Sweet dresses + sweeter friends

I am a natural introvert who often finds herself in situations that are probably better-suited for extroverts. I value my alone time and rely on it to recharge. But I'm also very grateful for my friends these days. I've always been the type of person who would rather have a few dear friends than tons of casual acquaintances, but I feel like the number of people I keep close to me has dwindled a bit over the last couple of years. I no longer have the built-in social life of college, I'm back in my hometown, I'm single, I work from home, and I guess I'm ultimately pretty choosy about who I let into my life. I have a handful friends from work and from the theatre community that I love and see fairly often, but I am sort of solitary for a lot of the time – and I'm mostly okay with that. Between my day job and the work I do for blogging, I end up spending a lot of time on the computer, so I feel really fortunate to have 3 best friends who are just a click away. Though we've never met in person (yet!), Ashley, Amanda and Katie are such wonderful friends, and I'm so thankful for the kindness they've shown me. I've met some amazing girls through the blogging community, and being able to chat with these three every day – about blogging, clothes, and life in general – is something I treasure.

The reason I'm getting all sentimental is because this pretty vintage dress used to belong to Amanda. She recently lost quite a bit of weight (and looks incredible!), so she thought this dress would be perfect for me... and I dare say, I think she was right! I love the color scheme, and the little flower embroidery is so sweet. I paired it with a yellow cardigan (since it still doesn't totally feel like summer here) and my mom's daisy brooch, but since the dress is sleeveless, it'll be great for when it gets hot! I'm so happy that Amanda thought of me when she was going through her closet; her (weight) loss is my (clothing) gain! :)

Outfit Details

Vintage dress: from Amanda

Cardigan: Trashy Diva

Brooch: vintage

Pettislip: similar

Flats: similar

Have a great Monday!

Friday Favorites #96

Happy Friday – and Happy National Donut Day! I don't know if I'll be participating any free donut events, but I am starting today's Friday Favorites off with some of my favorite non-edible delights that I hope you'll go (do)nutty for...

a  //  donut iPhone case   ||   b  //  donut sunglasses   ||   c  //  donut change purse

d  //  I Love Crafty donut necklace   ||   e  //  donut notecards   ||   f  //  donut midi ring set

g  //  donut cross-body purse   ||   h  //  donut hair clip   ||   i  //  donut pool float

If donuts aren't your thing, maybe you'll dig these cupcake mary janes!

Or maybe these popsicle pieces are more your style:

a    ||    b

I love this DIY tutorial for ice cream cone balloon sticks!

(image via)

Summer icy treats always make me think of pretty bicycles. Huffy makes some really adorable retro-inspired ones that are simply swoon-worthy!

1   ||   2   ||   3

Personally, I can't get enough gingham, and these gingham heels are so darling!

Seriously, just give me all of the gingham. This dress from Collectif even has heart-shaped buttons!

These cherry earrings makes me wish my ears were still pierced!

You can always count on me for a collection of novelty purses! Here are some new ones I've been coveting:

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e

These cute lapel pins are my favorite!

I really adore how this dress looks like tweed from far away... and then when you look closely, the pattern is plaid with little sprinkle confetti! The color scheme is great, too.

Hello Holiday just launched a new summer collection, and they have such cute jewelry right now!

1   //   2   //   3

And then they also have this skirt. Which, needless to say, is amazing.

And finally, please enjoy this video of a snoring hummingbird.

Have a great weekend!

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!

Lilac Lane

I've mentioned before (i.e., probably every time I've worn this dress on my blog) that lilacs are my absolute favorite flower in the whole wide world. I guess it's a fortunate choice, because not only are they pretty common in this area, but we have an entire festival dedicated to them! I took these photos in Highland Park (the same park where I took these photos), which has a huge section dedicated solely to showcasing all of the varieties of lilacs. Lilac season is relatively short, so I was glad to catch them at just the right time! I don't usually take photos in the morning, but I wasn't about to try in the late afternoon during the festival, and it was so serene to take photos in the sunshine when virtually no one else was around.

