As we coast into mid-November, the holidays are about 5 minutes away from taking over our entire lives.  The plane tickets, train rides, hostess gifts, secret Santa gifts, family grab bags, and stocking stuffers are about to reign chaos of our usual shopping schedule.  But before it becomes about everyone else, we have one last shopping spree that is all about YOU.  

We teamed up with some of our favorite brands to offer an "Everything But the Dress" giveaway!  What does this mean? You put on the dress and we'll provide the rest!  We partnered up with some of our favorite brands to put together this care package for one lucky winner.

We've long pined away over Dagne Dover's killer tote.  The women at Dagne Dover have a very simply philosophy of "You are what you carry"  -- meaning that if you lug around one of those Mary Poppins' bags with everything but the kitchen sink jammed in there, how can you be expected to stay organized and calm?  Their bags are practically designed and beautifully rendered.  I mean, just look at this image -- they know what they are doing!

We also are including a $100 gift card from ThirdLove -- our favorite place to buy lingerie.  The team behind ThirdLove understands what we want -- cute, comfortable, a little sexy and affordable.  The T-shirt bra is our current practical obsession and the Lace Balconet is our current not-as-practical obsession

And finally, we're excited to introduce you to Scratch Nails.  I don't know about you, but we never have the patience to sit through the final 20 minute drying necessary to walk away with flawless nails.  That hatred is what got us started investigating nail wraps, but it was the bad-assery of Scratch Nails that got us hooked.  We love new beauty products and we love supporting new artists and we love having killer nails.

And of course, no fall/ winter outfit is complete without a sliming, fashion-forward pair of tights.  Whether you go with classic black tights, trendy diamonds tights or retro polka-dots tights, the tights will add another dimension to your outfit. 

And the best part?  All of these companies were founded by female entrepreneurs!  Before you start buying presents for everyone else, take a minute to put yourself first.  ENTER HERE >>

And we thought we only loved mini skirts because they look good! Turns out they are also the reason tights became so popular and why we have them today. Models Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton couldn't get enough of the mini skirt, and they needed tights to wear with them.  Twiggy even introduced her own tights (or panti tights - haha!) line.

Thanks for the tights Twiggy, at least you did something else besides make us feel fat!

Who wouldn't agree that it's cray cray what they did to Jennifer Lawrence on the cover of Flare magazine? She looks amazing as is, we would kill to look like that. 

And check out what they did to her in this underwear shot!

We don't like it one bit. Another example of why we created Not Too Tights by Wade & Belle. Real girls eat and wear tights, and don't want to feel bad about it, uncomfortable or lumpy and bumpy in their clothes. 

There is a time for sucking, but there is an everyday need for looking great AND feeling good. 

You might be surprised to hear that tights were invented by a man, Allen Grant. Sr., in 1959. But you won't be surprised to hear that he did so at the request of his wife!  They are too good not to have been a woman's idea. Let's be honest, men would have kept us suffering in garters (and school girl uniforms if they had theiri own way!) According to the Smithsonian and Allen Grant Jr., the inventor's son, it all started when Grant and his wife, Ethel Boone Grant, were on an overnight train returning home from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Ethel was pregnant at the time and was finding it difficult to manage her stockings and garter belt over her expanding belly. As a proper lady wouldn't be seen in public without her hosiery (obvi), she informed her husband that this would be her last trip with him until their child was born. Tell him Ethel!

Grant gave that some thought and asked Ethel what she thought of a pair of underwear with stockings attached to them, which would avoid the hassle of a garter belt. Ethel thought it was a great idea and stitched together a rough sample that Grant took to his office as he was running Glen Raven Mills Textile Company at the time. With the help of his colleagues, he developed what they called "Panti-Legs" and launched the product in department stores. 

But, it wasn't until the mid-1960s when the mini skirt was the new "in" thing to wear and garters actually couldn't be worn with them that the concept took off. Sales of pantyhose sky rocketed as fashion forward women wanted a pair of their own. We like that Ethel!