I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself at plenty of weddings and also in several weddings over the last several years. I suppose it’s because I’m 29 and everyone but myself (okay that’s an exaggeration) is getting hitched. The thing is, I’m not one of those bitter people. I really, REALLY love weddings. I love wearing dresses and love any excuse to wear one! Furthermore, when my friends ask me to be their bridesmaid, I’m overjoyed. I love being there for my friends and helping them in any way I can.
So when Ada from Elegance and Mommyhood approached me about a wedding style collaboration, I of course said yes. In fact, there are six of us collaborating today! This dress is absolutely perfect for a wedding and in a less-expected color: green! I love dark green and feel like I look best in it, so I had to order this from Modcloth. In fact, I had been eyeing it for about a year before purchasing it.
Today is Wednesday. In just two weeks, I’ll be either in the air or on a layover somewhere in Europe. Spain is actually getting close and real. It’s both scary and exciting.
For those of you who do not know, I’m moving to Spain to teach English. All summer I thought I was moving to the city of Jaén. Instead I’ll be living in Granada and plan to tell my lovely e-mail subscribers the whole story this Friday. Speaking of, have you subscribed to my Spain list? I’ll be sending out two e-mails a month with exclusive posts about my Granada and Europe experience, travel tips, travel deals and lots of beautiful photos. You will not want to miss out. Click here to subscribe.
Anyway, so the look I’m going with today is my mint green dress. I found this on Poshmark. I’ve actually been poshing a lot lately as I cannot take all my clothing with me to Spain. Honestly, packing lighter is better. They have most of the same things we do here and I know I’ll shop over there. So for now, I’m getting rid of dresses, shirts, accessories and a few scarves. You should definitely go take a look! Any money earned on Posh funds all my big moving expenses.
I initially downloaded the app back in I want to say April or May. This dress was so stinkin cute and from Modcloth. Modcloth dresses are normally $60 or more. I got this one for $25. That’s one of the coolest things about Poshmark. If you like a certain brand, you can follow that brand and find things on there. Like it’s great for people who love more high end brands like Kate Spade and Michael Kors. For me, I love looking for Modcloth stuff on there.
My mint green dress
My favorite thing about Modcloth are the vintage looks they create. I can spend hours on their website searching through their dresses and shoes. It can be addicting. My favorite thing about this dress was the neckline.
This is the only thing I’ll be buying from Poshmark for a while. As I said before, I have so much that I need to downsize (ps. you can shop my closet over there on the sidebar!). I know that I’ll still be left with having to leave things behind.
I have goals …
The other day, I wrote out a long to-do list of all the things I need to do before I leave. I’m sailing through it but still know I won’t be able to think of everything. That is okay. I need to keep reminding myself that all will be okay. I’ll arrive in one piece. I’ll find a wonderful apartment and I’ll have the time of my life. It’ll be one of the best and most challenging experiences of my life. I’m ready, or so I tell myself.
In short, I’ve learned that life is also about goals and self growth. One of the things I dislike about myself is my disorganization. I see it all over the place with my blog. I set a schedule and then I don’t stick to it. There are a million things I want to do and then don’t. I see it in my car and in my room. And I’ve known for some time now that it needs to change.
It’s happening
So right here on my blog, I’m proclaiming that I will be better. I want to note that better does not mean perfect. In this new chapter of my life overseas, I’ll be more structured with my life. I’ll run more regularly, keep a tidier room and stick to a better blogging schedule. I’m so excited to see where it takes me. And if I fail a few times, that’s okay.
Do you like turning over new leaves? What are some of the biggest changes you want to make in your life?
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Also photos were taken by Paige Dunn. Check out her work on Facebook here.
Green is one of my colors. We all have a set of colors that look killer on us and green just happens to be one of mine. Our colors may be different than our favorite colors. For example, I absolutely loved pink in middle school and high school. In fact my old e-mail address was pinkchica474@fuse.net. And little did I know back then that Spanish would later become my second language. However pink, unless it’s a very dark pink, tends to just wash me out. I have fair skin and blue eyes, so lighter colors like yellow and pink are often a no-go.
So green was never necessarily a “favorite” color like pink, blue or purple. However I look amazing in it. I’m not just saying this because I have some big ego and think I always look amazing (because really, who does?). Whenever I put on green, I get lots of compliments. A royal green tends to be a nice, warm contrast to my fair skin, blue eyes and light hair. So because of this, I’ve sought out more green in my wardrobe over the years.
Do you know what your colors are? If you are a tad unsure, I’m here to help! When we discover what our perfect colors are, it makes shopping so much easier and worry-free. If we buy a cocktail dress in one of our colors, we are way more likely to wear it over and over again. So in reality, the biggest benefit to discovering our colors is that it makes us wiser shoppers. And more than anything, I’m a huge fan of shopping wisely.
