Watermelon Summer

Happy Memorial Day! I actually get the day off today, so I'm excited to spend time with my guy and eat some tasty BBQ. Since today is the unofficial start of summer, I thought this Unique Vintage watermelon dress would be perfect for the occasion.

This is actually my second watermelon piece from UV (see how I wore their watermelon skirt here), and I really love this dress a lot. I sized up in this one because there's really no stretch in the fabric and I'm between sizes, according to the size chart. It could probably be taken in a tiny bit in the waist, but it's definitely the right fit up top. I can't wait to wear this all summer long! If you've been eyeing this beauty (or anything else at Unique Vintage), you can snag it for 20% off today! Just use the code MEM20 at checkout.

Outfit Details

Watermelon Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Hat: similar  ||  Wicker bag: Chicwish

Jessica Simpson flats: Amazon

Have a great holiday!

Bunny Hop

I consider myself to be a celebrator of all holidays. I'm Jewish, but I grew up celebrating the major holidays from both the Jewish and Christian traditions. I stuffed myself silly with matzoh at the start of the week, but I'll be ending it with lots of chocolates from my Easter basket (thanks, Mom!). And although I dream of having a matzoh dress someday, Easter is definitely a bit more fun to dress for – as if I needed an excuse to wear my pastel-filled Sunday best.

I actually gasped when I saw that the Unique Vintage "Hamilton" dress was coming in a new colorway. (You can find how I wore the green version here.) It's one of my favorite UV dresses, and it looks like it could really be vintage (probably because it was inspired by a vintage design). And when I found out the new version would be peachy-pink, I knew it had to be mine. This dress reminds me of the table umbrellas on Main Street, USA in Disney World that I remember from my childhood. It's perfectly pretty and dapper, making it an excellent choice for Easter brunch at my parents' this weekend. Of course, I had to pair it with this adorable bunny brooch, which is actually my friend Dana's bunny, Sophie! PSA: please do not give rabbits as pets this Easter. Wear them in brooch form, instead! :)

Outfit Details

Hamilton Swing Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Sassy Sophie brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Boater hat: similar

Flats: Aerosoles

Do you have any plans for Easter weekend? I can't wait for waffles on Sunday morning!

Candy Store

I've now styled several of Unique Vintage's novelty skirts (you can find some here: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5), but out of all of the other ones I own, this print might be my favorite: it's a pastel, retro-kitsch fantasy filled with sweets! That combination cannot possibly be wrong.  :)  I'm trying to start eating better again, so I'll have to be content with wearing candy instead of eating it. 

I wish I could've found a location to compliment this skirt a bit better. Instead, here I am in the snow... again. Most of it's melted by now (and I have my fingers and toes crossed that this is the last we'll have for the year), but everything's looking pretty drab. Nothing's in bloom yet, and with every day that passes, I feel a little more impatient for spring to arrive.

Outfit Details

Candy Shop Swing Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage

Leotard: similar  ||  Bolero: similar

Lollipop Mickey brooch: c/o Femme De Bloom

Belt: similar  ||  Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear

I was lazy as could be this weekend (other than watching the RuPaul's Drag Race season premiere with my best friend), but I forgot to mention that I saw Beauty and the Beast with my boyfriend, his sister, and his niece the weekend before! I enjoyed it a lot, though I did have some issues with it, musically and otherwise. I've been trying to motivate myself to get out of the house in the evening and on the weekends because most of the time, all I feel like doing is being a couch potato. But I think as the weather starts to warm up, I'll have much more motivation to get moving. Until then, I'd love to hear from you: how do you motivate yourself to stay active? 

Have a great start to your week!

Beauty Shop

Unique Vintage has done it again with this new novelty skirt! I'm a sucker for nearly all of the ones they produce, but when I saw this beauty salon skirt – a collaboration with another favorite brand of mine, Erstwilder – I knew I needed to be mine.

Like their other skirts of the same style, this skirt runs true to size and has pockets (what more could you want?). I love all of the little details of the design, and the fact that at least one of the girls in the print is wearing a dress that UV actually carries! Talk about meta. Unique Vintage also sent me the matching "Rollin' With Katie" brooch that Erstwilder made for this release, which is simply adorable. There's also a dress that matches the brooch, which you can find here.

