switched-on x: desperately seeking wardrobe

After going to the dayjob's Christmas party in a long skirt while all the other girls wore sexy dresses, I realized that my wardrobe is pretty sad lately. I've got some cute summer dresses and a selection of long skirts, but no winter clothes (which will be a problem next year when I start school where there's actually Fall and Winter), I haven't owned a Little Black Dress in years, and I have almost nothing to dress up in. I'm desperately low on accessories outside the earrings-and-necklace range-- I don't even own a belt, I have shawls but only a few of the square variety of scarf, my hair jewelry is limited to about fifty hairsticks and two headbands, I don't have any gloves, and certainly none of the sweet lace type-- and only one pair of warmers because my friend made them for me last Aveomas. My underthings are severly limited to one bra (that's seen better days), a few pairs of panties that are getting more and more beat up by the constant washing, none of which are particularly sexy, no slips, one pair of thigh-high fishnets with a garter belt I'm too fat for right now, nary a merry widow, and two corsets that I'm hoping I'll fit back into before too long. I still own clothes I wore in high school, and most of them don't fit anymore. I have some cute shoes, but most of them no longer coordinate with outfits.

This is pathetic.

So here's The Plan on this Issue:

- I'm looking for a Little Black Dress (or, better, three) that will accommodate the fact that I have up-and-down weights and will look nice and flattering either end.

- I'm looking for dresses that are versatile enough to be dressed up or dressed down, and used in a variety of ways through styling (Avon has two that I want), and come in solid colors that will last a while (all my current dresses indulge my fondness for large patterns, usually involving flowers or paisley).

- I'm looking for wide belts / patterns to make them myself.

- I'm looking for fascinators and cocktail hats / ideas to make them for myself.

- I'm looking for headbands and hair clips and flowers and little felt whimsies for my hair, now that I've figured out a few ways to make it not suck and don't mind drawing attention to it.

- I'm searching through Etsy and DaWanda and 1000 Markets and Indie Fix.

- I'm looking into making my own retro under-roos, and finding cheap romantic fancy-time underclothes like corsets and merry widows; if I can manage it, I want to start wearing these things more often, preferably in place of traditional bras, which I hate.

Inspirations for these wardrobe renovations:

- Zooey Deschanel in the Cotton commercials

- Emily Deschanel as Bones, when she's wearing softer and more romantic clothing (especially the big ethnic necklaces, and her parade of wonderful shoes. And her party dresses. Man, I wish I had a stylist.)

- The girls in the Mark catalogs, specifically the ones labeled 'rock' and 'punk', blended with the ones that are labeled 'retro' and 'romantic'

- These key words: Fun, Unexpected, Flirty, Romantic, Rock, Retro, (I hate to say it, but) Hipster (in the sense of the above words), Vintage, Hand-made, Sweetly Sexy, European, Long-wearing, Gypsy-inspired; Hand-embroidered; Feminine-but-not-girly; Green; Blue; Earth-tones; Ivory; Jewel-Tones; Sexy-but-not-slutty

- Other noted search terms: Owls / Birds / Feathers / Leafs / Branches / Acorns / Seeds; Roses / Cherry Blossoms / Lillies / Dandelion Puffs; Japanese patterns; Retro patterns; Russian nesting dolls; The Ocean; The Sky; The Earth. How fortunate that so many of the things I already love are fashionable right now (and will probably soon be not fashionable, and will all go on sale).