I know you may be wondering why the topic of a polka dot dress? Well simply because I love polka dots as they are my absolute favorite pattern. They give life to any style whether jeans, a skirt, shorts or even sexy polka dot skorts.
Today I want to focus on the life that the polka dot print brings to a dress! I love the eras of the 20’s, 30s’, 40’s, and 50’s. Women really took the time to enhance their outer beauty from their hair to their makeup down to their corset. Everything was done with such grace and class! Chic and Sophistication is what the polka dot represents! A print that is bold and courageous yet soft and sophisticated enough to whisper to the audience that they have arrived and their presence is known! When wearing such a strong print… I admit, you have to be bold within yourself to wear the polka dot dress, as everyone will not be able to pull this look off. Confidence is a must with any print but especially when wearing polka dots. So become confident in whom you are and pull out that a polka dot dress! You don’t have one… well it’s about time that you go buy one! Ok maybe you don’t feel quite sure and feel a little apprehensive as you have never worn a polka dot dress before. It’s ok; I have listed a few stylish ways to wear your polka dot dress:
Add pearls to accent the polka dots… these can be any size, large or small, as well as any color as the addition of a color such as turquoise, pink, or red will make the black and white polka dot dress pop. The color yellow is even striking when worn with a polka dot dress.
Any style of a polka dress will be fashionably chic. Just find the one that accentuates who you are as an individual. Your dress can be long, short, fitting, or loose, whichever way you like to see your polka dots fall.
Adding a plain black or white scarf as a necktie always brings about class, and sophistication.
A sophisticated heel such as a nice stiletto (black, red or white, depending on the season, you could even put on a green or a blue; whatever color you like) will give you the desired height to prance ever so gracefully to your destination.
Turn on YOU… Once you put on your polka dot dress and feel confident, radiant and stylish, then you are ready to hit the town! Have fun, smile, and gleam of style as you turn heads of those that will be like WOW!. Hahaha like my rhyme!
The polka dot dress is a statement piece to be worn for centuries to come so don’t shy away, but embrace the difference of standing out and being the one that caught everyone else’s eye! Polka dots are in…. Fashion is where to begin!! Put on the Polka Dot Dress! L’BAE All Day… every day!
I’m Pamela the Inspirationalist! Make it a L’BAE Day!
Welcome to Small Business Saturday! Female business owners rock! Female business owners in dresses rock even more! That is why we’ve decided to feature Becki, a long-time good friend who is delving into the business world alongside of her husband Jeremiah. The two of the are co-owners of White Whale Tattoo, a quality tattoo studio that specializes in custom design. Basically you come up with an concept and Jeremiah turns it into a work of art that gets to be a part of you for life.
In December, I featured Becki in My Closet, a weekly series looking at one woman’s personal style. In said hang out, we sat down on the couches of their apartment that sits above their studio and had a nice chat about careers, business and life.
Where does the name come from?
So White Whale is a reference to Moby Dick and that is Jeremiah’s absolute favorite story of all time. Favorite book … he loves Moby Dick so much. I think what really resonates with him about Moby Dick is the u-shaped journey. Basically like very similar to Jonah and the Whale, but also same themes in Moby Dick … basically having to go through the lowest point in your life in order to reach your destiny and what has been planned for it.
What made you decide to be a co-owner with Jeremiah? You have your own career in both the education and non-profit sector and could easily just stay there. What makes you want to join him in running the show?
Well I think initially, we met at work. A lot of people will say “I could never work with my husband or my wife. They would drive me crazy!” And we’re the opposite. We work really, really well together, so it made sense that we work together. I really enjoy the non-profit sector. I think I’ll volunteer in some capacity or maybe work part-time somewhere. But the dream has always been to work together again and basically just be our own boss. Who doesn’t want that? So Jeremiah has this talent … this incredible gift and it just made sense to open our own business.
And for you to have a role in that.
Yeah because I had all these ideas about how to make it more of a pleasant experience for people. You go into a tattoo shop, and they usually are kind of dark and dingy. They kind of feel cluttered or dirty. They shouldn’t because it’s a medical procedure. You should not have to wonder when the last time they dusted was. You want it to feel clean. So I think our idea for keeping it super simple is just we want people to come in and we want it to feel clean. But also like it’s sort of a … getting a tattoo is a rite of passage and it’s this cool experience to go through this rite of passage. It’s almost zen like how you would feel if you got a massage or did yoga. Clean, contemporary and not a lot of stuff going on. Just very focused on the art.
