A World of Dresses

5 essentials for creating a vintage 90’s look

05/03/2016 1 Comment

So 90’s fashion is now considered vintage. Does anyone else feel old? I for sure do! When I think back to the 90’s, Empire Records is the first thing that comes to mind. Then Blessed Union of Souls, the Gin Blossoms, Third Eye Blind and all the other great 90’s bands.

Today we look at Cece. Cece has been one of my best friends for just about eight years now. She currently resides in Chicago where she’s pursuing comedy and all things creative. When we’re together, we just laugh non-stop. In August, we’re taking a trip to Portland, Ore. together. That should be fun. We’re already thinking of calling it a “dresscation” and live tweeting, insta-ing, etc. You should check out Cece on Twitter here. Also she has her own website which you can check out here.

When my friend Cece and I got together several weeks back, she was in town from Chicago for about a week. She had 90’s dresses with her and she rocked them. These five things are so very classically 90’s.

1. The dress

While you do not have to wear a dress, we love dresses over here. Dresses in the 90’s often had an air of spunk to them. Perhaps that had to do with the influences of grunge and punk. Here are the two that Cece styled.

2. Combat boots

Okay so this makes me think of Liv Tyler in Empire Records. She wears that cute pleated skirt, sweater and combat boots. The 90’s was full of women pairing boots with dresses. And why not? I’ve always been a fan of that edgy-cute look and Cece rocks it so well!

3. Over-sized or button-down jackets

Again, 90’s fashion was full of grunge influence. With Seattle being such a cold and rainy city, people naturally gravitated to flannel and button-down shirts. Why not ditch that tiny cardigan and pair that dress with a larger sweater or a button-down shirt. If you have a boyfriend of husband, just steal one from him.

Here’s Cece and how she worked with layering and 90’s fashion.

4. Accessories

To recreate some 90’s fashion, you need the right accessories. Cece’s smiley-faced necklace was perfect. So were her sunglasses and polaroid camera.

5. The fanny

Okay confession: I do not think I’ll ever do the whole fanny pack thing. It just reminds me too much of sunblock and amusement parks. However they were apart of the 90’s. Here’s how Cece wore her’s.

There you have it! The 90’s in five short steps!

Today were linking up with:

Jersey Girl Texan Heart, Shopping My Closet, Pumps and Pushups, The Pleated Poppy, Elegance and Mommyhood, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Sydney Fashion Hunter, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom

Nina's corner

My awaited GwynnieBee dress

05/01/2016 7 Comments

I was so very excited when I got the e-mail notification that this would be my next dress. I have a GwynnieBee subscription and have several dresses each month mailed to me. I get to wear them, buy them or send them back. It’s kind of like the library (minus the whole buying part) except with clothing. I wrote all about GwynnieBee several weeks ago here. Each member creates a “closet” online and puts things they want in it. This was probably one of the first dresses I put in there. I had to wait patiently and here it is!

The GwynnieBee Dress

My absolute favorite thing about this dress is the neckline. It’s so very unique.

Dress: Cherry Velvet compliments of GwynnieBee

Also, this dress has pockets! Any dress with some good pockets is a dress for me!

The weather was pretty great for these photos. My friend Cece and I found a nice, wooded area complete with a good bog. Cece kept joking “bog blog.”

Today I’m linking up with

Birth of a Fashion Blogger, Sincerely Jenna Marie, More Pieces of Me, Fizz and Frosting and Not Dead Yet Style

H54F

5 wonderful things from this week

04/28/2016 10 Comments

Hey all. First, congrats on making it to the end of the week. This has been a week of long work hours mixed with time spent with friends. Work hard and play hard. Here the the five big things of the week.

1. My birthday is going to be celebrated in a BIG way

Remember when I wrote about Jena from Imbue? Jena is a badass woman who designs her own jewelry. While her jewelry is aimed at brides, her tagline is “for the big day and every day.” Her pieces are very wearable for both occasions. Check out her website here.