Outfit Details

Beauty Salon Swing Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage

Erstwilder Rollin' With Katie Brooch: c/o Unique Vintage

Sweet Sweater in Black: Heart of Haute
Black camisole: similar
Heels: Aerosoles

I'm not sure whether I'll be celebrating Valentine's Day this weekend or next, but no matter what, I'm hoping to relax, catch up on sleep, and do a bit of blogging. Last weekend ended up being quite busy (I had a hair appointment, cleaned my apartment, and watched the Super Bowl), so I'm looking forward to not having anything too major on the docket. But next week will have a few Valentine-y outfits, so stay tuned. :)

Leopard

Leopard is one of those ubiquitous, go-to pinup prints, but I've never had much of it in my wardrobe. Over the last year or so, I've found myself drawn to it more and more, especially when it's done well. So when I saw this dress by The Pretty Dress Company – a brand that's carried in the U.S. exclusively by Unique Vintage – I was really eager to try it out.

I've owned a couple of other dresses by The Pretty Dress Company in the past. Their quality tends to be really great and their dresses seem to be universally flattering. Given how their other brand dresses fit me (i.e., quite large in the bust), I expected this style would be a bit loose up top. But actually, this dress was a bit tight in the arms and in the bust area. It zips up and I think it looks quite nice on, but if you're concerned about lifting your arms or know you need a bit of extra room for the ladies, I'd recommend sizing up in this style. Other than that, I found this frock to be just lovely. The fact that it has longer sleeves is a real plus for the winter, and I love that this fabric didn't even need to be steamed when I took it out of the box!

Outfit Details

Leopard Print Hepburn Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Brooch: vintage (similar)

Hat: vintage (similar)

Boots: Miss L-Fire

Tights: similar

In other news, my show opened this weekend, and we have school shows later this week. While it's been a fun experience, I'll be glad to have evenings to myself again. I've been under a lot of stress (a massage is definitely in order!), so I'm looking forward to taking a break from performing. It won't be forever, of course, but I'm going to be a lot pickier about the projects to which I commit. While I used to be in as many shows as possible a few years ago, my priorities are a lot different now. And that's totally okay. I know myself better now, and for that, I'm grateful.

Poinsettia

Merry almost-Christmas! I can scarcely believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The time has simply flown by. I'm not sure what I'm going to wear tomorrow and Sunday yet (I have so many options, after all), but this will be the last yuletide outfit I'm sharing here on the blog. And I think I may have saved the best – and fanciest – for last with this dress from Unique Vintage.

While I've seen other dresses and tops that feature the front cross-straps, I happen to like UV's "Rita" version because the straps don't feel constrictive at all. The material is quite stretchy (once again, a plus for holiday eating), which helps in that regard. Honestly, I may have been able to size down on this dress due to the stretch, but it's not big enough to bother me very much. And of course, I enjoy the fact that this dress has pockets. It's a piece that makes me feel like a million bucks – without the hefty price tag. I decided to pair this dress with my new favorite hair flower from Stardust Dames Boutique, gold heels, and a faux fur I got on eBay last year. Instant holiday glamour!

Outfit Details

Red Rita Halter Flare Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Poinsettia hair flower: Stardust Dames

Faux fur wrap: similar

Heels: B.A.I.T.

I'll be spending Christmas Eve at my parents' house, doing our usual thing. We tend to make that the more exciting part of the holiday in my family, as it's when we eat the yummiest food and open the bulk of our presents. I think we'll still be doing our Chinese food tradition on Christmas Day, but I'm looking forward to having a more relaxing holiday (I hope). I'm always so interested to find out what other families do for the holidays – what's your favorite family tradition? Whatever you do this holiday, I hope you have a happy and safe celebration (or non-celebration)!

Frozen

I feel very Elsa-esque in this wonderfully wintery skirt from Unique Vintage. It's very fitting for the weather here too, since we got a ton of snow recently – and temperatures have been staying in the 15-20° range. I really love all of these UV brand skirts; they're especially great for holidays and they hold their shape so nicely. And since winter lasts so long here in Rochester, I know I'll be able to wear this one for months to come.

Although this outfit was totally impractical for getting a Christmas tree, I couldn't resist heading to a local Christmas tree farm for these photos. Sadly, we didn't find a tree that would work for my small space. But we did find a fake white one that looks pretty darn adorable in my living room! I was able to make some headway on cookie baking and present wrapping yesterday, so while I'm sure I'll still feel a bit stressed this week, I'm hoping I'll be able to relax and enjoy. :)

Outfit Details

Winter Kingdom Swing Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage

White Silver Sparkle Angette Top: c/o Unique Vintage

Seasonal Symmetry Snowflake Brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Shoes: vintage (similar)

Oh, and I forgot: in case you hadn't noticed, I dyed my hair! It's more subtle in person, but I really like it a lot. I'm not one to get bored with my hair, but I felt like it was getting kinda dull and listless. I was in desperate need of a cut, but I wanted a little change, too. It had been a LONG time since I'd put any color in my hair. Part of me wishes I hadn't waited so long! It was the perfect holiday pick-me-up.

Have a great start to your holiday week!