If there’s one thing to love about summer, it’s sundresses! Bugs and sweltering heat aside, there’s nothing like being able to throw on a single item and feeling instantly put together. I’ve definitely been reaching for my spaghetti strap dresses more and more now that we’re in the official throws of summer – with a pair of sandals and bit of extra SPF on my burn-happy shoulders, I’m good to go!
The sun kissed summer has finally arrived – and that always translates to fun summer sundresses! With all the traveling I’ve been doing lately, I find I’ve been tucking my vintage-inspired pieces into my suitcase more and more – they tend to be less wrinkle prone, I worry less when they’re compressed in a tiny box for long-distance flights, and there is a bevy of adorable retro prints to choose from. I have to say, Unique Vintage has been killing’ it with their novelty prints lately and I’ve had any eye on more than a few pieces…
There really is nothing like the classics. This is true of literature and of vintage. I think I first read Romeo and Juliet back in high school. We all know the famous story by that cheeky Bard: The warring families, the unrequited love. The heartbreaking ending where the star crossed lovers can only find each other in death. Gah. Only in fair Verona.
Back in 2011, Mr. Dressed and I made our rather momentous move to Australia. When we landed, there were 8 million details to sort out, from where to live, to driving on the other side of the road, to how to work out where on earth to buy a hammer (Bunnings, it turns out). And in the middle of all of this chaos, my tendency was to naturally seek out a place of comfort. Wondering how I would fit into this new world, with odd slang I hadn’t worked out yet and clothing shops full of things that didn’t speak…
As is probably true of most little girls, I had an impressive collection of Barbies when I was younger. Although there’s a lot of discussion on whether or not Barbies set up unrealistic body image, I never looked at them that way. My Barbie’s were my opportunity to have grown up adventures. To travel the world while staying safely in the playroom in our attic. To try my hand at making clothes and experimenting with fashion. To fancy myself a hairdresser, usually with disastrous results. They represented the world that sat just outside of my microcosm, ready and waiting for…
Phew, what an amazing first quarter of the year this has been! I swear, I blinked the day after Christmas and suddenly found myself in April. Now, April is one of the best times of year in my world. Firstly, it’s when the weather here in NC stops being fickle and turns plain lovely. Secondly, it’s the final month of the semester – all of us Professors have a bit more bounce in our step, as the end of the madness is in sight!
When I was in high school, my prom was a bit of a non-event. I had actually asked a guy friend from another school to go with me, who backed out at the last minute (quite literally – he backed out the night I was waiting for him to turn up). I still went with a group of friends, and in what felt like both abject humiliation and youthful defiance, brought a blow up parrot as my “date.” Yes, you read that right. Prom photos and all! Although I remember having a good time, there is a part of me…
Well folks, the very best month of the year has arrived. It is of course the very best month because it houses my birthday (!!) I’m almost shocked to find it’s come round the mountain again – I swear I blinked and the first two months of this year have gone by. But, I can’t say I’m sorry – I love my birthday!
I know that Valentine’s Day gets a bit of a bad rep. There are a lot of people who wish they could jump from Feb 13th to Feb 15th, pretending the day never existed. Assaulted by photos of happy couples, pink and red glitter hearts everywhere, gooey saccharine poetry. I can definitely understand how that can get wearing. But after the events of this past week, I have to say I feel like we all could use an extra bit of love.
I’ve never been one to take something at face value. I’ve written before about how we can get creative with our clothes – use a hatbox as a handbag, wear a belt as a headband, and dig into your earring collection as a means to spruce up your lapel. And I feel my eyes are always scanning for things to be used in a manner they were potentially never intended.