What kind of response have you gotten to that?
It’s been great. I’ve second-guessed myself a lot. Anywhere where I’ve designed anything or created any space, I always feel like I’m second-guessing myself and thinking “does this really look good? Is this how I really want the space to look?” I feel like emphatically no, it’s perfect. People have come in the door … it’s kind of funny because you see this space from the outside … you weren’t really sure where the door was and it looked kind of like a secret spot. But then people would come in and we like “woah oh my gosh! I had no idea the space would look like this inside! This is amazing!” It’s very similar to how we wanted people to feel. It’s very clean, crisp, comfortable and kind of zen.
Why Walnut Hills?
I’ve always felt a connection to this neighborhood. I’ve always really enjoyed Walnut Hills and everything it has to offer. The development that’s happening here is grassroots mixed with some developers. I really like that they’re taking abandoned buildings and turning them into spaces. It feels like we fit with this community.
What do you want the future to be for White Whale?
This is basically like our starting point. We’ve talked about starting other shops in the future but them having their own name, own vibe and own thing. They would still be tattoo shops but they would have their own unique vibe. We’ve talked about not even having them in Cincinnati. So maybe putting them in cities we would like to live in part-time. We’ve talked about New Orleans, which is our favorite city. We’ve talked about Seattle. We’ve talked about a bunch of different places where we could see ourselves opening another shop. We’re kind of bouncing back and forth between a couple places.
That sounds like the life man.
That would be wonderful. That’s far down the road or maybe not far down the road.
So what are some things you want to do with the space now? I know you’ve talked about having art opening maybe.
Part of the beauty of leaving it so simplistic is it lends itself to … with it being a tattoo shop, you can just fold up those tables and roll out those chairs. Tattoo stations are on wheels, so you can just get it out of there. So it just becomes this empty space that could be used for a yoga class on Sunday morning or a musical venue. An art opening. It could be used for a lot of different things. And ultimately, if we’re not using it for the time we’re tattooing, we want people to take advantage of the space.
How does it feel to be a female small business owner?
It’s great. I’ve got my partner, so I think it’s way less intimidating than if I tried to start something on my own. I think having somebody who is on your team. It’s like not a problem. We’re 50 50. And it’s funny because we met with our team of lawyers … they came up with our contractor’s licensing, agreement … all of that. They helped us come up with our waiver. Everything that we need to make sure everything was ready to go. And one of the things that they made us do is come up with a “what if you guys get divorced? You’re 50 50 owners. If it was 49 51, the 49 would have to sell. So if the relationship fails, what happens to the business?” We were like “oh, that’s never gonna happen! That’s a stupid question!” And our lawyers were like “no, we need to decide this now.” So we kind of made a joke out of the whole situation. So we said okay, we’re gonna do this thing called the coin-flip show-down, if this day ever comes in our life. Of course not, so we might as well make a mockery of it. So the coin-flip show-down is written into our business licensing. We would both have to show up dressed as Kenny Powers and we have to flip a coin. And if you don’t dress as Kenny Powers, you forfeit.
Why is While Whale the best place to get a tattoo?
White Whale is just a different shop. You walk into any tattoo shop and you will feel the difference. You can talk to anybody and anybody who has been tattooed by us will give you a similar story. So tattoo shops have this reputation for being like this elitist space where everybody’s covered in tattoos who works there and if you’re not covered, you’re lame. “We’re not gonna talk to you. You’re not worth our time. Like what do you want? You probably want some stupid, small tattoo. We’re not even going to give you the time of day.” It feels very judgmental. It’s hard to be in a space like that. People feel very uncomfortable going into a space where they feel like they’re going to be judged. Nobody wants that.
Yeah and then you’re missing out on this whole market of people.
