Hey y'all! Today's post is kind of a big deal for me. I have always kept a big distance between me and anything resembling a more body conscious style of clothing. I added this dress to my Gwynnie Bee closet just to try it on and see what it looked like. I had no intention of wearing it out because I thought it would be way too form-fitting for my comfort level and totally not me. But guess what? It came in the mail, I tried it on, and I loved it! It is still a bit outside my comfort zone, but it made me feel sexy and sassy and all those other flirty emotions. I could look at my curves - ALL my curves - in the mirror, in this dress, and see the sexiness in it all.
Now THAT is a big deal.
This is the Stop and Stare Ruched Dress from Kiyonna. The patterned area is a smooth poly/spandex, while the arms and back are a black lace. The whole dress is lined (minus the sleeves) and super stretchy and comfortable. It seems to keep its shape well too, which is important in this style of dress. I normally wear a 3X in Kiyonna nowadays, but this dress is in a 4X. The bust is a little large on me, but I feel like the rest of it is a perfect fit. I am rocking these Spanx underneath to smooth things out a little. Because I couldn't bear to part with it, I did end up buying this dress from Gwynnie Bee.
Sean and I had another busy weekend of errands and house chores, but I did manage to surprise my Bunco group when I showed up at Bunco night all dolled up! In fact, my friend Nigel demanded I buy the dress so we can all go out for a night on the town. I can't wait!
I am on the lookout for sexy red (comfortable) heels to wear with this dress. That would just take it up another notch. BAM! I was also super happy with my makeup skills with this look. I used peach, brown, and shimmery nude shadows along with a simple winged black liner for my eyes. The lipstick is my new bright red Stila long-wear lip color. It says it "stays all day", but I would say it stays most of the day. Once I wiped my mouth after eating and drinking, I definitely needed to reapply. If it is on long enough, it does act as more of a stain. You could get away with wiping away the excess and just having red tinted lips if you didn't want to carefully reapply. It is a great color and does have a lot of staying power. Also, this is the second time I have used my new curling iron - the Hot Tools Pink Titanium Curling Iron. It goes up to 450 degrees, so my hair actually held the curl all day. I love it!
Black Pumps - Avenue
Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso by Stila
So, what have you tried recently that used to scare you? Do you have a style of clothing that surprised you (in a good way) when you tried it on?
You are smoking hot girlly!!!! So happy you decided to keep it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou sexy little minx!!!! How amazing do you look??!! Love the dress, you rock it big time xx
ReplyDeleteThank you so, so much! I am glad I took the plunge and tried it out! Now, I am just trying to make up excuses to wear it more often. :-)
ReplyDeleteHailey, you look like a sexy vixen! I love this look on you too, and your confidence and beauty just radiate from these photos! I was really self-conscious about my first body-con dress, too. But I won a giftcard from IGIGI that I used to buy it, so I convinced myself it was a "gift" and that I had to keep it. Also, because I wasn't buying it with my own money, it didn't have to be practical or something I'd typically wear. I'm so happy I kept it because it's become my go-to going out dress. I feel sexy and confident when I wear it, and a dress with that kind of power is worth keeping! I'm glad you found one in this leopard number!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that your hair and make-up are rockin' in these photos! It's fun to play with new looks, and this is a great look for you! I hope you recreate this same look for your evening out on the town. You will certainly turn heads! ;-)
<3 Liz
www.withwonderandwhimsy.com
Thank you so much for all the wonderful compliments! I really never expected to like this dress at all, so the fact it possessed the power of sexiness and confidence totally caught me off guard. It is definitely something special worth keeping! My whole Bunco group was pretty adamant I buy it, plus Sean loved it too. It ended up being 50% off the original price, which was pretty awesome.
ReplyDeleteI hope I can recreate the hair and makeup when we go out. That is the plan. I really wish it didn't take so long to do my hair like this because I love the way it looks so much. I need to practice more so I can get it down fast. I think I just need to work on finding more comfortable but similar shoes and I will be set! :-)
This dress looks amazing, and red lipstick FTW. I agree, it doesn't stay all day. The only ones that *actually* stay all day are the cheap Revlon and CoverGirl ones. The problem is, there's not a really SATURATED matte red in those...they either read pink on me (because everything does) or they have a little too much shimmer.
ReplyDeleteI really need to get back on the blogging horn and write my lipstick post...
Yes you do!! I have been thinking about you and hoping you are doing well. I agree the Revlon ones are just not saturated enough. I want a bright red like this when I do red (although I did buy the dark burgundy Revlon one and the dark burgundy/purple lipglass from the MAC Novel Romance collection. You would be proud.) BUt the reds read more brown/red on me or slightly pinkish depending on how many coats I put on. It just doesn't pop enough.
ReplyDeleteThe Revlon & CoverGirl longwear ones aren't really THICK enough to be saturated. You can almost get there with multiple coats, but it's not the same. I also tried the Kat Von D version of Beso, and it's a little more blue-red, but still very pretty. Same issue with the not lasting, though. I should learn to use lipliner but it's just too many steps in the morning.
ReplyDeleteBy the dark burgundy Revlon one, do you mean Stay Currant or the matte lipbalm in the dark purple? Maybe I have both. Maybe I also have 2 CoverGirl shades, 2 Urban Decay old-school shades, and the OCC Lip Tar in the black-red (that shit is a pain in the ass, btw...although the red one, NSFW, is really nice, and mixing with the Black Dahlia gives an utterly perfect maroon/blood-red).
I got the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in Crush. It is a burgundy with maybe a hint of purple. It looks more purple with the MAC lipglass on it.
ReplyDelete