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

A Wedding Wardrobe Malfunction: Always Bring an Extra Dress!

Me in the dress, before it became a disaster

The dress was perfect. It survived the hour-long drive into St. Louis without falling off the hanger or getting wrinkled. My toenails were freshly painted to match the midnight purple of the dress. Unzipping the dress, before stepping into it, the zipper seemed to snag on (what I now understand as) a faulty tooth, but I persisted with a tug and stepped into the dress.

The soft silk and rich hues made me feel like I was preparing to step onto the red carpet- even though the dress was purchased final sale at a cool 75 dollars. My hair was set, my makeup was even red-carpet ready- and then something terrible happened.

As I pulled the zipper up, it became stuck on the same place as before. "I'll just tug it a bit harder," I thought as I performed the task, anticipating the zipper to properly catch on the teeth... but alas- it did not. Instead of properly catching track, the entire zipper and track became even more untracked. I was stuck. And then the zipper split. And I was still stuck. With less than 45 minutes to go until I had to be at the church.

I began to sweat and fret- undoubtedly a combination that exhausted the confidence, bounce, and height of my hair. No more bouncy curls- just beachy waves. Would I have to sew myself into the dress? I didn't bring and needles or thread- could I find a tailor to fix my dilemma within my dwindling timeline?

Panicked- I called Banana Republic, and described the situation I found myself in. The agreed to pull their most formal dresses in sizes 4 and 6 off of their sales floor for me to try on between the ceremony and the reception. Even though the dress was final sale, the agreed to take back the dress.

Miraculously,  I was able to yoga-move my way out of the dress (and I found out that my shoulder is perhaps double-jointed?) and change into a dress I brought for a graduation on Sunday. A much shorter dress, that I had worn many times- but a dress without a gaping hole on its side. Much better.

With friends from grad school in the replacement dress from White House | Black Market

The ceremony was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The bride was one of my best friends from graduate school, the groom was a close friend from Bible study (I was the first to introduce them, during a visit to the church- our friend Jenny was the first to ignite the spark between the bride and groom), and the pastor was my pastor. It was a ceremony full of meaning- for everyone there! My stress I felt during dress malfunction seemed quite silly when I sat down in my seat and remembered the reason I was in the church that day.

Between the ceremony's end and the reception's beginning, I stopped at the mall (which was in between the ceremony and reception sites) to find a replacement dress. The search was unfruitful- there was nothing I could find that I liked as much as the original, or even as much as my replacement dress. But I'm glad that I brought an extra dress with me. So glad. Moral of the story: bring an extra so you won't have to sweat the small stuff (literally and figuratively).

So, I continued on my trek to the reception in my improvised outfit and enjoyed a wonderful night with my friends. We hit the dance floor, ate cake, and had a blast.

And, most importantly- the bride and the groom had a great time celebrating the start of their journey together as husband and wife.

With the beautiful bride and more friends from grad school. Thankfully, the bride's dress was flawless!

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Yeah!: Backtrack

Hello Readers,

Earlier this year I posted about my fitness aspirations for 2012. I am happy to announce that today I wiggled into a sheath dress that fit me before the second semester of graduate school (I still wore it a few times during second semester, but it was a bit snug).

After a January and a February of being more aware of the food I was feeding my body, swimming, and walking/ellipticalling I know that the me today (or at least when these photos were taken on February 22, 2011) is healthier than the me on December 31st, 2012. And my size 4 sheath dress is the proof.

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

Wiggle Wiggle

Yeah!

 Retail Detail:

Grey Cardigan: Banana Republic
Black Leather Belt: Banana Republic
White, Purple, and Lilac Sheath Dress: Ann Taylor
Dark Purple Cabled Tights: Anthropologie
Charcoal Leather Kitten Heels: Cole Haan
White Headband: J. Crew

Ooo Laa Laa

Hello Readers!

I am really proud of this outfit. I wore it to church last Sunday, and then wore it again on Monday to teach, and for the drive home to the Peoria area. Normally, I don't wear outfits two days in a row- but since I wore the dress for only 2 hours on Sunday, I thought that a repeat was acceptable.

Recently I watched a lovely French movie called "Paris" (2008) starring Juliette Binoche (one of my favorite actresses), and this outfit makes me think of this movie. I'm not sure if this would be an outfit that Juliette's character would wear, but I can imagine an extra or a secondary character wearing this outfit somewhere in the movie: strolling in the streets of Paris, sipping a coffee or chai tea at a humble little cafe, or buying a baguette a boulangerie or a croissant at a patisserie. . . . you get the picture. :)

(But just in case you did not- here is another picture, followed by a picture from the movie, Paris)

Retail Details:

Black Cardigan: Zara

Necklace: Juicy Couture

Watercolor Dress & Black Belt: H&M

Black Tights: El Cortes Inglés

Black Leather Boots: Anne Klein

CZ Post Earrings: Merona (Target)

PS- In case you are interested in watching the movie, here is a trailer:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2134770201/