Beehive

Outfit Details

Bee print dress: Bernie Dexter (similar)

Black heels: ModCloth (similar)

Bee necklace: old (similar)

This dress was a very lucky purchase.  Bernie Dexter often has "last chance sales" on her website, and I ended up snagging this dress and another for about $45 each!  I'd been eyeing this one for a while (I just love the bodice), and it just goes to show that it really does pay to keep an eye out and wait until something goes on sale.  This dress isn't as full-skirted as most of my other Bernies, but it actually makes it a tad more versatile.  I could still wear a shorter, less-full petticoat underneath if I wanted, but it's so much breezier for the summertime to go without one!  This is also my only Bernie dress that I have to wear sans bra; the sizing is a little smaller on this than my other dresses, and actually, it's sort of nice to not have to wear one.  As a well-endowed girl, I don't always get that chance!

I finally got out of the house for a little while this weekend and went to see a production of Hairspray with some friends.  It was through the high school and college summer program at one of the local theater companies I work with, and they really did an excellent job with it.  I knew a few people in the show and in the pit, and it's always encouraging to see so much young talent in this town.  I've seen the show a couple of other times (I saw the national tour when it came here, and a local production when I was doing summer theatre in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area), and it's always enjoyable, but I thought this cast was incredibly strong and I didn't stop smiling the entire show!

Have a swell Sunday!

xox Sammi

You're the cat's meow

Outfit Details

Hooked on a Feline Dress: ModCloth

Black flats: jc penney (old)

Belt: from another dress

Wicker purse: yard sale

Kudos to June for the title of this post!  This dress doesn't get enough love from me.  I recently lent this dress to sweet Lauren, who styled it in a few different ways on her blog (here, here and here), and it definitely renewed my love for it and inspired me to wear it more often.  It's sort of a loud print, and the dresses I own by Folter Clothing tend to fit me a little snugly in the arm region, so that might be why I don't wear it a ton.  But it's a really cool dress, and I really do love this length.  I'm becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with shorter dresses these days, and I love that this can work with or without a crinoline.  Plus, when it's windy, I don't have to worry so much about flashing anyone!  

I don't really wear my hair up very much on the blog (or all that much in general, really).  My hair absolutely provides a sense of both security and femininity for me.  I always end up feeling sort of masculine/unattractive when I wear my hair up.  This hair style was sort of an accident, but I ended up liking it a lot.  I was wearing it half up, half down with a lot of extra volume to create a more 1960's look, and then it got too hot, so I ended up pulling up the rest of it.  I think the extra height does wonders on me, so I'll have to remember this for the future.

Have a great Sunday!

xox Sammi

A little too late for lilacs

Outfit Details:

Lilac dress: Bernie Dexter

Cardigan: H&M (old, similar here)

White flats: Yesstyle

Basket: craft store

Ring: LeffKatya

Petticoat: eBay

This is my most-beloved Bernie Dexter dress.  Not only are lilacs my favorite flower, but this dress is also one of the most flattering ones I own.  It's the perfect length (and looks good with or without a crinoline!), nips in at just the right spot at the waist, and shows off my (ahem) assets without being too revealing.  This was actually my very first Bernie dress, and it's what started a love affair with her entire line.  I think I have five of her dresses now, including this one, and her printed dresses are always dreamy -- and I've found the fit to be pretty consistent, which is a plus.  I'm actually going to be doing a Bernie Dexter-themed guest post on Jana's blog later this month, so watch for that!

 

Rochester has a Lilac Festival every year, but I didn't end up going this year, and I somehow missed the period when the lilacs are at their prime.  For these photos, I gathered up what lilacs we had left (which were on their way out) in my little basket.  I wish flowers would last longer, in general.  It makes me sad when you can't catch them at the right time!  That's sort of silly I guess, but I'm a sentimental kind of girl.

 Have a beautiful Monday!

xox Sammi

Sideshow

Outfit Details:

Circus print dress: ModCloth (available here)

Pretzel necklace: ModCloth (similar here)

Black bolero: Forever 21

Black flats: jcpenney

I'd been watching a lot of this series called Freakshow on Netflix.  It originally premiered on AMC, but I'd never heard of it 'til recently.  It's pretty fascinating.  There's obviously some scripted material involved, but it centers around the performers involved in a freak show on the Venice Beach boardwalk.  The performers are pretty extraordinary, both in terms of what they can do and the kind of people they are.  There are some people who are hesitant to use the term "freak" because of its negative connotation, but I think it's sort of great that these people are taking back the term and making it into something positive.  They even decided to ban the word "normal," since they felt that was actually a negative term.  I'm sort of inclined to agree.  Kind of makes you wonder what "normal" actually is.  Boring, maybe.  I don't ever want to be boring.  What I've chosen for my career isn't "normal."  How I dress isn't "normal."  I don't want to fade into the background and settle for "normal" in most aspects of my life.  It's definitely not the easier route to go, but it's way more interesting.

I love the print on this dress!  ModCloth carried it only in this color (it also comes in a really pretty shade of blue), and actually carried a pair of high-waisted shorts in the same print.  I'd initially ordered the shorts (the back pockets were heart-shaped!), but the stretchy fabric was really unforgiving, and I loved them way more in theory than on me.  I'm so glad I ended up getting the dress version though, because even though it's tight-fitting (I'd recommend sizing up, even though it has stretch), it's really flattering.  I ended up wearing this to a little adventure to a casino (with my high school boyfriend, of all people), which was fun and interesting.  Next time I wear this dress, I definitely want to add a petticoat and some kind of retro up-do.  I seriously need to figure out how to do victory rolls.

Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi

For the price of a cup of tea

Outfit Details:

Teacup dress: ModCloth (similar here) 

Teacup bag: WeShipWorldwide

Teacup necklace: ModCloth (similar here)

White flats: get them here

Pink hair bow: Forever 21

This is the outfit I wore for Mother's Day!  My mom and I have a love for anything tea-related (whenever I get married, my mom knows full well that I want my bridal shower to be a tea party!), and although we didn't go out for tea this year, I felt like this was perfectly suited for a day celebrating my mom.  My gifts to her ended up being tea-themed, too; I got her a sweet teapot (a good snag from Instagram shop, fabfindsanddesign) and a tea party cookbook, plus some Goetz's caramel cremes and another secret gift that STILL hasn't shipped!  Plus, I made her breakfast in bed (for the first time ever!).  She got to spend the day gardening, which is one of her favorite things, so I think she had a really nice day.  It helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It's amazing the effect sunshine has on my overall mood!

Can we talk about how amazing this teacup bag is?  I'd been searching for a teacup bag on a reputable website for a long time, so I was delighted to find this!  It's clearly a rip-off of this Moschino bag, but since that's no longer available -- and I don't have an extra $600+ lying around to spend on an impractical novelty purse -- this was an awesome find.  Storenvy is a really great resource for kawaii and novelty purses, though like any site that has Asian wholesale-type storefronts, it's good to be cautious when ordering.  Shipping tends to take way longer than you'd think, but I've never had a problem (and even if I did, PayPal is usually pretty good about refunding payment).

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi