The Dress Blog

We here at The Dress Blog have voted and it’s unanimous: when we get to heaven, we’ll be greeted by this scene…

That’s right – A 50% off sign and that many Karen Millen dresses below it.

The UK design house makes everything from shirts to skrits, but has struck a chord with dress enthusiasts for perfectly shaped pieces that are high fashion and wearable.

We like this red silk dress that’s pretty and professional, but in a color so punchy it’s perfectly cocktail-ready.

We also like this geometric print sleeveless number…a summery sheath that boasts slimming lines and a sleek shape.

For more on Karen Millen, check out the Dress section of their website:

http://www.karenmillen.com/dresses/dept/fcp-category/list?resetFilters=true

Technically speaking this dress belongs on the Window Dressing page of the site, but it was just too amazing to relegate to anywhere except the front page.

Rodeo Drive.

When the Dress Blogettes drove by, let’s just say, it’s stopped traffic.

Absolutely perfect for late summer, this cable knit shell by Rugby combines the fun of summer (Short, white and sleeveless) with a twist of fall: cable knit wool & cashmere, plus a hood.

Even better news: it’s only $128.

As we at the Dress Blog prepare to travel west to spend two weeks in California, we thought we’d take a break from packing to discuss travel-ready dresses.

What not to wear?

Linen. It’s practically guaranteed to wrinkle while you sit in the car or plane.

The perfect travel dress should be comfortable, multi-purpose, and wrinkle free like this unwrinkle-able wrap dress by Una Luna Collection:

http://unalunacollection.com/unaluna-dresses/unaluna-knee-dresses/melanie-cocktail-dress.html

Or this taupe  shirt dress made specifically to resist the wears and tears and wrinkles of travel.

http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=14794&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1,2,250,282,2166&iProductID=14794&sortBy=0

For the business traveler, this powder blue sheath will fight wrinkles whether you are work, play or travel.

http://www.misook.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Curacao-Dress/productID/a247f0c1-bff1-4ac6-aa8e-720594f7ba97/categoryID/77e669d4-6a72-4239-9d75-bdd0dd4f4949/

And in the event you find that your favorite travel dress is not wrinkle free, try this wrinkle erasing spray to smooth out the kinks in your summer travel.

http://www.magellans.com/store/Clothing_CareTC425F?Args=

The Dress Blog took a three day sojourn to Denver, Colorado where the Dresses were out in full force.

Dress Blogger in Chief spent much of the trip changing in and out of dresses.

For the plane ride and afternoon walk a sunny yellow J Crew number:

For Dinner out with the family a pink palm tree and exotic bird print strappless dress from Anthropologie:

For the Denver University Graduation ceremony where Dress Brother in Chief (who claims he thought of dresses with pocket before anyone else) was honored, a black and white strapless sundress from the Gap with a black Bebe belt.

For an afternoon stroll through the sculpture garden and a casual- if gamey – dinner at the Buckhorn Exchange , a coral colored sun dress with neckline detailing from Anthropologie:

You already know that that we at the The Dress Blog love dresses – but we also love to read (maybe a little too much – or else we’d be blogging every day).

Dress Blogger in chief’s very fashionable grandmother gave her a copy of Summer at Tiffany’s, a memoir about the summer of 1945 in which the author, an 20 year old college girl from Iowa,  spent a glamorous summer in New York City.

The book is a quick and cheerful read and  - for the dress-loving reader- is sure to induce some vintage dress cravings for styles like this:

You can recreate the style with this work – or – play version:

http://www.stylelist.com/gallery/trashy-diva-by-candice-gwinn/786765/

On a related note, there’s nothing like a couple of episodes of Mad Men to make you appreciate mid-century fashion. For those who haven’t been introduced the the AMC phenomenon, watching an episode of this television show is like stepping into the year 1965:

How can you find your own 1940s and 50s style?

http://www.stopstaringclothing.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=288

Try these on for size:

http://www.stopstaringclothing.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=337

http://www.modcloth.com/storefront/products/search

I couldn’t help but take pictures of these two dresses that caught by eye for their structures so unique and artistic they are practically works of architecture.

This first dress caught my eye through the window of the restaurant/retail store 202  as I walked into Chelsea Market. The designer is British home goods / clothing designer Nicole Farhi: http://www.nicolefarhi.com/

I found this strapless black mini dress with ruffled taffeta skirt found in Denver after the store was closed for the evening so I couldn’t find out who the designer is.

A recent trip to Anthropologie proved pockets are plentiful this season.

This dress blogger couldn’t fight the urge to try on a  few dresses with pockets, and buy one for a fourth of July birthday party dinner cruise in Newport Beach, California. Can you guess which one?

Sure, Marilyn Monroe made it look glamorous, but for the rest of us dress wearers, windy days and the upward draft from the subway grates far more likely to cause embarrassing moments than iconic ones.

Today was one of those hazardous days – wind blows, flowing skirt goes up.  While running an errand over the lunch hour, this dress blogger was forced to walk with hands clenched to her dress, holding it in place against her thighs.

We need a fix. Something that will prevent flowing skirts from flying upwards.

The Dress Blog’s idea for a solution?

Some sort of wire piping device that could be inserted along the side seems of a dress that would lend some structure to the skirt. Not so much as to change the shape of the dress, but just enough to keep the bottom from blowing upwards in the breeze. It could be inserted on windy days and removed when the day calls for indoor dress-wear.

The piping could be a thin wire akin to a straightened out clothes hanger. Maybe something that would look like this.

There would be one on each side, the vertical pipe going down the side seems of the dress, and the side prongs strapping into the underside of the front-ish and back-ish regions of the skirt.

We’ll admit, this wire fix a bit of a “pipe dream” at the moment – but we promise to keep you updated as we try to develop the technology that will wind proof your wardrobe.