December 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Bus-ting Out The Plea-ts

Sorry for the unexpected blog break. I try to stay consistent, but sometimes life takes over. I absolutely had to clean my house. I mean had to. As in: set aside hours to get it holiday finished. Which is so mundane, but true. And then we went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market on Sunday (recap tomorrow). It was a busy and fun weekend. I hope you had a beautiful weekend and feel refreshed for this week! I know I do!

Okay. I hope I am “busting out the pleats” and not “busting out of the pleats.” One word makes a huge difference.

Thankfully this dress is very forgiving. In fact, I have decided this shall be my dress I wear any time I want to really make a meal out of a night.

Not on Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, I never really eat a lot on Thanksgiving. I like my turkey breast. Dry. Not dry, but devoid of gravy. A smidgen of mashed potatoes. Also devoid of gravy. And one roll.

That is it.

All that I eat on the biggest eating day of the year.

I was a very picky eater as a child and on this day of traditions I have never been able to break from the food rules I set in place as a three year old. I take traditions very seriously.

Oh. And one slice of chocolate pie. Hold the whipped cream.

Maybe I am leaving out the bottle of wine.

It doesn’t count.

It’s liquid.

And my three year old self would not understand.

So, this is my eating out for a nice dinner dress. I have never been an order a salad girl. I’ll take the baked potato, steak and the dessert please. And, no you may not have a bite. I didn’t wear this dress for nothin.

The swing shape coupled with the pleats is as easy as it gets. I can see this dress looking good on a multitude of body types. You just have to embrace it for what it is.

A swing dress.

It is supposed to swing.

Away from the body.

I like the gold buttons on the back and the sleeves. It is a sweet little detail. I paired the dress with my Anthropologie Fanned Feather Necklace I purchased on Black Friday from Anthropologie during their sale (now sold out online, but similar earrings are still available).

I really like black paired with brown and the gold on the necklace matches the gold on the buttons of the dress.

I ordered my dress on Black Friday directly from the designer, Dear Creatures, for 40% off their price making it a fantastic price. Anthropologie also carries it and calls it Pleated Millie Dress. It is now sold out in black at Dear Creatures. However, I have seen it keep popping back at Anthropologie. I own it in baby blue, too, but it is just not as good. I definitely recommend the black version.

I love this dress. As I have stated, the dress is forgiving.

I am not.

I am writing this in bed next to a snoring husband who fell asleep in the middle of the zombie movie we were watching together.

In the middle.

Of. a zombie. Movie.

In the middle.

Of. the. night.

He’ll be pleating for my forgiveness in the morning.

And you know what?

I might have room left in my heart. And in this dress… to give it to him.

Maybe.

In exchange for pie…

And I’m only craving humble.

P.S. Now closed: ~~Please do not forget to enter My Giveaway. It ends at 9:00 p.m. PST tomorrow night.~~ : ). Even if you do not enter, the comments have been making me happy cry all week. I love reading the comments. It has brought me indescribable amounts of joy this week. If you are feeling down or want to feel inspired, I recommend reading them. And thank you if you contributed to those comments this week. My heart overflows for you.

November 17, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Pretty Pleats With A Necklace On Top

Way back in the peak of summer I fell in love with The Solana Swing Dress from Anthropologie. I reviewed it here. But I vowed to wait for a good sale price. I very much wanted both colors it came in: grey and pink. I liked the pleats. I liked the swing shape. I knew it was a dress that I could carry into all seasons.

It finally went down to less than $30 during a recent sale. And so I scooped up both colors, and happily awaited their arrival. I even took pictures in one of them while I was extremely sick (still am. I don’t know what to do about this illness) so I could show the dress while it is still available. This dress escorted me to the doctor’s. It is a keeper. Here is the deal, though…

In the reviews, two separate people stated getting any sort of water upon the dress resulted in a permanent loss of the beautiful pleats. I am terrified of even brushing up against the sink in this or going near Ollie, the drool monster. I will try dry cleaning, but I also worry they will want to iron it or steam iron it. Therefore, it may never, ever, ever get washed. That’s not too gross, right?

I ordered both dresses in a size medium, but the pink dress is noticeably longer.

I decided to pair the grey dress with a white long sleeve shirt and wear it more as a jumper with tights.

We took the dogs for a drive and I decided to pose with Murphy.

I initially wore my hair in a new ponytail style, but it was too windy to keep it.

Murphy was being kind of crazy, so I switched to Ollie.

But Murphy looked sad, so I decided to take them both for a walk.

