“50 Shades of Black is about affirming the beauty found in every human being and critically examining the influential nature of sexuality & skin tone in the formation of identity.”

Ah, shopping.  It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been shopping.  I love getting out and just seeing what’s out there.  I know you should probably go when you need something in particular so you don’t impulse buy, but my experience is that I can never find what I’m looking for when I actually need it.

I always take snaps in the dressing room so 1) I can see how it photographs/looks on me and 2) so if I choose not to buy it, I can look at the photo later and maybe decide that I need to go back and get it! *I should note, I didn’t take photos of only the things I loved.  I took photos of some of the “eh” things too. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me and I start thinking, maybe that one dress wasn’t that bad.  Now I have photos to prove that I didn’t buy it for a reason!  🙂

I would rather shop just to shop, but yesterday I was on a mission.  I need to find a dress for my brothers wedding in a few weeks.  I already bought a dress, but I’ve been second guessing it and if I’m second guessing it, it must not be “the one”.  So, today I decided to see what else was out there.  And, to be honest, I didn’t see much!  Either it didn’t fit right, wasn’t the right look or was just plain ugly!

First stop…Anthropologie

left side :: I picked it off the rack because I love blue & green.  However the fit was not good and the high neck wasn’t particularly flattering on me.

right side :: Loved the fit and feel of this dress.  The side panels give the illusion of a slimmer silhouette and the material was a stretchy cotton with no zippers or buttons.  Very comfy!  But, not right for the wedding.

I know I was supposed to be looking for dresses for a wedding, but I often see something that I just *have* to try on even though it’s not what I’m supposed to be shopping for.  When I picked up this next dress, I had no clue that I would LOVE it quite as much as I did.

Let me tell you…this is the most amazeballs dress I’ve tried on in awhile!

I read on a blog recently that you should only buy a dress when it makes you “feel” something. Whether it’s “cute”, “flirty”, “sexy”, “professional”, “pretty”, etc….you should feel it when you put the dress on.  I should have definitely bought this dress because it made me feel incredible when I put it on.  Seriously fell madly in love with it.  I had to get one of the sales girls to zip it up in the back and when I was out in the main dressing area, everyone ooh’d & ahh’d over it.  If you like it in the pictures, you will die when you see it in person.  Am I getting my point across yet?  Seriously…uh-mazing!  Sadly, I have no where to wear it and it’s way too expensive and pretty to just hang in my closet.  My hubby told me to buy it anyways and I am really debating it, but unless I get an invitation to an event this would be appropriate for or someone gives me a feasible idea of where to wear it, it will have to stay at the store.  🙁

This next pic is half Anthropologie and half Gap…

left side :: from Anthropologie.  I saw this outfit (pants, here) on a mannequin (plus a yellow button down shirt, but I couldn’t find the shirt) and absolutely adored the striped french bulldog sweater.  Good news, I loved it!  Bad news…I didn’t bother to check the price tag and both the pants & the sweater were $98 EACH!  Too much for this particular shopping trip so I put them back on the rack.  I will be watching the sweater online though to see if it goes on sale because I desperately need it for my fall/winter wardrobe.

ride side :: from GAP.  Camo!  Yes, I did try on the exact (but different brands) outfit I had on the other day.  In hindsight the shirt was really comfy and I probably should have gotten it.  You can’t ever have enough grey shirts!  The pants were cute, but not all that different from the pants I have already so I passed on them.  Shirt/Pants

Next set is from Dillard’s….

I had terrible luck at Dillard’s.  This dress on the left was just okay, but definitely not the look I wanted.  The dress on the right I had such high hopes for and loved the color (green & blue), but the skirt didn’t lay right and the top was too boxy & big.

Lastly, Ann Taylor…

My SIL should probably earn a commission from me with this one.  She sent me the link to this dress online and told me I should try it on for the wedding.  I thought it was beautiful, but at the time I had just bought my other dress so I didn’t bother going to check it out.  Turns out, she’s a dang good stylist!  I wouldn’t have given this a second glance online.  I just don’t have the eye.  I dismiss items way too quickly unless I see them styled a way I like.  But I remembered that she pointed it out and I wanted to try it on now that I was shopping for a new dress.  Just so happens that it was the best dress I tried on all day!  It’s on hold for me as I’m still deciding.  It’s a petite size and I don’t normally consider myself a “petite” in clothing so I didn’t want to impulse buy it.  It fits like a glove, but under the arms is cut pretty high (probably b/c it’s a petite!) and I’m worried it will rub and bother me.  I’m going to go back today and try it on again.

*edited to add…I went back to try on the Ann Taylor dress and loved it more than the first time so I bought it! 🙂

That’s all for my dressing room fashion!  I tried on lots more, but these were the highlights (& lowlights).