Grey-Green, Cream, and a Hint of Purple

If tangerine, olive, and ivory were my favorite colors this summer, then the combination of grey-green (aka "sage"), cream, and a little bit of purple is going to be my palette for this coming fall-winter! It all started when I spotted this gorgeous home decor picture on instagram:

(from Arhus)

I think this may be my first time inspired by home decor color scheme to incorporate into my clothing style. Luckily, retailers are coming out with so many pretty sage green items right now. These are my style picks (all from H&M):

How cute is this scarf-scrunchie!

 

Clockwise: Midi Skirt, Chunky Sweater, Wide-leg pants, Lace Skirt

Royal Wedding Ideas

I am super elated that Meghan Markle decided to wear sleek wedding gowns with no frills, beads, or lace, since one of my wedding dresses is also a solid white fabric. My alteration tailor had scoffed at my plain sheath dress for being too simple for a bride a couple of months ago, but look who is in trend now? haha!

I already have all my wedding costumes in tow (since my wedding is in 21 days, eek!), but if I had more time and better resources, I would have loved to try some traditional gowns like these...found out about them too late :( Maybe in another lifetime!

Oleg Cassini for Gene Tierney in The Razor's Edge (1946)

Thai Nguyen Atelier (2016?)

Bridal Inspiration: Point Collar Dress

Wedding dress neckline of the moment: point collar! 

I love a nerdy dress like this. 

Anyone know a person/place I can get a "design-your-own" custom/bespoke dress like this?

Other Ideas...

 

*The Dress Search/Criteria *

Wedding Dress Challenge Thoughts

~Unconventional Wedding Dresses Challenge~

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

After trying on a slew of clearance dresses purchased online (thank goodness for ASOS free returns), I learned a few things about myself:

1. Tradition: Even though I enjoy being cheap when it comes to clothing, perhaps being super frugal for one's wedding outfit is not a great idea after all. Besides the bad fit and off-colors, something else doesn't feel right. When I think about what a "wedding day" means, I think of a day full of love, for my family, and my future family. Wearing a "whatever" fast-fashion dress feels a bit meaningless. Thus I think I might opt for being more traditional (ie. stick to my cultural ao dai), or something borrowed from a loved one, or customized by people who are passionate in what they do, or having the family/friends involved in the choice of dress. When it comes down to it, it would be nice to have a dress with a good story behind it. 

2. The Shape: If anything, I learned that I'm not into the "puffy princess ballgown" (ironically, since I love viewing Victorian era fashion and watching Cinderella movies). I'm not into the trumpet/mermaid/fishtail gowns since I'm too self-conscious. Drapey or Grecian is more my comfort zone. Anything that highlights my upper-waist is flattering. 

3. The Fabric: My skin tone looks best in a cream/ecru shade. I love the luxurious bling of brocade/silk or sequins on top paired with tulle or something soft and flowy on the bottom. 

Alrighty, this completes my unconventional wedding dress challenge. No more buying random clearance dresses on ASOS. I'm going the traditional route, saving money/time for it. 

If anyone has any tips on having a customized wedding dress (any tailors out there?), or spot a dress I might like, or want to lend me your dress (haha, I'm not kidding!), please share in comments!

***

~The Local Bridal Boutique Experience~

So my next step was to visit my local bridal boutiques or discount wedding stores to see what they offer. Here are a few things I learned:

1. On-the-rack dresses size 4 or under are rare. There is only a small corner of selections to try on. 

2. It is disheartening to realize how much alterations one needs, especially with lace/appliqué placements.

3. The dress that looks the best, usually has a price tag around $1,500

4. If you don't buy off the rack, wait times for ordering the specific dress may be over 3-6 months. 

5. I cringe every time I try on a dress with those makeup foundation marks from prior wearers. 

6. Most dresses they carry feels old-fashion, repetitive, and the usual...lots of lace, tulle, strapless, trains, and mermaid-ish or quinceañera-ish. 

Luckily, I live in a city where there are lots of LDS /Mormon shoppers, so I was able to find some "modest" gowns to fit my personal comfort level. For fun, I first tried on a ball-gown. Man, it is hard to walk in! Immediately, I knew this was going to be the last puffy ballgown to try on in my entire lifetime. It is just "not me" and not for my age. I am definitely not wasting anymore energy trying on this style, no matter how enticing it looks on the rack or on other people. 