She has a new line of jewelry coming out and we’re teaming up for a launch event. The event’s theme is “unleashing your inner siren.” Also, it happens to fall on my 29th birthday. We’ve secured an awesome event space too, which is very exciting. The event will be a classy evening where models will mingle the crowd showing off her amazing work. I’m so excited!

So mark your calendars for Saturday, June 26th. Also, if you like talking to people, wearing fancy jewelry and in general being awesome, we’re still looking for a few models. E-mail me at nina@aworldofdresses.com.

2. Friend time with Hillary

I love friends who I can just have a good time with. Wednesday evening after work, I hung out with my friend Hillary. She’s an amazing photographer and a great person to laugh with. We did a whole photoshoot on the Purple People Bridge in Cincinnati. Here’s one of the shots:

3. Amigas del trabajo

That means friends from work. I wanted to post this photo last week but it was stuck on my work computer. This week, I fished it off my work e-mail. We all just look lovely. This was taken at our annual fundraiser that happened about a week ago.

4. Sleep

I’m always so thankful for it.

5. P-I-Z-Z-A

Hillary and I ate some amazing pizza Wednesday. We also kept quoting Mary Kate and Ashley. We are in fact kids who grew up in the 90’s.

How was your week. Also, I’m linking up with these ladies:

Bright on a Budget, KT Cup of Tea, Della Devoted, The Closet by Christie, Life in Leggings,Style Elixir, Two Thirty-Five Designs, A little Bit of Everything

LBAE

Pamela’s floral dress

04/25/2016 No Comments

We continue our theme of florals with this lovely piece by Pamela Pitts. Pamela is a stylist, lady boss and many other things over at L’BAE.

Maybe you’re thinking floral? Who likes flowers that much to put on a dress? I do, as well as many other women! Think of it this way: you know how you feel when you receive flowers from your husband or significant other? Well it’s like that but even better because these flowers will not die but instead stay in bloom forever or as long as your dress stays intact. As you walk and twirl around whimsical in your floral dress you will attract attention like bees on honey because that’s how noticeable you will be. Now that’s hott!

Okay so maybe you’re thinking “I don’t want to attract bees” or in other words be the center of attraction. That is okay! I’m just saying that a woman who is bold enough to wear a printed floral dress is pretty bold and others will notice as well.

The floral dress will make you feel as though you run the world as Beyonce would say. It speaks life, confidence, creativity and a captivating sense of style that any woman would desire whether you like floral or not. The print itself is so bold and daring that you need not match it with any other print. A solid sweater, shawl, jean jacket or vest now that it is getting hot will suffice. Have I grasped your attention enough to try it? Come on… You know that you are envisioning yourself dressed to the nines in your floral dress, with your hair and makeup beat by the Gods themselves! (Check out the L’BAE Cosmetics as they will surely bring your face to life! www.lbaeinspire.net) Wearing floral is all in the sense of having fun with your wardrobe, and bringing out a little character as well as inspiration for the next female who may have the desire to let out her own inner sense of boldness.

Tips for the Floral Dress

Accessories…Warning be careful- Because the floral prints can already be bold and daring you want to make sure that you are not overpowering your look with too many added pieces. Depending on the style, shape, and size of your floral print you want to add accessories that accentuate your floral dress and not clash with it. A solid pearl, thin silver or gold necklace with a few bracelets would work great.
Shoes- The shoe that you choose for your floral dress can be any shoe/sandal that you desire: strap, lace-up, wedge, thong sandal, high heel, closed or open toed. This all depends on the look that you are going for; edgy, classy, casual, or sassy. Make the look all you.
Hair/Makeup- When wearing a floral dress you want to make sure that your hair and makeup match your feeling and attitude as it pertains to the style, shape, and fabric of your floral dress. Just as with the shoes and accessories you don’t want to overpower your look or take away from the floral print, but you definitely want to make it all about you. A sleek bun, ponytail that flows, wavy, curly, or even straight hair all go well with the floral dress as well as a full face of makeup, or no makeup at all with just a little gloss.

