Little Short Long Short Black Dress

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I had not seen this dress before I noticed it in the sale section while browsing on Free People’s online website. I now know it is because it is listed as a tunic and not a dress. It was called Free People Romantics Same Suit Tunic (now sold out. Slightly similar “tunic” here). I am generally not an impulse buyer, but this was an impulse buy in the summer.

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It was odd to me that this was listed as a tunic for a variety of reasons. First, half of Free People’s dresses would really be tops for this thirty seven year old. So, this piece being labeled as a tunic and not a dress made absolutely no sense to me. Second because I really, really liked it and I was shocked to not have seen it before.

But then I looked up the word “tunic,” having previously thought it meant a loose top. But it really is defined as a loose piece of clothing that goes to your knees. So, this fits. And Free People is right once again.

And I was wrong.

Again.

Sigh.

Don’t tell my husband I admitted that.

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I paired the dress with some gold jewelry on this day. My cuff from World Market and Honeycomb Earrings from Modcloth.

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I know there will be some mixed reviews on the extreme severity of the hem disproportion of this dress. My daughter being a huge not-fan of it.

However, as an extreme champion klutz, having extra coverage in the back for the inevitable picking up of fallen objects is an amazing addition.

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Plus, it is as though I have a cape trailing behind me when I walk.

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A cape or odd tail feathers. I guess it depends on your point of view.

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Maybe I am the superhero of ducks. It would certainly explain many things.

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What? You ask.

Hmmmm. I cannot think of any but I certainly have an affinity for quacking.

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Hey! I think I see a pond over yonder. Let’s go.

Do you have anything with a hi-low hem line? I will admit that I am getting kind of sick of the trend. But for some reason I still like this piece.

Quack.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

*This dress can also be seen in my root beer cake post.

*this post was edited using the App VSCO Cam filters: C1 at level 3, temperature at level 1 and contrast at level one.

A Dress Falled With Embroidery

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My husband and I went on a lunch date on this day. It was not cool enough for the sweater, so I wish I had set it down.

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I also wish I had more pictures of the dress itself, but my photographer that day was all about the closeups.

I hate closeups.

I love my photographer.

You will just have to bear with me.

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Or bare with me. Look at the cute Free People bandeau bra (bralette post can be found here) I simply put over a regular bra for a pretty lace peek-a-boo moment.

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I found this dress at my local Nordstrom Rack for a screaming deal. I could not believe nobody had scooped it up (it is sold out. I could only find one size medium of a similar dress. It is on sale for $30 from $148 on Free People here).

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The embroidered detail is amazing.

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I wanted to pair the dress with some wood accessories. I slipped on this Scrabble Ring for a fun solution. If I was a pumpkin latte kind of gal, I would happily drink it in this dress. This dress screams, “fall!”, with its orange and mustard accents.

Alas, I am allergic to pumpkin. So, I will have to get by just wearing the color.

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I will somehow manage to get through the autumn with regular ol’ coffee.

And closeups of my thirty seven year old face.

Somehow.

The secret is in the sauce a little thing I am grateful to not be allergic to, wine.

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Did you notice something amiss in the previous closeup picture? Something that did not look right?

Was it a bit creepy?

Was it my elbow?

I am double jointed in my elbows, so sometimes in pictures like those it looks as though my head should be flipped the other way.

Just give it time.

Halloween is coming up.

With pumpkins. And closeups. And weird elbows.

And wine.

It’s enough to make a girl’s head spin. What is making your head spin lately? I am definitely craning my head towards this dress. Are you double jointed? I only have it in my elbows and my thumbs…

And my mind.

did you

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I wanted to do a quick outfit photo session before my husband and I went on a lunch date. We were driving to our favorite desert spot for pictures. It is easy. Secluded. Private.

But halfway there, we drove by an orange grove and some interesting graffiti was spotted on a fence surrounding some equipment.

As someone who took two college philosophy courses, I was intrigued with the message.

“did you?” That is all that it said. I admire the choice of lower case letters. It was not aggressive in its innocence. Lower case letters never are. It was simply curious.

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As a lover of the obscure, I admired the simple, but deep, question. There are many, many ways you could take the message:

Did you find the pumpkin I buried thirteen paces to the left?

