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 >>

Pin-up girls are hot. So trying a pin-up hairstyle is always a good idea.

The easiest one is a scarf-tied up do. It's also perfect for a bad hair day, or if you haven't needed to use the "I need to wash my hair" bad date excuse lately and aren't looking your cleanest.  Spray a volume booster onto damp hair and pull into a ponytail at the crown. Apply some gel sparingly and use a medium barrel iron to create some curls. Pull your fingers through the curls and randomly pin them into a messy bun. Tie scarf and go.

Another fav is the side pony with teased crown. But don't tease it too much, this is 2014. First flip your head upside down and spray dry shampoo throughout your hair to pump up the volume. Apply extra at the crown and tease with a big comb. Smooth out the tease and add bobby pins to hold the volume. Then tie your hair into a side ponytail behind your ear. This style also gives you the innocent sort of look that will make it so you can get away with anything. Something to keep in mind when you may need to look sweeter than you've been. 

For a "I just rolled out of bed and look this good" look, go for the short wavy bob with low side part. Create a low side part and sweep bangs to the side. Then use hot rollers to create soft waves. Don't use too many styling products, any sort of helmet appearance will ruin the effect.

For that date you don't want to ditch, Bridget Bardot-esque waves are amazing. Curl your hair with hot rollers and then use dry shampoo on your roots to give your hair lift.

The rolled back up do takes some balls to pull off, but you can do it. Spritz on some texturing spray to give your hair lift (see a trend here?) Blow it dry to give it volume and then part in the middle. Don't make the part too straight unless you want to look like a bitch (which isn't always a bad thing by the way.)  Twist one side back and pin it at the nape of your neck. Repeat on the other side. Pull the ends together and twist up into a soft bun. 

Decide what sort of look you want to go for, how much time you have and what type of girl you want to be that day and retro do it. 

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!