So Fresh So Floral: Rent The Runway Free Dress Rental

Hello Readers!

Last Friday, I received something very exciting in the mail. But before I tell you what that was, I should tell you a bit more of the story.

Last spring (March 2011) I needed to find a dress to wear to my cousin's (Joe) wedding. I had dresses in my wardrobe, but nothing to wear (so to say). All of the dresses I owned were dresses I had already worn to previous events, but I wanted something new. After a random Google search, I found a website named Rent The Runway, where customers could rent designer gowns (way beyond my price range) to wear to events like weddings for a fraction of the dress' actual cost. A perfect solution for my dilemma.

Since then, I've told friends and family members about Rent The Runway (RTR), but I haven't used their services (although I do check their website on a weekly basis to see what's new). A month or so ago I completed a survey about RTR with the incentive of receiving a FREE surprise dress rental on a weekend TBA. I chose 2 possible weekends and 5 dresses for each weekend, and waited for the email to inform me that my dress (a surprise until I opened the box) was in the mail.

My surprise dress was AMAZING! The RTR stylists did a tremendous job choosing a dress that I loved wearing and a dress that was long enough for long legs! Ready to find out which dress it was?

The So Fresh So Floral Maxi by Shoshanna (Rental, $100; Retail $615)
There really is so much to love about this dress, but the colors are probably my favorite. Shoshanna makes dresses with impeccable patterns and oh-so-alluring colors, patterns and colors I've only admired from afar until this free surprise dress rental from RTR (thank you, stylists!)

I would have loved to wear this dress to a wedding, but since I had no weddings that weekend (or other "special" events) I decided to make a special event of the dress by wearing it to church on Sunday as well as Sunday dinner at my grandparents' house. And I LOVED wearing it! At church I paired it with a cardigan from Zara and a sparkly belt from Anthropologie. My experience with this dress (thanks to RTR) was thoroughly splendid. In the midst of an arduous search for a job, this lovely blue and purple dress showed up on my doorstep to lift my spirits and boost my confidence.

Here are a few pictures of me in this lovely dress! Enjoy!

I love this dress!

The church-appropriate version of the dress (with cardigan)

So Fresh!

The weather was (finally) perfect for a breezy maxi dress!

I look like I'm swimming the butterfly! Subconscious tribute to the Summer Olympics? 

I couldn't stop smiling! 

"The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. . . "

Thank you, Leslie, for taking these pictures!

Retail Details:
Blue and Purple So Fresh So Floral Maxi Dress: Shoshanna (free surprise dress rental)
Grey and Rhinestone Belt: Anthropologie
Dark Silver 'Chirp' Pumps: Seychelles via Nordstrom Rack

Trousers for Tall Girls (Finally!)

Readers,

Since I can remember, my height has played an important role in my sense of identity and self. In middle school, and a part of high school, this meant that I looked and felt quite awkward and this awkwardness was accentuated by jeans and pants that were simply too short.

Eventually, I gained a fondness of my height thanks to: (1) positive and tall role models of similar stature (namely, my mom, my Aunt Teresa, Heidi Klum, and Tyra Banks and (2) finding stores with trousers and jeans long enough for my legs.

So. . . what are these stores? The majority of my bottoms come from the following stores: American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch (for jeans), Banana Republic and J. Crew (for dress pants/trousers). Today, I wore a pair of pants purchased from the Final Sale at J. Crew. Not only were these pants available in my size (the ever elusive 6L), the fit perfectly! I can ever wear heels with these beauties! (They are still available on the j.crew website in tall and regular and in a light grey color in petite).

Here are a few pictures of the pants in all of their perfection. Trousers for Tall Girls- thank you J.Crew!

Retail Details:

Blue and Black Beaded Headband: Aerie

Faux Pearl Earrings: American Eagle Outfitters

Light Teal Cashmere Cardigan: Martin & Osa (my favorite!)

Ivory Craft & Creation Tee: Deletta (Anthropologie)

Dark Grey Lace-Trim Tank: American Eagle Outfitters

Dark Charcoal 1035 Wool Crepe Trousers: J. Crew

Red Suede Maryjanes: Michelle D. (Dillards, $15)

On Speaking with Confidence and Conviction. . .

Here is a YouTube video that I showed my students on Friday. . .

I'll let the video speak for itself!

http://www.youtube.com/v/hnjJvzprjN0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3