Shopping adventures! I had some quality time with my mom this past Sunday, and part most of the day involved shopping. I decided to take the opportunities to snap some pictures for a type of post that I haven’t done for awhile.
ZARA’S
There’s currently a storewide sale at Zara’s (and many big retailers) as they are making room for their fall line. I saw a lot of modest dresses on sale, and they range from $39-$69, from what I could see. There were other items on sale, not just dresses, but the store was crazy busy and it was just too exhausting to go through a lot of things I liked. So I focused on the dresses.
1. Tulip Dresses
There were quite a few styles with this silhouette. From their website, you’d think they look super short, since the models were tall, leggy ladies. On me they were knee-length, and had very flattering fits. However, I prefer my dresses to be made of softer material, so the skirts flow as I walk (pencil skirted sheath dresses notwithstanding). These were a bit stiff for my taste. But they definitely look cute. Fancy brunch date, anyone?
2. Lace, lace, lace!
This is flowy and soft, and in a mint color that’s been trending everywhere right now. Not to mention, it’s lace. I love lace. I did not like the weird fit from the back though. Another I appreciated about this piece is that it’s reminscent of Kate Middleton’s Jenny Packham Aspen’s lace back gown without actually baring my back, like hers did:
Just goes to show what a style icon the Duchess is, though, because many many dresses at Zara’s followed this trend. Here are a couple examples:
One of her more “daring” outfits, I suppose. Although it’s tempting to follow this trend, I couldn’t really rationalize the lack of modesty away. Oh well.
NORDSTROM RACK
Iron Pleated Shift Dress (Max Studio)
This dress caught my eye on the rack because if it’s unique iron pleat details. I mentioned before that it’s the little details that makes a piece of clothing worth having. We all want to feel different than everyone else, even if we are following trends. What I didn’t like about this dress, other than the neckline which plunged too low for my taste, was the matronly silhouette. When opting for modest styles, we gotta keep in mind that it’s very easy to go the dowdy, plain route. That’s not flattering for anyone. One way I fix this problem is through accessorizing and choosing clothes that has interesting details. A little sparkle and shine wouldn’t hurt. I couldn’t really figure out ways to accessorize this dress to be more youthful looking. Hemming is out of the question because of the pleats. There is no sparkle or shine. So…no.
BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY
This place isn’t usually where I go to look for clothes. But a friend of mine recently suggested it, and she has so many cute dresses from there that I was tempted to have a look-see. It’s kind of hard to find things there, but here are two that I liked:
I really like the pencil skirt of the blue piece (and the snakeskin statement belt). The white lace one was ok. Modest enough, but it didn’t really speak to me.
Let’s not forget the reason we went shopping – to let my momma pick her bday gift. The ladies in my family are quite picky, so in addition to doing something special for my mom (haven’t quite figured out the details yet…), we usually let her choose her present. Here she is in two cute dresses I found (she gave me permission to post the pictures!):
Cute, huh? My momma’s so pretty. She didn’t want anything we found, though. Back to the drawing board!
Phew!! That was an exhausting shopping day! All dresses, too. I’ll be more diverse in the future. But spring summer time’s got me dress crazy. Who wants to be bound in pants when the weather’s so nice??
To top it off, I didn’t even purchase anything shown here. The two things I came away with were the swimsuit and sandals from yesterday’s post. I’ve been thinking a lot about over-consumerism and the excessive fashion industry’s effects on the environment, the world, and our budget. A little retail therapy every now and then is fun and all…but it gets tiring and less enjoyable when all we do is accumulate more things. I felt the diminishing marginal returns of trying on each additional dress that day, and I didn’t even buy any of them! I suppose no guy I talk to are surprised by this revelation as they feel it all the time they embark on the chore of shopping, but I feel like I usually have a high tolerance.
Anyway, I think I will attempt to write my reflections regarding material modesty now. Be on the look out for it!
For now, what are you recent fashion finds? Any good deals out there? What looks are you into right now?
