Just Plucky: Sleuthin' and Stylin' With Stella Ducktropolis

 You Quack Me Up Necklace

Dress: Modcloth

Shoes: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: Nine West, Marshalls

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: Michaels

Hat: Modcloth

It's no secret that I love books, lipstick, and stickers.  So I got a real kick (or should I say quack?) out of Charlotte Barnes's children's book Stella Ducktropolis, which I bought as a gift for a baby girl named (what else?) Stella. Stella (the duck, not the baby) is a web-footed wonder who lives in the enchanting town of Pondsylvania.  A sticker factory inspector by day and crime-fighter by night, Stella has a passion for fashion, pink, and the word "fabulous."  Barnes sets the scene with a delightful mix of fun and humor (signs saying "Quality is Fabulous!" and "Crime is Not Fabulous!" pop up in the charming illustrations), relaying how Stella was inspired to become a crime-fighter when she set out to catch the thugs who stole her niece's lollipop:

"Stella had been shocked by the unfabulousness of such behavior.  "Taking candy from a baby!  Those cads!" she exclaimed.  That's when the idea of becoming a Fabulous Crime Fighter had sprouted like a little seed in the fabulous garden of her mind."

Soon Stella embarks on a new mission, namely to nab the nefarious Blue Bandit.  Armed with style and savvy, the glamorous gumshoe gives new meaning to the term fashion police while protecting her beloved Pondsylvania from punks and pond scum alike.  Her red lipstick is laced with truth serum, her compact blinds bad guys, and her high heels squirt baby oil to give unsavories the slip.  This is one duck with skills (so watch out, Liam Neeson).  In Stella, Barnes gives us a heroine who's both cute and clever, showing her femininity to be not only an asset, but the source of her ingenuity.  To be sure, female vigilantes are no strangers to fiction, what with Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars, and the new estrogen-infused Ghostbusters kicking butt across traditionally male territory.  Still, Stella has a special something, a kind of fierce sweetness and courage that run deeper than her feathers suggest.  Stella Ducktropolis is an endearingly quirky treat with a message, teaching little girls to fight for themselves and the people they love.

So, in the spirit of Stella, I made this You Quack Me Up Necklace.  Lipsticks dangle next to rubber duckies and one (modified) Flash Charm flamingo.  I had a blast styling it with my favorite dress and my yellow feather Kentucky Derby-meets-Big Bird fascinator, making for an unexpected but whimsical combination.  Kind of like super sleuth Stella.