fashion friday: month five of six months, six dresses.

Although I like to associate cooler autumn weather with September, the reality is that it still feels a lot like summer for most of the month. This has been particularly true this year, as it was still muggy and warm this entire week despite the rain. So for that reason and not at all because I ran out of time this month, I'm featuring another sundress and this is one that I already owned.

I believe I picked this up at Kohls on a total whim two years ago. I was looking for a simple, summery dress and thought the bright green would be a good addition to my wardrobe. This dress gets worn to death because it's so fitting in so many situations, to the point that the little plastic bits on the adjustable straps both broke at the beginning of this summer. Luckily I was able to sew the straps and continue to wear it. The following are just *a few* of the occasions at which the dress made an appearance.

Lady Lumps getaway in Seaside on the boardwalk, with Kohr's custard and taffy, 2008.

Annual visit to the shore house, 2008.

Grandpa's 80th birthday, 2009.

Ashley's 25th birthday party, local edition, 2010.

Natalie's grad school luau-themed graduation party, 2010.

Needless to say, it was a really good purchase. Not only have I worn it to parties or at the beach, but it's comfy and works as an around-the-house outfit as well. It is by far the piece of clothing I pick most often out of my closet in the summer, and I always get a little sad when I have to pack it away for the winter.

{This post is part of a series called Six Months, Six Dresses dreamed up by the ever-lovely and inspiring Kyla Roma. I'm actually straying a bit from her idea by including dresses I already own and starting in May instead of April. If you wanna get in on the fun, click the banner above and join us!}

fashion friday: month four of six months, six dresses.

My dress for August was one I purchased under the assumption that I would be attending a wedding this month. When the “save the date” was sent, it was addressed to our whole family; naturally, we figured we’d all be invited, shocking as that was (considering it was my second cousin getting married). Turns out that only the adults were invited, likely because they’re cousins and were close, whereas the “kids” are mostly unacquainted with each other.

Regardless, the day of the wedding came and after my parents left, I decided to dress up anyway and still use it as my August dress.

It’s from the selection of prom dresses that Forever 21 came out with this year, though it’s definitely not prom style, in my opinion. I like it because it’s dressy without being overbearing… also, because it’s pink and has sequins. I figured it would be the perfect dress for a wedding, but could also work for any banquet or even a fancy night out with friends.

The only frustrating thing about buying this dress is that after I spent $40 on it, a couple of months later it went on clearance for under $20. I was so peeved, you have no idea.

Still, I love it and am looking forward to having an occasion to wear it.

{This post is part of a series called Six Months, Six Dresses dreamed up by the ever-lovely and inspiring Kyla Roma. I'm actually straying a bit from her idea by including dresses I already own and starting in May instead of April. If you wanna get in on the fun, click the banner above and join us!}

fashion friday: month three of six months, six dresses.

Seeing as it's now July, which is smack-dab in the middle of summer, I figured it was high time to share a sundress for this month. This dress was purchased at the beginning of the summer from Forever 21 and to be honest, it's actually a little too short for me. I usually pair it with black leggings, but I love to wear it around the house without them.

It's very simple, but that's what I love about it. I'm usually drawn to dresses that are multicolored or have loud patterns so my wardrobe was aching for a basic, solid-colored sundress. The bright royal blue color really brings out my eyes, something that always nudges me a little more to buy a dress or a top. I instantly fell in love with this when I saw it - I just wish it was a little bit longer so that I wasn't in danger of flashing everyone if I'm not careful.

So now I'm at the halfway point of Six Months, Six Dresses and I have to say, I ended up purchasing more dresses than originally planned. The sad part is that it wasn't even for the sake of this project - I just developed a serious dress addiction that I'm still struggling to contain. That just means I have even more to pick from for the next three months!

{This post is part of a series called Six Months, Six Dresses dreamed up by the ever-lovely and inspiring Kyla Roma. I'm actually straying a bit from her idea by including dresses I already own and starting in May instead of April. If you wanna get in on the fun, click the banner above and join us!}

fashion friday: month two of six months, six dresses.

My dress for the month of June is one that I actually purchased in the same month that I’m showing it to you. A few weeks ago, courtesy of Rue La La*, I got a nice bargain on a super cute (but super plain) raspberry tube dress from American Apparel.

When it arrived at my doorstep, I tried in on and was a little concerned because it looked very blah on its own and the fabric was laying really strangely on me, bunching up in weird places. But, after a little creative brainstorm, I pulled a few pieces out of my wardrobe and made it work fabulously.

My first idea was to add a black, stretchy, front-clasped belt, which worked but also made it look very dressy. It would definitely be great for a nicer party, but I had bought the dress for something more casual, like a backyard barbecue. That brought me to my second idea – layering a white tank underneath and adding a large necklace – and I am very pleased with how it turned out.

This picture is from Wednesday, which is when I attended Mark’s brother’s graduation party. I got plenty of compliments on how cute I looked and was happy it looked at good as I’d hoped it would.

I’ve been indulging in a lot of new dresses recently that I haven’t had the occasion to wear just yet, so stay tuned for lots of prettiness, including a beautiful dress I found for a wedding I’m attending in August.

{This post is part of a series called Six Months, Six Dresses dreamed up by the ever-lovely and inspiring Kyla Roma. I'm actually straying a bit from her idea by including dresses I already own and starting in May instead of April. If you wanna get in on the fun, click the banner above and join us!}


*Interested in joining Rue La La, where really awesome brands are offered for some pretty nice discounts? Click here, sign up and you're in. And big thanks to Jamie for the hookup in the first place!

fashion friday: month one of six months, six dresses.

I am totally a dress and skirt person. Part of it is because I got used to it in high school (we had a uniform and had to wear skirts every. single. day.), but I’ve always thought they were pretty and festive. Once I got to college and got my regular-clothes-wearing-person groove back – which probably didn’t happen until sophomore year – I made dresses part of my everyday wardrobe.

After graduating, I stopped wearing them for a while because I was sick and not going out much. Obviously whenever I was attending a party or something special, I took the opportunity to pull them out of my closet. But even that was rare. I had resigned to a lazy-day uniform – Soffe shorts and tank tops in the summer, pajama pants and long sleeves in the winter. So, recently, I decided that even if I was only going out to work for the day or sitting around, I was going to wear more of my “nice” clothes.

My first dress in this series is one that actually precedes the little bit above because I got it for my college graduation party last May. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Forever 21 had become a new obsession of mine and as I was browsing, I found it. I knew instantly I wanted it and that I did happen to need one for my upcoming graduation bash, so I bought it.

It was perfect. Lightweight and loose, even the belt around my midsection didn’t bother me. Originally I planned on wearing heels with it, but it’s quite short and looked a bit distasteful with anything except flip flops. But other than that? I loved it and was thrilled to wear it to my graduation party.

Since then, I’ve worn it year-round – because it’s short, it looks good with jeans or leggings, and it didn’t look half bad with a long-sleeved shirt underneath. It can be dressy or casual, and I absolutely love clothes that are multipurpose. It’s held up pretty well and I’m hoping to keep wearing it until it’s completely destroyed.

{This post is part of a series called Six Months, Six Dresses dreamed up by the ever-lovely and inspiring Kyla Roma. I'm actually straying a bit from her idea by including dresses I already own and starting in May instead of April. If you wanna get in on the fun, click the banner above and join us!}