Of course, today's Five for Friday had to be all about my favorite Pantone color for this Spring, Fiesta! I love this orange-y red hue and think it's perfect for the season. And retailers seem to think so as well; there are a LOT of Fiesta pieces on the market right now.
Here are five of my favorites:
1. J. Crew Peacock Diamond Scarf - I love lightweight scarves for Spring and even wear them into Summer to battle the air conditioning at work. This one will work with everything from a chambray shirtdress to a white tee.
2. Madewell "Transport" Fringe Tote - Totes just seem like the easiest, best, least fussy option for a summer bag. This one is roomy and has handles long enough to throw over your shoulder, but short enough to carry in your hand. Basically, it's perfect.
3. Bettye by Bettye Muller "Buzz" Sandals - I don't know what it is about Bettye Muller, but she totally has my number when it comes to shoes. I love the walk-able block heel and the amazing print on these. They're a bit of a splurge, but one I will probably make.
4. L. Erickson "Grace" Crystal Stud Earrings - I am a huge proponent of big ol' stud earrings and think this pair is the perfect way to add a little Fiesta to a look.
5. eShakti Crepe Midi Skirt - So, Fiesta and Navy? A match made in heaven. As is demonstrated on this fabulous eShakti skirt. Not in the market for a skirt? This print is also available on their Allison dress and this belted dress.
How about you, Reader Friends? Are you feeling this color as much as I am?
I have a couple of eShakti dresses in my closet that I absolutely adore, so when they offered me the opportunity to select and review an item, I was thrilled. If you've seen the eShakti site, you know that they offer a huge selection, but I eventually decided on this drop-waist, tile print dress:
And it's perfect. I am sometimes a bit iffy on drop-waist dresses, but this one comes with a self-belt so that the silhouette better fits my style:
The knit fabric also fits my style as dropped pleats in a stiffer fabric don't always play well with my hips.
Happily, eShakti is all about making their clothes fit your personal style. They always customize by height, and I also changed the neckline from a high crew to high scoop and extended the sleeves from short sleeve to bracelet length:
The height customization is offered for free and any changes to neckline or sleeve type are done for a flat rate of $7.50. You can also customize the garment using your exact measurements, also for the flat rate. And if you want to change the height of the hemline, from mini to midi, for example, that can be done for free.
Personally, I think the length of this dress is perfect and all I did was enter my height:
So, if you're in the market for a new dress, I strongly recommend eShakti. They're always having sales and, they've provided a coupon code for 10% off for my readers. Just enter the code "fashionforgiants" in the promotional code box when you check out. The code is good through February 29th.
Sitting here with my neck sweating and my hair curling from the humidity might seem like an odd time to think about Fall, but I am. Maybe it´s the fact that pumpkin beer is already available (I´m coming for you, Pumking!). Or maybe it´s that retailers are rolling out their Fall lines. Or maybe it´s just that I love Fall and am ready for it, especially after my first hot, sweaty summer in Pennsylvania.
Whatever it is, I´m ready to wear Fall clothes again. Especially Fall layering pieces like this poncho from eShakti:
And that´s where Dryel comes in.
Dryel is perfect for pieces like ponchos because as an outside layering piece, they don´t get deep-clean-dirty, but, of course, you still want to refresh them from time to time. In fact, as soon as it´s even remotely cold enough to do so, I´ll be pulling this poncho from storage, refreshing it with Dryel and wearing it pretty much everywhere.
In case you were curious yes, a poncho this size does fit easily into the Dryel bag, with enough room for the steam to do it´s work. Now, the bag isn´t big enough for additional pieces with something this big, but given that a Dryel replacement kit is only $8.99 at retailers like Walmart, and cleans up to 30 pieces, you´re definitely still saving money over traditional dry cleaning.
What about you, Reader Friends? Are you Fall ready?
I haven't worn this dress much lately because it can be a little "boobs ahoy!" for my tastes. But, it's so comfortable, I want to wear it all the time. Today I figured out how to have my boobs and hide them too:
(This is sometimes a good thing for a gal to know how to do, depending on their work environment and general level of comfort with exposed cleavage).
I layered an open-weave sweater over the dress and belted it because the sweater is a bit boxy and I had no waist without the belt:
This worked perfectly for me given that my work environment is somewhat-conservative-business-casual and I'm also somewhat conservative on the cleavage front:
I know that neon is no longer on trend, but I still like wearing it. It's just the thing to brighten up a neutral winter outfit:
I mean, yes, I could have worn a black scarf with this, but that would have been so boring. On trend, perhaps, but boring.
One thing you can say about neon, it's definitely not boring:
Even in little pops like a scarf or earrings, neon is just fun to wear. I admit that I am a little bit biased due to my love of the 80s. But, really, neon is fun:
I'm not usually a fan of drop-waist dresses as they tend to hug my tummy more closely than I am comfortable with. But, then eShakti went and made a drop-waist dress and it was so cute that I hemmed and I hawed and then I bought it:
And I'm glad I did because I just love it; I love the flouncy hem, and the color and the abstract print. And I went up a size so that it skims my belly instead of trying to get all handsy with it.
I honestly think that sizing up made all the difference in the world; I was completely comfortable in this all day:
I paired it with a cargo vest for a cooler morning and come fall and winter will add more and more layers.
I'm trying to get better about buying clothes that can be worn all year long, especially if I buy them retail and not at a thrift store. And I think this dress is perfect for that. It's great for summer and think it'll be great in the dead of winter layered with tights, boots and a blazer.
Now, I know it might seem odd to have a favorite trim, but I do. It's pom poms, followed closely by rick-rack. Given my love for pom pom trim, this eShakti blouse was essentially destined to be mine:
Seriously, I know it's kind of ridiculous, but it's mostly awesome and it makes me so very happy:
And I got it on sale, so it's even better! Unfortunately, it looks as though this particular blouse is sold out, but this one is awfully similar and one could easily add the pom poms.
My only concern with this top is that it's pretty sheer. Especially the lace panels up the sides, but I think it worked okay layered over a white tank that wasn't too much shorter than the blouse itself. I also wore micro-check pants from Gap and Nine West leopard print flats:
Because leopard and pom poms were meant to go together.
A co-worker said I looked professional in this look:
I assured her that it was an accident.
It's not as if I set out to look unprofessional, but as I've mentioned before, there is no real dress code where I work. Occasionally HR sends out an email asking people not to wear cut-offs and tube tops to work, but basically, anything goes. That's why my work outfits include such items as shark jaw tees and eye print blouses, because as long as it's not an eye print tube top, no one cares.
Speaking of eye print, the print on this dress looks a little like eyes doesn't it?
As you can see it's not an eye print:
But, I like it even better now that I realize it's eye-adjacent. I have a sincere and unapologetic affinity for eye prints.
And for this dress. I received it from the fine folks at eShakti last year and realized that I don't wear it enough. Which is silly because the print is great and so is the cut:
It's probably one of the more flattering dresses I own.
It even looks good when I'm freaking out over how good Snowpiercer is:
Seriously. Watch that movie, you won't regret it.
Pro Tip: wearing a classically professional silhouette in a fun print will fool people into thinking you're a professional.
