How to Layer Shirts and Dresses

from Anne of Green Gables by 

L.M. Montgomery

“I’m going to have the daintiest things possible. . . things that will match the spring, you understand. . .

little jelly tarts and lady fingers, and drop cookies frosted with pink and yellow icing, and buttercup cake.”  Said Anne.

Afternoon tea time again and you'll notice that my flabby tabby has demanded to be in the photos too.  Lately she's been joining me out here under the trees for her afternoon nap while I take tea.  I thought today I'd briefly cover a fashion topic that many of us wonder about: How to layer shirts with dresses in three simple steps.  

I've seen it done well and not so well, so let's just cover the basics.  First and foremost is that for most dresses you'll need a top that fits well and isn't awkwardly spilling over the sides of your dress.  Depending on the dress, your sleeves can be puffy, frilly, or any other word for girly that you choose, so long as it doesn't look stuffed into the dress.

Second, choose something that compliments your dress.  I like the look of white eyelet with this pink bow dress and I think part of the reason is that a textured top adds visual interest to a solid dress.  A patterned top with a solid dress would do the same.  For a printed dress do the opposite and go with a solid top.

Last but not least is to make sure that your top is not too long or you will have some issues with it bunching up under the skirt.  Keep that silhouette streamlined.  And, there you have it, three simple steps to layering tops with dresses.

 Shopping Info: Dress and Eyelet top from Shein, flats are old from ModCloth

 

The Seamless

The seasons ripple and flow like a breeze across and endless wild flower field, at times so seamless and natural I hardly notice them changing.

The colors evolve: first brown then gold, pale green then dark, pastel spring flowers give way rich summer reds. 

The warm sunshine is dormant and then returns.  Life continues on in its gentle way and I continue on in mine, 

 grateful for this grand harmony of being alive in the world,

 picking wildflowers on a green hillside on a warm spring day.

Outfit from Shein

Violet Meadows

"I feel as if I had opened a book and found roses of yesterday sweet and fragrant, between its leaves." ~From Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Why am I so drawn to Anne Shirley?  She has always been a kindred spirit.  I didn't have that in my life growing up.  I had friends, but few of them loyal and none that I could call a kindred spirit.  I often had the sense that they viewed me as more of a curiosity than anything else.

Whenever friends came over, they rarely wanted to play make-believe and definitely not past the age of 10 or so.  While I clung tenaciously to my imagination all through childhood, my teens, and even still today.

 And, that is precisely why I loved Anne Shirley so much.  She viewed her imagination as a necessity.  And so do I.

Which is why each time I open one of those dear books I feel, as Anne once said, as though I have opened a book and found roses of yesterday, sweet and fragrant, between its leaves.

Wandering in the woods today, I found this fragrant little sunny glen filled with these wild flowers.  Of course, I wasn't out wandering in velvet and pearls, just a simple cotton dress.  But since this dress is quite dear to me, I have been looking for the perfect spot to photograph it and this one presented itself.

The day was mild and the sun was so sweet, that I came home from my walk, determined to wear my velvet and pearls in this spot as soon as evening came.

As I returned to this spot, I wondered to myself what Anne would have called it?  What lovely name would she have given to this natural garden?  Personally, I think I'll call it Violet Meadows.

 And I shall come here as often as possible while the blossoms last to enjoy the bird song, sunshine, and the scent of these deep purple flowers.

Comment below if you have a good name for this place, something that Anne would approve of :)

Greta in Gingham

It's been a long time since I've done an Anthropologie post.  I go through fads with the places I shop.  I don't know if it's them or me or both of us, but it seems like there will be a whole line that I will love or maybe I'll love everything for a year or two and then things change and I just don't do much shopping there.  

 I spent several years loving everything Anthro had to offer and desperately searching for those glorious dresses that I'd missed out on in-store.  It was a fun thing to do in my spare time and I found a few great bargains, but for the most part Anthro dresses keep their retail value.

So, even though I haven't really felt that spark for many of the new dresses, when I saw this Greta Gingham dress by Maeve pop up on a resale site it instantly rekindled that old Anthro flame and the hunt was on.  I found one and only one in my size and decided I had to have it.

