I am serious. Is it a fancy love shack?
In my last post I spoke about how I picked up two dresses up from the LoveShackFancy x Target collaboration. This one is a mini dress and both dresses serve some Marie Antoinette realness (this one on a micro level). I bought the dress in a size 6 and had to take in the sleeves a bit because the V neck was hitting a little too low for comfort.
When to say yes to a dress?
I have some basic criteria before I say yes to a dress (thrifted or retail).
- Do I own something very similar to it in my closet?
- Will I have an occasion to wear it?
- Which dress will it replace (I try to implement an one in one out policy.)
- Is it in my budget? Here’s a few things that factor into my willingness to pay for it:
- Fit
- Construction
- Material type(s)
- Length
- Designer (this is probably the last thing I take into consideration)
And sometimes, I say fuck that and buy it because retail = therapy.
How I wore it today
I decided to remove the satin belt that came with this dress and opted for a solid colored belt (something I said in my last post that would work equally well). Since this dress hit me at my natural waist, I thought the fit was pretty good.
For accessories, I opted to keep the shoes in the same color category as the belt and exchanged the red braided headband for this pink floral one, which matched better with the dress. This way the color ratio still stays balanced (pink headband/dress vs. red belt and shoes).
Style inspiration
People ask me where do I draw style inspiration from and I don’t always have the best answer. The basic answer is Instagram. I think Instagram has been a huge source of my clothing inspiration (and those creepily accurate targeted ads! Like no I don’t need this Hello Kitty sneaker but how did you know that was what I wanted?). Contrary to what most people think about bloggers, I actually don’t have a pinterest board (or if you are really old school, a collage) of fashion icons that I regularly draw inspiration from.
Sometimes I’ll go online shopping and see how Farfetch or SSENSE dresses up their models and think, I can do that. And then make a subpar imitation of it.
Liu Wen, Ayesha Curry, Eva Chen, Cher from Clueless, Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl (I love a good headband moment), Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale, Minnie Mouse, and Lisa Turtle of Saved By The Bell are a few of the people whose styles I really enjoy. Recently, I’ve really enjoyed the sartorial interpretations of Christine Quinn from Selling Sunset.
I stray far away from the minimalism aesthetic (neutrals? Don’t know her. Love it on others though!) and prefer to stay in the realm of bold colors. Here are some Black creators whose styles I am inspired by. I definitely connect with their use of patterns, colors, and accessories in styling.
- Ayesha Curry (I mean do I even need to explain? Her Monse asymmetric blazer was one of the reasons I started following the brand.)
- Sabra of mystyleismybrand
- Jordyn of yourpaljordyn
- Angelina of blueprintdiy – she takes DIY to the next level
- Pumulo of pumulokasaji
- Kay of hitstylist
- Ruth of styleaffair_ruth
Developing personal style takes time and patience to really pinpoint what clothes make you feel the most comfortable.