I Dare You!

I  blame my recent wardrobe acquisitions (I mean, since my personal challenge to find a whole thrifted ensemble for under $50) on:

1. My favourite Megan.  I will explain why in a future post.  Intrigued??!  (It will be awesome.)
2. Banana Republic and their implanting the need for teal in my head via promotional emails.
3. Ruche and their super cute super awesome pieces styled two ways.

And so it was that this Joseph Ribkoff dress came home with me.

 Yellow wedge t-straps $19 George

 Teal skinny belt hand-me-down from my Thrifter Sister

 

On the way to getting winterized with tights and my Miz Mooz pumps...

 

Something about showing one's clavicles is very classy...

I liked the colours, the thick-weight but stretchy fabric.  The top collar (scarf, wrap, thing-y??) does make this dress slightly less versatile but it was in perfect condition and I got 10% off because the belt was missing, so I paid $16!  I could not find this dress on line, but Joseph Ribkoff dresses run about $150 - $250 new, and the one used dress I found on E Bay was around $70, so I think a little "interesting" detail is worth working with for such a great price!! 

 Different arrangement of the "collar"...

Close up...

Dyed fresh water pearl and sparkly cross bracelet handmade by my talented sister!

You might think this would cover bra straps until you see the back...

 I expect some appreciation for photographing my rear view.

 

  It really is an interesting, ladylike detail!

Plus, I have a point to prove:

You can wear dresses every day.  

No excuses!!  I work in just about the most anti-dress setting you could imagine - preschool!  I am on the ground, in the gym, doing snack, painting, in the bathroom.  And then I come home and do the same thing with my own kids!!  If I can do all that in a dress, you can too.  Sure, you may not want to slither on the floor like a snake in your $250 dress, but I sure don't mind in my $16 dress!!  Then I just stand up, brush off and head to a meeting looking all fancy schmancy wore-a-nice-dress-for-this-meeting-boo-yah.

This Ruche look...

And this pretty pin...

Were the inspiration for the fall/winter look for this dress...

 

 O'Neill grandpa sweater $70ish C'est Sera

Conveniently, the bulk of the sweater conceals the sash (?? still don't know what to call it) nicely.

I was able to play with the sash for slightly different looks under the sweater!

 

So here's my challenge for YOU.  Take a dress that you normally reserve for rare occasions and start living your wardrobe!  Style it for the season, then just do it.  Wear it for your every day, whatever that may be.

At risk of being a shopping enabler, you could also head to your local VV Boutique (I hear there's a 50% off sale on November 19th!!!!) and pick up a new-to-you fab dress for this challenge!  You won't be disappointed!!  Bonus for Super Savers Club Card members: there's a stamp card promotion going on right now - you get a stamp for every $5 you spend or donation you make, and after 15 stamps you get 30% off a purchase.  I'm betting you will be shopping for the holiday season anyway, so why not get more for your money and support the non-profit partners AND take my dare?!!!

Let me know how it went!