Yeah so our shop is very welcoming. People come from totally different walks of life. People come in who are covered in tattoos already who want more and there are people who it’s their first time getting tattooed. We want everyone to feel comfortable and like they can ask questions. The last thing you want is to be in a space where you’re getting something permanent on your body and you don’t feel like you can ask a question or say “hey, can we change the placement? Can we move the stencil?” There’s this kind of air of judgement that happens there. Our customer service is just a really, really big part of what our shop is about. You come in and we offer you a beverage. You can take as long as you need deciding the placement. If you decide you don’t like what we’ve drawn up, we can totally re-do it. Everything is able to be changed. And Jeremiah is just really warm and welcoming guy. He’s also a phenomenal artist.
How did he get into tattooing?
Basically Jeremiah moved to Guatemala and he basically took a sabbatical. Jeremiah started doing volunteer work in a gang prison. He was teaching the guys English. The guards would actually lock him in and stand on the outside … they did not want to be in there. They were like “these men are dangerous. Good luck!” And Jeremiah is like “no, they’re great.” Anyhow, he talked with the guys and a lot of them were wanting to leave the gang life but could not because they had gang tattoos. So if we leave with gang tattoos, we’ll be killed. So Jeremiah had this idea “hey, you know what? I’m going to bring down the best tattoo artist in Cincinnati.” So a friend of his who had done some tattoo work for Jeremiah volunteered to do cover-up work free of charge. So he asked Jeremiah to sketch some stuff for the cover-ups. So all of a sudden you’re seeing gang tattoos covered up by beautiful works of art. The guys are just wowed. You were literally seeing lives transformed. So theh this friend asked if he wanted to apprentice under him, which is crazy because he had never taken an apprentice before. So this was seven years ago.
This is my mixed dress. Last week I got up like any morning and searched through my closet for a dress to wear. As I was shuffling through, this little black dress caught my attention. I bought it in the fall at Target. I had tried on probably 5+ dresses and it was between two. I did what probably many of us do: texted my best friend photos of both. She told me to go for this one and I’m so glad I did.
When I first bought the dress, I envisioned wearing it out with friends or on dates (if I was dating … ha). It has a fun and flirty look to it, after all. Yet last week, I spotted the dress and my red blazer, and decided to try something. I loved the way the two looked together and I had accessories to match. Perfect!
So this past Monday, I re-created the outfit and took an adventure to the Anderson Heritage Center, this beautiful historic home that now serves as a wedding venue. It’s not far from where I grew up and I have found memories of playing there as a kid. I’ve been meaning to do a shoot there and this outfit seemed perfect.
That beautiful dress … you know the one that hugs your every curve, fitting you so perfectly as if it was made especially for you! The dress that sends the message to others that you have arrived! The dress that defines who you are by its prints, shape and style without having to add any accessories. You have this dress right? If not, then you should!
It’s that go to piece that is appropriate for any occasion and season as well. The dress that captivates others and sparks a curiosity leading to the question: where does she shop? The fabric of the dress whether flowy, airy, light, or stiff and defined is the fabric of your choice and enhances your every move. As you walk the fabric gently mimics your strut as it allows just enough movement to state that the two of you are separate and you are in control. You decide how you want to wear the dress: long, short, medium in length, straps or strapless, fitted or loose. Whether or not to add a belt, beads, jewels or a sweater is up to you as your beautiful dress is perfect just the way it is!
A Few Tips to Consider when Wearing your Beautiful Dress
Always have a cute cover piece for those short dresses That show too much of your legs when you sit. This can be a shear piece of material that matches the color scheme of your dress.
The long dress Make sure that you give yourself enough of a hem not to step on the dress entangling your shoes and causing you to trip. This is a horrible and embarrassing situation to occur! Here’s a trick if your dress is too long (such as the case with some maxi dresses): you can knot one of the ends giving you still a sexy but low maintenance affect. Or you can merely grab a small part of your dress and hold it as you walk!
The Flowy dress Make sure that you have on a sexy pair of thongs, boy shorts or a slip if you are modest just in case your dress is see through and rises in the wind! Color coordinating of your under garments are good for the flowy dress!
The fitted dress Make sure that you give yourself wiggle room as you wear the fitted dress, you wouldn’t want to take a seat and have your dress rip right from under you! That would be a cool but unwanted breeze!
Finally when wearing your beautiful dress feel the way you look. In other words, adorn your dress with the beautiful characteristics that are naturally a part of you… your smile, your body language and your own self-worth. It will bring to life your beautiful dress as well as you!
