Dressing Up Is Now More Fun Than Ever!

Before I start the actual post, I want to let you all know that we were fortunate enough to go to Kill Devil Hills, NC, over the weekend. For those of you that don't know, Kill Devil Hills is located in North Carolina's Outer Banks, and is the favorite beach destination for all Virginians (seriously, there are more VA license plates in the OBX than NC license plates...I think it is harder for NC residents to get to the OBX than for us Virginians).

Also, today was Rex's first day of preschool. The preschool survived. Phew!

It feels good to be able to post again...I love being busy, but I miss my blog when I am doing a million things...

Okay, so back to the post...I am such a girly girl that dressing up is one of my absolute favorite things to do...I love it so much!!! Of course my "dressing up" has a tendency to look most like an Anthropolgie catalog or *maybe* like some of J. Crew's crazier looks, but still my wardrobe is extremely feminine. (That is probably why I adore the Liberty print fabrics so much--flowery prints in gorgeous, well-made cotton...heaven!)

Over the past few weeks I have been fortunate enough to find plenty of reasons to "dress up." It used to be I would dress up to teach and come home and throw on shorts and a tee. Now I wear my pjs some days until noon, throw on some yoga wear, and then at night, when Mr. Dina takes me and the kids to Target or wherever, I get all fancy...well, not ball gowns, but you know, flirty ruffles and doo-dads and special fabrics.



Untitled by dinagideon featuring J Crew

First up is this outfit found in this polyvore. I will also be reviewing this dress for you all who are on the fence about buying it. I know HeidiG. has reviewed this dress and did not like it for her. I have this dress and love it for me.

Some other folks who have reviewed this dress? Gigiofca; Chasing Davies; and of course, my favorite mom-to-be, Slastena.


I think I wore this dress for a swim coach meeting. You know that I was the most dressed-up for that meeting, right? I don't even need to tell you, huh? Swim coaches, and I have been known to do this, too, wear flip-flops, shorts, and tank tops even in the wintertime. We *may* throw on a hooded sweatshirt in the winter. Maybe. But I now am resisting this, especially when I am not going anywhere near the pool...

This dress is just fantastic. FANTASTIC. You all know what HUGE fan I am of the jersey dresses of J. Crew. This dress does not disappoint. The dress is not only pretty to look at, it is also INSANELY comfortable. I also adore the empire-waist, but I find this is one of the more flattering dress styles for my pear shape. The heather latte color scared me at first, but I am so glad I purchased it...the neutral color is light, but is not an exact match for my skin tone, so somehow it works. I bought a small, and maybe could have bought an extra-small, but honestly, the small isn't too big...plus if I ever get preggers again, this will be an excellent transitional dress...plenty of volume on the bottom, but not so much that I actually look pregnant now.

Bottom line? It is worth paying for...and I would even say at full price. :) Buy it here.


Just another view for you all. (I always put my hand on my waist, and I feel that you all sometimes need to see things without my hand there...different look and all.)


I wore this dress out and Mr. Dina almost died...he was all like, "where are you going, hot stuff?" Haha. :) Whatever, Mr. Dina. He honestly thinks that other guys are looking...yeah, I am such the catch, married, over a certain age, have two very young children, etc. I think Mr. Dina is safe.

Anyhoo...this dress is fun...it comes in tons of colors and is on sale now for 78 dollars? Maybe? I bought it WAY back when and it was 78 dollars then, too. I don't know why it hasn't dropped since then, but I am guessing J. Crew must know what it is doing...

I liked that I added the stone-colored belt...I felt like the dress was a bit much all one color block, but with the belt it breaks the look up a bit, and in a good way. The flip-flops are the fantastic grosgrain flip-flops that J. Crew makes so well, and I really really hope they never stop making. I live in J. Crew flip-flops, year-round (see my comment about swim coaching above).


And then there was the night that dinagideon became a teenager from 1988. It was fun! I went to eat dinner with Mr. Dina and wanted to look nice for him. The top is the plum raisin painter scoopneck tee from this fall (2009). It is a small. Gigiofca reviewed it here...she didn't care for it...but I was one of the lone dissenters. I love it so much that I own it in amber, too.

The skirt is from the J. Crew outlet and I think I paid 10 dollars for it? The skirt is a size 8 and is so stretchy and fun. It is high-waisted, too, so I can make this skirt look dramatically different in another outfit.

The belt is the patent leather jeans belt (from Winter 2009), but I bought it in a small so I could wear it at my waist or slightly below my waist rather than at my hips (which is actually where I wear my belts when I wear jeans).

Ooh, and I almost forgot...the necklace is one of my favorite pieces from this fall, the Galaxy ribbon and chain necklace. For 78 dollars (same price as the halter embossed dress), you can own one of these necklaces. I bought the stone colored one, but it also comes in black and dusty blossom. It is way more lightweight than it looks. Plus it is deconstructed enough looking that not only keeps the necklace interesting, but also keeps it from being too twee. If you like it, check it out here.


Love my girl. And as you can see, she loves the necklace, too!

Oh, and before you all go, check out crewsing through my 50s blog post on how to determine your perfect skirt length...turns out I have really long shins compared to my thighs, so I look really nice in knee-or a bit longer than knee-length skirts. (And I am wearing that length in outfit one and two.) I am not really meant to wear shorter skirts, but dangit, I just can't give them up that easily! :) Enjoy the post...really, really good info!


Next up? New haircut and new glasses (which at this point are nearly two week old...but I am close to catching up...)