Anastasia We Have Heard on High (Bernie Dexter)

Happy December!

I've had this winter dress for months now, waiting for it to be appropriate to rock some holiday winter glam to give it a whirl. Well, here we are! The first full week of December. 

Portabello Road (Retrospec'd)

As you may recall from my last blog post, 2021 has been the year of me discovering and falling head over heels for the vintage reproduction brand, Retrospec'd. First, with the Connie I got second-hand from Bristol and then with the Fifi I bought from Modern Millie with a birthday gift card. 

Well, I guess Retrosepc'd wanted to fuel the Retrospec'd fire in my soul because they reached out to me to collaborate and kindly sent me a new Connie! 

Flowers for Fifi (Retrospec'd)

Ever since I received my first Retrospec'd dress second-hand from Bristol earlier this year, the brand has jumped higher on my favorites list. I was impressed by the fit and quality of the Connie dress (and it's now my lucky dress as it is what I wore on my first date with Michael back in May - awwww!) and knew I had to get more Retrospec'd in my life.

Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia

 "Your majesty, only Paolo can take THIS and THIS and give you...a princess."

I truly don't remember what triggered the idea to be the makeover scene from the Princess Diaries (if I had to guess it was the last time I straightened my hair or while brushing it out before a shower and seeing its massive poof-ability), but I've had this idea for over a year now. It originally came to me somewhere between 2019 and 2020 but then I had to store the idea in the memory bank as COVID killed ANY and ALL Halloween plans for 2020.

Thrifting Magic (Christopher John Rogers for Target)

My goodness has it been a whirlwind few weeks! For the last two weeks of September, I was in Colorado for an epic work trip - one week in Boulder getting to work alongside my team and other colleagues and one week in Denver for our annual conference. And last week I just felt like mush trying to get back into my normal routine. 

Queen of the Underworld (Timeless London)

Just in time for spoopy season, Timeless London reached out to me for a collaboration. I had the HARDEST time choosing a dress for them to generously send me but then I spotted this Lynette Animal dress and knew it'd make the sassiest look for October.

Perfectly Pinup

 Greetings from Boulder, CO! As this blog goes live, I am in Colorado for a two-week business trip! I'm spending one week at my company's office and then the second week in Denver for our annual conference. It's going to be crazy but fantastic!

Painted Polka Dots (Collectif)

Is my Collectif sale haul from July still going? Why yes, yes it is! I ordered 4 dresses total and this is the 3rd and final one I have to share on the blog. Not to imply that there is a 4th rejected dress somewhere in my apartment. I've just shared that one via Instagram and didn't bother with a full post.

If this Judy dress looks familiar at all to anyone, it may be because I own the same dress in a different print and shared that dress LAST summer after scoring it in that sale! It is still one of my favorites so I made sure to grab this amazing red and white version when I spotted it this time around. 

Palm Springs (Bernie Dexter)

I know, I know - I claimed it was Collectif month but I figured it would be OK to take a brief break from the Collectif sale scores to bring you a lovely Bernie Dexter number.

Lovely Brielle (Collectif)

 If you see this dress and immediately feel anxiety over it getting dirty, then you are one of my people.

Despite the OVERLOAD of white in this Brielle Love hearts swing dress, my heart went pitter-patter at the adorable pink heart print, border, and belt. I decided it was worth the risk and included it in my recent Collectif 50% off sale purchase. 

Super Nova Girl (Collectif)

Buckle your seatbelts, I've received my goodies from the Collectif 50% off sale so you know what that means - August is (un)officially Collectif month on this blog! It really could be. I found four dresses and all of them are just a delight! 

Electric Blue (Unique Vintage)

Look! I managed to take photos without any drama for once! Well, mostly without drama. There will always be drama.

Darling Denise (Hearts & Roses)

I had every intention of having this blog post up last week but alas, ended up with a brief unexpected blog break due to...well...annoyances. 

A busy busy weekend combined with the most miserable weather lately (seriously, July has been nothing but insane humidity or RAIN) with the addition of the worst luck (typical for me) led to me just throwing up my hands and saying "fuck it - I'll try again next week!"