Here are a few of my tips for discovering your colors:
1. Start by looking in the mirror
You’re simply going to want to take a close look at yourself. What is your skin tone? Is it dark? Is it more of an olive? Or is it incredibly light, like me? What color are your eyes and hair? Write all these things down!
2. Let’s look at colors!
Go through your wardrobe and start holding stuff up. For me, for example, yellow or beige just washes me out. Perhaps light green or blue look awful on you. Perhaps pink goes perfectly with your olive skin. Here are a few cheats that generally tend to work:
Blue eyes: blue or green
Olive skin, dark brown eyes: orange, pink
Green eyes: grey, light pink
Darker skin tones: yellow, beige, pink
3. Dress accordingly!
So blue maybe isn’t your color and it’s your favorite. That doesn’t mean you have to completely shut all blue out of your life. Perhaps you can add blue accents to your outfits. I personally love adding little pops of color here and there to my outfits.
Overall, no one needs to like buy a whole new wardrobe. That’s ridiculous. However knowing your colors can make shopping for new things a little more easier. I don’t know about you but the older I get, the more cautious of a shopper I become. I really take the time to think about what I’m purchasing and when I’ll actually wear it. I’ve found knowing my colors really helps when doing this.
My look and my colors
Dark green is one of my colors, so I was initially drawn to this dress. This was, oddly enough, the first dress I bought on Modcloth. While I have been a fan of the online shop for years and have spent lots of time looking through all their AMAZING dresses (they have so many), I had never bought anything. Perhaps it was the online plunge? I’ll admit that when buying things online, the sheer fact that it’s the Internet can be daunting. What if it fits funny? What if the pictures are misleading?
Well you know what? I actually had to send this dress back when I first got it. In a way, my fears came true. When I initially got my order in the mail, the slip stuck out from underneath the green lace part by about two inches. It looked awful. However if you’ll take a gander at the pictures below, you’ll see that this is not the case. That’s because their customer support is so ridiculously easy!
I often work in the evenings and return to my house around 8:30-9 p.m. It’s too late to call a call center and I’d honestly probably not have time the next day between the hours of 9-5. However Modcloth offers a customer support online chat feature. I chatted with someone and she right away put in to send me a new dress. It arrived just a few days later and was perfect! I love how easily accessible their customer support is and how friendly they are. I have also bought things from Modcloth since with no issues.
This dress was in one of my colors and it was on sale. I’m glad I bought it! I ended up wearing this dress to my friend Sara’s rehearsal dinner. And this necklace unexpectedly paired so nicely with it. I oddly found this necklace at a craft store for $6! Sometimes some of your most-loved accessories are found in the most unlikely places.
These photos were shot by a lovely photographer named Paige Dunn just as the sun was starting to set.
Maxi dresses are one of those things that grew on me. I’ll admit that when they first became popular again, I was hesitant. Perhaps I was unsure of floor-length dresses in everyday life? Perhaps I was worried that as a tall girl, they’d end up far too short on me. Whatever it was, I kept away for close to two years.
Last Spring, I was planning for a move to Nicaragua. What I knew about where I was going was that women don’t wear shorts. When traveling, I always want to do what is culturally appropriate. Nothing says American tourist more than someone who does not do a little Internet research before visiting a new place. You’re in their land and you should always show some respect.
I knew Nicaragua would be very hot with little to no air conditioning. A maxi dress seemed like the perfect thing. You really cannot offend anyone in a floor-length dress. Furthermore a dress would allow for more breeze than some hot, stuffy pair of jeans would. So I stocked up on a few maxi dresses and skirts. This dress was a part of the collection.
Also you should check out my Pinterest board all about maxis. It’s another great place for some maxi dress inspiration.
This was from a photoshoot we did several months back. Amber bought this dress for Easter Sunday. It really is perfect for that!
I also just love her belted look. She pulled that deep hue right out of the dress with that cardigan. The entire ensemble is complete with her necklace.
Maxi picks
Here are a few maxi dress picks I found perfect for this season. The great thing about a maxi dress is that you can save or splurge.
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.
Her lovely rehearsal dinner look.
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.
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.
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:
ModclothTarget
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.
Dress: Lily Pulitzer
Kayleigh is wearing a classic pop-over dress. Here are a few of my favorite pop-over dresses from the season:
Modcloth
Modcloth
3. The breezy maxi
Dress: Altrd State; Necklace: Francesca’s
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.
Dress: Mine from Target
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.
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I love making new friends. This fall, I decided to commit to a year of service through AmeriCorps. One of my favorite things about doing this is meeting other like-minded people. There are roughly 15-18 of us in Cincinnati also doing AmeirCorps with my particular program and Una is one of them. Una graduated college last Spring, so AmeriCorps has provided her with her first post-college job. With grownup life comes grownup responsibilities. For Una, she’s enjoyed her year of service so far.
