square toed spectators in just the right tint of burgundy – she actually squealed.

My daughter has the gene. It was obvious when she was just a tiny thing. We’d walk into Target, where most kids beg for a trip to the toy department. My girl? Before she could even talk, she would squeeze my hand, point, then go all puppy-dog-eyed as soon as we neared the shoe section. I’m not sure how large her collection has grown but I know with certainty that she owns at least 15 pairs of Chucks – and still lusts for more.

Even my son gets misty over a new pair of kicks.

Me? Not so much. My entire shoe wardrobe consists of black loafers, brown clogs, black strappy sandals, brown chunky slides, white(ish) lace up walking shoes and a tattered pair of slip on black Chucks. Period.

I think it’s pure biology. Not only did my DNA fail to replicate the shoe-love portion of the strand, it gave me weird foot bone structure too. One of my earliest memories is of the Podiatrist squishing and kneading my feet, then the trip to the “special” shoe store … and the social outcast-ed-ness that followed at pre-school the next day. Believe me, nothing shouts ‘dork’ like orthopedic shoes.

Having said all that, last week I went shopping with a friend. We played ‘What Not To Wear’ and she was my Stacey London. She dragged me to a plus-size store that she promised I would like (I did!). Even better, most everything there was on sale (sweet jeezus, how I love it when that happens!). I bought six new shirts for just over $100. Total.

Buoyed by my retail success, I hardly freaked at all when she said, “Now for the shoes,” and pointed me across the mall. I didn’t balk until we came to the entrance and I got a whiff of Footwear #9. My friend lured me in by swearing all I had to do was look, and promising a reward of pasta and Diet Pepsi to follow.

I bought a pair of shoes. Cute shoes. Cute black, flat, mary jane, slip-ons made from something akin to scuba suit material, with athletic soles, that make you feel barefoot and stylish at the same time. OMG! So this is what it’s like to love a shoe? Count me in.

If you want to see my amazing new shoes, check out our new Events Page – we’re adding more appearances all the time.

And if you’re wondering where’s the bacon? It’s right here:

Charity’s answer to the shoe dilemma? Basic black:

Like mother, like daughter

It’s spring (sort of) and a geek girl’s fancy turns to thoughts of … prom (maybe). There’s so much to consider. If you don’t have a boyfriend, will you go solo? With a friend/friends? Or will you rely on your aunt who knows a nice boy who works at the shoe store she’d like to introduce you to? If you already have a boyfriend – can you convince him that wearing a Star Wars Stormtrooper costume to the dance would be so not cool?

Once you get your companion situation straightened out, it’s time to think about The Dress. Again, there is much to consider. Should you go with sexy or sweet? Short or long? Strapless or fully supported?

We here at Geek Girls have spent countless hours viewing prom dresses online. (It is one of our favorite pastimes; Charity claims this is “research.” We know better.).

We know there are thousands of websites that will help you match a dress to your body type, suggest the perfect color for your skin tone, and even configure your dress style based on your personality.

Geek girls don’t want to be redundant so we’ll offer you a different tip: If you’ve got Dasani taste but you’re on a tap water budget, consider going used. Or pre-worn. (That sounds better, right?)

Shop your local resale stores, watch the classified ads in your newspaper, or ask your friend who has three older sisters. There are beautiful dresses out there that can be purchased for a fraction of their original cost, leaving you money left over for cute shoes or matching iPod earbuds (in case your school hires a lame DJ).

Here are just a few of the dresses available from Darcy’s local craigslist:

A Word of Warning: We think it may be more than coincidence that so many girls selling prom dresses are displayed without heads. Is there some kind of serial prom dress stealer/slasher on the loose? PLEASE USE CAUTION!