Summer to the Fullest

We're not at the hottest time of the year yet, but we have arrived at the hottest week of the year so far, and on the first of these very hot days (over 90°F/32°C) our air conditioner died.  Suddenly.  Tragically.  But, as it was 20 years old, not unexpectedly.  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and for me, it was only about an hour without a/c that I truly began to appreciate this modern convenience, especially as I had already converted my living room into this makeshift photo studio and all I had planned was organza (read-extra hot) fabrics.

As I write this post, the a/c is still not working, but we are trying to find the parts and fix it ourselves.  In the mean time my inbox has been flooded with ads for "summer essentials" and they all quite frankly look way too hot to wear anywhere except indoors with the a/c blasting.  With so many layers and heavy, synthetic fabrics, I know that we are living in a world that does not truly understand summer anymore, but I as an individual am about to get a refresher course in true summer essentials.

On that first day, we had left our house for a couple of hours, all closed up and trusting our ancient unit to keep things cool.  When we returned it was sweltering inside, and no matter what I put on, it all felt too hot.  The next day, I stood in my knickers and tank, which I'd spent an uncomfortable night attempting to sleep in, trying to decide what to wear.  I finally landed on.......can you guess?  No, not this La Belle Etoile cotton puff from Selkie; I would literally die in fabric this heavy.  No, instead, I chose a very short, very light Popsicle print cotton dress from The Other Sparrows and it kept me quite comfortable for most of the day.

Before there was Selkie, The Other Sparrows was quite an obsession of mine.  I waited for the release of each collection with much anticipation.  They only carried two styles of sundress but much like Selkie, it was the prints that really stole my heart.  Unfortunately, Covid hit TOS pretty hard and I'm afraid they are no longer in business.  But, like Selkie, TOS dresses weren't quite right for me--too short, mostly--so they took a little tailoring and styling to really make them work for me.  To that end, I am determined to wear all my short Selkies this summer, including this heavy cotton dress, but they need a little tweaking.  

I've just finished taking this dress in at the bust and it turned out pretty well.  (I'm practicing for a Secret Garden Abbott Prairie dress that I ordered from Boho-Chic.  But more about that one the way soon!)  I love this dress as-is, but with the print and the empire waist, it really reminds me of a night gown, so I've added a wide lavender wrap belt so that I actually have a waist, and I love this dress even more with just that little touch.  Now it looks like a proper summer dress and I will most definitely be wearing it to any occasion or event that has air conditioning.

Shopping Info: La Belle Etoile Cotton French Puff Dress-$310 from Selkiecollection.com, Wide belt-$5 from Shein.com, Bettie Page Tegan Heels-$35 from Amazon.com

Quiet, Lovely Things

I spent my morning doing pleasant things like feeding the chickens, chasing down an adorable baby bunny that had escaped from his mother and his house to take stroll in the wide world and munch on my garden whenever he got hungry.  I swept the oak tassels from the front steps, and petted our dusty black cat and then did a little yoga in the mild morning breeze.

We have hatched our second batch of chicks this week and the constant chirping of eight little chickens is a very pleasant sound, especially when combined with the birds outside and the lovely May breeze rustling the old autumn leaves.

I took a walk, ate my favorite lunch, and then had tea and cookies while I looked out the window and listened to the birds.  I wish, I dearly wish, that most of my days could be spent this way, but this was, in fact, a treat that becomes rarer each week.

So, once again, I find myself just taking things one day at a time, one moment at a time, stopping to savor the good and peaceful times, making them last as long as possible.

Just a little side note in all this calm revelry.  Since I liked my Mucha cottage puff so much, I decided to purchase a Kilburn Wildflower cottage puff too.  Admittedly, I love this print on cotton far more than on the organza where it looks more green than white, but the tummy poof still bothers me.  Fortunately, this pink wrap belt that I bought to go with the Mucha print looks just as lovely with wildflowers.

And, since my yard is currently at its most lovely with all these many purple wildflowers, I thought perhaps today would be the perfect time to take a few pics of this pretty dress and the difference a belt can make on this silhouette.

Shopping Info:  Selkie Kilburn Wildflower Cottage Puff-$265 at www.boho-chic-clothing.com, Pink belt from Shein.com

Selkie Belts

Many people struggle with the baby doll dress style, particularly that found in Selkie's Puff dress.  You may have read some of my previous posts about how much I dislike the Selkie puff's silhouette, but because I love Mucha so much, I did buy a Cottage Puff dress which is made of cotton instead of organza, so it lays a little flatter than the organza puff.  Even so, it can be difficult to pull this style off.

It's cute, it's girly, it's got a great vibe, but it does make me feel shorter and thicker.  So why not change the silhouette a little bit by adding a belt.  I purchased a couple of thick belts from Shein in a color that I thought would compliment the colors in the Mucha print and thought I would try them all out in one post so you can really see how they change the look of this dress.

This first belt is a corset/bustier style belt that creates some distinction at the bust in the form of faux cups.  It lengthens the waist not just with its length but with the vertical lines in the corset boning, and it draws it in at the narrowest point with the skirt flaring out underneath.

I love the length and it fits fairly well, but the underwires poked through the fabric in this first try on, so I don't know how long I'll be able to wear this belt, so let's move on.

This second belt is a wide wrap belt that is adjustable.  I love these pinks with this dress!  And, like the previous belt, it makes the bodice look longer and give me a waist, which brings more balance to my shape.

This final belt is a harness belt and I thought the thigh high boots would be great with this, but in this combo I feel a bit it's a square dancing or country & western  costume.  Of the three belts, this look is my least favorite with this dress.  I've worn it with other things and loved it, but not so much here.

