Friday, June 26, 2015

Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware Part 16: More Polka Pairing!

Royal Albert is one of my favorite brands for teaware.


With their refined style, golden edging, classic shapes, and unmistakable quality, there's really no comparison to this brand in my eye.

One of my most favorite patterns of theirs comes from their New Country Roses collection, Polka Rose. My husband gave me this tea set for our first year anniversary. Though it's released under their New Country Roses collection, it is also a pattern that first dates back to the 1930's as is described in Royal Albert's 100 years of Royal Albert Collection.



This teapot features a mint green background with small white polka dots all over. The white lid is adorned with four peach roses circling around it's circumference. Also, as is Royal Albert's signature, gold trimming delicately edges the teapot.




The colors of this set are so quaint and soothing. I love the peach roses on this set which gives it just enough of a pop of color without being too jarring or too excessive. When I first picked out this tea set I loved the colors which I knew would match the walls in my house. But I don't know if I realized at the time that it also matched a Hell Bunny dress I have. It's possible that I didn't even notice it until I started writing this, Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware series, for which I'm now constantly on the lookout for more perfect pairings! In any case, it is a perfect paring indeed.

The Hell Bunny Melanie dress in mint is a mint green dress with small white polka dots. This dress has an attached bolero, a sweetheart neckline, a fitted bodice, and a full flared skirt. Like the Polka Rose teapot, the overall mint with white polka dot body of the dress is offset with white edging at the neckline and along the cuffs and collars of the mock shrug. While this dress is a retro reproduction dress modeled after dresses from the 1950's, I think the allusion to vintage times with this dress coincides well with the 1930's pattern on this tea pot.

Hell Bunny Melanie dress in Mint


This perfect pairing makes me want to pull on an apron and bake some homemade bread filling the house with scents as sweet as this pairing looks!








Monday, June 22, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Father's Day Weekend

This past weekend I got to go out in two of my favorite dresses


On Friday after work Tim and I went out to San Francisco for a farewell party for a friend of a friend. While we didn't know the friend that was leaving too well, it was great to add to the festivities and bid congratulations and good luck on things to come to the guy that was leaving for school in Southern California.

Saturday we spend the better half of the day lounging around the house and just enjoying some quiet time at home.

On Sunday, for Father's day, we got to go out with my dad and took him and my step mom out for lunch then went out for ice cream at his favorite place, The Ice Creamery in Castro Valley.

It was a fun weekend with perfect weather and the perfect amount of going out and staying in.


Outfit of the Day:

Friday:
For this night's festivities, since we don't usually make it out to the city too often, nor often really go out at night, I decided to really dress up with my super special Trashy Diva Crazy Circles Obi dress. What makes this dress so special? First, it is 100% silk. But even more so, I absolutely adore the print! Because it's silk only makes the beautiful, vivid, and crazy colors on this print stand out all the more. I was lucky enough to find this dress on ebay one day several months back. It cost me a pretty hefty pretty penny but to me, this dress is worth its weight in gold! I paired this dress with Jessica Simpson Mandalay flats from Macy's which I felt went with the obi style and the black contrasting angles of the dress perfectly. Because it's always cold at night in San Francisco I also paired this with my 3/4 sleeve black mohair cardigan. 

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Front View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Front View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Side View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Front View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Front View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Side View

Trashy Diva Obi Dress in Crazy Circles- Close Up




Sunday:
For Father's day on Sunday I decided to wear an oldie but goodie, one of my all time favorite dresses, and my second ever Trashy Diva dress, the Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in brown plaid. Now, why they call it brown plaid is beyond me. Sure, it has brown in it, but it always seemed like it most certainly should have been called purple plaid to me. I wore this with black flats which I got from Nordstrom Rack. I actually forgot to bring a cardigan with me when we stepped out with dad. After lunch though Tim and I ran around a bit to take care of errands for which we went back home so I could grab my pink Mak cardigan which I also got from Trashy Diva.

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Side View

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar Dress in Brown Plaid- Side View

It was a super fun weekend that was made all the more fun by wearing two of my most favorite dresses!




Saturday, June 20, 2015

Dress Review: Trashy Diva Seersucker for Summer

Last year Trashy Diva came out with their seersucker collection.


I tried real hard to be real good and convinced myself I would pass on dresses in this collection. To make myself feel better I even made my own seersucker dress. Fast forward to this year just before spring hit, Trashy Diva re-released/re-stocked their seersucker! For Trashy Diva, this was such a rare thing to have been done. And tried as hard as I did last year, I couldn't let these dresses pass me up again. Not only did I end up with one dress in seersucker but in the course of 2-3 months I actually acquired two of their seersucker dresses.

Trashy Diva's Lena dress in seersucker was the undisputed favorite of all the seersucker dresses. Before the restock earlier this year this dress was nearly all sold out. After the restock, it didn't take long for this one to start selling out again! The Lena dress is a halter style dress with a full circle skirt, and a supportive, fully lined, shelf bust in contrasting white. The neck strap has functioning buttons rather than the tie of most of Trashy Diva's halter dresses. The dress also has elasticized side panels to ensure a great fit.

