A Romantic Dress From Francesca's

There is the most beautiful field of sunflowers growing along side the highway we take to church every week.  I asked my husband if we could stop and take some pictures one Sunday, because I LOVE sunflowers!  They are my absolute favorite fall flower.

This gorgeous dress is from Francesca's.  I went to the mall last week to pick up some lotion from Bath & Body Works  and ended up coming home $150.00 poorer because of Francesca's.  But I couldn't help myself!  They had an amazing sale that I have never seen Francesca's do before.  Every clothing item in their store, no matter what the original cost, was $20.00 as long as you purchased them in increments of two.  And their jewelry was on sale too!  Only $10.00 for anything if you bought in increments of two.  I left the store with 3 dresses, one top, and six pieces of jewelry!  Not bad for only $150.00

The dress is a vintage/romantic style.  It has a tie in the back neckline with a large V Shape opening.

My black straw hat is old.  I think I picked it up at JCPenney.

 I love the color and print on the dress.  I like the vertical line of the flowers, instead of having a flower print scattered all over the dress.  There are also beautiful tropical birds on it in addition to the flowers.  I'm a huge bird lover, especially tropical birds, so the bird print is a huge plus for me!

The champagne fringe and bead bracelets were also purchased at Francesca's.

I wore gold rings, and carried a blush clutch (old, Charming Charlie's).

Because the dress is on the short side, and I was going to church, I wore burgundy flats (old, Express).

These old pink earrings have been in jewelry box for ages.  They went perfect with this dress!

It was warm the day I wore this dress, but I can't wait to style it for fall with a kimono or cardigan, booties, or leggings/skinny jeans underneath.

The dress is still available HERE and the bracelets are still available HERE.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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My $4.00 H&M Dress

 In an earlier fashion post I mentioned that when we were in Illinois for the birth of my granddaughter my husband and I went to a nearby mall while our daughter was resting.  It happened to be the 4th of July weekend, so all the stores were having HUGE holiday sales.  I picked up a cute blush sleeveless top  and this dress for only $4.00 each!  I remember asking myself when I saw the sales sign "Are my eyes deceiving me?".  Because I thought it was the prettiest, most unique dress!  I could envision all the multitude of ways I could wear it...alone, with a jacket, dressed up or down.  It was available in blush, gold, blue, and black too!

It is a shift dress made of the prettiest fabric I ever did see.  It is a shimmery, crinkle material.  It is very lightweight:  so it's cool and comfy.  I did add a slip under mine the day I wore it, but I don't think that would be necessary with the darker colors.

 I absolutely LOVE the shimmer in this dress.  It is so pretty IRL.  And the shift style is my favorite style of dress!  If you desire more shape, you could add a belt.  You could also add a blazer, jacket, or cardigan to get more structure.

 On this day, I wore my dress to church, lunch, and then to a local park to take some pictures.  I wore the jacket inside the church because I don't feel comfortable having my shoulders exposed at church.  That, and the air conditioning usually bothers me.  When I was at the park, I had my hat on and I only put the jacket on for photographs because it was hot and sunny!

My hat is old.  I think I picked it up at JCPenney for only 97 cents a season or two ago.  Hats are always something I look for at the end of the season, because the clearance prices are amazing!

Even though I can see this dress worn in a multitude of ways, on this day I kept everything "earthy".  I wore earth tone make-up colors, a nude lip color, carried a brown cross body saddle bag, brown sunglasses, and silver and golden brown jewelry.

My shoes are also new.  They have all their sandals on clearance and I picked up this cute suede pair for $16.97.  I love the tassel shoe laces!   I couldn't find this exact pair on-line, but THIS PAIR is very similar.

If you're interested in this dress, it is still available HERE for only $10.00!  I would size down too, cause they run big!  For size reference, I have a medium on. 

I can't leave without showing you this picture and sharing a funny little story.  There was a floating pier at the boat dock.  My husband thought it would be great if I walked to the end of the pier and he could take my picture with just the water in the background.  But the second I stepped on the pier I got vertigo so bad because the pier shook so badly!  I literally couldn't even move to get off the pier and started going hysterical because I was so dizzy.  My husband had to turn me around and hold on to me till I was safe on solid ground.  I then asked him to walk to the end of pier, but he also had problems with vertigo.  He managed to take a few photos, including this one of me laughing at him from the safety of the shore.  Wow! What a weird experience.  Have you ever been on a floating pier before?  It's certainly not an experience I care to repeat!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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My Spring Stitch Fix: Fix #12

If you never heard of Stitch Fix, check out this post HERE before reading the rest of this post.

Four times a year I like to receive a order from Stitch Fix;  one Fix for every season.  I do this not because I hate shopping, but I like to try on clothes that I might not normally pick for myself.  For this Fix, I asked my stylist to send me clothes for an upcoming vacation at Myrtle Beach.  I asked for comfortable vacation clothes and I mentioned that I would spend a lot of long hours in the car.  This is what she sent me.

My first thought upon opening the box was that there were an awful lot of dark colors in there for a beach vacation.  Maybe I'm wrong, but when I think of a beach vacation I think of pretty summer tropical colors.  But I kept an open mind, and continued to examine the contents of the box.

