Posts Tagged“dresses”

Connect the Dots

Connect the Dots - The Dressed Aesthetic

As the end of the year is drawing to a close, I can’t help but look back on the frenzy of this past year and try to make sense of it. To try to connect a jumble of seemingly random events and wonder why they brought me to this particular moment – and where they’ll bring me to next. It’s definitely been a year of ups and downs (as most years are). Whether you believe in fate or the randomness of the universe, there is still something stringing it all together. Something invisibly connecting the dots.

Frock On

Frock On - The Dressed Aesthetic

Okay, we all know I love to dress up. I get fancy for a Tuesday. So I practically start to quiver with excitement when I get to get seriously frocked up. And not run-of-the-mill, simply wearing a dress fancy. I’m talking: Glitter. Tulle. Heels so high I become Amazonian. Eyeshadow so glittery I am mistaken for a disco ball. Skirts so poofy they need their own zip code. That level of fancy. Because standing under the mistletoe, welcoming the jolly fat guy in a red suit, ringing in the new year – these are not things to be taken lightly…

On the Borderline

On the Borderline - The Dressed Aesthetic

We’re entering into such a unique time of the year, where relaxation starts to rein triumphant. Since the start of December, I can feel everyone’s resistance slowly wearing, as work gives up her fight to the temptations of a relaxing Christmas holiday. There are more holiday parties, emptier hallways as the weeks wear on, and a general fading of the frenzied cloud of productivity that usually hangs over our building. I have to admit, I’m sitting right on the borderline – I have a few key things to check off my list before I officially start my holidays, but the tantalizing…

Smart, Sassy & Stylish:
Pin Up Persuasion

Smart, Sassy and Stylish: Pinup Persuasion - The Dressed Aesthetic

Back in October, I added a feature to The Dressed Aesthetic where I introduce you to smart and stylish woman I find inspiring and put some welcome, positive messages across our retinas (you can read about my last SSS Lady here). I think it’s important in this day and age, where all I seem to see are ladies in competition with each other, to instead lift one another up and celebrate the awesomeness that comes into our orbit.

Outside the Box:
A Few Easy Tricks to Maximize Your Wardrobe

Outside the Box: A Few Easy Tricks to Maximize Your Wardrobe - The Dressed Aesthetic

I’m sure I’m not the only one who stares into the depths of her closet in the morning and mutters the infamous phrase “I have nothing to wear!” (yep, even me). Truthfully, it doesn’t matter if you have Emelza Marcos shoe collection or are reaching for a potato sack each day, everyone’s wardrobe can use a little recharge. That’s when I start to think outside the box…

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Sweet Dreams are Made of These - The Dressed Aesthetic

I think we all have a different recipe for what makes a dream sweet. Perhaps in your world, it’s Antonio Banderas fanning you with palm fronds while whispering sweet nothings, or swimming through towers of gold coins, Scrooge McDuck style (though that always looked rather painful to me…). But my sweetest dreams usually involve being out with my Mr. and my pup, happening upon the most perfect blooms, wearing the most perfect 1950’s border print dress…

Purple People Eater

Purple People Eater - The Dressed Aesthetic

There was this rather whacky song I loved when I was a kid – “The Purple People Eater” – which was really popular in the late 50’s. It basically sings the tale of a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater who has a grand plan to come to earth and start a rock & roll band (go with me here – it all made sense a the time). Now, I was never clear whether he was purple and ate people, or if he selectively chomped purple people exclusively, but it was a rather cheerful song despite the supposed grape-tinted carnage.

{Favorites}: Never Mind November…

{Favorites}: Never Mind November... - The Dressed Aesthetic

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I made major progress on my Christmas shopping this weekend. Is there anything quite as satisfying as checking things off of a list? Not for this girl. There were so many amazing deals swirling around my favorite shops – it was exactly the motivation I needed! If you haven’t seen it, my comprehensive list of Black Friday/Cyber Monday post is chock full of sales from my favorite vintage-inspired and vintage shops. Most of them are good through end of day Monday, 30 November, so get in while it’s hot!

{Tailoring}: Fanning the Flames

Fanning the Flames - The Dressed Aesthetic

There are a LOT of reasons why I love vintage. The stories the garments come with, the attention to detail, the one-of-a-kind nature. But few things get my heart beating quicker than a glance at the INSIDE of a vintage garment. Back in the day, so much care went into every aspect of making a vintage dress – each seam, each stitch – and care even went to imagining the future woman who would wear her. The adjustments she might want to make. Because fashion was once about longevity.

Sea Angel (+ Black Friday sales)

Sea Angel - The Dressed Aesthetic

My love of the hea knows no bounds. I’ve always had a lifelong passion for the ocean and all of it’s undersea inhabitants – I think I announced when I was 5 that I was going to be an ichthyologist who studies sharks (no really, I’m serious). So, it’s no surprise I’m amassing quite the collection of vintage novelty seaside prints. I pretty much can’t resist them (case in point here). Every time I find one it unleashes a new wave of childhood joy.