Sun Soaked

 Recently, my girl Kristina at The Eyre Effect started liquidating her vintage stock and so, like any vintage-lovin' gal would do, I followed and stalked and crept as she shared what she was parting ways with. She has been selling a lot of really great things but not all in my size. Luckily, I spotted this happy-go-lucky number and snatched it right up.

This little retro dress looked perfectly summery. It certainly checks off all the boxes - lightweight, bright, colorful, and fun! What else does a gal need?

La Vie En Rose (Smitten Kitten Unique Boutique)

Welcome back from all of your 4th of July festivities! Anyone else have a wild weekend? I ended up on a semi-spontaneous road trip to Scranton, PA for a music festival, making my weekend much more adventurous than I originally planned for. 

Talkin' About Tallulah (Smitten Kitten Unique Boutique)

Right in time for the hottest month of summer to begin (I see you coming, July!), I partnered up with one of my favorite small businesses, Smitten Kitten Unique Boutique, to celebrate the release of their newest dresses. This Tallulah dress (in the Fancy Doodles print) has all the summer vibes and was an immediate favorite due to its colorful fabric. 

Terrifically Tully (Unique Vintage)

How oh HOW did I somehow FORGET to blog this adorable Tully dress by Unique Vintage that I got from Modern Millie?! Well, considering it was ordered back in March, I guess I can understand. I was just relocating to a new town and new apartment unexpectedly, no big deal or anything, right? RIGHT.

Seeing Double: Twinning in Emily & Fin

No need to fix your mobile devices or laptop screens - you truly are seeing double! You may recognize this Emily and Fin dress from a windy post back in December. You may even recall that when I bought it from Modern Millie, I ordered two - one for myself and one for Jen for Christmas. 

Ever since I gifted the dress to her, we have been dying to take some photos together again. It had been too long since we last had a photo adventure (OMG look at baby Sara and baby Jen from the day we first met in person!) and it was so fun posing for the camera again! 

Getting My Groove Back (All Things Boudoir)

I've debated with myself over and over about sharing this post along with these photos but ultimately decided (like many of my struggles over the last couple of years) that sharing was the way to go in case there are other women out there going through similar that need to feel less alone. 

Melonie Melonade (Hell Bunny)

Well, HELLO THERE, JUNE! You came in with a roar, didn't you? Gotta love the 90 degree days and muggy nights that seemingly came out of nowhere, am I right? 

What's Sara Reading? Broken (in the Best Possible Way)

Truth be told, I wore and photographed this dress weeks before starting Jenny Lawson's new book, Broken (in the Best Possible Way), but when I uploaded the photos to edit them, I immediately saw the perfect match to the cover and BOOM, here we are. 

Coming Up Lilacs (Bernie Dexter)

 Some gorgeous flowers would have made a better backdrop for these photos - too bad I actually photographed this outfit back in April (or maybe it was still March?!)! I kept pushing this post off that it ended up falling into May and then I took a bit of a vacation last week and knew it'd be great to just schedule this post for the week after so I didn't have to worry about photos upon my return. I love when I can plan ahead!

I pulled this outfit together for a date last month and figured it was silly to NOT snap photos before I ventured out. I couldn't think of anywhere new so I returned to my new favorite spot - the bridge next to my apartment building. It's just such a reliable spot.

A Little Bit Alexis (Unique Vintage)

Any Schitt's Creek fans out there? When I saw the name of this Unique Vintage dress was, in fact, Alexis, my brain just hit play on the "A Little Bit Alexis" theme song and all I could see was Alexis doing her famous dance in her thigh-high boots and itty bitty dress. 

Spontaneous Blossoms (Lady V London)

This blog post was a bit of a happy accident! I got this dress from Lady V London recently and wasn't planning to blog it until it felt more like spring around here but as I was running an errand last week, I noticed all the trees were blooming around town and I sprung into action. 

Mad About Margot (Emily and Fin)

I've got another beauty of an Emily and Fin dress for you this week! Last week I went to the dark side a bit and today, I'm more peachy keen. Or, I suppose it's more fitting to say orange-y keen?