All Dress April Weeks 2-3

Here is my outfit round up for the 6-17 of All Dress April!  Warning, this post is picture heavy!

Skirt: Trixie Skirt by  Bernie Dexter Shoes: BAIT Footwear Ione

I love this combination! It reminds me so much of spring

Dress: Tilly by Voodoo Vixen Shoes: BAIT Footwear Irella 

Another favorite of mine! These colors pair so well together. The only problem I have with this dress is the middle button likes to undo itself.  The top of the dress is fit perfect, it's just that cheeky button.

Dress: Veronique by Bernie Dexter Shoes: BAIT Footwear Ida

A girl can never have enough Bernies! This particular style is fun and comfortable as well as work appropriate!

Dress: Bea and Dot Modcloth Shoes: Dansko

This was one of the first novelty print dresses I owned and still one of my favorites!

 Dress: Modcloth Shoes: Jessica Simpson Mandalaye

This is another dress that I will wear over and over again! What is not to love about galaxy prints dresses with pockets? These shoes add a fun touch and are so comfortable!

Dress: Forever 21

I had a night in with the boyfriend so I wanted to be comfy.  Dug this out of the back of my closet!

Dress: Harley by Pinup Girl Clothing Shoes: BAIT Footwear Irella

I love the cut of this dress! It is so comfortable and classy.  I wish I owned it in other colors.  As soon as they restock the yellow, I think I'll add it to my cart.

Dress: Connie by Voodoo Vixen Shoes: Target

This dress was on my wishlist for a while.  As a spectacle wearing girl, I thought the print was perfect! Scored this from Southern California Belle's Closet sale.

Dress: Heidi by Pinup Girl Clothing Shoes: BAIT Footwear Irella

I don't wear this dress very often by every time I do, I forget why I don't wear it.  The Heidi is another comfortable cut that is very figure flattering.  I wore a cami underneath to make it work appropriate.

Dress: Bernie Dexter Shoes: Miss L Fire Pompeii

This dress was a lucky ebay find! I love the print and the cut.  To add some more color, I wore my new Pompeii shoes by Miss L Fire.  They are incredible comfortable and fun!

Dress: Bernie Dexter Shoes: BAIT Footwear Irella

My unicorn dress! I honestly thought I'd never own this dress until Southern California Belle listed it in her closet sale.  I snagged it right away and wore to work the day after it came in the mail! It is even better than I thought and I love it!

 

xo Melanie

Cruise thoughts...

I'm leaving on a cruise in just over a month and I am so excited that it occupies my thoughts everyday.  I am a planner by nature.  I love lists, calendars, spreadsheets, etc.  Therefore, having a vacation to plan for months in advance is like counting down the days until Christmas.  There are so many things to think about that I can't help but daydream.

I've already made a list of the outfits I am planning on bringing (for daytime excursion, dinner and dancing).  I've also started to match up shoes, accessories,etc. in the hopes that I won't over pack but I'll have everything I need. I'm starting to get to the point that I am 100% with my list and it is just a matter of purchasing a final few items for the trip. 

We will be gone for about 10 days so I am hoping to get some knitting and reading done while I'm gone.  I have an Audible account so I will probably download at least one audiobook to listen to as well.  Historically, I've brought multiple books with me because I wanted to be prepared for any type of genre that I might have been in the mood to read at the moment. I'm also not a huge fan of e-readers, so I truly want to bring some actual books.  I'm just not sure which ones.  Suggestions?

I've thought about bringing a couple of Agatha Christie novels.  Maybe starting the Miss Marple series.  (I'll have to search around online to see if there is a multi-novel collection I can buy instead of carrying around multiple books from one series). Recently, I've been on a mystery kick.  I also like to read romance and historical fictions on vacation.  Last time we were on a cruise, I read a couple of books that I had rented from the on board library so I might do that this time if I don't bring something with me to read that I want to read once on vacation. 

The other issue is finding an audiobook to listen to.  That shouldn't be as hard because I can always stick with Game of Thrones and be busy for hours....actually, I might bring my paperback copy of GoT to read.  I like that idea! At least I have time to decide!

For knitting, I think I will bring a pair of socks to work on.  In the past, I haven't knit too much on vacation.  Usually we travel to warmer/hotter climates and knitting with wool is as appealing.  If nothing else, it is nice to have knitting for the airport and flight to give my hands something to do.  I've got quite a bit of yarn so I will probably bring something from my stash to work on.  If I have a bit of leftover cruise budget, then I might treat myself to some new vacation yarn... Probably shouldn't though.  I have too much yarn that I haven't knit with but want to!

Hopefully I'll post some cruise outfit planning blogs in the next couple of weeks. There is so much to plan and time is running out! I can't wait!

xo
Melanie 

All Dress April!

Spring has finally hit Tennessee and I'm loving it! The warmer weather has seen me pulling out every pastel and floral print piece of clothing I own.  At the end of March, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw the @shopwithbeth was starting a style challenge called All Dress April.  Having switched over to wearing dresses at least 6/7 days of the week, I decided to take the challenge!

Before I moved from Syracuse, I always wore dresses on the weekends and to conventions, however, working in a dye studio stopped me from wearing them to work. Since I moved down to Tennessee and started working in an office, I've found myself wearing and increasing amount of dresses.  Seeing the All Dress April challenge made me excited for the wardrobe possibilities! I tend to repeat my favorite dresses (especially during spring) so I am taking this challenge to not only have an excuse to wear dresses 7/7 days of the week but to play around with what I own and try out some new looks.   I think I'll try to do weekly round-ups on the blog of the outfits I wear!