Did you call the police when you saw me graffiti this sign?

Did you regret not getting on that plane to New Orleans?

Ahem.

I went for a more shallow approach, myself. This is a fashion post, after all…

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Did you…remember to smile?

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Did you…brush your hair? I’m guessing… No.

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Did you…drop something?

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Did you…get deodorant on your shirt?

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Did you…wear too long of a skirt?

Or did you…wear too short of a shoe?

Either way, just tie that baby up.

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Did you…wait for a sale price on this skirt for almost two years?

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Did you…tuck your pajama shirt into your skirt and hope no one would notice?

Did you…wear it to bed again that night?

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Did you…wear this outfit to the chiropractor’s office and then remember too late that you had not shaved your legs in over a week?

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Did you…decide to have fun despite all of those things? Well, did you?

In the words of the great philosopher, Aristotle, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”

Or in the words of Jenni, “Yep.”

*this post was edited using Afterlife’s Crest Filter at 40%.

P.S. Sorry for the unexpected break! I will have new posts up again on a daily basis starting tomorrow! : )

It’s The Little Things: Bralettes and Bandeaus

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This is a sensitive subject. I am hoping to write an informative post without being tacky. I am a modest girl, after all (for some reason my family laughed ridiculously hard at this statement). Okay, I try to be a modest girl. I also happen to be a mom. So, I have to keep it tasteful.

Deep breath.

Here we go…

I randomly picked up two bralettes at Nordstrom Rack in the clearance aisle about two months ago. I loved the bright colors. I purchased a cheery yellow and a fuchsia. I still thought they were expensive at $22 each, but I had been looking for a pretty bra that had a back that did not necessarily look like a bra. A bralette, if you will, to wear with low-back dresses and tops. I try not to show too much cleavage. And I like to stick to nude and black bras for every day wear. The picture above is the back of a bandeau over a regular nude bra.

A flirty back is much more my style than a low-cut top.

I went home and was pleasantly surprised at how many items in my closet the bralettes looked pretty with, just peeking out the back.

In, hopefully, not a risqué way. I consider bralettes to be more of an undershirt than a bra with their thicker body and pretty textures (I love the eyelet one in this post). I grabbed a medium in everything I mention below.

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My husband saw this outfit* (post to come, well, actually, cooking post to come) and said to me, “Um, your bra is showing… A lot.”

I breezed by him like a true woman of the world and said, “I know. It is supposed to be this way.” Inwardly I was wondering if he was right. But the key to pulling off this look is being bra-ve.

Long story short, I found that the bralettes I purchased are actually made by a well known brand sold by many of my favorite retailers.

The brand is called, “Cosabella.” I checked and Nordstrom Rack currently has these colors for sale in their online store. They do not have the colors I picked up, but they might in-store. The prices online are slightly higher than the in-store price I paid (however they are still much cheaper than full price).

Amazon also has a pack of three in certain colors for $45 right now. Since the regular price for the bralettes are over $44 each, this is a great price.

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I also picked up three Free People bandeaus in July. I bought them for $8.40 each at Nordstrom Rack. Original price is $28. However, I was just there last week (buying the gift card for my giveaway) and they are now currently on clearance at Nordstrom Rack for $7 each. My Nordstrom Rack had a ton of these bandeaus in a variety of sizes and colors left. I wear them over my regular bras (the bandeaus offer nothing in the way of support) to add a pretty lace pattern where I need it in the front or back.

My husband said to me, “you are seriously going to post pictures of your underwear on the internet?”

“Um, yea. Besides it’s not underwear. It’s bralettes. They’re not even real bras. I would never post pictures of my real bras on the internet. Why? Is it weird?”

“Uh, yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh.”

Hmmmmm. But what to do? I had information to give. So rather than post pictures of my bralettes, I am simply posting pictures of my bandeaus. This is because the bandeaus are worn over my bras and are therefore more like a short tank top and not actual undergarments. In conclusion, I have determined that they are postable.

And I remain not creepy.

Or less creepy.

And hopefully creepless.

It’s the little things: a way to make all of those oddly cut garments work with your undergarments instead of against them.

*outfit in picture is this top and this skirt.

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