Rent the Runway in Real Life

I put it to a vote here on which dress I should order for the wedding I attended this past weekend. Well, here's the winner in action!

dress-Elie Tahari via Rent the Runway, belt-Asos, heels-Forever 21(similar here), necklace/sunnies-Banana Republic(similar here and here), clutch-H&M(similar here), rings/bracelet-Jewel Mint

How fabulous am I in this dress?!!! I loved it and loved myself in it and brought the chic with a capital CH to the event. The pattern is flat in the fabric, that's not actual lace, which is fine. I wanted to push the textural element in the pattern and give it some edge so, I cinched it in with a metal-plated/spike belt. These heels were chosen partially for comfort, and partially for height.

I didn't upstage the bride though, who was beyond gorge in a very tasteful strapless gown with the most delicate layers of chiffon. Congrats to Steph and Erik! You may recall Steph from this closet visit post.

Now let's talk about designer garments versus fast fashion retailers.... Remember this dress:

Dorothy Perkins from this post

This is a very similar silhouette and cut to the rented Elie Tahari dress:

If you click on the images to expand you'll see how DIFFERENT the fit is with each dress. That's what makes a designer garment (somewhat)worth the higher price. Fit, fabric, construction, are what (should) elevate a typical straight-shift dress from being tight in the armpits to fitted and stunning. Of course, some designer-ware is astronomically expensive and you CAN find quality garments at your average retailer, but if you have the opportunity, go out and try on a few designer dresses. Get an idea of what a proper fit feels like. You'll have a better frame of reference when deciding whether or not to buy a cheaper/fast-fashion version. Regardless of what you could save, if it doesn't fit best to leave it on the rack or send it back. Yeah, I think I made a mistake with the Dorothy Perkins dress above, I should have returned it.

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40 Year Old Cottagecore

dress-Anthropologie(more options here ), sunnies- DIFF Eyewear , necklace- Benevolence LA , bag-- Shiraleah , sandals- Born I first became aware of Cottagecore earlier this summer and found it to be an aesthetic I can appreciate and find aspirational , but was not necessarily a style that aligned with my wheelhouse. Well as I've been growing my hair during covid quarantine and having picked up this dress as seen here , I felt that I was ready to tackle #cottagecore here on my 40th birthday!!! Yep, that's right today I turn 40 (but I don't look it). And while it's been a year like no other, I feel excited for my next year, decade, chapter of my life. I think it's fair to say I'm done having babies and ready to move on from the chaos of very little children to the chaos of big kids. I no longer feel like I have something to proof in my work, writing, sense of self. I'm just going to enjoy and be grateful for the many blessings of family, friends, health, a...

Gift Guide Part 3--Literature

So far I've covered beauty products and socks in this year's round of gift guides, which are prefect gift categories for the coming winter. To add to that list--reading! Here are a few books from my Books Worth Reading Pinterest board, first up--poetry! James Allen Hall's "I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well" from the CSU Poetry Center I LOVED Hall's 1st book Now You're the Enemy , which won awards from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Lambda Literary Foundation, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. So this is on my personal wish list to read here during the snowy days to come. Anthology from Mason Jar Press "The Black Ladies Brunch Collective’s Poetry Anthology, Not Without Our Laughter , is a collection of humorous and joyful poems, riffing on Langston Hughes’s novel Not Without Laughter . It explores topics of family, work, love and sexuality. The women of BLBC believe, like Hughes, that even in these ...

Rent the Runway to the Rescue

So after the semi-disastrous dress vote from last week I took the stiletto by the heel, aka reserved this Slate & Willow dress from Rent the Runway for the wedding in July. Slate & Willow I had my eye on this as a possible outfit for the Tilda Swinton event I attended last month (fancy I know!) But, ended up going pretty casual since it was just a film screening. An AMAZING screening, but not a dressy affair nonetheless. Anyway, this striped sheath has so many good reviews from a variety of fellow renters in all shapes and sizes, I didn't see one unflattering user pic, so I'm fairly confident this frock will serve my needs come July. And here are some pics of former rentals over the last few years: Nanette Lapore Elie Tahari Elie Tahari Robert Rodriguez Halston Heritage Interesting in renting something for yourself here this summer, use this link , to get $20 off your first rental. You're welcome!

Outfits Not Just Clothes

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