I'm going to blame my stepsister Sari, because she gave me a Tarina Tarantino bracelet and started my obsession. Of course, back then, it was just a kind of "this is high end fashion jewelry that you'd see in Elle or Lucky" feeling, not an obsession; I felt really favored to to own something "nice" without paying Ben-Amun prices.

Of course, later I appreciated the whimsey of the Pink Head designs without really feeling like I had to have any, the way I appreciate delicate candies made with marzipan, but seriously, I don't ever want to eat them.

But then Tarina had to go and come out with the Queen Alice collection. And here I blame Sir John Tenniel, the original illustrator of Lewis Carroll's classic, the Downtown Disney Vault 28 store (honestly, people - "Kingdom Couture?" Designer Disney? that is an entirely 'nother post) for carrying the collection, and fashionistas everywhere.

All of a sudden, I can't stop thinking about Tarina Tarantino. Not in a "please-be-my-best-friend, what-are-you-doing-right-now-can-I-come-over-too-late-I'm-already-outside" creepy kind of way, but in a "gosh, I'm in love with that necklace and I just know that if I were wearing it, my day would be better and my skin would be brighter, and I'd probably look thinner and sexier" kind of way. And then I started dropping in to the website every other day, just to "visit" my favorite pieces (still not on sale). And then I started seeing it everywhere, on models, in magazines, on people at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, for God's sake. And even Avril Levigne and Paris Hilton can't make me hate it.

Of course, my obsession with punk couture started long ago, with Vivienne Westwood, and continues to this day, but not in a Forever 21 kind of way. No, in a seriously-scary-I-love-couture kind of way. And I'll never be able to affort that stuff, because, let's get real, people. I need to eat and pay the mortgage. So, I'm giving up. I'm taking all my cash (about $250, so no, I'm not getting that $600 necklace I've been dreaming about, or even the $325 Dia de Los Muertos Swarovski belt buckle) and going to visit Tarina Tarantino's boutique on Melrose.

I'm leaving the credit cards behind and taking a friend known as The Voice of Reason. Wish me luck.