A Dress for All Seasons

Disclaimer: This is my first clothing-related post and I'm definitely not a fashion blogger, so please be nice and we'll see how this goes...

Hadn't really planned on making not one but two Valentine's Day-related-ish posts but as I browsed my closet I thought I'd pay homage to the $4 thrift store find that became my go-to outfit this past year.

Yep. I had coveted this dress in Target last spring but at like, $27 (I'm cheap) I figured I'd wait for it to inevitably go to the clearance rack in a couple weeks. But then I found it on an impromptu trip to Salvation Army (on our little birthday weekend getaway, of all things). I think everything in the store was 50% off for Memorial Day and this still had the Target tags on it. Consider it snatched up with about three minutes to spare before closing time.

Here is is just basic, though the belt is my own addition because it just felt like it fit better than hanging on me, especially with my short stubby legs! I've often thrown a chambray blazer on over it, or a Levi's jacket would be really cute. I love the print, sweetheart neckline and zipper going up the back.

I also hadn't really planned to wear it for three holidays but life has a funny way of working out, right? It also became my uniform for a baby shower, birthday party, sorority recruitment and a Baptism. Dresses that pull overtime duty are my friend. And styled just a little bit differently each time, I think it managed to work for each of these occasions. I mean, being red it's an obvious choice for the Fourth of July, Christmas and Valentine's Day, especially when the print looks like fireworks, snowflakes or little daisies, depending on the context.


For the Fourth of July I wore it with white and blue and what I thought was kind of country/All-American looking...

And for Christmas I wore a black t-shirt and jacket over it (with a small, skinny belt underneath to hold the t-shirt in place and keep the shape of the skirt) along with black tights and booties.

Finally for Valentine's Day I added cream tights and my much-loved creamy motorcycle jacket... I love something sweet and girlie with this traditionally tough-looking jacket on top. Oh, and a flower... I mean is there anything more romantic than flowers in your hair? #HippieAtHeart

So thanks for bearing with me.... I'm not a professional anything --- stylist, photographer, lighting expert, model, etc... --- by any means, so I fully understand this is very amatuer hour... but I do know how to work with what I got. So there's three ways that one very real person got a really bargain to work for three seperate occasions using things already in her closet.

The Little Red Dress That Could

Was this at all interesting or helpful? Would more posts like this be welcome, or does it just add to the noise of a million other bloggers who already do this and do it better? Either way I thought it was kind of fun :) And who is planning something cute to wear for Valentine's Day? I think we're staying home since the new season of House of Cards is out on Friday but maybe we'll do something festive over the weekend (if we do go out for Valentine's Day it's usually to Burger Lounge or something!).

Happy Valentine's Day and Outfit-Picking!