I feel like the browns detract from the colorfulness of this print and the overall look is just not what I'm going for.  However, I have seen this same style of belt applied to other puff dresses like a black belt with the black caviar puff and thought it looked great, so even though I don't love it here in particular, I do love it in general.

Shopping Info:  Selkie Mucha Cottage Puff Dress-$298, Corset Belt- $9.00, Wide leather belt-$4.50, PU harness belt-$8.00

Belts, Blazers, & Cardigans: Closet Necessities and Your Waist Line's Best Friends

I've never been a belt wearer.  I've always stayed away from them, mainly because it was just one extra step that I wasn't interested in taking.  In the last year or so, I've seen the light and totally reformed.  I think back now to all those outfits that looked so frumpy that I gave them away, and I see now that all they were missing was a great belt.  Sometimes we have to look beyond something as it is presented to see the potential it has with just a little tweaking.

 Very often pieces don't start out great, they need to be tailored or personalized in some way to make them right for the individual.  I think of certain items like cotton dresses "the basics," they're a starting point not a finished piece.  The most frequent culprit in a blah waist line is the empire dress. So, I've chosen it to demonstrate the how to unlock the potential of a piece. 

An empire dress has its place in the world, but quite frankly that place is in Regency literature like Pride and Prejudice, and the closets of four year old girls.  However, every now and then I see a really gorgeous print, so versatile, so lovely, and so unfortunately attached to an empire waist.  My solution is very simple and one that I hope you'll employ before tossing out the next frumpy dress you find buried in your closet: Add a belt.    

There are of course some things to keep in mind when choosing this route.  First of all, forget about the belt loops on the dress and put the belt on the narrowest part of your waist.  Second, make sure that the belt is standout color.  It makes a world of difference in drawing attention to the narrowest part of your waist when you have some sort of visual contrast there.  

I know I've focused on belts so far, but if you've kept up with my blog for any amount of time, you've probably noticed all my cardigans.  I own so many of them for a very good reason; they are a relatively inexpensive way to that add pop and polish that make an outfit look complete.  

When it comes to cardigans, I have one in every color and length, but the opposite can be said of blazers.  I have only two blazers at present, and while it's true that blazers tend to be more costly than cardis, the fact is that a good blazer will go with just about anything and make it look classier in the process.  

       I decided to demonstrate the drastic difference these items can make on an outfit with one of my recent thrift store purchases.  This dress is by Maeve, a very nice brand by Anthropologie, and it cost me $18.  The pastel mosaic print is gorgeous and the cotton is so soft, I decided to take a chance and see if I could work with it.  

My reason for hesitating was, of course, the empire waist.  I had a pretty good idea how it was going to look on my frame and I was correct.  I don't mind saying that without a belt this dress looks horrible on me.  It feels like that awful, old style of maternity wear from way back when women were trying to hide their baby bellies.  In other words, it looks like I put on a circus tent.

At the back of the dress there is some smocking to give a more comfortable fit to the top, but again I look much wider without a defined waist in the dress.

Even though the dress came with a belt, you'll notice in the store photos that it's meant to be worn around the empire waist.  That's an absurd notion, so I didn't even waste time doing a photo of it.  However, even moving the belt to my natural waist was not the way to really fix this dress, because the belt is made of the same fabric and print as the dress.  This means that it is completely camouflaged and therefore does little to improve the shape of the dress or to bring visual interest to the outfit.

    Because the darker orange is such a standout color in this dress, I decided to make it a focal color and chose an orange grosgrain ribbon for a belt.  

I love to use grosgrain because it's not as slippery as satin ribbons, it's inexpensive, and available at most craft stores, so  I can easily and inexpensively accent my outfits.

    Right away there is a huge change in the silhouette of the dress.  Now there is some visual interest and the eye immediately goes to that pop of orange right at the narrowest part of my waist.

Since I was on a roll with the orange, I decided to take it one step further and replace the orange ribbon with an orange cropped cardigan.  This really brought out the colors, and created a smooth silhouette.  The poof in the skirt needed a little flattening around  the belt and this cardi did that perfectly.  

To give it just a little extra something at the waist I went back and added the original belt.

This is the finished look.  It was taken on a different day than the others, but there is such a huge contrast between the original shape of the dress and the finished look that I wanted to recreate my process when putting together an outfit in the hopes that it will demonstrate the value of belts and cardigans in your own wardrobe.

Cameo Love: ootd

    I love cameos, always have, and I own approximately one gazillion.  Most of these pieces I made myself so I'd get exactly the style and quality I wanted.  Since I have so many, why not wear more than one at a time?  Pale pinks, blues, and ivory...sigh*  I can't get enough.  So, for this little outfit I decided to layer on the cameo love.

    I started with my Ivoire lace dress by Tracy Reese and a pink beaded cardigan.  Even though these two pieces are both solids, the lace provides texture and the beading on the cardigan provides a little sparkle creating visual interest.

    I started the to accessorize with my blue cameo earrings creating some contrast from all the pink.

Then I added my favorite cabbage rose necklace and layered a large cameo necklace on top with a longer chain. And finished with a chunky cameo ring.

 To break up all the lace, I used my taupe Samba Sash belt from ModCloth.  And last, but not least,

 metallic snakeskin print heels by Report.  I really like these heels because the print and color are just subtle enough to be neutral, but with a little pop.

Have a favorite Cameo?  Send me pics of it (along with you of course) & your favorite outfit and I may use them in a future post.  Share the cameo love!