This did not really help, because what they really wanted was my husband. They adore him the best. That is because he adores them the best. Funny how that works.

They finally got what they wanted. My husband is aghast that I took his picture. He doesn’t need to know I then posted it on the internet, too. Let’s just keep that between us. And, yes, I love a bearded man.

And I love a good scarf. I purchased this scarf from Anthropolgie many years ago. It has always been my favorite.

Do you “do” pleats? Do you wear long sleeves under your sleeveless dresses in the winter? What should I do about cleaning the dress? Any suggestions?

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

April 14, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part III

Part three? How could this be? That seems crazy. But part four goes up tomorrow, so this is just proof that however crazy something seems, it can always be crazier.

You don’t have to tell that to my husband. He all ready knows ~~lives with~~ that.

I loved pretty much everything I tried on in both sets of reviews I show in the next few days. Anthropologie really did it right this season. I could not say no to quite a few lovelies.

This means I have made a pretty little chant for my family at dinnertime.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Top Ramen!”

“Who do we thank?”

“Our momman!”

I’m still workin’ out the kinks on that one. They don’t seem to like it too much. I can’t tell if it is the meal or the song.

On to the reviews:

This is what I wore to the store. In case you were wonderin’.

This was the only one of the Pernetiana Top in the store. It was in the sale section, because it was missing a button at the top in the back. It was discounted some silly amount like 5%, because of that. This is a size fourteen. The size fourteen was almost perfect except for the arms. This sucks. A true size fourteen will be sized out of this top. And this makes me mad.

With that said, I still think this top is gorgeous. The colors are beautiful. I did not look twice at this top when it was online, but after trying it on, I have wishlisted a size 10 as I wait for it to go on sale. I hope it does, because this is a great summer top with jeans.

What have we got here? Well, this is the Tessa Tee. I was very unsure about this top. I am wearing a medium. It has a cool back that I did not photograph (again. I am helpful). This top is $58 and I would reconsider it at a much better price. For now, I am just watching it. I like the khaki color, because it is different. In real life, it is a more brown color. I like the color more than the style.

The Turson Netted Tassel Vest is gorgeous. I am wearing the XS/S. Vests are such an odd thing to size in. In my favorite vest, the Ruffled Sweater Vest, I purchased a M/L in both. The XS/S fit fine here. I love the blue embroidered pattern. If I could snag this on sale, I will/would. I think this would be really sweet in the summer over a white dress.

It has pompoms in the back. I debated showing this picture, because it is so blurry. But I think you can kind of see what I am talking about with the pompoms.

I love this Songbird Skirt. In fact, I ended up purchasing it in a size 6. I agree with other reviewers that said the waist is just odd. But, somehow, I have made it work. I wear it with a navy t-shirt. Although I really adore the color of this one shown here (the khaki shirt from above).

Usually I would wait for sale, but this pattern has a beetle holding an umbrella. And, well, that is all it takes for me. You now know what it takes to win my heart.

And maybe you are more curious about my husband’s courting techniques, as well.

I had this Zocalo Maxi Skirt in two colors in my wishlist. That is before I tried it on. I tried on the yellow version in a small. I will definitely need a medium. If I ever purchase it (which I probably won’t). This was definitely the one snag of the day. This skirt has so much potential. But the lining is bad. The lining is tight (but this could be because I tried on the wrong size) and it stops at an awkward length on the upper thigh. The skirt is see-through, so this is a problem. It has slits on the side and I did not like those either. And the pleats? Why?

Okay. Enough negativity. The colors the skirt comes in are gorgeous. The material does not bother me. I like that it is a maxi.

But there were too many I-wish-it-didn’t-haves for me to lust after this skirt. If only it had a beetle…

Women have been raving about this Lolanthe Dress online. I did not get it when I saw it in pictures. I did not get it when I saw it in store. I told my husband it looked like a dress I would have worn in 1996. But I decided to give it a chance and try it on.

I guess all styles really do come back around again!

Because I was surprised. In a good way. I liked it. I didn’t love it. But I liked it. It is a very flattering fit. It is an easy throw on and go dress. I was also surprised to find myself wishlisting this dress for reconsideration at a future sale price.

‘Cause I liked it. Oh. And I am wearing a size small here. This dress seems to be an easy dress to size down in, because of all of the elastic. It will also be flattering on most body types. I think
I am the only one wishing the pattern was just a bit different. But then again, the bar was set high with that umbrella wielding beetle.

And, in case you were curious. Yes, the dressing room was hot here, too.

