Dear readers of Mary's Wishlist,
Blerg. This is harder than I anticipated it would be, but we need to have a talk. Frankly, I don't think we should see each other any more. The time has come for me to put Mary's Wishlist on hiatus. But it's not you, it's me. I've been feeling very stressed in my life recently, and I think I just have too many requests on my time at the moment. When I find myself in a messy house that contains an empty refrigerator, and I feel unable to fulfill most of my obligations, something needs to go. And while I've loved discussing clothing wishes and fantasies with you for the past nine months, I hope you'll understand when I say that this blog is not my first priority. {It certainly doesn't come before my husband, or my sanity.} I think I need to take some time to just be on my own for a while. But can we still be friends? I don't intend on leaving the blogosphere entirely, and I have a deep affection for this modest affordable fashion-minded corner of the Internet. I wish you all the best, and promise to let you know if I ever decide to starting posting again.
Sincerely,
Mary
I recently received an e-mail from my friend Ashley, who had an adorable little boy last month:
Soo....I thought you could help me :-) My friend from high school is getting married in October. The "problem".... She is having an engagement party on May 1... aka 7 weeks after giving birth. I need a dress!! or skirt and top. Something that hides the belly and something that is easy to wear while breastfeeding. I've been looking but no luck yet! No pressure, but if you see something cute...let me know!!!!
Love~Ashley
I called my sister {who had her own baby on Tuesday} and asked her what makes a garment easy or hard to wear while breastfeeding. She explained that dresses with buttons or other openings in the front {wrap dresses included} are ideal; dresses with crew necks are out. A shirtdress or wrap dress, then, with a high waist and an A-line skirt would be both practical and flattering. I love the fun, summery colors of these dresses:
A skirt and a top is another great option -- again, tops that button up will be easiest {I like
these two}. Pair them with skirts that have a high waist, with pleats or gathers to disguise any remaining baby bump,
like these.
I hope this helps, Ashley!
Does anyone else have clothing advice for new moms? What do you think of my picks? Are they items you would wear? I appreciate your comments!
Labels:
accessories,
bags,
dresses,
jewelry,
old navy,
outfits,
pants,
shoes,
sweaters,
swim,
tanks,
tops
So, sometimes I play the "What if I had to buy an entire wardrobe from one store?" game. Kind of like
What Not to Wear meets
Where the Heart Is. I don't know why I would ever be in that situation, but then the point of my clothes dreams is not to be realistic, it's to have fun. If I were to have realistic clothes dreams, they would be very short and boring and not at all fun.
Yesterday I played the "What if I had to buy an entire wardrobe from
Old Navy?" game, which turned into the "What if I were buying the perfect wardrobe for a beach vacation from Old Navy?" game. Because if there's one thing that consumes my fantasies as much as clothes, it's spending massive amounts of time at the beach. And I came up with four outfits. I love them, and now I really want to go to the beach:
Outfit1:
1. Halter Swimsuit, $29.50 {
link}
2.
Lightweight Crew-Neck Raglan Tee, on sale $7.99 {link}
3.
Two-Tone Canvas Beach Tote, $16.50 {link}
4. Oxford Bermudas, $24.50 {
link}
5.
Faux-Leather Looped T-Strap Sandals, $19.50 {link}
Outfit 2:
1. Ruffled Bomber Jacket, $29.50 {
link}
2. Mock Two-Piece Dress, $19.50 {
link}
3.
Beaded Fabric-Cord Necklace, $9.50 {link}
4.
Faux-Leather Trimmed Crescent Tote, $16.50 {link}
5.
Faux-Leather Cross-Strap Wedges, $29.50 {link}
Outfit 3:
1. Gauzy Plaid Top, $19.50 {
link}
2.
Origami Applique Cardigan, $26.50 {link}
3. Low-Rise Skinny Pants, $29.50 {
link}
4. Ruffled Platform Peep-Toe Booties, $29.50 {
link}
5. Embellished Flower Headband, $6.50 {
link}
Outfit 4:
1. The Diva Skinny Jeans, $29.50 {
link}
2.
Roll- Up Sheer Plaid Shirt, $24.50 {link}
3.
Cat's-Eye Sunglasses, $9.50 {link}
4.
Espadrille Wedges, $29.50 {link}
5.
Lightweight Tonal Scarf, $12.50 {link}
What do you think? Do you like my outfits? What would you love to wear to the beach? If you could buy an entire wardrobe from one store, which store would you pick? And what would you get?
I love the floral pencil skirts that are all over the place this season. I think they're feminine and whimsical, while still appearing sophisticated. However, most of them are way {waywayway} out of my price range. I'm glad DownEast Basics has a skirt that echoes the feel without copying the price tag:
Watercolor Floral-Print Slim Skirt, $99, Lord & Taylor {
link}
Elie Tahari floral poplin pencil skirt, on sale $109.99, Bluefly {
link}
Watercolor floral pastiche pencil skirt, $110, J. Crew {
link}
Breathtaking Beauty Skirt, $29.99, DownEast Basics {
link}
What do you think? Are you into floral pencil skirts this season? Do you like the one from DownEast? Would you buy it at this price, or will you wait for it to go on sale? How do you think it compares to the more expensive skirts?
