Sometimes a woman's got to challenge herself. One of my new favorite sites has some great clothing, but it tends to be a bit on the pricey side. It also has an awesome feature called "Be the Buyer" where you can VOTE ON WHAT THEY WILL SELL NEXT. I'm completely obsessed with it and also horrified by what the general public considers "cute". More on that some other time.
Anyway, the ones that DON'T get picked by the general public are generally great aside from the fact that they tend to be a bit expensive. (Have I told you I think they are too expensive?) Therefore, I went on a rampage to find something that would fit my criteria. After much rummaging, rejecting and swearing, I finally ran into the groovy little frock you see before you.
Color choice - great. Love the 70's look and the horizontal stripes are thin enough to flatter a multitude of figures. Cut - great, but I wouldn't recommend it for the long-legged or taller ladies, as modcloth tends to run short. Also, the puckered waist effect you are seeing is due to putting a larger dress on a smaller model and tying the strings tight. If you want that,purchase a size larger than you normally wear. This cut is also great for petite women who need to carve out a waist or hourglass-shaped women with a naturally smaller waist.
Wear it - with a long sleeved shirt and tights, over jeans if you roll like that (I don't), or on its own on a hot summer day with wedge sandals and nothing else. Of course, you can wear it like a beach coverup/romper as the poorly written (sorry) product copy suggests, but we're a little more creative than that, yes?
Seaside Park Dress, $24.99, modcloth.com - Available in M, L in the "under $50" section.
Hearts, Stars, Moons and Clovers,
kasey
So if you're looking for gift ideas, I'm going to make it easy for you. Go to Kohl's or kohls.com and pick this dress up for me in a Medium.
Now that that's out of the way, I can share with the rest of you this lovely dress that I actually found on Kohl's a bit ago, but have been waiting for the price to drop. Well, the day has come, y'all. I checked today and it now fits under my price cap. I couldn't be more thrilled.
This lovely piece is from the ELLE collection at Kohl's, which is in my opinion, right up there with Isaac Mizrahi for Target. Fashionable, affordable, and even fairly well constructed garments for the price. Get them while you can and especially before everyone else finds out about it. You probably can't make an entire wardrobe from it, but you can find some really great stand-out pieces to work into your existing closet.
This dress is made from a polyester blend, which means it's fairly thin and has a LOT of movement. Perfect for spring/summer days when we don't need anything sticking to us. The waist is high and a little empire without being over the top and making it look like maternity wear. Also, what you cannot see in this photo is that there is a DARLING bow in the back of the dress at the waist. Movement, striking color, universally flattering...what else do you need? You need it to be under 30 bucks, you say? Well, it's done that too. So stop your demands and buy it already.
Elle Bold Floral Dress, $29.99 at Kohl's or kohls.com
Lots of Summer-breeze infused love, kasey
Today I bring you a beautiful little dress from Newport News. This company has some serious staying power. I remember getting the catalog at our house when I was like 12 and flipping through it, admiring the sometimes-sexy, sometimes-ugly clothing and the ultra-low prices. Well it's 16 years later and NN is still going strong. I can't believe the sheer VOLUME of what they sell, and I don't even want to think where or how they get it manufactured to be able to sell it so cheaply.
NN never fails to amaze me with their approach. They really seem to run the gamut. From faux-victoria's secret sexy to faux-fredericks of hollywood stripper to faux-50 year old mom chico's, they have it all.
Today I found this banging dress for less than 30 bucks! I sorted through a LOT of sand to get this piece of gold, let me tell you. I love the styling of this dress - the halter looks like it has a lot of room but great drape, meaning it flatters small and large chests. The tailored waist carves out an hourglass shape, which is unusual in a halter dress, as they tend to just hang from the chest down. Kudos to whoever designed this, they really thought it through.
Another thing that makes this dress truly great is the length. I truly appreciate the restraint shown. The top is so sexy, this could have easily slipped into trashy territory, but they kept the length modest, and the end result is a sexy but not over the top dress that I might get a newport news card just to buy.
So feast your eyes, channel your last studio 54 party, and enjoy.
Drapeneck Satin Dress in Gold, $27.99 at NewportNews.com
Givin you that gold, kase
Do you remember that line from the Omen when the woman jumps from the roof and tells Damien she did it all for him? So chilling, and so inappropriate to put in a post about Maternity clothes. Ah well, I rest assured that my dear friend Jada is not currently incubating the devil's spawn, so I think it will be okay.
Jada is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We met when I was just a pup attending Michigan State. She took me under her wing, and soon we were meeting at the statue and drinking vodka before classes. Oh, the memories....
Luckily we survived college, are both grownups, and the friendship has endured. I was at Jada's wedding, which was lovely, and now she is with child.
When she asked me to find her a dress for her newfound state of glory, I jumped at the chance. I have never really looked at Maternity clothes, so it was a fun little expedition. I rooted around and came out holding this.
Voila - a really cute dress for Spring from Motherhood Maternity that's versatile, fashion-forward, and 20 bucks. There's a lot of "room to grow" in it, and the print is placed perfectly to lengthen the silhouette. Very, very clever. It's a cotton blend, so it should be quite breathable, meaning you can roll up your sleeves in late spring and still feel comfortable. Pair it with red wedges, red flat sandals, boots, black sandals, or bare feet cause you're already pregnant, right? (I jest, I swear.)
So, get thee to a Motherhood Maternity store or go to motherhood.com and get there soon, cause this dress is on SALE.
Border Print Dress, $19.99 at Motherhood Maternity Stores or motherhood.com
Love abounds, Kasey
This is a really, really great find. There is nothing I enjoy more than when a designer makes a deal with a national chain of stores to carry some of their product. Granted, it's never going to be the avant-garde collection, but it's usually quite a notch above in its overall design, while being just right on the wallet.
One small aside - I also really like it when a designer goes box store because it takes some of the exclusive snobbery out of the branding process of "designer" and it always makes me feel better to pollute that well.
Moving on -- this little gem comes to us from Kohl's, a store which I used to think only existed to carry bad jewelry so my mom could buy it for me for my birthday. I have been proven wrong. This is in the nightgown/camisole section, so I am guessing it's a bit thin, but I can see this really working in the summer, or over a pair of dark leggings. I can also see it working in the bedroom quite well (wink,nudge.)
Let them have La Perla, we shall take Vera Wang and be able to pay the rent on time, thankyouverymuch.
Love, Kasey
Simply Vera Vera Wang Satin Grecian Chemise - 21.99 at Kohl's or Kohls.com
I figured I'd set this off right by starting with a cute product that fits nicely underneath my $30 cap. Yes, I will only feature products on this that are under 30 USD. I know I am tired of going to blogs that feature products I will never be able to afford, let alone find. The entire focus of this blog is to be the anti-exclusive, the anti-snob and mostly, to show you stuff that you could go out and get if you felt so compelled. I promise you won't feel out of place and/or too intimidated to ask for help in any of the places I point you. However, I can't make any predictions on the traffic, weather, or general mood of other people in the store. If only....
Anyway, this little gem is Isac Mizrahi for Target, and I am over the moon for this color palette. It's a great length, perfect for spring, very modern, and best of all - really, really effing cute. It's $29.99 on target.com as of today. I see this dress selling out before it goes on sale, so don't wait for the price to drop, unless you're one of those sizes that are always on the clearance rack (you know who you are).
The comments seem to indicate that the dress is made of thin fabric, and may be cut a bit narrow across the hips, so order a size up and plan to debut it mid-april.
Have a happy, snobbery-free day!
Yours, Kasey