That is it for my reviews today. Tomorrow I will show you some more dresses.

Have you visited a dressing room lately? What did you try on?

Some of my more recent reviews:

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

and

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II

and

Free People Spring Reviews

Have a Beetle-Holding-An-Umbrella Day! : )

March 30, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

I was on my own in Las Vegas and decided to go shopping and try on some of Anthropologie’s newest offerings. This is what I wore to Anthropologie and on my trip out by myself. It is an H&M lace top, Free People Lydia Maxi Skirt, Simply Livly Turquoise Necklace, and a more recent sale belt from Anthropologie.

Oddly, this outfit made me feel braver.

I think it was all the darn ruffles.

Don’t ask why.

I’m weird.

The first dress I tried on was one of the two items I added to my wishlist (the other being a pair of jeans). I really, really like this Ijada Stitched Shift dress.

I really, really disliked the price tag. At $248, I will have to wait for a good sale. I have a size six on in the picture. It zips on the side bust and I could not zip it all of the way. Since, I was all ready there. In a dressing room. At the store. With a size eight. Just a few steps away. I…

Decided not to try it on.

Yep.

It is more fun guessing.

Or more lazy.

So, now I imagine I am a size eight in this dress, but I have no idea if it is true.

Aren’t my reviews helpful?

I also tried on this Cissie Embroidered Dress. I thought it was okay. I really like the pattern and everything. But there was just somethin’ that did not call to me. This was a size six. I thought it fit fine.

I have so many similar items to this dress in my closet all ready. And the hi-lo thing is just not doing it for me. An unfortunate no for me. I am sad about this one, because it is cute.

I also tried on the Grafton Marled Jacket with the dress. Because I liked the pattern in the store. I would not really wear these two items together in real life.

Well, unless I was in a closed room. And the other cardigan I wanted was ten feet away. Then we all know what my choice would be.

I am wearing a small here. If I purchased this, I would buy a medium. But this cardigan did not make it into my wishlist, so I will not be purchasing it. It was too bulky for me. Now I am seeing that they call this cardigan a jacket. I could examine the whys of that further, but I won’t.

I love the Savant Swing Dress. It has been on my wishlist for what seems like forever. I had not seen the grey version of it in real life before this picture (I own the black and white striped version). Can you feel the love?

I am wearing a small here. The sleeves were impossibly tight. The store did not have a medium. I definitely need a medium. If they would have had it to try on…

Wait for it.

This will be shocking.

I would have.

I had loved this Patula Maxi Skirt on Morgan from See Mo Go a few weeks ago. I could not wait to try it on myself.

Morgan rocked this skirt. It is so pretty on her. I was not in love with it on me. I am wearing a small. It fit fine. This was the only shirt I had in the dressing room that I thought might work with it.

Which means it did not go with it at all.

It never occurred to me to use the shirt I wore into the dressing room.

Again, not examining the whys of that further.

Let me distract you from my pasty legs (and insanely messy contents of my purse) by telling you that this white shirt is the same Anthropologie Flounced Tee I tried on with the skirt above. And that is why the skirt styling will make even less sense to you.

Kind of like myself.

I really hate shorts. Like hate them. With a fierce passion. I think very few women can pull them off. Without cutting their legs into frumpy stumps. But these Finchley Pleated Shorts had elephants on them. In a gorgeous olive pattern. I am wearing a size eight here. The shirt is a small.

And I wanted to forget my shorts-naysayer in my head.

These were not good on me. They did not make it into my wishlist. But they are adorable.

I think. Gosh, I cannot believe I am going to say this.

But, I think many women could wear these shorts. And it would be cute. And I would like it.

Groan! That last admittance did me in.

Have you tried on anything you love lately? Added anything to your wishlist? Please tell!

P.S. Two nights ago I went to San Diego and while I was there I tried on even more pieces at Anthropologie. I ended up purchasing this Songbird Skirt in my usual size six. The review for this baby is behind two more review sets, so it will probably be two more weeks before I get to it.

But I knew some ladies wanted to see it. And when I want to see something, I love when someone shares. So, here is one of my pictures of the skirt. The waistband is super stretchy. But the sides are not. I do not think I would size down in this. However, if you are inbetween sizes, I would probably take the smaller one.

Sorry about the lack of smile. I thought this was the picture that best depicted the length of the skirt. Hope this helps! : )

P.S. I also did Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II and Free People Spring Reviews.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

pleated

Bus-ting Out The Plea-ts

Pretty Pleats With A Necklace On Top

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part III

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I