Fashion flix, take one

So, given my love of dresses and addiction to Netflix (it's just so EASY), a friend of mine alerted me to this new site, courtesy of the NYT.

I am not one of those people that has 15+ weddings each year, nor do I balk at spending (read: investing) in special occasion dresses. HOWEVER, C and my credit card do. Hence, the interest in this site - obviously there are a thousand things that might go awry (wrong size, late delivery, snow storm, etc) but the idea of "renting" a dress for an event for $50 and looking like $1,000,000 is pretty enticing.

Ladies, I hope you succeed. And, invite me.

Favorite Things Right Now...

- Bright swimsuits a la Juicy or JCrew - loving yellow this year!

- Cheap maxi dresses, thanks to Old Navy, American Eagle, and Benetton.

- Punky, tailored separates like these or these or this one.

- Fun, geometric prints...I'm such a sucker for a) loud prints and b) dresses.

- White jeans - which will look infinitely better on me once I'm tan, but still loving them now!

Why is it that simply shopping for spring/summer clothes just makes me HAPPIER?

Random, but successful shopping

So, the other day I wandered into Anthropologie post-beach and bikini-clad...I wanted anything but to go to Verizon w/ C and so I found myself strolling the racks at Anthro. I was super excited to find a LOT of stuff that I liked. Don't get me wrong, it's a great store and usually I like their stuff, but this time I really liked their stuff. And, it looked good on me. So, I bought it. It = a swiss dot sleeveless shirt in buttercup yellow - check it out here,

I guess why this is blog-worthy is that Anthropologie generally fits a certain figure, a certain style and certain tastes that don't always mesh with mine. My friend Heather, however, wears a lot of their brands and does it well...it's like almost old-fashioned, but with modern elements and fabrics. I can't figure it out, but I did see this adorable sweater shirtdress thing that I already have planned into my summer-to-fall wardrobe. Seriously, how cute is this? With super dark jeans, black heels and a chunky black bangle? Love it.

Ah, the joys of new discoveries.

Dresses As Art

As I was walking down Michigan Avenue last weekend (you know the one, the Magnificent Mile), these darling dresses started popping up in small gardens on the west side of the street. Apparently they are part of an exhibition from the International Academy of Design and Technology. They dresses are made of rather strange materials (hair, anyone?) but done in such a beautiful way that you can't help but stop and gawk.

Way to go art students - I applaud your originality. Here are a few of my favorites.

27 Dresses...

Okay, more like 3, but still. I work for a WOM marketing and media company and I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find my own real world examples of WOM. This just happened to me and so I'm going to share.

I have these really cute silk dresses from Calypso that are the quintessential summer dress. They pack easily (ie wrinkles are truly your friend), are very light-weight, and are silk, so they're dressy OR casual depending upon your shoe. I wore a wrap dress to work about 5 weeks ago and it was commented on quite frequently. One person in particular, who was familiar with the brand, really probed me for information. (What other colors? Which size is right for me? How hard is it to wash?) I love to talk about fashion and I think it's a great brand, so we chatted it up for a while.

Today, I am wearing a different dress from Calypso, identifiable because it's silk and in their Newbury Street display right now. This sparked a conversation with the aforementioned co-worker and she said she liked my other dress so much, that she went and bought it in three colors. She also bought another style and a few other things while shopping.

Now, I didn't make her go to Calypso or convince her that this dress is the BEST DRESS IN THE WORLD, but I shared my opinion, the facts that I was aware of from personal experience, as well as an insider information that empowered her to not only look into the dress further, but to actually purchase (and in multiples).

I think that is 3 points for honest, real-world WOM - influencing purchase decisions of fashionistas everywhere.