Have fun in your beautiful dress as you twirl around in joy and excitement wearing your dress to the remarkable endless places of life’s journey! What better way to enjoy life than to be wearing a dress that makes you feel beautiful both inside and out! Twirl on! L’BAE All Day… Every Day!
I’m Pamela the Inspirationalist! Make it a L’BAE Day!
So I’ll admit it. International Women’s Day just snuck up on me. I woke up this morning to a bunch of Facebook status updates about the day. As a blogger who blogs about women’s empowerment, I should have been more on my game. Such is life. I’m going to put it in my Google calendar for next year.
While getting ready for work, I thought about what I would write. Then, it dawned on me. Instead of me talking about womanhood, I’d let others do it for me. Since starting this blog in the fall, I’ve interviewed countless women of all different walks of life. I always ask them the same question: What does being a woman mean to you? Here’s a collection of what some of them have said.
LaMonica Sherman
“I think women, we naturally have a nurturing spirit and we’re more sensitive, most of the time, to situations than men is. It is what is is. That’s how God created us. Men are get to the point people. Women are “I want to understand. I want to listen and I want to show you that I care.” So being a woman is, not that men don’t care, but I think we show another side of us. We bring another definition of caring, another definition of nurturing and another definition of God.”
Kelly McAndrews
“You know like having a vagina and having breasts (laughs). And like having a menstrual cycle and like the ability to have children. I don’t know, I think deep down it’s a like blessing but also a curse. Like we have something to prove as a race but at the same time we have so many gifts that we can exploit and put out into the world. Like we’re all beautiful and talented.”
Nahara Saballos
“I think I’ve learned from my mom that being a woman means that you have to be strong. Even though people don’t see us as very strong physically, I think women in Nicaragua and in the world have to endure a lot of things just to survive and get by. I think that being a woman to me means being resilient. Definitely a survivor. We are the backbone of community organizing. Any type of progress is usually carried out by women, even if they’re not noted as such. I’m really grateful to be a woman because there’s so much I can learn from other women here and from my mom.”
Lauren Gabbard
“Being a woman to me shows that I have a support structure for things that were making me uncomfortable throughout my life that I didn’t know about before. For instance, being made fun of for certain things in elementary school or issues of violence. I’ve had some violent experiences in my life at the hands of men and just knowing that were all in this together. Women have not always been oppressed and it means that we don’t always need to be. It’s a good part of my identity. I will hang out with pretty much any woman. You don’t have to be on your guard. But a man, you don’t know if they’re going to say something really sexist or try to hit on you inappropriately.
Being a queer woman or a bisexual woman makes me feel like I belong to this legacy of awesome women throughout history that I can always band together with.”
Catherine Daniels
“Being a woman for me is being the backbone to life. We are the nurturers. We are the ones everybody goes to. I’m a grandma and I have a little granddaughter. The first thing she does when she sees me is she sticks her hands out wanting fingernail polish. She’s only one and a half, and she already feels empowered as a little girl to feel girly. We have kind of dismissed the whole culture of wearing dresses. When I was younger, my very southern grandmother would dress me in frilly dresses. The frillier, the better. The lace, the crinoline … it was almost disgusting it was so girly. It just felt good to be in a dress. I’m glad I can share that with my granddaughter.”
Faith Mueller
“I think that being a woman means to me is you have to be your own person. At the end of the day, you’re only going to look yourself in the mirror. It’s just going to be you and yourself. Our society tries to tell women what they should be like, and that’s on both sides of the spectrum. What should a woman be like? You have to be yourself and you have to love yourself, and be your own biggest advocate. That’s important.”
There were many other women who had incredible things to say on womanhood. Happy International Women’s Day!
Hi all! Welcome to part three of our photoshoot with Jazmin. This part includes a short interview with some hard-hitting questions. This is one of my favorite parts of featuring different people each week. Everyone has such interesting things to say about womanhood, dresses and anything else life.
I absolutely love this dress. Jazmin is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, and bought this dress there. It was designed to be worn to the wonderful beaches of Mexico. As many of you know, I want to travel the entire world. I hope to explore Mexico one day. Many of my clients at Su Casa Hispanic Center (my day job) are from Mexico. As with any place, they have a mixture of good and less good things to say. The food, though, is one thing I think we can all agree is simply amazing.
