Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tale of Three Dresses

There are times when making certain decisions are so easy for me - of course, that one, couldn't be anything else  - and there are other times when I wonder how I get dressed every morning. Today is one of the latter. While browsing Urban Outfitters (I'm a big fan of their chic and affordable dresses), I found a great candidate for a birthday dress... only I kept wavering between black, navy, and lavender. What's a girl to do but buy all three and badger her roommates to help decide?

I couldn't think of anything either.

The garment in question is the Pins and Needles Ruffle dress, a floaty and breezy piece with a double layered ruffle collar. It's a tent shape naturally but when cinched with a belt, the dress lends definition and is super flattering. The chiffon material is great for summer, and the collar creates visual interest. Length is great for petites (I'm 5'2" for reference), but would likely be too scandalous for somebody much taller.

First up, lavender! This color has the most "summer" feel and would be beautiful for a daytime wedding, although you'd have to be careful with the sheerness of the fabric. I'd wear this with cognac/brown accessories for a casual outing. Love the color... but not on me. I thought the pale lavender washed me out, and the material felt flimsier with the lighter hue.


Second was the navy, the safe choice. I had wanted to step away with the lavender but some colors are tried and true for a reason. It's great that both gold and silver tones work with the dress. Here I am with both heels and silver flats. Dang, why do legs look so much better with heels and so stubby without?

Finally, the ubiquitous black. No matter what, I was going to keep this color since it's a classic shape and I didn't have a floaty black dress in my wardrobe. It looks good with gold accessories, which was key since I wanted to match with a certain something I had gotten for my birthday - to be revealed shortly =)


I really debated keeping all three but that would be ludicrous (... right??). I'll probably return the lavender (sadly!) and be happy with the blue and black. Hmm. I just changed into both the navy and lavender again and want both. SIGH. What would you do??

Also, here's a shot of the byCORPUS dress I picked up after seeing it on Michelle and couldn't resist. Love polka dots, they're so fun! I discovered that hitching up the dress at the ruched waist transforms the piece into a tunic, super cute with jeggings and flats.


Hugs and big thanks to Jessica for playing photographer and stylist =)

15 comments:

  1. I think the dress looks much better on you than on the model! The blue and black are safe but I kind of like the lavender too... although the material does look a little flimsier though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the polka dots one! come on lets have a little fun for summer :]

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh my goodness! i was just at urban outfitters and didn't see this dress, in any of the colors! when i like something, i like buying it in all colors too hahah!! i LOVE the idea of cinching the waist with a skinny belt!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh man...such a tough decision! I would pass on the black first because I like the other colors so much. I actually don't think the lavender washes out your skin...I think it's a really beautiful color on you! Also, I love lavender against tanned summer skin...so imagine how nice it would look as you bronze throughout the summer!

    Navy definitely looks good too. Although the color is less unique than lavender, you might get more wear out if it because it is such a staple.

    And cute last dress...looks very nice as a tunic as well. Now you both have it : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you! Switching back and forth between my pics and the ones on UO, the collar looks much more voluminous in real life; I like it better this way. Agreed that the blue is safe, my roommate said it looked similar to other things I have in my closet. Now I'm leaning toward lavender..

    The material is definitely thinner! It doesn't drape as smoothly as the blue and black.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm keeping the polka dot one for sure! It's a great fun dress for summer =) My dilemma is picking between the blue or lavender ruffle dresses.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I got the idea from the UO model, and the skinny brown belt in the lavender pics is the one styled on the UO website haha. Depending on the color though, the dress actually works with and without a belt! The black has a nice hang on its own. But with the lighter colors, I prefer belted to give definition to the waist.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hmm, now that I'm looking at the black, it does seem like I could easily replace it haha. But if I keep both colored dresses, people can more easily tell they're the same style.

    I long to be more tan! Wearing the lavender made me realize how pale I am relative to this time of year, but then again, the sun hasn't been cooperative lately =\

    I'm wearing XS in both the ruffle and polka dot dresses. The polka dot waist is actually pretty tight, and I would size up to an S.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like the lavender one A LOT!! I think that color actually fits the feel of the dress the best and it looks good on you! Plus I bet you don't have very many lavender things. :)

    Love that polka dot dress so much! I just wore it today actually. It's so comfy and versatile... I totally never even thought to hike it up as a tunic.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love all the dresses on you! May I ask how tall you are? I'm 5'3 and wonder if the dresses might be too short on me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lavender all the way, girl!
    The dress looks better on you than on the urban outfitter website model. Time for them to rethink their models. :)

    http://vickysdailyfashion.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. thank you =) i did indeed end up keeping the lavender!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you! I am 5'2 and wore shorts with them when I went out as to not flash people. The issue is that the back is shorter than the front so have to be careful when bending over.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hehe the necklace is mine from the Young Designers Market (we have to go next time you're in NY)! I was having fun playing stylist for a night.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails