Dresses

The lace up neckline has been popping up all over my social media lately. It seems like every fashion blogger and model is rocking a lace up neckline. To be honest, I’ve been on the fence about this trend. I really don’t like when the neckline is too low and other times, the look skews a little too hippy for me.

I try to keep an eye on fashion trends, and one easy way I stay updated is knowing the new 2016 Pantone color of the year. For 2016, there are two colors: Rose Quartz and Serenity. The blush pink and the periwinkle blue are quite a departure from the 2015 Marsala color.

My favorite summer trend is off shoulder dresses and tops. I previously discussed the trend and mentioned all the reasons why I like it. The very first reason I love this trend is because off shoulder dresses are so light and romantic for summer.

You know when you find a dress and you’re like, I need this? Yeah, that’s how I feel about this black floral silk dress. I previously owned a short sleeve dress that looked very similar to this one, but over the years, I wore it out. I was extra excited when I spotted this dress because I just knew it was for me.

I love December—full of holiday baking, parties and decorating. I also love the opportunity to buy a flirty and feminine holiday dress for Christmas parties or New Year’s Eve. I generally don’t endorse buying items that aren’t versatile, but I fully support buying one special party dress per year that you can wear to a holiday party (and New Year’s Eve, if you pick wisely).

I love floral off shoulder dresses because they feel so light, airy and romantic for spring and summer. I’m also so glad that stores aren’t only carrying obvious styles – read white eyelet or lace – but also vibrant colors and interesting floral prints.

I’ve been a major fan of t-shirt dresses ever since my trip to Italy in 2016. I had two different t-shirt dresses, a black one, and a floral print one. I wore them nonstop on that trip because they are super comfortable, still look put-together, go with everything, and don’t wrinkle.

Are you headed to any summer weddings? If so, I’ve got you covered. I’ve chosen some of my favorite dresses for every type of wedding, so you’ll know what to wear to a summer wedding.

When I spotted this navy blue lace dress (on sale!), I knew I had to give it a try. I’m such a sucker for lace, but I also love a fit and flare-style dress. Plus, I loved the little black accents in the dress. The black bands are extra flattering because of how they accent the waist and add definition to the flare at the bottom.

Have you heard of swiss dot dresses? Until I started researching this post to accompany my new favorite black dress, I hadn’t heard the term either. But to my surprise, I found so many lovely dresses that all used the term swiss dot dresses. It’s clearly a fashion term that is consistently used for clothing that have monochromatic dots on them.

I got this black and gold dress before COVID happened. I definitely bought it with going out in mind. Its the type of dress I’d wear to a nice dinner, or to a wedding. It’s fancy, but not that fancy. It can definitely be worn for a night out or wedding, but it can also be dressed down for work with a long blazer.

When in doubt, I always choose red clothes. Red is one of my favorite colors for a lot of reasons. It’s fun, vibrant, and it energizes to your look. Red is also a powerful color. It draws attention and exudes authority. I personally think red is a color that looks great on most people. It works especially well on my olive undertones. If you like red, this is the post for you. I’m sharing all of my current favorite red knee length dresses under $30.

I’ve told you that sweater dresses are definitely my go-to right now. I love sweater dresses because they are so comfortable but look put-together without even trying. You don’t have to iron them and they are really low-maintenance. I wear sweater dresses for work and on the weekends. I thought it might be helpful to show you just how versatile sweater dresses are, so I decided to show you how to style sweater dresses in two ways.

Sometimes I stumble on a trend that I didn’t even realize was a trend. That’s what happened last week when I got this new red animal print dress. I chose it because I liked the simple t-shirt style shape with the tie at the waist. But once I started searching for comparable red animal print dresses, I realized they are everywhere! There are high-end ones, like this Saint Laurent, and totally affordable ones, like mine.

You know that time at the beginning of spring where it’s not quite that warm yet but you want to wear summer dresses? That’s why I got this yellow and black floral dress. It is the perfect transition piece from winter to spring. The yellow floral print on a black dress feels very wintery, but can also work great the rest of the year too! It really just depends on how you style it.

Los Angeles is in bloom! I love jacaranda season, as I call it. These purple flowering trees are my absolute favorite. Ironically, my very first blog post (8 years ago!) was about my love of the jacaranda trees back when we lived in Irvine. The other day I was at the park with my kids and I saw this gorgeous tree in bloom so I planned an outfit specifically around a shoot with this tree.