This dress, though, is amazing! It is so super unique! I love anything colorful!
Okay now with the questions:
Name: Jazmin Ojeda
Age: “I’m forever 28”
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio; originally from Mexico City, Mexico
Profession: Engineer
What was that like coming to the United States at first?
It was difficult. It was fun because you come to another country, but it’s difficult to get adapted to the weather, the language and the people. It’s a shock. But then you just … you know. You learn as you go.
Do you have any funny stories from when you first came here of things you didn’t understand or said wrong?
So I went to the drive-though with my brother, because I learned some English in high school, but it’s not the same. And I couldn’t understand anything and I couldn’t place my order. So then I decided to apply for a job at Burger King because that’s where we went through the drive-through. And I’m thinking maybe I can just work in the kitchen. So they put me in the front and for the first three days I was like “what do I do?” I didn’t know how to give change. I didn’t know like nothing. So like this guy came in and said “can I have a hamburger with everything on it but onion?” And I thought “but onion? What does that mean?” Actually I had to go and ask someone “what does it mean when you say ‘but something?” So things like that would happen to me every day. So that’s how I pretty much learned.
Yeah you learn from making those mistakes. Very cool. So what are you most passionate about in life?
I like learning. So for example I became an engineer because learning to me is easy. I think I can learn anything I want to. If I read something, I will grasp it right away. Engineering is difficult. It’s a lot of thinking and it’s a lot of mathematics. When I’m solving a problem, I just get into my own world. Working with numbers just gets me lost. So it’s like a passion. I can just kill time doing some sort of problem or resolving something, and next thing you know it relaxes me. And getting an answer or the right thing just feels like a huge accomplishment.
What does being a woman mean to you?
It is kind of hard being a woman but it is the most precious gift that a human being can have. Only women can understand things that humanity won’t. We are able to give birth. We could do anything that any other man can … probably even better. We’re capable of multitasking, bearing pain, being as smart as we want to be, seductive … we have all kinds of tools that it is just amazing. I think that there is a lot of bad things about being a woman too, but the good things are just like … it’s like a pandora box. We’re full of surprises. To me, that’s a blessing.
How does wearing a dress make you feel?
I feel that I have power because I’m coming back to being a woman and using my womanhood to express myself. It depends on the dress. You could dress up for the office and it makes you feel more confident and more intelligent. It’s just your femininity but also what you represent. So wearing the dress to me is like being a little kid and a woman at the same time … it’s like an illusion.
Jazmin could not pick just three dresses for our shoot. This fourth one was also amazing. She got it from BCBG to be the matron of honor in her sister’s wedding. We decided to keep warm and take these photos in the living room.
Me gustan los dos vestidos mucho! I liked both dresses a lot!
This past Tuesday, I got caught in a downpour. I was walking to lunch with a few friends and the place ended up being farther away than we thought. The original plan was to take photos in this cute cafe we were headed to. Then for a few moments, I decided against that considering that I was soaked. Yet after I checked myself in the mirror, I decided “eh, why not?” My blog is not about myself or anyone else looking perfect. It’s about sharing life with the world around me. Sometimes that means getting caught in a downpour.
How I honor my mom
This dress was found on sale at H & M several months back. I instantly loved how easy of a dress it is. You just put it on with some tights and boots, and you are ready to go. I’ve also always worn it with a good necklace.
As many of you know, my mom passed in January. She was a big fan of the Hunger Games, so my best friend got me two Mockingjay necklaces for Christmas. She was in hospice during that time. She was buried in one of them and I have the other.
I had not yet worn it and I’m not really sure why. Yet on Tuesday, it just seemed to go with the outfit. It was such a neat way to remember my mom throughout the day. Thus it got me thinking of ways that I remember and honor my mom.
1. Jewelry
The Mockingjay necklace is not the only piece of jewelry I have that’s connected to her. Anything she gave me is something that connects me to her. I have this necklace with the letter N on it and several other things. I also have scarves and dresses that she gave me with such love.
2. My dog Toby
Dogs were also one of her favorite things. She loved our dog Toby a lot. She also loved animal rescues and I’m sure would have fostered 20 dogs if she could. So any time that I spend with Toby I know is making her happy.