“It seemed like a good way to transition,” she said. “I knew I wanted to take a year before thinking about thinking about grad school.”
She has been a supporter of A World of Dresses since it’s inception, so I thought I’d feature her this week. We met up at Aquarius Star on Ludlow Ave. in Clifton for some tea, laughter and dresses. It was an amazing way to spend a rainy Saturday.
Through AmeriCorps, Una spends her days as a pre-school classroom aide at Corryville Catholic Elementary. She felt that this dress was fitting for the position considering it has dinosaurs on it. This was a Modcloth find as well. I now want a dinosaur dress.
“I really like working with kids,” said Una about her position. “It’s cool to build their first impressions of school and get them excited about reading.”
Next we have the polka-dot dress, something she found at a second-hand store. The black and white polka dots and flats pairs quite nicely with her grey tights. She originally got this dress for her college graduation. It’s very much associated with that big day, she said.
Every woman needs a little black dress. This is Una’s. This also was a Modcloth find. She joked that she wears this dress when she wants to feel like a grownup. Adulthood is something she admits she’s still attempting to figure out.
“I’m still learning how to dress like a grownup woman would and that’s been interesting to navigate,” she said.
From what I’ve seen, she seems to be rocking it.
So for the last dress, we broke our own rules. In fact, it’s not even a dress. It’s a skirt. However it’s not just any skirt. According to Una, it’s one of her most-worn skirts. Like the polka-dot dress, she also found it at a second-hand store back in high school.
Una, thank you for having tea with me and allowing me to photograph you!
It was a Monday like none other. Mondays are my day off, so I find myself scheduling meetings and interviews for A World of Dresses. However taking photos of a tiny house was a little different. And I was excited.
Tiny houses have gotten some buzz recently. Perhaps it was the various articles on the Internet or that documentary on Netflix. I’m guilty as I have watched both. While I’m not sure if I’d ever live in a tiny house, they are so very intriguing. So when my friend Daveen told me she had a friend who lived in one with her husband and two dogs, I was fascinated. Furthermore, I was told that she too often wears dresses. I was sold. I had to write about her.
The tiny house that they inhabit is a tad different than the ones you may have read about. The two of them bought an old truck trailer and are in the process of turning it into a comfortable home. Their last home was a 1200 square foot loft in Over-the-Rhine, which they moved out of just about two months ago. They have been working on this house for the past year. Going from the city to a tiny house in Northern Kentucky is quite a change. And for Tabatha, a welcomed change as she commented on how much she enjoys the peace and quiet. Her two dogs seem to love it too.
As I park my car, I’m greeted by a woman in a blue and black polka-dotted dress. “Oh gosh, I sure hope you’re Nina,” she says to me. I knew she was Tabatha because why else would a woman in a fabulous dress ascend from a trailer of a truck?
She led me around to the back of the trailer. A set of stairs lead up to the actual truck.
In short, Tabatha is always down for adventure. She said she’s the friend her friends often call when they want to do something crazy or need some weird favor. So while her husband Noah often comes up with the crazy ideas such as moving into a tiny house, she’s the one who will actually help him carry out the big ideas. People often ask “how did you convince your wife to do this?” However she just laughs as there was hardly any convincing. Both have a desire to travel and careers they can take on the road, so a tiny house is absolutely perfect.
Featuring a woman of a tiny house is kind of neat. With a tiny house, you really have to pair down what you own. The dresses she chose for the shoot were the ones that made the cut.
“Especially in a tiny house, I can’t just splurge on things,” she said.
She looks for unique, one of a kind dresses. As a result, many have been found on Modcloth.
This here is her newest dress, which she says is sort of a wildcard for her. Big floral prints can be challenging as she doesn’t want to look matronly. Yet this one doesn’t look matronly at all.
This is her other dress that has that 1950’s silhouette look. I was amazed by the amount of poof both dresses had. Her secret is a brown crinoline slip that she recently found at a local vintage store.
“I love something that has a full body,” she said. Also, the twirl factor is important. She showed me … she can definitely twirl in both of these.
This pink hour glass, pinup-style dress is one of her favorites. Several years ago, she had a work party with the theme black, white and pink. She ordered this for it and it was a week late! So while she never had the chance to wear it to that party, she has worn it many times since.
“If I had an excuse to wear this everyday, I’d be all about it,” she said.
Next, we decided to shoot a few photos inside the home. The bedroom part was one she was excited to show off. That was one of the first rooms they had worked on. The dress here also has a fantastic story. She found it at a store in Portland, Oregon that takes old pieces of clothing and sometimes even furniture, and turns them into clothing. Often times, there’s only one or two of one dress because of this. So with this dress, she never has to worry about someone else wearing it too.
The one she ended with was pretty amazing. I love the bold prints.
“I feel like life is too short to be wearing boring things,” she concluded.
Dress: Mine from Target