My sweet friend Henry came along with me for these photos! You might remember him from the post we did for Airigami's Balloon Manor or this diner-themed post. He's gone for the summer for a performing gig, so it was great to spend some time with him before he left. It's always a lot of fun to take photos with Henry, because he has such a distinct personal style and is into fashion just as much as I am. Isn't he dapper in these shots?? Men, take note: please wear suspenders much more often.

Outfit Details

Dress: Bernie Dexter (similar)

Cardigan: c/o Heart of Haute (from a giveaway)

Lilac brooch: eBay

Pettiskirt: similar

Flats: similar

Have a beautiful Wednesday!

Never Never Land

Happy June 1st! Can you believe it's already June?! I feel like spring really flew by... I hope summer goes a little slower! I hadn't planned on using these photos for an outfit post; I actually just took them to enter a contest that Pinup Girl Clothing was holding, called the #PairedUpInPUG contest. Entrants had to pair up with another PUG lover and stitch together photos of each person wearing the same Pinup Girl pieces. I paired up with the gorgeous Shermy (whom you might remember from this blogger interview post), since I knew we both had these Neverland Jenny dresses – and I had a mint cardigan and parasol I could add to match how she styled it. I don't really enter contests often, and I certainly didn't expect anything since there were so many great entries... but we won!! We each got to choose a free dress from PUG's current offerings, which was super exciting! I'd been hoping the Mary Blair umbrella print dress would be in stock, but the release has been pushed back, so I ended up choosing the Mary Blair planes print Heidi instead. It wasn't initially on my wish list, but after seeing how amazing some of my friends looked in it, I had to go for it. It was such a nice surprise, and I can't wait to wear the dress!

This Neverland Jenny will always be one of my favorite PUG pieces. I think it's the best-fitting out of the Jenny dresses I own, and how can you go wrong with a pink novelty print dress that's based on Peter Pan? I know the price of PUG's clothing can dissuade some people, but the quality is SO superior, and it's made ethically and in the United States. Fast fashion can be really tempting (believe me, I'm guilty of supporting it, too!), but I'd much rather have a wardrobe of high quality, timeless pieces that will last forever over a bunch of cheap, poorly-made pieces that'll be out of style in 6 months. Plus, I love wearing things that make me feel special, and companies like PUG always deliver on that!

Outfit Details

Neverland Jenny Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing

Mint cardigan: available at Trashy Diva

Necklace: ModCloth

Spectators: similar

Petticoat: similar

Parasol: similar

Here's our winning photo! Have you ever won a contest? :)

Puppy love

I feel like I've unofficially made it my mission to own every novelty print dress Bernie Dexter makes. Her dog print dresses had been on my wish list for a long time, but I wasn't completely sold on this particular style (she has since started making a version of this dress in her Paris style). When Olivia from Mane Message contacted me about reviewing a couple of her pieces, I knew I wanted to style her dachshund brooch with this dress, so I decided to take a chance and order it. I was surprised with how much I liked the top portion of the dress; I was worried about how the shoulders would look on me, but it turns out that I had nothing to worry about! As much as I love Bernie's Paris style, the top portion isn't actually accommodating enough for my bust, so I adore the fact that this dress is a bit more covered up. And it doesn't hurt that it paired perfectly with both of my Mane Message pieces!

Mane Message is a small accessory company that specializes in hair ties, headbands, bobby pins, and (my favorite) vintage French barrettes. Because there are so many lovely pieces to choose from, it was really difficult to pick which ones to review from that collection. You can check out their full selection of vintage barrettes here (and I dare you to not fall in love!). I actually didn't realize that the dachshund was a brooch at first, but it was a wonderful surprise! Both the pin and the clip are made of sturdy metal, and I love the fact that they're true 1960's vintage but aren't overly delicate. I also have to add that working with Olivia has been an absolute joy; she's incredibly communicative and enthusiastic, and it's obvious (even from simply reading the product descriptions on her site) how much she cares about her work and her customers.

Outfit Details

Dog print dress: Bernie Dexter

Dachshund brooch: c/o Mane Message

Star barrette: c/o Mane Message

Petticoat: similar

Flats: similar

Have a wonderful weekend!
xox Sammi