There's a lot to love about this dress.  The colors are lovely, ivory and pale teal.  This dress has a nice length and a comfortable fit.  The shell is made of natural fibers, but the lining feels synthetic so it may be a little warm for summer wear.

It comes with a belt, has pockets, and there is some great detailing on the buttons at the neck and waist.  The real trick is finding a bra that won't show with this neckline.

The perfect dress for feeling pretty around the house for now or to a nice-casual event (eventually), I decided to lean into it a little by wearing a racer back bra with lace straps so it looks more deliberate that they show, because the back of this dress is really nice and shouldn't be hidden under a cardigan.

Shopping Info:  Greta Dress from Anthropologie, Camera Necklace from Ebay, Imperial Max Camera is Vintage

Lost (and found) in Translation

Today's post features a cute little comic top with some delightfully imperfect English.  With wide-eyed blondies exclaiming, "I do not want friends to eat at home!"  how could I not love this top?  While the print and colors are adorable it's the lost-in-translation word bubbles that really stole my heart.  Yes, I love it all the more for its imperfectness.  

On the subject of imperfection, I've just spent the past hour or so going through old blog posts and "fixing" them.  When I started this blog I wasn't very savvy at using blogger and tried to figure everything out on my own.  I was also so very shy about my own posts that once I'd written and posted them, I couldn't bear to go look at them.  

As a result, there were lots of little errors like photos pushing text into weird shapes or large gaps of blank space.  I expected to be hopelessly embarrassed by looking back.  Instead, and apart from all the little errors, I was very pleased with how the blog looked years ago.

I was pleased with my own sense of style back then and instead of feeling embarrassed I was flooded with the memories of how much I enjoyed putting those outfits together, taking photos, painstakingly editing them to have a digital background (I'm afraid I did it the hardest way possible), and writing up little posts to go with them.

I tend to go down memory lane and get stuck there feeling quite blue over the past.  This time I didn't.  Though I did make myself stop just shy of the posts that came right before a very painful time in my life.  I knew I wouldn't be able to look at those, so I didn't, but there were many others that reminded me of happy times and I didn't mind letting myself linger over those.

Much like my quirky little top, my past and my blogging skills have not been perfect.  But, I choose to not only forgive myself for my failings, but love my life and all it has been even more because it hasn't been perfect, because even though it has never been a fairy tale, it's also never been dull.

Shopping Info: Top and skirt from: SHEIN

At Eastertide

From Loveliest of Trees 

by Alfred Edward Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

And since to look at things in bloom, 

Fifty springs are little room,

About the woodlands I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Shopping info: Dress from Shein, necklace is vintage, rabbit is priceless and not for sale.

Blue Mountains, Purple Fields

Everywhere I look I see purple flowers blooming.  Johnny Jump-ups, wild violets, and nettles covering every yard, field and forest floor.

 You might recognize this field.  I come here every spring to snap a few photos.  Normally I don't make it here until much later in the season when the nettles are hidden under a layer of golden flowers.

But, it's been so warm out lately that I've made a point of driving by here just to see if the yellow flowers are blooming yet.  I'm glad they're taking their time so I could capture this amethyst field instead.  

I love this spot nestled against the blue mountainside with the the old gray barn on stilts standing guard.

And the breeze was especially playful making it nearly impossible to catch a moment with my sailor collar and hair all in place at once.

 While I've been home, I've been using my free time to do a little sewing.  Normally by springtime I've put away my sewing until winter comes around again.  But, since we're all staying close to home for the foreseeable future, I've been keeping busy with a few simple sewing projects to keep me feeling productive.

I thought this purple mermaid print on white cotton would be perfect for this scene and it did not disappoint.  I know I will wear this skirt a lot this spring and summer and I am definitely looking forward to the warmer days ahead and more time spent in the sunshine, even if it is in my own backyard.  

 Shopping Info: Dear Stella Fabric from Fabric.com, Top from SHEIN, Headband from Claire's