Flower carts

This springy, scalloped dress from Tatyana was destined to be part of my wardrobe. It's absolutely darling, and well-made to boot. My one complaint is that Tatyana's sizing is very inconsistent, and they don't provide specific size charts for each garment they produce. I had to guess on my size, and since the dresses I tried on while visiting the Tatyana store were both larges and mediums I went with the large on a gamble. It turns out that I should have ordered the medium, because this dress runs quite big. You can't tell too much from these photos, but I want to see if I can get it taken in a bit. It's also more see-through in the top than I would have liked, but even with these flaws, I think it's still going to remain in my closet. I'm such a dress hoarder!

I'm normally a lot better at thinking of creative blog post titles, but I have to be honest: not only was it really difficult with this dress, but my brain is absolutely fried from this rehearsal process. On paper, our rehearsal hours don't look like much (typically, they've been 5 hour days with 1 day off per week), but I am physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. It's been a great experience to work with industry professionals and this kind of opportunity is really rare around here... but that being said, it's going to be a relief once it's over. I'll definitely miss being able to feel like a "real" working actor, and this has kind of lit a fire under my tush, but I also really need a break (especially since I ended up getting really dehydrated and was kinda messed up last week and this week from it). Taking care of yourself – even when you don't think you're doing anything particularly strenuous – is so important, and I certainly won't forget that any time soon! I feel like "self care" has kind of a negative connotation, but it's totally necessary.

Outfit Details

Dress: Tatyana

Belt + petticoat: eBay

Shoes: BAIT Footwear (similar)

Have a great Wednesday!

xox Sammi

PS: Have you entered my current giveaway yet?? The winner receives a $30 gift voucher to Beauxoxo! Get all the details and enter to win here.

GIVEAWAY with Beauxoxo! [CLOSED]

It's no secret that I love girly accessories. It's also no secret that I have an insane sweet tooth. So when the lovely Georgie from Beauxoxo recently sent me this darling hair bow that combines two of my favorite things... you could say I was immediately hooked! Licorice Allsorts are one of my favorite kinds of candy (I know I'm in the minority there, but that's alright – more for me!), so I couldn't resist styling this bow. Georgie makes all kinds of bows – everything from gingham to pastel to cupcake print! – and I absolutely loved my choice. This print looks good enough to eat!

Outfit Details

Dress: c/o eShakti (similar)  ||  Hair bow: c/o Beauxoxo  ||  Cardigan: ModCloth

Belt: ASOS  ||  Shoes: ModCloth  ||  Petticoat: eBay

Although I personally love her bows best, Georgie also makes the dearest headbands, flower crowns, butterflies and other hair goodies. It was very difficult for me to choose just one... but one of you lucky readers won't have that problem, since you can enter to win a $30 gift voucher to Beauxoxo! Just read the rules below and enter the giveaway through the widget!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

One (1) winner will receive a $30 (USD) gift voucher from Beauxoxo. Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. You must be a follower of The Soubrette Brunette to enter (no unfollowing after the giveaway ends!), and you must leave a blog post comment to be eligible to win. This giveaway is open internationally, and will be open until Sunday, May 24th at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random through the widget and will be contacted via e-mail on Monday, May 25th. The winner must respond within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Thanks for entering and best of luck! <3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Favorites #94

Goodness, it's already Friday again? This week has flown by for me. Here are some of the things I've been lusting after lately, starting with something I can't get enough of: fruit-themed pieces! I especially love the apple – it's a battery charger for your iPhone or iPad!

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f   ||   g

This swimsuit is so romantic!

A girl can never have too many polka dots or pastels in her closet, so I love these skirts that feature both!

1   //   2

This 50's print dress from Voodoo Vixen encompasses so many things I love!

A hot air balloon novelty purse! I feel like I've been waiting for this forever!

Apparently, Nishe isn't really being carried by other vendors anymore, but these two dresses are still available for order through their own website. The prints are a little hard to see, but the first has a cherry print and the second is all ice cream cones!

a   //   b

This popcorn necklace is adorable:

I'm seriously considering this entire ensemble:

a   //   b

And finally, because I think having flowers around is very important... here are 23 perfectly valid reasons to buy yourself flowers.

Have a great Friday!

xox Sammi

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, I may receive a small commission, which helps to run my blog. I link only to items and brands I absolutely love. Thank you for supporting The Soubrette Brunette!

Hydrangeas || Unique Vintage Style Society

Is this not one of the prettiest prints you've ever seen? As soon as I laid eyes on it, I knew I had to have it! Hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers (third only to lilacs and peonies), and a hydrangea print is very rare indeed. I thought I had missed out on it when Heart of Haute ran out of these dresses on their site, so I was elated to find that Unique Vintage started carrying them! This dress is the same style as the cherry dress I posted last week, but it looks a lot different with a petticoat! I actually ended up wearing this dress for a callback I had last week (in the throes of a bad cold, no less!), and I think it brought me good luck! For more vintage dresses like this one, head on over to Unique Vintage to check out their fantastic selection!

