Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Shimmer Paisley Lawn Dress for a Day at Preschool...

I have been waiting FOREVER to do this post...I actually have really looked forward to it, which is kind of weird, I admit.

I am simply in LOVE with the shimmer paisley lawn dress...it is now one of my top three ever items from J. Crew...along with the Sybil Coat in burnished yellow from Winter 2007 and the double-strand frog necklaces, also from 2007. This dress replaces the (still wonderful) coccodrillo pencil skirt, as seen in this post. I made up a top three list because the very delightful Suzy challenged us to think about our favorites, and this is now one of mine! (BTW, before all my time was eaten up by preschool follies and subbing, I actually made a polyvore of my favorite items. Yes, I did. :)



Here is my favorite items polyvore. These items will be with me as long as I can keep them, and then they will be my daughter's. I have even talked to my mother-in-law about recreating this dress in another fabric, and she says with some tweaks, it is actually possible! (Do I smell a liberty-print version of this dress in my future???)


This is the polyvore for the day's outfit. The shoes are different, but they look really similar to the ones in the polyvore.


This is the dress on me. I find the fit is FANTASTIC. I could have sized down to a six, but because I wanted to be very careful, I bought an eight. Now, here is my mantra, and some of you may want to use this, "I would rather take in than squeeze in..." So, while this may be a bit loose, I know that I have the option to tailor down...had I bought to small, then this lovely would have never been allowed out to play. The top is truly my favorite part...isn't the collar just beautiful? The fabric is also quite special, with the subtle play of fall colors of brown, gold, olive, cream, and purple. And the shimmer in the dress name? It comes from a very slight metallic thread woven through the fabric. And I should let you know, in all fairness, I love all things paisley...it is very preppy but also a bit boho...which suits my fashion-sense perfectly.

I almost didn't get this dress...by the time I figured I should get it, it was all SOLD-OUT. I nearly cried, but figured I could work something out...and then, my personal shopper (on-line) saved the day...she took the info, and within two days, had located my size in this dress out in one of their California stores. :) God bless you ladies in CA who overlooked this dress...I am a very happy Virginian, thanks to you all...

You have seen this dress on two other lovely ladies (anyone else out there own this dress?)...summerilla and ratsonparade. I knew summerilla wanted it and she was the only reason I knew that it might be sold out. So thank you, summerilla, for keeping me in the loop, and thank you, awesome, personal shopper, for taking such good care of me in locating this amazing dress. :)


So I wore this dress on the second day of Rex's preschool. Because his preschool also happens to be where I do my swimming, nature hiking, and chilling out, I decided I would spend that entire morning while he was at preschool there. It was a very foggy, drizzly kind of morning, and I swear the whole atmosphere was very Scottish Loch-ish (which I will have you know is my favorite atmosphere ever)...and so I wrapped the outfit up with the featherweight cashmere short-sleeved cardigan and took a walk out in nature, with all the trees and leaves and fog...I felt, and I am not even joking, like I was in an Anthropologie catalog. (And, yes, that felt very, very cool...)


(I may even make a polyvore of me walking in a foggy loch somewhere and add it to this post because I have always wanted to be in an Anthropologie catalog...) Oooh, I did it! (Added 10/12/09...I know, I am a bit of a nerd...)

Have a great Thursday. Much, much, much more to come (I have finally organized my pics and have figured out how to save and publish posts when I am not even necessarily there to publish it myself...I know some of you all are super-savvy, but alas, I am not)!

15 comments:

tm said...

I love paisley and this dress! I am sooo jealous of you ladies who snagged one! Looks great on you. :)

Ahh, my top three would include: green peacoat w/ thinsulate, circa 1999 (jcrew coats are definitely worth it!); burlington tartan mini; penelope mary jane heels.

Summerilla said...

Love this dress on you - don't you just LOVE the fit? It's so amazing. I am so glad you were able to get one! I can't believe how insanely fast this baby sold out! My PS was even shocked I was able to snag one.

I love how you paired everything with it.

I should figure out what my top 3 favorites are, it's forever changing.

Unknown said...

Fantastic dress on you! And I love the idea of figuring out your absolute favorites, the ones you'll give to your daughter.

MMM said...

The dress looks FAB on you! Good score! ;)

I am like Summerilla, my top 3 faves change daily, so I should really sit down and think HARD about them!?!?! I think I just have too many too count! :-D

Jemma said...

That dress is absolutely gorgeous on you, I totally see why it is in your top 3. Everything about it is perfect for you from the colors suiting your hair and skin to the fit!

kittykat said...

I love the dress on you. I have it too and it is one of my fav's.

A said...

Oh what a lovely dress Dina! I saw it before on Summerilla. No wonder it's sold out online. The colors on this are just perfect for fall aren't they? :)

Tippy said...

Dina you are too cute! This post made me laugh (thanking the ladies in CA who overlooked this dress lol). It looks wonderful on you! Hope you are having a good week, hurray it's almost the weekend! :)

Emily said...

You look fabulous in the dress and I can see why it is one of your top three! I am so sad I missed this one:(

AppGal said...

I'm also sad I missed out on this one. I really wouldn't have given it a second thought until I saw it on you and Summerilla. Wow, what a gorgeous dress! The fit, COLORS, and style...just beautiful all around. Those colors are really my favorites...very earth toned, which is one of the only palette of colors I can pull off! I also just love that there's a hint of purple going through. AHH! Lovely!

Question: What's the fabric like? In my mind, I imagine it being soft and flowy, but substantial enough not to be see-through. Is it like a (gasp!) jersey material, but fancier?? Just in case I ever find it in a pop-back, y'know...

Cloggsy said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE the paisley dress on you...I've been debating that one and now I think I'm sold. My luck, won't be able to find one in my size! Yep, just went over to the site and not a single one.....DAMMIT. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyway, looks smashing on you darling!

GingerSnap said...

What a wonderful look! You look perfect for Fall and I can totally see why you were hunting ... er... stalking this dress!

Pamela said...

That dress looks beautiful on you! What a great fit. Love it belted, too. You make me want to buy/seach for it!!

HeidiG said...

Love love love it on you! Gorgeous!!

dinagideon said...

Hi, guys! Thanks for your patience, I am FINALLY energetic enough to comment back. Well, I say energetic, but I am not 100% so I am only going to do my whole "comment to the group and answer individual questions, etc."

I loved wearing this dress so much...I hope that you get a sense of my enthusiasm with the polyvore I created with me "walking" in a foggy field...a la an Anthropologie catalog. :)

Loved reading your top threes, btw...very good choices, but like you all, I too had a tough time really narrowing it down...

Also, for those of you still interested, maybe a popback will occur? Worked for summerilla...maybe one of you all, as well?

AppGal: The material is a cotton lawn, which is fairly lightweight, but it is lined with a poly lining, which helps it keep it shape and also helps (a TEENY bit) with warmth. I would definitely say to wear this with tights and a cardigan in the winter. :)

You all have a great night...I am off to finish commenting on the rest of my posts!!!