Day 1: Aurora Dress in Pink Castle from Pinup Girl Clothing

Day Two: Jenny Dress from Pinup Girl Clothing worn as a skirt

Day Three: Casual Friday! Dress from Forever 21

Day Four: Jenny Dress from Pinup Girl Clothing

Day Five: Evelyn Dress from Pinup Girl Clothing (this was not the actual way I wore the outfit, however, we forgot to take pictures on Easter!)

 

xo Melanie

Modcloth love!

Modcloth was my first true experience with buying retro inspired clothing and novelty prints.  I happened across the website through word of mouth and once I realized what dresses Modcloth had to offer, I fell hard. 

This was a difficult for me to accept at first because I had never spent over $30 for an article of clothing. Yet here I was, wanting to spend $50+ dollars on a dress that I wasn't even sure where I could wear it.  I thought about it for a while and finally decided to make the purchase.  Once I received my dresses, I finally understood why it was worth the extra cash to purchase dresses from Modcloth (later I'd discover PUG, Bernie Dexter, etc).  The quality of the reviews online, the fabric and lining of the dresses and the customer service was worth my money. 

When I received my dresses, I immediately tried them on and felt they were too large for my taste.  I had researched and read all the reviews online, however, I had tried taking my own measurements and that resulted in the ill fitting dresses.  Without hesitation, I set up on online exchange for the next size down and mailed the dresses out the next day.  When I became nervous that my exchange wouldn't process before a trip I was taking in a couple of weeks, I emailed customer support and they had the dresses at my door...THE NEXT DAY! I didn't pay for shipping or and expedited processing fee.  Every time I've had to talk to customer support for an issue or exchange, they have been incredibly helpful, positive and down to earth.  Way to go Modcloth!

The sales, selection and positive community are what keep me coming back to Modcloth!

Dress: Modcloth Bea and Dot
Shoes: Bait Footwear Ida in Dove Grey
Cardigan: Target

BAIT Footwear Review: Hansel

I am a shoe person! Wearing fun novelty print pinup dresses has allowed me to play around with different styles and colors of heels.  As I'm sure it happened for many people, I was first introduced to BAIT footwear through Instagram.  Looking at pictures of dresses from Modcloth and Pinup Girl Clothing, I noticed that a lot of gals we wearing these adorable pastel colored spectators.  After dreaming about these shoes for a couple of weeks, I decided to take the plunge and make my first purchase.  It wasn't long before I found myself with a small collection of BAIT Footwear shoes. 

The Hansel was a style that I had always admired from afar, however, I was nervous about trying out because I was unsure about the comfort of the higher heel.  This past December, I found myself trying on the Hansel in Trashy Diva's Garden District location and I immediately knew these shoes would work for me.  Similar to the BAIT Idas, the Hansel have the same spectator style design, however, the outer material of the shoe is matte and a bit softer than the shiny material used with the Idas.  I found that this material did not require as much time to break in as the Idas had. 

After taking my Hansels for a test run (shopping and coffee with my mom), I was pleasantly surprised to find that my feet were not sore and I had no issues with balance or ankle support.  The Hansels also survived a full day at work, a couple of dinner dates in various weather and a Mardi Gras themed ball. 

Overall, I'd chose my Idas, Iones, or Irellas over my Hansels for a full day on my feet touring the town, however, for normal day to day wear and nighttime outings, the Hansel's added height take any outfit to the next level!

XO

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

Today's dress is one of my all time favorites! Pinup Couture's Jenny Dress was one of the first pinup dresses I fell in love with and it continues to be one of my go to styles.  I scored a great deal on this particular color when Pinup Girl Clothing was having their fabulous Black Friday sale! With Valentine's Day this weekend, I decided this was the perfect dress to get me in the 'holiday' spirit.  Initially, this was my least favorite of the harlequin print colors, however, after seeing it in person and wearing it a few times, I've found it to be the most wearable out of the harlequin colors I own.

Dress: Jenny Harlequin Pinup Couture
Cardigan: Target
Shoes: BAIT Footwear Irella
XO

Cottage in the Country

I'm fairly new to the Bernie Dexter brand, however, I'm quickly falling in love with her dresses.  Luckily, I've scored some incredible deals on ebay that have allowed me to try her dresses without much personal investment. 

This dress is my most recent acquisition.  I originally fell in love with the fabric, the cottage scene is beautiful, however, I wasn't sure about the cut of the dress.  The neckline is so high, it ends right at the base of my neck.  When I first tried on the dress, the neck bothered me a bit, so I retied the ties at the back of the dress.  This fixed the problem for the most part and I had no issues while wearing the dress at work the next day. 

 

 

With both of the Bernie Dexter's that I own, I've found the bust and waist shape to be very flattering for my measurements.  I am also a fan of the swing skirt with pockets.  The dresses that I own do seem to have less fabric in the skirt than the Pinup Couture Jenny dresses (another favorite of mine) but I don't mind! I can't wait to add more Bernie Dexter's to my collection!


Dress: Bernie Dexter
Shoes: BAIT Footwear
Cardigan: Target

XO