Francescas Archives - A World of Dresses

5 Reasons to miss that summer sundress

09/01/2016 31 Comments

I’m going to miss my summer sundress. As someone who wears dresses basically every day of her life, year round, you go through your phases. Tonight I was invited to an online Lularoe party and opted for a dress with longer sleeves because I was picturing myself getting up in the morning in Spain in like January. I’ll put on my tights, favorite boots, maybe a scarf and definitely a jacket. The sundress days will be gone until next year. And I’ll admit it, there’s just something about sundress season that I long for each year.

Several months ago, my brother was in town and we went out for sushi. I was LOVING everything about my look. On a whim, I had ran my straightener through my super straight hair and created curls (perhaps it was the whole not having washed my hair that day thing). My pink lipstick and green jewelry were color coordinating with one of my favorite sundresses. The ensemble was simply easy and comfortable.

Why I’ll miss that summer sundress

5. I’ll miss the convenience

When you put on a sundress, 90% of your outfit is complete. Except for your shoes, everything else is basically optional. If you don’t feel like wearing earrings or you don’t think you have a necklace that matches, it’s all good.

In the winter, you have to find tights and a sweater. You have to make sure they go with the outfit. While I do enjoy that part of accessorizing, I will at times miss the simplicity of my summer sundress.

4. The accessibility

Okay, so I’m basically an open book when it comes to bodily functions. I mean, we all do it, right? Sundresses make for the easiest bathroom runs ever. You’re in, you’re out and you’re washing your hands maybe a minute later. When I’m out with friends at a restaurant or bar, I’m all for whatever will get me back to my group fast enough.

So basically … urination is my number four reason. Let’s be real here.

3. The breeze

Summer can get quite hot. However each summer I remind myself to be thankful that I’m not a woman in 1832 because those petticoats would have been terrible. I’ll gladly take my sundresses. I really do think they keep you cooler than shorts and a tank top. And depending on the material, you can stay quite cool.

2. They are incredibly easy to dress down

There are some dresses that just sit in my closet. I often feel like I can only wear them if I dress them up. However sundresses are the ultimate casual dress. Those black sandals that you see in these photos have been my go-to sandals all summer. I always like to buy one pair that goes with everything and wear them all summer.

If you want to put some heals with your sundress, you can also do that too. They can be dressed up or dressed down.

1. They can be as boldly colorful as possible … and white!

Sundresses come with no color restrictions. And I mean it’s not really that the other seasons have them, you just wear a lot less bold prints in January.

However in the summer, you can be as bold as you want. So thus … this dress. Enjoy!

Ladies are you going to miss your summer sundresses?

Today I’m linking up here:

Friday

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, Liz Adventures, Hello Happiness, Nancy’s Fashion Style, Jeans & a Teacup, Claire Justine, Rachel the Hat, A Poketful of Polka Dots, Forage Fashion, Fashion Should be Fun, Sincerely Paula, Shelbee On the Edge, Birdie Shoots

Monday

Birth of a Fashion Blogger, Sincerely Jenna Marie, More Pieces of Me, Fizz and Frosting, Still Being Molly, Beauty by Miss L, Michelle’s Paige, Not Dressed as Lamb, Mahogany Closet, Color and Grace, and Not Dead Yet Style

Tuesday

Live Randomly Simple, Sandy a la mode, Two Peas in a Blog, I Do deClaire, The Fashion Canvass, Walking in Memphis in High Heels and Elegantly Dressed & Stylish

Wednesday

Jersey Girl Texan Heart, Shopping My Closet, Pumps and Pushups, The Pleated Poppy, Sydney Fashion Hunter, The Mummy Chronicles, Cappuccino and Fashion, Posh Classy Mom, Living on Cloud Nine

Thursday

Elegance and Mommyhood, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom, Jaymie Ashcraft

Nina's corner

Ultimate recipe for a colorful go-to dress

06/01/2016 7 Comments

Ah the go-to dress. We all have one … or six. It’s that dress that we worry we’ve washed too many times. We wonder when it’ll start falling apart at the seams. It’s just easy to wear it. It goes with everything. It’s appealing.

This here is one of my winter go-to’s. I bought it at Francescas and have not looked back. It’s made of a nice, sweater material. Pair that with some boots and it’s the perfect dress to wear in the winter time. My friend Hillary from hillarycutterphoto.com shot these at the Cincinnati Art Museum in the fall. This pink wall was absolutely perfect.

I remember I initially wanted to try white tights with boots for this outfit. What do you do when you’re unsure of an outfit idea? Look it up on Pinterest, of course. By the way, are you following us on Pinterest? Click here if not.

I’m very pleased with how the white tights look. What do you think?

Recipe for a colorful go-to dress:

It absolutely has to be comfortable.
Make sure the colors suit you.
Make sure you have ample amounts of accessories to match. Example: my red earrings and black belt.
Stop and think before buying: would I for real wear this?

My linkups:

Wednesday

Jersey Girl Texan Heart, Shopping My Closet, Pumps and Pushups, The Pleated Poppy, Sydney Fashion Hunter, The Mummy Chronicles, Cappuccino and Fashion and Posh Classy Mom

Thursday

Elegance and Mommyhood, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom

Friday

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Nancy’s Fashion Style, Jeans & a Teacup, Claire Justine, Rachel the Hat, A Poketful of Polka Dots, Forage Fashion, Fashion Should be Fun, Sincerely Paula

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, H54F

The 5 dresses we wore in Florida

04/01/2016 10 Comments

The Florida dress is a special dress. Last weekend, I had a small girls trip to Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It was not long enough in all honesty. However a good getaway in the sun was just what I needed. It was exciting to look through my closet and pick out the dresses I’d wear. Most if not all of what I took with me were dresses I had packed away for the winter. While it was still a tad cold in Cincinnati, packing my sundresses excited me. I was ready.

I was not the only person ready for some sun, beach and relaxation. My two close friends Kayleigh and Isabelle came with me. I told them to bring their dresses as I’d have my camera out and ready. We took pictures … lots of them. How could you not with the beach and palm trees? So this post is dedicated to our five Florida dresses.

1. The Simple Sundress

And if you follow me on Instagram (which you should go do right now if you don’t), you saw this gem.

Florida dress — Dress: Three Pink Hearts; Shoes: Charlotte Russe

I found the dress at a consignment shop in the fall. It’s so very comfy.

Here are a few simple sundresses I enjoy:

2. That blue dress

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my best friend Kayleigh. She’s a 26-year-old graduate student and middle school Spanish teacher living in Charleston, South Carolina. We’ve been friends for 12 years.

This is the perfect representation of our friendship. Ridiculous things always happen.

Kayleigh is wearing a classic pop-over dress. Here are a few of my favorite pop-over dresses from the season:

3. The breezy maxi

This dress is one of my favorite’s. The material is nice and breathes easily. Here’s a Modcloth favorite of mine:

4. The night out dress

Because when you’re on vacation, you go out.

This is Isabelle. Isabelle and I met through Kayleigh almost five years ago when we were both living in Washington DC. Isabelle had just moved to town and Kayleigh gave me her number because she needed friends, she said. Kayleigh and Isabelle were sorority sisters. Well we did become friends and now we all took a trip to Florida together.

5. THIS outfit

Okay I’m going to break my own rules and talk about a skirt. Izzy’s outfit was just too cute. Our brunch place had a nice mural that we had some fun with.

That too is how I felt about being in Florida.

*This post contains affiliate links in which I receive a small commission if you click through*

Today we’re 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