In contrast, Trashy Diva's Apple Tart dress (also in seersucker) features skinny straps at the shoulders (rather than the halter style top), a ruffled bust, and the full skirt is fully gathered. While this dress appears not to be as popular as the Lena (judging from it not selling out as quickly as the Lena did both times), I still cannot decide which of the two is my personal favorite. I could say however, that while the Lena needed no adjustments or alterations for a perfect fit, the Apple Tart did require a little bit of tweaking. I was getting a lot of bunching in the dress at the underbust, even though the dress felt like it fit and even though I ordered it in my usual size. This was a problem easily solved though by adjusting the straps to be a little shorter. Also because the bust is a little more open on this style I added a stitch right at the center of the bust to keep it from exposing more than I like.

I'm so glad that Trashy Diva decided to re-release this collection. I can't believe I almost let these ones get away!


Trashy Diva Lena Dress in Seersucker:


Trashy Diva Lena Dress in Seersucker- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Dress in Seersucker- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Dress in Seersucker- Side View

Trashy Diva Lena Dress in Seersucker- Back View




Trashy Diva Apple Tart Dress in Seersucker:

Trashy Diva Apple Tart Dress in Seersucker- Front View

Trashy Diva Apple Tart Dress in Seersucker- Front View

Trashy Diva Apple Tart Dress in Seersucker- Side View

Trashy Diva Apple Tart Dress in Seersucker- Back View










Thursday, June 18, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Three Outfits in Blue

Can you tell that blue is my favorite color?


I totally did not plan my outfits like this, but it turns out all weekend long I was wearing blue dresses.

This past weekend was a fun one full of activities for my hubby's birthday. On Friday after work we went out to dinner with Tim's mom for a birthday dinner at the restaurant of his choosing, The Country Way in Fremont. The portions were huge and the dishes delicious. It was good to get to see his mom and to unwind before the big weekend!

Then on Saturday he had a roller skating birthday party with a bunch of friends at a roller rink in nearby San Ramon. I don't think any of us have skated for years but surprisingly we all did well. I didn't fall at all, though you take no risks and you don't fall ;). Lots of his friends were pretty good skaters and were able to do turns and skate backwards. I even saw Tim doing a couple tricks out there! It was fun to do something different. Also, at the roller skating rink they had a dj that took requests and we were even able to get the dj to do a shout out to Tim for his birthday and play one of Tim's favorites, the Transformers Movie theme song, "You've Got the Touch"... the 80's Transformers movie that is

On Sunday we went out with my dad, step mom, uncle and grandmother for lunch and ice cream at the local ice creamery.  After seeing some of the very pretty and huge ice creams my dad, uncle and grandma were having I opted to get one of the big pretty ice creams too. I'm still trying to finish it! Needless to say I'll be sticking to my junior scoop from now on. ;)



Outfit of the Day:

Friday:
For Friday after work I threw on my Trashy Diva Lupe dress in Turquoise birds. I paired this with a pair of mustard colored peep toe flats from Target and a mustard colored cropped cardigan I got from Trashy Diva.

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Front View

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Front View

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Side View

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Front View

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Front View

Trashy Diva Lupe Dress in Turquoise Birds- Side View


Saturday:
On Saturday, because I knew it was going to be an active day with lots of potential for falling, I opted to wear one of my shorter dresses, a navy, turquoise, purple and brown striped dress I got from Forever 21 some years ago with navy capri leggings also from Forever 21, a light blue cardigan from Target, and navy flats by Rocketdog.
.
Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Front View

Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Front View

Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Side View

Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Front View

Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Front View

Forever 21 Navy, Turquoise, Purple, and Brown Striped Dress- Side View


Sunday:
On Saturday, to go with the theme of the 50's style ice creamery, I opted to wear my cat print Meow-ily We Go dress by Friday On My Mind which I got from Modcloth. I paired this with a navy Mak cardigan (also from Modcloth), a light blue polka dot wired headband (a free gift from Modcloth), and navy flats by Rocketdog.


Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Front View

Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Front View

Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Side View
Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Front View

Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Front View
Friday On My Mind Meow-ily We Go Dress, Modcloth- Side View




Do you ever find yourself wearing the same color multiple days in a row?

It was a great weekend and I hope a super fun birthday weekend for my hubby!



Friday, June 12, 2015

Outfit of the Day: 80's Does 50's

It seems that Tim and I have been making a regular thing of going to Alameda for the movies and the arcade!


You have no complaints from me! It seems like the perfect way to spend the whole summer! We stopped for lunch while we were there too. I really wanted to go to Ole's for the pecan waffles I missed out on last time we went but there was a line out the door so we went a few blocks up the road to Jim's instead and I got yummy chicken and waffles instead which was delicious and Tim got a really yummy crab and shrimp sandwich. After lunch we went to the arcade where Tim beat his high score and got #3 on the score board ranking in Q-bert and I did better than I've ever done playing Frogger, Pac-man, and Tapper. Those are my favorite arcade games ever! After the arcade we saw Spy which both of us liked a lot.

