Free People New Romantics Rio Dress

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This is my second attempt at styling Free People’s New Romantics Rio Dress in the other color I purchased it in (the first dress can be found styled here). I love both of the dresses I purchased.

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At first I liked the cream one better but I think now the black one has my heart.

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I styled both of the dresses with Free People’s Trapeze Slip underneath. I like the extra coverage it provided and the color went great with both of them.

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This dress is so much fun.

I cannot wait to wear it with tights and boots in the wintertime. I think I will like it even more then.

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I paired the black dress with World Market’s friendship bracelets. I loved the dress’s embroidery paired with the textured color of the bracelets.

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What’s a girl to do when she finds the perfect dress?

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Twirl, baby. Twirl.

What is your perfect dress? Do you look for things with embroidery or are you more drawn to the clean and structured?

My heart like my mind is drawn to the unstructured. Probably because that is the way they are formed.

*this post was edited using the App Afterlife’s Meadow Filter at 57%.

I Rio-lly Love This Dress

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Every morning I would wake up obsessed. I really, really wanted the Free People New Romantics Rio Dress to hit sale (it finally has, but it is cheaper in-store). Did I say really? I had tried it on way back in March when we were in Las Vegas and it was the item I had dreamt about buying if only I had won some money gambling. But, alas, that did not happen. And the dress was much too expensive for me to justify its singular purchase. I thought about that dress for months. It was the only dress that had ever come close to my beloved Kantha Dresses from Anthropologie. And every day I would check the Free People website to see if it had gone on sale.

It hadn’t.

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One day I decided to reread the reviews. Might as well read about someone else enjoying the lovely dress, I thought.

I read a review I had not seen before. It had been published a month earlier. It spoke of being so happy to be able to purchase the dress on sale. Wha-a-a?!

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And that is when I remembered that the clothes on Free People’s website do not often match prices with the items in the store. I decided to call the store that had both colors available because I am greedy and wanted them both.

A store had them.

They were around 60% off but then I got free shipping and no tax! Score!

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I styled the cream dress with my Pam Hiran Necklace from Anthropologie and two of World Market’s beaded bracelets.

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The rest of the day was spent in a blur. Now what was I going to do with my mornings now that I had finally acquired the dress?

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Well, I will be spending some time just admiring the beautiful embroidery.

It makes me happy.

Do you sit and stare at items in your closet? Do you like the thrill of the hunt for the perfect dress or finally getting to wear it the best?

*The black version of this dress will run on Sunday. This post was edited using the App Afterlife’s Forrest Filter at 37%.

Free People Spring 2014 Reviews

Oh, I love me my Free People. There is just something lovely and romantic about their flowly clothes. I have wishlisted almost everything in this set.

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I wore Humboldt Tunic on my outing. He was pleased to get out. Although he still has never forgiven me for wearing him without pants. I wanted to show him Vegas and for him to see that there were indeed people in this world more devious than me.

He was not impressed. He still thinks I am the worst.

Aw, well. I tried.

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First, I tried on the Rocket Cat Dress. I know I look serious, but I was contemplating the ginormous pimple on my chin and if I would be able to proceed with the reviews. Thankfully seeing this pretty dress made me smile again. I really liked this, but I could only buy one thing that day and it turned out to be a slip. This is sold out online now, but the stores might still have one. I am wearing a small in this. Actually, I am wearing a small in this whole set. It is my typical Free People size.

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The Printed Strappy Front Maxi underneath the Rocket Cat Dress is the item I ended up purchasing. I love an item you can layer in multiple ways and use for multiple uses. You can also see me wearing it here. I love the romantic ease of this slip. I plan on pairing it next under my Sweet Lady Maxi and then underneath my seafoam colored slip I love with a belt and easy sandals.

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I really liked the Magic Garden Dress, too. If you cannot tell from the many, many pictures. ; ). It is about two inches too short for this momma to wear. But it would be great for someone younger than myself. I am wearing a small. It fit nicely. Well, except for length. Of course, my husband loved this dress. : )

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Oh man. I LOVED this Rio Dress. It is so fun. It is super short. The dark color it also comes in is gorgeous, too. I love the embroidery. Both colors are on my wishlist. It was way too expensive for me at full price. I will be watching this for a good sale price.

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I had decided that this Mix Print Tunic would be my first purchase in April. It sold out the day before I could purchase it. So, I am hoping they restock it. The pattern is gorgeous. The fit is free-flowing but still very flattering. It has ties on either side of the waist to cinch it in more. Love.

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The Near Perfect Tunic also came in lilac and black. I liked it in all of the colors. The lilac is absolutely gorgeous. Each color has a different patterned embellishment at the top. Gorgeous. This also has ties that tighten on the side to cinch it in more (I should have used them here). It is a good tunic if you like easy oversized pieces. I think this look looks good on most body types.

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Finally, the only thing I did not add to my wishlist. These Balkan Sandals. Oh, man. They were really cute without my feet in them. My feet were swollen from walking in heels all night the night before, but even so, I could not love these. They were a bit too hippie for me. I did not know that was a possibility. That I had a limit. But here it is.

I added so much to my wishlist on this trip. I am being patient on a bunch of items, hoping for a sale. In my observations (I am not an expert), Free People does not have a set schedule for markdowns. Some items will sell out at full price and never get marked down. Sometimes it can take over a year before an item gets a cut. Sometimes it gets marked down with a few months. You just never know.

Are you loving any of the new spring offerings in stores lately? Are you hoping for a good sale? I am answering a giant, “yes!” to both of those questions.

* I will have an additional outfit post up later today at 3:00 p.m. : ). I have to catch up with all of these reviews! I will finish out my review sets next week with two more for Anthropologie. To be precise, they will go up Monday and Tuesday. Whew! Then this girl is done with reviews for awhile.

Here are some more of my recent reviews:

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

and

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II