This month has already been a whirlwind, and it's only the 13th! Auditions, callbacks, birthdays, Mother's Day, seeing family, seeing shows, performing and rehearsing. I'm exhausted, but in a good way. I've gotten used to having a lot of downtime, so I had forgotten what it was like to be in a constant busy state. I sort of feel like I'm trying to maintain a balance between two distinct parts of my personality – the dolled up girl in dresses vs. the grubby performer in sweats. These two halves are both authentically me, but they do sort of have to be mutually exclusive in some ways. I like having options, and I like not being completely defined by one or the other. And I love both of these parts equally, and I don't think I should have to pick just one. I think it's something that actually makes me a little more interesting and complex, and I guess I like to challenge expectations and impressions a little. It's yet another thing that makes me a little unique, I suppose!

Outfit Details

Hydrangea Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Shoes: Amazon

Petticoat: similar

Ring: Etsy

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi

Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White

Ever since I purchased this Bernie Dexter dress from That Shop, I knew I wanted to take photos in it when the flowering trees were in bloom in Highland Park. Highland is a beautiful space in the city of Rochester, and it's home to the annual Lilac Festival, which is currently going on; the lilacs aren't in full bloom yet, but I'm planning on heading there once they are to take some photos in another Bernie Dexter favorite. But last weekend was the peak time to be amongst all of the beautiful pink trees, so I was really glad I was able to take advantage of the gorgeous weather!

A little bit about this dress: this Paris version of the Cherry Tree Lane print is available exclusively at That Shop. The only problem is, they're based in Australia and they don't actually have a website where you can place an order. I despaired that I would miss out on this dress because I don't live in Australia, but luckily, you can also place an order via e-mail or Facebook message. They reply very promptly and I received my dress quite quickly, so I was elated that it all worked out. If you'd rather use more conventional means for attaining this print, Bernie has an adorable skirt and crop top set available on her website, but since the Paris silhouette is one of my favorites, I decided to go for it.

In other news, I've been in constant rehearsals for the workshop I mentioned in one of my previous posts. It's been exhausting, but great. I'm not finding a lot of time or energy for much else, but it's been awesome to work with such professionals and have this type of experience (which is pretty unique for my current situation). I always love music rehearsals the most, but I'm excited to move on to the next part. I've been struggling a lot with trying to figure out if I want to move and try to pursue performing, or if I want to settle for something creative that will pay the bills and perform on the side. My heart still wants to try for the former, I think, and maybe this will push me a bit in the right direction. Also, on a related note, after this workshop is over, I'm going right into rehearsals for Beehive the Musical, which is going to be really fun (another 1960's show!). Lots of good stuff on the horizon!

Outfit Details

Bernie Dexter dress: exclusive to That Shop

Cardigan: available at ModCloth

Shoes: available at ModCloth

Brooch: Tatty Devine

Pettislip: similar

Have a wonderful Sunday, and Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mamas out there (especially mine)!

xox Sammi

Friday Favorites #93

Things have been crazy-busy this week, so this'll be a relatively short Friday Favorites post... but I had to include a few things that I'm swooning over lately... like these two new dresses from Tatyana!

This pink jam jar print dress(!!!) appeals to my love of kitsch, and this mint dress with floral accents is such a sweet vintage-inspired find. (I wish I had known enough in high school to wear something like that to prom!) 

My Jam Dress  ||  Sweet Surrender Dress

Love these shoes! 

1   //   2

This sailor top is one of the best I've seen in a while:

I enjoy this pepperoni'd pairing (and I really want the pool float):

a   //   b

Pigtails and Pirates' fairytale collection is absolutely darling. The Alice in Wonderland dress is probably my favorite, but I love how kawaii the Cinderella and Snow White dresses are!

a   //   b   //   c

This has been making the rounds for a couple of weeks, but I keep forgetting to include it in a FF post. These illustrations of real love are wonderful:

And finally, this video of underrated feelings is pretty perfect:

Have a great Friday! And the winner of my Sourpuss giveaway has finally been announced (apologies for the delay!). You can check that out here.

xox Sammi

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, I may receive a small commission, which helps to run my blog. I link only to items and brands I absolutely love. Thank you for supporting The Soubrette Brunette!

Cherry bomb

I think a good cherry print is imperative. Which makes it sort of insane that I never acquired a cherry print dress until very recently (and now I own two!). I love this Beverly style dress from Heart of Haute, and I got this dress as a lovely surprise in the mail! It's an awesome work-appropriate dress that works just as well for a night out. I opted not to wear it with a petticoat here for a more casual look, but this silhouette looks even better with one. I wore this dress to the Rochester Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony last month (my dad played in the house band for the fourth year in a row), and I thought it was a really fun choice. I wish I had a cherry brooch to go with it, but at least I have the awesome cherry pie ring that Kate made for me!

Today's post is on the short side, but for good reason: for the next three weeks, I actually get to feel like a "real" actor. I'm in a workshop of a musical I was involved with a couple of years ago, and this time it's a mix of local and Equity actors (meaning union actors) from New York – which in plain speak means that I feel like a professional who gets to earn an actual weekly salary during this process. It also means that I'm already really tired (and it's only day 2!); I haven't had an opportunity to earn a living wage solely from performing since before I started my blog, and I sort of forgot how much energy it takes. It's a great opportunity and a lot of fun, but I'm just glad I have a backlog of photos right now! 

Outfit Details

Beverly Cherry Dress: c/o Heart of Haute

Heels: ModCloth (similar)

Ring: gift from Kate

Have a great Wednesday!

xox Sammi