3. Just doing what I love
My mom was always a big proponent of me chasing my dreams. She was always my biggest supporter and wanted nothing to hold her back. I know she’s looking down proudly.
4. Watching all her favorite shows
We would spend a lot of time watching TV shows with her such as The Middle, The Office, Parks and Recreation and The Big Bang Theory. I can just imagine all the things she’d say.
Welcome to part two of this week’s Woman of the Week series featuring Jazmin, a working professional originally from Mexico but living in Cincinnati. I love featuring different women on the blog because I get to see what dresses they choose. I always tell people that I love being a blogger because I get to be the media. The media tells women what they should look like and how they dress. Yet with A World of Dresses, I let the women I feature define what my blog tells the world.
So today we take a look at what Jazmin normally wears to her job as an engineer (click here to see our Monday post about her lacey dress).
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Bienvenidos a la segunda parte de La Mujer de la Semana! Esta semana es sobre Jazmin, una mujer de Mexico, actualmenta vive en Los Estados Unidos con su esposo, graduada de la facultad de Ingeneria.
En lo personal me gusta escribir sobre diferentes mujeres cada semana porque me llama la atencion ver que vestidos ellas eligen.
Muchas veces los medios de comunicacion nos dicen como debemos vestir o parecer. Pero en mi blog A World of Dresses las mujeres de quienes escribo definen el mensaje que desean le llegue a todo el mundo.
I am just in love with everything about this outfit! I love the neckline. It takes what would otherwise be a plain lbd and turns it into something stylish yet professional. I also tend to prefer heels like this with a strap over the top. They have a very classic and polished look. Plus red simply makes an outfit pop.
Thank you for reading! Our third and final feature of Jazmin will be this Saturday. I am so very excited to show you the other two dresses she chose!
This week we will explore the life and dresses of Jazmin, a close friend of Jenni, a friend who I featured on the blog several months ago. The two of were apart of Salsanati together. When I was looking for someone to feature, I reached out to Jenni and she suggested Jazmin!
Today is the first installment of three this week. Each week this month I plan to have a different woman of the week who I will feature three different times during that week. Each post will feature a new dress outfit and some fun facts.
Name: Jazmin Ojeda
Age: “I’ll always be 28.”
Profession: Engineer
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio; originally from Mexico City, Mexico
Languages spoken: Spanish and English
Fun facts:
She met her husband in Mexico briefly as a child. He is from Mexico City as well. Years later they reconnected when they were both living in Cincinnati.
She loves anything chocolate.
She named Bill Clinton as one of the three famous people she would have dinner with if she could pick anyone.
She became an engineer because she loves learning and solving problems.
If she were stranded on a desert island, she’d bring a knife, water and rope.
This dress is very special to Jazmin. She had it in her closet for seven years but never wore it because it didn’t fit. Then she went on a healthy weight-loss journey a few years back, and was able to fit into in the end. She even almost gave it away! She’s of course glad she didn’t!
Hi all! Happy Friday! So for today’s top five post, I thought I would change it up a bit. When I started this blog, I interviewed several women each week. While I have taken a small break from that life, I plan to feature one woman each week starting at the beginning of March.
Anyway, so after looking through photos from the past, I’ve made a list of some of my favorites. Now I want to stress the word some here. I have many, many more favorites than this list here.
1. Imbue by J Russo
Jena made this dress entirely herself. This is what she wore on her wedding day. Also fun fact: this dress takes the record for most likes on my Instagram page … 106!
2. Tabitha and her tiny house of dresses
This one was super fun to shoot. The weather was downright amazing. Tabatha and her husband live in a tiny house that I had the opportunity of visiting.
3. Taylor’s world of dresses
I featured Taylor several months back. This elegant gown was her senior recital dress from college. It is absolutely stunning.
4. The lovely Rita
Rita is a good friend of mine who I featured in October. She always has the neatest dresses. This one is from Ottoman Imports, a lovely local boutique in Covington, Ky. The woman who owns this shop finds unique pieces from all over the world. This is one of many.
5. Jenny’s sparkles
Jenni is a local salsa dancer. We did a photoshoot in several of her amazing dresses. I absolutely love this one and how she pairs it with some fun, sparkly heels.
Well folks, happy Friday! Hope you have an amazing one! I’m off to girls night in just a few hours!
