Mime Time

I'd wager that most of you know how much I love a good novelty print. I think Trashy Diva kills it every time with theirs, particularly because they're often recreations of actual vintage prints. Their recent "Mime Time" collection is pretty near and dear to my heart – not only because it's quirky and theatrical, but because TD also donated a portion of the proceeds from this range to the NOCCA Institute (a high school arts conservatory in Louisiana). Anything that allows me to add a pretty new dress to my wardrobe and support the arts at the same time is a total win in my book.

I actually wasn't sold on this print initially, perhaps due to the olive green background. It's not a hue to which I'd normally be drawn, but it really grew on me. I don't have anything else like this in my closet, and I love that it's such a great transitional piece. Although I love several of the cuts in this collection, I chose the Ruby Middy. (The Tuxedo style is so great and I hope they use it in future collections!) This style is really comfy and I just adore the little buttons down the front!

Outfit Details

Ruby Middy Dress in Mime Time: Trashy Diva

Lavender hat: similar  ||  Toni Pons wedges: available here

I start rehearsals tonight for the musical I'm in. I'm excited, albeit a little bit nervous about how I'm going to juggle everything. It'll be good to sing again and I'm thinking that having a more normal work schedule will be good for me, too. At the very least, it'll keep me from constantly snacking on my couch! :)

Have a great start to your week!

Wildflowers

I promise, I'm done styling my floral dresses after today... but I think I might've saved the best for last. Although Trashy Diva's Wildflowers Collection came out months ago, I've been waiting for the right occasion to wear this dress. I haven't always been drawn to a lot of TD's floral prints in the past, but this one is a real winner.

This is my first "Streetcar" style dress, and I'm totally in love. After looking at these photos (and consulting with Ashley), it seems like it needs a tiny bit of tailoring in the shoulders. But other than that, it's absolutely perfect in every way. I love the pussy bow detail (though I need to get better/faster at tying it) and I'm glad it's the kind of dress that I can easily wear with a cropped cardigan throughout the year. And even though I hate side zippers with a passion that burns brighter than the sun, I'm completely willing to overlook it with this dress – it's that good.

When the sunflowers bloom in late August or early September, I usually head out to this one farmer's field located west of the city. But this year, his sunflowers didn't take! Fortunately, Wickham Farms held an event they called their Sunflower Spectacular, which featured 15 different varieties of sunflowers over five acres of land. Some were so tall that I felt like a little fairy! My mom and I had a delightful afternoon amongst the blooms. I'll definitely be going back next year.

Look how tall they were! (And I'm 5-foot-7!)

Outfit Details

Streetcar Dress in Wildflowers: Trashy Diva

Vintage daisy brooch: Trashy Diva (similar)

Flats: Aerosoles

Have a beautiful day!

Pirate Treasure

Ashley and I had the best time on our New Orleans trip! It was a total whirlwind and we definitely didn't get to do everything we wanted to. But I'm really glad we got to spend some time in City Park at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens. We wore Trashy Diva almost exclusively during our time there, which meant I got to put some of my favorite frocks to good use. The Hollywood dress is one of my favorites, and I love that we actually got to twin in person!

Ashley shared her post with our pirate pieces yesterday, but I've been so exhausted (I had kind of a crappy week last week) that I didn't get a chance to put a coordinating post together until after hers went live. She captured some really great images -- she's a wonderful photographer as well as a wonderful model! -- and all of the ones of me in this post were taken by Ashley. As much as I like the solitude that blogging provides me, it's so nice to spend time with someone who understands it all so well. Long-distance friendships can be tough sometimes, but I'm so grateful to have met Ashley through blogging and for the connection we have.

My Outfit Details

Hollywood Dress in Pirate Treasure: Trashy Diva

Flats: Jessica Simson  ||  Hair flower: similar

Ashley's Outfit Details

June Blouse and 40's Skirt in Pirate Treasure: Trashy Diva

Shoes: Remix Vintage Shoes

Who else is stoked for the new Trashy Diva print release?? I think the styles in this collection are really fantastic. I can't wait to style my Mime Time piece and see everyone else in theirs!

Have a great day!

Berry Chantilly

Well, I'm back from our NOLA trip! We had so much fun and I'm still reveling in all things New Orleans, which is why I'm styling another Trashy Diva dress today. This is actually one of my favorite prints ever. The second I saw it, I knew I needed a piece for my closet. I ended up ordering the 1940's dress, which is what I'm wearing here, but I had wanted to try on the Camilla in-store to see whether that style would work for me. I ended up liking it much more on me than the 1940's, so the Camilla came home with me! (I am selling this dress, which is sold out on the TD site, over in my Shop My Closet store if you're interested! As much as I like this print, I guess I don't need two different dress styles in it.) But I styled the 1940's before I left on my trip and ended up loving the photos, so I wanted to make sure I posted them.

All of the summer fruits, including strawberries, have been impeccable this year. This gal couldn't be happier about that – or about the fact that I have a vintage strawberry bag and hat to go with this outfit. My mom and I actually went strawberry picking the day I took these photos, but the patch was less than picturesque. (It did, however, have some of the best strawberries I've ever tasted.) We decided to head back to the cherry orchard for these photos. Close enough, right?

Outfit Details

Berry Chantilly 1940's Dress: Trashy Diva

Vintage strawberry bag: Trashy Diva (similar)

Strawberry hat: Treasure Trove Vintage

Popular Preserve brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Heels: B.A.I.T. Footwear

Have a great day!

Carnival

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

How lucky am I to have a lovely and talented friend like Emma who's willing to indulge me and document my little Rochester adventures? I've been meaning to post these photos (many of which were taken by Emma) for quite a while now, but it's been hard to muster up the energy to edit them. That might sound silly, but it really does require energy and concentration, both of which I'm usually lacking after a long day. But since I'm headed off to New Orleans with Ashley today(!!!), I thought it was the perfect time to debut this fantastic NOLA-themed dress from Trashy Diva.

Photo credit (above): Emma Rizzo

This was actually my first Annette dress after purchasing one years ago and returning it (which I now regret because it's now a highly coveted design). As you all know, I love a good novelty print... but I was initially worried that this might be a little much. I actually ended up loving it in person and also love that the skirt provides a bit more *poof* than most of Trashy Diva's designs. My one regret with this dress is that I didn't size up. It zips, but it's definitely a bit tighter than I'd like. (I guess one option would be to lose a bit of my own *poof*, which I'm trying to do anyway.) Lesson learned: if you're between sizes, keep in mind that cotton voile doesn't provide stretch when ordering!

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

I'm so excited to go on this vacation with Ashley and I can't wait to do lots of shopping – mostly at TD! We're both eager to try on styles we're usually too afraid to try out when we order online. Basically, we planned our entire trip around shopping and food. If you want to live vicariously, keep an eye on our Instagram feeds! I'm sure we'll be updating throughout our time in NOLA.

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

Outfit Details

Carnival Annette Dress: Trashy Diva

Boater Hat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Jessica Simpson Flats: Amazon

Photo credit: Emma Rizzo

Have a wonderful Wednesday!