Then it was this sheath dress that everyone (sister and sales people) cooed over. I realized this body-skimming sheath style was more flattering. However, the dress made me self-conscious about my marshmallow arms. Do I have enough time to get my arms in shape? Too much stress thinking about that.  

Kate Middleton-ish with all-over lace, V-neck and sleeves....too matronly on me. 

Cap-sleeve is better, but still not digging the granny all-over lace. 

All the dresses I tried on were size 4 (smallest size available in-store), but this particular one below won points for a great fit in the body (hurray for no pinning in the back so I can see what the gown actually looks like from behind). If I was in a rush, I would have picked this dress and be done with it. However, my picky fiancé did not like the flare at the bottom. Evidently, he prefers a dress that makes me look more like a stick. Maybe he does have a good point about a slimmer silhouette to help elongate the body, whereas flare styles shortens the figure. What a smart guy I am marrying!

I am still shocked the dress fits well in the bodice. Would only need the expected hemming (luckily no fancy scallop lace), moving the belt up a bit, and maybe adding some padding for my sloping shoulders. If interested, this dress is by Allure Bridals Style M534 in Ivory. I am wearing size 4.

The tall stock model looks better in it than me though. My local boutique sells this dress for $1295.00. You can order this dress online for $1198.00 at Madame Bridal (with free shipping, free veil, and free shoes, wow!)

Lesson learned: need to stick to sheath/column silhouettes. Must save up to $2000 for average wedding dress with alternations included. 

Unconventional Wedding Dress Challenge Part 5

Tip #5. Buy petite brands: It sure feels good when the dress fits well off the rack, especially for long dresses. I have a bit of paranoia/anxiety every time I take a dress to the tailors, thinking it'll be ruined/not as nice after the alterations. I find that ASOS offers many petite-size maxi dresses/skirts that often fits me perfectly in length.

Club L Petite Allover Scallop Lace Top Maxi Dress With Open Bow Back

Trying size US 0 (sale $39)

Problem: The length is perfect, but size 0 is way too tight on me, I could not zip up on the side-zipper. Even if I did try a larger size...I'm not keen on the mermaid style, which makes me feel like being stuffed in a sausage. 

Lesson learned: No on mermaid style, and no on nude color. 

Part 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6, Final Thoughts

Yellow Ideas

Hands down, the prettiest dress I've seen this summer!

Aijek Lace Halter Neck Mini Dress ($308 and out-of-stock, of course!)

And hands down, the prettiest decor I've seen this summer! 

Photo of Boutique Guerlain storefront in Paris from Hana Lê Van

Prettiest Things for a Princess Jasmine

 

  

   

ASOS long-sleeve lace collar dress review

Every winter, I grumble about not having any warm enough "fancy attire" to wear to holiday events, so I'm thinking ahead this year! Thus, I'm on the lookout for some skin-covering long-sleeve dresses...

First trial is this ASOS Skater Dress in Lace with Collar (currently on sale at $30.49)

Size US 4 - black/cream collar

Not good: shoulders too wide for me, sleeves too long and baggy, the white-lace collar looks prone to yellowing over time, and overall style too gothic for me.

Size US 2 - purple

Not good but better: I definitely prefer this deep burgundy purple color than the black. The size US 2 is about 1 cm shorter in length and 1 cm smaller in all areas. My only qualm is that it is still loose in the shoulders/bust area, so the fabric dimples in at my slanted shoulders, which I find not flattering.

Size US 0 - purple

Still not good: I had high hopes that size 0 would be the perfect fit and the fit is indeed perfect in the shoulders this time, but the waist placement in the front is a bit high (thus my side-view looks like I'm standing in a weird posture to protrude my tummy).

Conclusion: I really do love the dress design with the cute collar, fit-and-flare style to accentuate the small waist, and the long lacy sleeves. I could probably keep the size US 2 and have the shoulders altered to fit, but eh...I'm not feeling madly in love, so returning these. There's probably something better out there! I still have time before winter, haha! 

Do share your favorite long-sleeve party dresses! 

Lace Topping

Looking through my old scrapbook, I fell in love this little lace top under a suit all over again:

It's no wonder I adore the "Romancing the Suit" from Phiphi's Blog recently!

Lace is definitely on my mind. 

Here's some cute options at ASOS:

Darling Lace Top

ASOS Heavy Lace Top With Peplum

ASOS Top in Lace with Crystal Bow Trim

What's your favorite lace items?