Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Swaying in the Breeze (Collectif Janet Leafy Swing Dress)


You never know what you'll find when Collectif throws their huge 50% off sale. Part of you doesn't want to look (the sensible part) but you know you'll just regret it later. And of course you'd regret it because at half off, you can stock up on all your favorite Collectif from the season.


You BET this Janet dress was included in this winter's sale. I also grabbed a cute sweater/jumper but I'm not happy with it enough to share - it ended up being quite cropped and not very flattering on me.


I know what you're thinking - oh Sara, didn't you say no more dresses? Well yes and no. The goal this year is to avoid buying anything full price. Discount or previously owned only! My year of thrifty shopping has not treated me badly thus far at all. No, siree!


To be honest, I don't keep an eye on my favorite brands' sites frequently (probably safest) and sometimes I just never even know of a dress's existence. That happened here. I have never seen this gorgeous dress covered in floating leaves so it was a joyous moment to see it at such a great sale price.


It reminds me a lot of another favorite dress of mine, also Collectif, the Aria dress with its short sleeves, shorter skirt length (WIN for a petite gal like me!), and button front. However, unlike the Aria dress, the Janet has a back zipper and the front only has one button. Closer to the belted waist, it includes a large hidden snap.


This is a bit odd to me - why not just have 2 actual buttons? To me, it looks a bit odd, as though something is missing, but it's a minor detail. With its chunky belt fastened around the waist, it's less obvious (I styled it in these photos with a different belt, however).


I've been on a blue and/or green kick, it appears, so this is a great addition to my wardrobe. Even though it's covered in falling leaves, it will be worn for the rest of winter and into Spring and Summer. It's fairly light weight, comfortable as heck, and adorable so why not!?


I've been playfully thinking ahead to buying a home (something we plan to do at the end of this year, early next year) and determining my list of "must haves." On the list at the highest of importance? A good dressing room!


I currently have one - a tiny "bedroom" in our apartment that I keep my stuffed garment rack, shoe collection, bureau, pile of petticoats, and my desk, but I put bedroom in quotes because I don't know how ANYONE could call this over-sized closet a bedroom besides a toddler. You could NOT fit a queen bed in this room.


Anyway, I really hope we find a home with enough space that I can have a dressing room again - hopefully a little bit larger with more wall space and places to display some of the nice things I've acquired over the years. One of those things is definitely my wedding dress.


I got it back recently from being cleaned and preserved and it's in a nice display box (albeit huge box). It'll go to my parents' house for the time being but eventually, I'd love to have it on display in a corner of my dressing room. Why not? It was the Dress of All Dresses! She belongs in my dressing room, supervising the rest of my collection!


So, tell me, my married peanuts. Did you give into the gimmicky preservation companies and preserve your dress and have it on display? Or is it stuffed in a closet somewhere and hasn't been seen since you said "I do?"