Sweater Dress: The Look

I wrote previously about the day I purchased my first sweater dress. I learned a lot that day, especially that not all clothes are worthy of my body. But, this dress certainly was.

I will admit I’m not a huge fashion person. I tend to live in clothes that are more worthy of a #OORL (outfit of real life) hastag versus the #OOTD (outfit of the day) loveliness most of my counterparts are posting these days.

Fashion, generally, makes me sad for one of two reasons. The first, is it reminds me that I do not have a large amount of income to devote to developing and maintaining an amazing closet. I always feel like, when I do really try to pull an outfit together, that I am usually missing some vital piece of the vision (usually the shoes.) Secondly, I still battle with the difference between hiding my physical flaws from the world and wearing what makes me feel comfortable and pretty before I look in the mirror.

After getting this sweater dress, and finding everything I ever wanted in my current wardrobe to pull it together, I was reminded if something amazing about fashion. Finding clothes that are worthy of my body, and really taking the time to get dressed, is a way of honoring my body and investing in it. I suppose I cannot do the moment real justice with words, but I will say it was empowering.

The selfie I sent her with the text, “Did I do this right?”

I also wanna give a shout-out to one of my best friends. She walked me through the entire process of trying to style this dress. A sweater dress, in many ways, is one of the most unforgiving and difficult wardrobe pieces a person can wear. Since it was my first, ever, I desperately needed someone to hold my hand through it. I appreciate you (and love you!) Thank you for making this outfit happen. ❤

Alright, so on the the knitty-gritty. I really own no brand name clothes, so I’m not sure it will help to tell you the brands of these pieces. The dress was purchased at Ross. They have quite a few short sleeved sweater dresses on the rack right now. The dress is a 1x.

The belt actually came with a dress I got at a clothing exchange a year or so ago. I wear the belt more than I wear the dress. I’ll admit I don’t wear a belt very often, but I am slowly beginning to understand their benefits, especially in a case like this.

The leggings were from Wal*Mart. Though, they may be one size too big these days. I found them bunching up and getting loose after 20 minutes if I didn’t keep an eye on them.

The shoes! These were the most commented item, for sure. I have had these shoes for almost a year. To be honest, I don’t remember which discount shoe store I purchased them for. They were, originally, part of my anniversary outfit this (last?) year. Occasionally I find reasons to bring them out.

My make-up was very minimal. I just wore lip gloss and mascara. Seeing as I never wear make-up usually, this made enough of an impact for me. I accented the mostly black/grey outfit with a pop of red in my earrings and my bracelet. The earrings were purchased at the Saturday Market in Portland last year.  The bracelet was an amazing, handcrafted, gift from a friend for my birthday a couple years ago.

The best thing I wore was my confidence. I never once doubted how amazing I looked that night. My husband and I had an amazing date, and got to spend a couple hours really enjoying Downtown Bend, and each other.