Daily Dress: Sail Away

I've only ever in my life received one trophy, and that was at a summer sail camp when I was 11. I won most improved. Either way, sailing has been in the family ever since, whether in my younger siblings or my dad, who out of all of us is definitely the biggest sailing fanatic. Anyway, being a person that has some sailing experience, I feel that my deep longing for this dress is justified.

I bookmarked this dress ages ago and checked it this morning to sadly find it sold out at ASOS. Looks like I have some internet dress hunting to do.

But seriously, isn't it just precious?

People Tree at ASOS

I Own This: Yellow Butterfly

Spring is easily my favorite season. The perfect temperatures, spring downpours, budding flowers, increasing quantities of green and school drawing to a close are all right up my alley. Prom and graduation only added to the excitement this year :D In other words, this past winter I was very much anticipating the spring of 2012. So what does a dress junkie pining for spring during the winter do? Buy a springy dress in the middle of cold, wet February of course! 

I was browsing ASOS and came across this gem by Sugarhill Boutique, a designer with a very distinctive line of clothing, mostly consisting of dresses. The cut of this dress is very characteristic of their line, and the crochet butterfly is a sort of trademark of the brand as well. With a discount code lowering the price to just over $50, my dress junkie heart couldn't resist all the beautiful details this dress has to offer.

Yellow is already my favorite color, but there's something very special about this particular shade-- it reminds me of butter, cream, pancake batter and early morning sunshine. But the beautiful embroidered butterfly crochet design was what ultimately stole my heart. I love butterflies, but when incorporated into clothing, they often come across as overly childish and cutesy. The designers of this dress skillfully circumnavigated that, and the butterfly instead lends the dress a very elegant and mature air. In black, it has a rather gothic quality about it.

I was a little nervous ordering this dress at first; it's cut very different than most of the other dresses I own (I prefer dresses that emphasize the waist and then flare outward) and I was worried that I might be too busty and curvy to wear it. When I tried it on, I was correct to think that it would be less flowy on me than most of the other dresses I own, but still fit me surprisingly well.

Something about this dress is so delightfully quirky but still classy. The holes in the crochet, form-fitting cut and short length make it subtly sexy, but I found a nude cami layered underneath makes it appropriate for school.  

The best way that I can describe this dress is that it makes me feel like a magical spring butterfly. It's so beautifully unique, quirky, and classy. I need to make sure I wear it again soon.

Do you have a favorite spring dress? Share a link!

Until later,

Annika

Dress Lust: Summer White

Whether you're graduating or not, everyone could use a cute white dress for summer. Here are some I really like.

~Strapless~

                                  Modcloth, $90                                                    ASOS, $36

~Eyelet~

                                          Delia's, $45                                           Modcloth, $50

 ~Dressy~

                           BB Dakota at Modcloth, $98                             Modcloth, $128

Max and Cleo at Modcloth, $148

~Patterned~

                                   Modcloth, $53                                  Dahlia at ASOS, $113

~Spaghetti Strap~

                   ASOS, $33                                                                                 Vila at ASOS, $50

~Skater~

               ASOS, $33                                                                                           ASOS, $46

~Bohemian~

Thistlepearl at Urban Outfitters, $79

                             Angel Eye at ASOS, $37                                    Modcloth, $58

~Crochet~

ASOS, $75

Do any of these appeal to you? ;)
Until later,
Annika

Senior White

Thought I'd make a post of some pictures of other senior white dresses :)

Because facebook creeping is fun ;)

Until later,

Annika

Graduation Dress

This past week, I graduated high school. As bittersweet as it was, I'm so proud of myself and the others in my class, especially my IB class for making it through these insane high school years and moving on to pursue our ambitions and our future.


For my school, graduation is an incredibly ceremonial affair (as I imagine it is elsewhere) and comes with a number of traditions. One is senior white; senior ladies are expected to have a white dress to wear to senior events and graduation, as the female graduation gown is white and anything other than a white dress would show through.


I think I speak for a lot of other girls when I say that the search for the perfect white dress was an object of great concern. In a sense, it's a little like a culmination of the development of your style throughout high school (I'd say all the girls I know, myself included, have come a long way since freshman year). I know it was really important to me to find a white dress that really showed off my personal style and would still stand out amid a sea of white.
I'd like to say that I succeeded :)


After much stressing and deliberation, I settled on a dress from (you guessed it) ASOS. It was very unique and unlike any of the dresses I saw on other girls at senior functions, which made me happy :)

It was quite affordable and turned out to be a very flattering fit. I loved the details like the dip in the back and the multiple cross-over straps, although they made the dress a little impractical at times. 

It was a fairly revealing dress and not one I would usually wear to school, but most senior white dresses break school dress code anyway, and I figured that would make it a better summer dress. My boyfriend said he really liked it on me and in general no one had any objections. It'll be a great dress for when it gets hot and I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it this summer.


A picture of me in my dress with my parents after the graduation ceremony :)

I'm not the only one that stresses about dresses for such occasions, am I?

Until later,
Annika

I Own This: Colorblock Collar

Hey guys! So I've come up with a new series for this blog. The idea behind this is to share with you some of the dresses I own-- not with the intention of showing off or bragging, but to remind myself to appreciate what I have admist all of the lust for things I don't have. Also to share my personal taste, style, tips on how to wear similar items, and stories as to how I came across these pieces.

World, meet one of my favorite dresses ever. Please excuse the lame mirror-phone shot.

I bought this dress last fall, when I had just discovered ASOS. I thought (and still think) this dress was absolutely beautiful-- from the bright coral color to the black contrast peter pan collar. When I saw that it had been marked down to about $32, I couldn't resist.

 

I thought this dress would make a fantastic transition piece to wear during spring and fall. I also liked that its length and cut make it school appropriate. It's simultaneously conservative and playful.

I confess that I love this dress in real life even more than I did online. I love the bright grapefruit pink, the adorable collar and tie, the pleats, and the airy feel of the dress. It's very comfortable, fits me well, and the cut flatters my figure nicely.

I love that this dress is an outfit in itself. I usually simply pair it with black shoes and feel no need to accessorize. On the days when I lack  the inspiration to coordinate a top and bottom, I throw it on. It's an effortlessly cute dress and I always get complimented a lot when I wear it. One of my classmates commented that the dress made me look like a retro pilgrim. She meant it in a nice way, and I quite like the description.

Do you have a go-to dress on lazy days?

Until later,

Annika

Prom Trends 2012: A Retrospective

What girl doesn't love stalking through people's prom pictures, eh?

This prom, at my school's prom especially but also at others, I noticed some very obvious trends.

The first was white dresses.

 Ironically, black was also a popular color. This was less surprising than the white trend, however.

Another new trend was high-low hems, which seem to have become more and more popular in casual wear as well (I've seen many a shirt, dress, and skirt with this design walking down the school hallway)

Mega sparkly dresses, whether ultra-sequined or gem-encrusted, were a trend still going strong from past years. The motto seems to be the more embellished, the better.

I also noticed quite a few very feathery dresses. I wouldn't call that a trend though. There weren't all that many of them, but the ones that were present were enormously noticeable.

Cut outs of all kinds were popular. Back, sides, so on and so forth. Some were unique and tasteful; others not so much. I was pretty amazed by how risque some of this year's dresses were.

Peachy oranges, corals, apricots, and varying shades of bright blue were the most popular colorful colors.

I thought before concluding this post, I'd include a guy trend I noticed. An enormous percentage of the boys at prom this year were sporting silver tuxes.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Did you notice any trends at prom this year?

Until later,

Annika