Labels:
accessories,
beauty,
charlotte russe,
dresses,
forever 21,
j crew,
outerwear,
outfits,
requests,
shoes,
sweaters,
target,
the limited,
tulle,
ulta
I got an e-mail from Jes last week {sorry, Jes, it's taken me too long to get to your request; just know that I'm super-excited about it, because you're the first person to send me a request
that I don't know in real life, and that's awesome for me}:
hi, mary
i'm just a random person in the midwest who wandered onto your blog one day. you have wonderful style and such a fresh and pleasing sense of blog. and i'm wondering if you can use your fashion brain to help me. i bought the textured gauze sundress from tulle and i adore it. link here. my problem is, however, that i bought it in carrot. and, wow, the dress is carrot. i've worn it a couple times, but i just don't think i'm getting it right. can you think of any suggestions for styling this little carrot? i need it to be modest, so i've paired it with a few different cardigans and shrugs, but... everything i've tried just looks like i'm trying to camouflage the color instead of enjoy it. i would really appreciate any sort of help. thanks!
jes
Wow. I've never had the courage to purchase anything so bright, so kudos for breaking out of your comfort zone! My suggestion would be to pair your dress with soft neutrals like khaki, white, and warm browns. I think gray and navy could also work in small doses, like as a shoe or accessory. {Just please, to avoid Halloween associations, never wear your dress with black!} Definitely let the dress take center stage, and choose pieces that compliment it.
I created two outfits that I think would work great with your dress {the first is inspired by
this outfit featured on What I Wore; Jessica is rocking her neon yellow dress}:
Outfit A:
1. Textured Gauze Sun Dress, on sale $26, Tulle {
link}
2. Totes Stick Umbrella, $12.99, Target {
link}
3. Twill Trench Coat, $39.80, Forever 21 {
link}
4. Solid opaque tights, on sale $9.99, J. Crew {
link}
5. Lily Suedette Shoetie, $24.80, Forever 21 {
link}
total: $113.58
Outfit B:
1. Textured Gauze Sun Dress, on sale $26, Tulle {
link}
6.
Short Ruched Sleeve Cardigan, $18, Charlotte Russe {link}
7. Orange U Glad it's Summer Nail Laquer, $7.50, Ulta {link}
8. Zebra Skinny Belt, $24.50, The Limited {link}
9. Mossimo Valonia Pump, $29.99, Target {link}
total: $105.99
Jes, I hope this helps! What does everyone think? Would you wear the outfits I put together? Do you have any more suggestions for how Jes should style her dress? I appreciate your comments!
I've been drooling over
these gorgeous shoes at J. Crew for the past two months. I've fantasized about owning them and wearing them everywhere. They would be my shoe best friends, and we would be so happy together. I would wear them with cropped pants to show them off. People would ask, "Where did you get such lovely shoes?" And I would say, "They were gifted to me by my fairy godmother. She has excellent taste in footwear."
However, I eventually snapped back to reality, because I actually don't have a discerning fairy godmother, and I certainly don't have $275 to spend on a single pair of shoes {as my husband will quickly tell you}. I'm thinking now, though, that shoes with a similar feel would be an excellent addition to my wardrobe. I found this pair at DSW, but I think they're a little too pricey:
Madden Girl Kalinda Bootie, on sale $49.95, DSW {
link}
Ruffled Peep-Toe Platform Bootie, $29.50, Old Navy {
link}
Thank goodness for Old Navy! I plan on making a trip to my nearest store and securing a pair for myself in the very near future.
J. Crew is currently offering 30% off all sale items with coupon code
EXTRA30. {Shop all sale items
here.} This promotion is only good online, only through tomorrow. If you're interested, you'd better hurry and start your online shopping!
1. Dream crewneck cardigan, $34.99 {
link}
2. Perfect-fit cascade tee, $13.65 {
link}
3. Neon necklace, $13.65 {
link}
4. Tissue garland tank, $24.49 {
link}
5. Dogwood cocktail ring, $13.99 {
link}
6. Toothpick ankle cord, $13.99 {
link}
7. Hand-cut flower art tee, $13.99 {
link}
8. Tissue tuxedo tank, $17.49 {
link}
9. Tissue rosette bouquet tee, $20.99 {
link}
10. Stained-glass drop earrings, $28 {
link}
11. Jane suede ballet flats, $34.99 {
link}
Is it weird that I'm really into the Neon necklace? At first I thought J. Crew was going nuts, but after seeing it around for a while, I think that I might really want one. What's on your J. Crew wishlist {or hate list}? Do you think you'll take advantage of this sale?