I received in my Fix, one dress, two tops, one tote, and a pair of jeans.  Here is the first top:

 I think the top is cute, I liked the weight and the style.  I just didn't think a 3/4 sleeve black top would work for a beach vacation.  I also just donated a very similar top.

The top has a nice yoke with a lace up feature and a bit of lace on top of the bust line.

The cost of the top is $58.00 and for size reference I'm wearing a Medium.

The style card showed the top with blue jeans, but I wanted to see what it looked like with white jeans.  I really did like the top.  It just wasn't something I was looking for.

The lace up detail with the tassel's and the extra lace above the bust is really cute!

I also liked the distribution of the flower print on the top.  More flowers in the yoke and the bottom, and just a scattering of flowers every where else.

The bag I'm holding in all the pictures also came in this Fix.  I was tempted to keep the bag because it went with all my outfits and I loved the little mini bag that goes inside too.  But I decided to send it back because it cost $58.00 and to be honest, I thought it was a little flimsy and cheap looking for that price.

The bag is reversible.  It is a mint green on one side and a vanilla on the other.  I loved the little tassel's on both bags too.

This is the vanilla side.

The next item I received I knew would be going back before I even tried it on when I saw the bow tie.  I HATE, HATE, HATE bow ties on blouses.  They do nothing for my already huge bust not to mention that I either feel like a pregnant woman or a school girl when I have one on.  Yuck!  This is one trend that is just not for me!

 It's other drawbacks are that is it blue and white (I already have enough blue and white in my closet), the ugly print, it's sleeveless (I just donated a bunch of sleeveless tops because I'm trying to get away from those.  I don't have nice arms), and it's so billowy I look pregnant in it.  The stylist recommended tucking the top in, but I can't tuck any tops in with my thick midsection.

The cost of the top is $54.00.

Well because I'm brave and real, here's what I look like with the top on.   I'm wearing a size Medium. I'm also wearing the jeans that came in the Fix and carrying the tote.

 Do I look like an expectant mom or what?  Yikes!  My husband hated the top almost more than I did.  Definitely NOT sexy.

The jeans I almost kept.  They fit super well and were so comfy.  But then again, I have never received a pair of jeans from Stitch Fix that I didn't like.  They have THE BEST JEANS on the planet.  But I just didn't need them.  I asked my stylist for ankle pants and she sent me jeans.  Maybe she thinks jeans are pants, but if I wanted ankle jeans, I would have asked for ankle jeans not ankle pants.  Oh well.  I still almost kept the jeans cause I liked them so much.  But at a cost of $78.00 for something I didn't really need, it made no sense.

Both my husband and I liked the way the jeans looked from the front, but hubby thought they flattened out my butt.  So back they went.

The jeans also didn't taper in at the ankle, but kind of flared out a bit.  I wasn't sure I liked that.

If you're interested in these jeans, I'm wearing a size 28.

The jeans are faded on the seat and the thigh.

The last item in my Fix was this dress.  I must admit, I was on the fence with this one.  I normally like shift dresses on me, but this one reminded me of a potato sack.  But when my husband saw it on me, it was love at first sight.  My daughter liked it as well and thought it was very different.

 It has a very unique neckline that I've never seen in a shift dress style before.  I also liked the print on the hem.

 I've actually been trying to get away from skimpy dresses and short skirts as I feel I might be getting too old for them.  I hate to even say that because it goes against everything I believe in.  I do not believe in age-appropriate dressing.  I believe in dressing for your own body type...but that's why I feel like not buying any more revealing clothing:  because I'm starting to see the effects of aging on my 54 year old body and I do not find these types of clothes flattering on me anymore.  Another 54 year old might look amazing in them!

But this Fix wasn't just for me, it was for my hubby as well.   I will be spending a romantic week with him in a hotel right on the beach and when I walked down the stairs wearing this dress he was like "VA-VA-VOOM!"  So it was sold!  What can I say,  Love is blind.

 

 I really do love the neckline and back of this dress.  I like that it covers up my bosom so that there is no exposed cleavage.

The cost of the dress is $58.00 and I'm wearing a size Medium.

I styled my dress with new Steve Madden Wedges, but I love how the stylist card shows it worn with sneakers too.  I might have to do that if I wear the dress on a day when we are walking a lot.

Even though the dress has that potato sack look, I think it will be super comfy on hot days.  My daughter suggested belting it, but I don't have a waist so that made it look worse.

I did try the dress on with a denim jacket and two cardigans because I was concerned about wearing the dress to places where I might be uncomfortable showing so much skin.  It looked really great with  a jacket or a cardigan.  You'll have to wait to see that look in a future fashion post!

So out of the five items I received, the only item I kept was the dress.  I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in this Fix and felt my stylist really didn't listen to me.  I've had the same stylist for all the years I've subscribed to Stitch Fix, but because I checked the box "My Stylist Didn't Listen To Me" at check out, they are giving me a new stylist for June.  I feel kinda bad about that.  I didn't ask for a new stylist.  I think she got it right on most of my Fixes, but the past two or three Fixes she missed the mark.

What about you?  Have you subscribed to Stitch Fix?  Have you been happy with all your Fixes?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
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