Funky

Before I start writing about today's outfit, I would like to invite you to see how stylish women wear their sneakers at Jill's and Adrienne's "How I Wear My..." event which they hold every month. I participated a few times and encourage you to do it too!

Part 1 at Jill's blog Everything Just So

Part 2 at Adrienne's blog Rich Life On a Budget

Now back to dress madness!

Dresses are definitely easiest to wear and to style - one piece versus two or even three pieces to coordinate or combine in any fun way. I used to wear dresses a lot when I lived in Russia - mainly I sewed them myself or ordered from a tailor. It was always such a fun process to come up with a style, and even if you find a pattern in a magazine (we used Burda Moden a lot), you still want to do your own modifications. Then the process of finding a fabric, or sometimes the whole thing actually started at having a piece of fabric (especially in Soviet times when we had deficit of just about everything in our stores)... Finding little things like buttons, zippers, fabric for lining... Then making it, trying it on, undoing, redoing, etc. Fun and frustration, but more fun, because every last piece is not actually the last one, and often as soon as you finish it, you are on to the next thing.

I don't even remember when I sewed anything last time, and what exactly became that very last piece for me. I know that for a few years, when I worked for a newspaper, I had quite a few dresses tailor-made for me, and I adored them. But then I changed continents, and it all stopped. I think at first, I just couldn't find dresses which were to my taste when I moved to the US. It is not easy in the beginning to get to know all the options, to familiarize yourself with new brands and styles when you immigrate. The reason is as simple as that - the preferences are very different. I am sure you notice it when you visit other countries - every one of them, with no exception, has its own flavor in fashion. Russian flavor, at least 12 years ago, was in general much more feminine and less practical. Oh the dresses I wore to work! They seem so completely office inappropriate to me now - so flirty, sometimes even daring... 

I started buying dresses here in America only a few years ago as I think of it now - just 6 or 7 years ago, really... This one is by Chico's, like most of dresses I have. What I love about this brand is their bright, bold, funky patterns and colors, like this one. And easy care for most of the fabrics, again, like this one. As much as I love natural wool, linen, cotton and silk, I still appreciate good quality un-fussy polyester as well. 

Have you noticed how the pattern of my necklace repeats one of the patterns of the dress? And how my funky shoes echo the V motif of the dress too? I enjoy little details like these. They don't have to be too "thinky", not in artificial way - just thoughtful enough to make the different parts of the outfit to talk to each other. :)

It was a changeable weather, and I wore tights which are in reality green color, but always look too gray in photos. (Justin explained the tricks of light - apparently, the color of foreground and even of my legs "cancel" the greenness of the tights. Isn't it wild?) I also loooove my denim jacket. I wear it with practically everything, and I actually was eager to wear it with this particular dress as this pattern is on the loud side, and I wanted to tone it down a bit. I think it helped, though when I stepped into a restaurant (I picked up Justin from work to have lunch together), everybody stared at me, not one or two people, but the whole little restaurant. Well, at least that's what Justin claims. But he is in love, what does he know, right? :)

Dress - Chico's (2 or 3 years back, love their current version). Jean jacket - Chico's (still on sale for only $30 in size M or 12 US), I can't get enough of it! Watch - Chico's (on clearance for $20) Earrings - also Chico's... Frog ring - Lane Bryant (their $4 basket, last year). Purse - B Makowsky. Tights - Hue. Crazy shoes - Jeffrey Campbell, and I think of Vix every time I wear them. :)

Linked up with ShoeShine - now at Sheila's a.k.a. Ephemera!