These are just a few tips as the floral dress is a statement within itself. I hope you feel good in your floral dress wearing it the way that makes you feel most like yourself! Be true to you!

I’m Pamela the Inspirationalist. Make it a L’BAE DAY!

Nina's corner, Small Business Saturday

4 gushingly cute looks created locally

04/24/2016 11 Comments

Last week, we teamed up with a group of local boutiques that I’ve been shopping at since high school. Kismet OTR, a cute boutique offering clothing and accessories, is the latest addition to the I Luv That Store group. I’ve been shopping at Pangea, Kismet O’Bryonville and Toko Baru for a while now, so I was excited that another shop was joining the group. I reached out about working together and they agreed. So myself and my friend Amber headed over there for a photoshoot last Monday.

These are four fun outfits we put together with their dresses and accessories. I loved one of the dresses so much that I decided to take it home with me. But more on that later.

Also today I’m co-hosting the Let’s Make Today Fabulous link-up with Chanda from mschanda.com. The theme for the link-up is Spring florals, which is great because one of these looks is all about the Spring florals. Here she is in a lovely floral dress. She simply looks amazing. You can find more amazing photos of her and her style over on her Instagram.

Without further ado, the four amazingly fun looks we created at Kismet OTR.

1. Florals and funk

I jumped out of my comfort zone a bit with this look and enjoyed it. I generally don’t do rings or hats. I really have no idea why. Perhaps you always have to take that hat off and I figure why bother. Perhaps rings never call to me. However with this look, we just went for it.

I’m also in love with this statement necklace. All items (dress, purse, ring, bracelet, necklace, ring and sunglasses) in this look can be found at Kismet OTR.

2. The floral sundress

Everything about Amber’s look screams Spring! I honestly do not know if I like the dress or the shades better. Both are so playfully fun and girly! Also, if you pop over to our Instagram, you’ll find one of Amber mid-twirl. This dress has a fantastic spin-factor to it!

3. The orange and blue dress

This was the dress I took home with me. It’s hard to not want a dress that fits well, is comfortable and is affordable. I also must say that I love this dress with this necklace. I would not have thought to pair the two, but Amber spotted it and convinced me to try it. I just loved the way it looked!

All items pictured can also be found at Kismet OTR. That means dress, necklace, bracelet, earrings and sunglasses!

4. The maxi and shawl look

This look is a bit more risque. This is why I love featuring other women on the blog. They often come up with outfit ideas I’d never try. This is the perfect example.

Everything minus the phone can be found at Kismet OTR too!

Also linking up with Not Dead Yet Style, Fizz and Frosting, Still Being Molly and Elegantly Fashionable

Ready to join the link-up? Just add your link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

H54F

I’m so glad it’s Friday

04/21/2016 5 Comments

Hi all! This week I’m the featured blogger for High Five for Friday and I could not be more thrilled. Tif, Della and Katie host a weekly link-up each week about five great things that happened to them over the week. They encourage other bloggers to join in and write about their five high fives of the week.

I started linking up with them several months ago and have really enjoyed the community I’ve found with it. Prior to joining High Five for Friday, I maybe knew a few bloggers in person. Now thanks to High Five for Friday, I had the opportunity to meet Tif from Bright on a Budget in person when I was in Lexington several weeks ago. It was so good to meet such a nice, down-to-earth fellow blogger.

So I’m super pumped they picked me. Also, here’s what was good in my life this past week.

1. Kismet OTR

I’m so very excited to be working with one of my favorite local boutiques here in Cincinnati. Kismet OTR is a new boutique that is a part of this group of shops I’ve been shopping at since forever. I’ve noticed that they’ve been give me some Instagram love, so I decided to reach out about a little collaboration. They agreed. So my friend Amber and I headed over there to do a photoshoot in some of their dresses. It was a blast. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

You should head over to Instagram to see more from the shoot.

2. The Su Casa Banquet

I work at Su Casa Hispanic Center and we had our annual dinner last night. The event was wonderful and my co-workers were even more wonderful. I played photographer for the evening. Here are a few shots of my lovely co-workers from the night.