Here are pictures from our adventure High Scores last weekend.




Outfit of the Day:
For this day's activities I decided to wear my most 80's does 50's looking dress to get into the theme of the vintage arcade. I was super lucky and found this dress super cheap on ebay one day. This is the Ping Pong dress by Tatyana. I paired this with black ankle strap flats by Blowfish, and though it's not pictured, my ice cream stud earrings that look like 80's sticker earrings.

Tatyana Ping Pong Dress- Front View

Tatyana Ping Pong Dress- Front View

Tatyana Ping Pong Dress- Side View






Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Dress Review: Trashy Diva in Irish Polka

It's been quite a while since I posted any dress reviews. 


I would like to say it's been because I've been good and haven't been making any new dress purchases, but that would just be a fabrication. While most of my dress purchases have been older dresses I've gotten through swap and sell avenues I have been doing a fair share of purchasing new as well.

Earlier in the winter at the very start of 2015 Trashy Diva released their Irish Polka print. While I initially had decided to pass on anything in this print thinking polka dots are just polka dots, I eventually got won over by Trashy Diva's beautiful cuts and styles! I excitedly placed my order for a Streetcar dress and an Ashley blouse and skirt set thinking most likely something wasn't going to fit as I've heard that lots of ladies were having problems with sizing, and also convincing myself that even if both the dress and the separates set work out I will just return which ever out of the two I like the least. And though this was completely unplanned, while I waited for my order to arrive Tim and I decided to take a day trip to Santa Cruz and made a stop at the super awesome retro and vintage clothing shop out there, Cognito, which you can read about in this post here. I just wanted to pop into this shop just to see what they had but I ended up leaving with, would you know it, a Trashy Diva dress in the Irish Polka print (the Dorothy dress)! I was doubly convinced that something in my order from Trashy Diva (which was still on its way) was going to have to be returned because the dress I got at Cognito I ended up loving so much I couldn't stop myself from buying it. And it was a style I never would have thought of trying if I didn't happen upon it in the store.

Like a true shopping addict though, when my order arrived I loved everything I got. Everything was a perfect fit (thanks to their wonderful customer service staff who helped me pick out the perfect size in everything), and while everything was in Irish Polka print, the styles were different enough that I didn't want to part with anything.

Keeping the Dorothy was an easy decision as it was a final sale buying it in the store ;). But when it came to which of the two from Trashy Diva to return, that was a much harder decision than I anticipated. For one, the dress I got, the Streetcar, is my all time favorite cut that Trashy Diva makes (at least out of the styles that I've tried). It has a fully detachable high neck bow which makes this dress very versatile since it can be worn three different ways: with the neck bow attached, with the neck bow not attached but with a mandarin style collar, or with the neck bow not attached with the collar open. And while the gathered skirt of this dress seemed shorter than other Streetcar dresses I have, it gave the dress a super fun feel to it. On the other end of things, the separates I got, the Ashley blouse and skirt, had such a classic 1940's look to it. This set was love at first sight when I first saw it on Trashy Diva's blog. Not only did I love the way it looked and felt, I loved that as a separates set it was so versatile and could be worn with so many things I already owned. It can be worn as the two piece set to make it look like a dress, it could be worn with my Collectif wide leg suspender pants for a super 1940's look, it could be worn with my Tatyana pencil skirt jumper to give it a chic and sophisticated 40's look, and the skirt could be worn with oh so many tops! Also, I liked the idea that I could wear the top to work as well.

I put it to a vote and everyone I asked said to keep the separates for sure but when I started making arrangements to send back the Streetcar dress I knew that it would be something I would regret later. After all, the Streetcar is my favorite style of dress from Trashy Diva, and on their website they were already fully sold out in my size. Also, I had a pair of shoes that matched perfectly with the Irish Polka print (Chelsea Crew Dark Green Ida Kitten Heels) so why not have multiple things to wear with these shoes! ;) I know it's a little bit of faulty logic there, but for me I can live with it. And so in the end I decided to keep them all. :)


Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka:

Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka- Side View

Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka without bow- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka without bow with collar open- Front View

Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in Irish Polka with Vintage Ethel Of Beverly Hills Bolero- Front View





Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse and Skirt Set in Irish Polka:

Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse and Skirt Set- Front View

Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse and Skirt Set- Side View


Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse with Collectif High Waist Suspender Trousers- Front View

Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse with Collectif High Waist Suspender Trousers- Side View

Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse with Tatyana High Waist Pencil Jumper- Front View

Trashy Diva Ashley Blouse with Tatyana High Waist Pencil Jumper- Side View

Trashy Diva Ashley Skirt with Heart of Haute Estelle Top in Black- Front View




Trashy Diva Dorothy Dress in Irish Polka:

Trashy Diva Dorothy Dress in Irish Polka- Front View

Trashy Diva Dorothy Dress in Irish Polka- Side View


This is the first time I've ever bought so much in the same print but I have to tell you, I regret nothing! ;)