3. Hangouts with friends

I had several of these between last Friday night and Thursday night. All were fun and well-deserved.

4. Sunday rest day

Sunday was great. I spent the day working on the blog and sleeping in.

5. The weekend is here!

Thanks for reading along friends! How was your week?

Also linking up with Bright on a Budget, KT Cup of Tea, Della Devoted, The Closet by Christie, Life in Leggings,Style Elixir, Two Thirty-Five Designs, A little Bit of Everything

H54F

My week in review

04/17/2016 3 Comments

Hello all! So this was originally a Friday post. However between work, a social life and me-time, it is now a Sunday post. Either way, I always love taking the time to reflect on my week. This week has been great. I’ve had an old friend in town and so many things to do. Here are five reasons why it rocked.

1. Sara got married

I met Sara my freshman year of college while volunteering one day. We both chose to spend our day off from orientation volunteering. I suppose that right there makes us like-minded people who always want to make the world better. Our college had all these places we could sign up to volunteer at and we chose the Girl Scouts. While there, they told us we could run a troop if we wanted. At the time, that sounded great so we said “sure!” In reality, we really did not have enough time. But it was what made us friends. Ten years later and we’re still friends.

When Sara asked me to be in her wedding, I was thrilled. The whole thing was an amazing weekend. The three other ladies she picked as her bridesmaids were just amazing people. We all got along so well and were simply happy to be there for Sara.

2. Cece was in town

Another one of my best friends Cece was in town. We hung out twice last week. She lives in Chicago, so I’ll take all the seeing-of-her that I can get! We had a ridiculous photoshoot by a bog and a lake. She’s probably the funniest person I know. She kept saying “bog blog.” Here are a few of the more ridiculous photos:

3. Lipstick

I managed to keep a lipstick I like for longer than three days! Maybe I’ll even use this one up one day!

4. Lunch with Tif

Okay so this happened longer than a week ago, but while I was in town for Sara’s wedding I met up with Tif from Bright on a Budget. She’s sort of the reason I write these posts. I discovered her link-up back in the fall and was like “why am I not doing that?” So now I am. It was good to connect. She’s very genuinely nice and down-to-earth.

5. My GwynnieBee dress

I just love this one. I may try to keep it.

Thanks guys!

Linking up with Tif, Della and Katie, The Closet by Christie, Life in Leggings

Nina's corner

Tips for styling a Navy dress + a link up

04/13/2016 7 Comments

Happy Thursday! This week I present to you my favorite little navy dress. I stumbled upon this one in the sale section of Francesca’s and had to get it! I’m so very glad I did. I’ve gotten just as many wears out of this dress in the winter as I did in the summer.

Today I’m also co-hosting a the Thursday Moda link-up with Elegance and Mommyhood. Ada started this link-up several weeks-a month ago and has had quite a good turnout. Her blog title is quite catchy too. While I’m not a mom, I’m sure that at times moms can feel as though it’s harder to feel fashionable since so much of your time is spent caring for other humans. Her blog is a great reminder that you can rock it whenever! I love that.

Anyway, back to my tips for wearing navy. Navy is for sure a tricky color to pull off. It’s often close too close to black. I often find myself worrying if black is even a good option when I’m trying to style that navy dress.

My days often start off the same. I rise from my bed, walk over to the closet and decide which dress I’m going to wear for the day. The dress always comes first. Then, I accessorize around my dress.

Here are a few tips for styling that navy dress:

Pops of color

These red shoes are one of my favorite things I bought. When I’m looking to add a bit of pizazz to a look, I often turn to these shoes. Royal red looks great with navy. So does green, mustard yellow and coral pink, to name a few.

Big statement jewelry also with said pops of color

I just love bold red accessories. I cannot tell you how much wear I get out of them. I’m convinced that every woman should own a few things that are bright red.

This necklace is simple yet bold. It was an easy Charming Charlie find too.

Here’s the link-up. Hope you can join!

An InLinkz Link-up

Today I’m also linking up with:

Jersey Girl Texan Heart, Pleated Poppy, Pumps and Pushups, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Sydney Fashion Hunter, Shopping My Closet, Elegance and Mommyhood, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom, Birth of a Fashion Blogger

Dress Picks

The dresses of Sara’s wedding

04/12/2016 1 Comment

Last weekend, I was in a wedding. If you follow me on Instagram, though, this may be old news to you. My rehearsal dinner look was one of my favorites and I could not just not post it. So I did.

Over the weekend, I snapped photos of myself and other women in dresses. Here are a few of my favorites.

Beth, my new bestie

Don’t you just love it when you click with a person? The guy Sara married has a pretty awesome sister and she was a bridesmaid. It’s so neat when you have family members in your wedding because you want to, not just because you’re obligated too. Sure, you’re supposed to have the groom’s sister in your bridal party. However I think Sara asked her also because she’s been such a wonderful and welcoming person.

sara dress

Her lovely rehearsal dinner look.

sara dress

Bridesmaid time!

Beth kept joking that as Sara’s sister, she was going to start stealing her things. She decided she was starting with me.

My looks

I wore so many dresses this past weekend. Here are the important ones: day of and rehearsal diner.

sara dress

The dress

sara dress

Jersey Girl Texan Heart, Pleated Poppy, Pumps and Pushups, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Sydney Fashion Hunter, Shopping My Closet, Elegance and Mommyhood, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom, Birth of a Fashion Blogger

Uncategorized

My size 6 behind is sticking with Gwynnie Bee

04/05/2016 7 Comments

When I first saw an ad for Gwynnie Bee, I’ll admit that I jumped in a little head over heels. The sidebar ad on one of the blogs I follow (and I’m afraid I cannot remember exactly which one) advertised a month of free clothing sent right to your door. This would excite practically any woman. Yet for me, it was particularly enticing as I blog about dresses. What a great and affordable way to add a few new dresses to the mix?

The plunge

I clicked on the ad that brought me directly to the page to sign up. What questions did I need to ask? Free clothing for a month … come on! What problem could I have with that? I go through the whole process and have an account. I’m ready to start looking through clothing.

The process looks simple. You just put clothing in your virtual Gwynnie Bee closet. Once you have at least six items, they can send you your first shipment. They never send you anything that’s not in your closet, so you’ll be sure to end up with something you’re likely to like. Great!

The realization

I’m a size six and a medium. I’m basically the middle of the road and always have been. As I began looking through the dresses, I found it odd that hardly any went below a size 10 or a large. I then realized that Gwynnie Bee is made for women size 10 and larger.

We live in a society that tells us that being a size 6 is the norm and every shop should meet our needs. While I had occasionally given thought to that before, I really gave it some thought in this moment.

“So Gwynnie Bee is focused on sizes 10-32? Great! Their stuff is adorable and I’m glad so many amazing women can enjoy what they offer,” I thought.

In my sheer excitement for free clothing, I over-looked this small factoid. I’m sure it was somewhere on that original ad, but it did not catch my eye.

And now we’re friends

I decided to keep my subscription with Gwynnie Bee. Upon searching, I found that a few brands carried mediums. Furthermore, sometimes a large or a size 10 runs small. In short, I never failed to have less than six items in my closet at a time. In fact, I currently have 16.

My subscription with Gwynnie Bee has given me a different perspective and for that I am so thankful. I spend so much of my life trying to understand experiences different than what I know. This is no different.

Once every few months I look through Gwynnie Bee’s new arrivals. I’ll see a cute dress, click on it and see that it does not come in my size. I then move onto the next thing I like and so on. For plus-sized women, this may be something they also experience. It really blows that we live in a world where not all women can shop at the stores they want. To be honest, though, I never really have to do much thinking on this. As a size 6 and a medium, I can almost always find clothing to fit, whether in brick and mortar stores or online.

As a blogger, I’m passionate about using my voice to change things. There are many things I do not like about the world we live in. Yet as a blogger, I get to be the media. So as the media, I would just like to thank Gwynnie Bee for: