Find It Cheaper Wednesday: 3rd Edition: Diane Von Furstenberg

Some of you may view today's Find It Cheaper as a little bit of a stretch and maybe it is, but hear me out on it first....

Designer Version:

Diane Von Furstenberg's Prita Silk Shirt Dress.  Retail price $398.  Definitely not an outrageous price for designer clothes but I don't currently have $400 sitting around that I can spend on a dress.  This dress is 95% silk/5% spandex.  Very cute.  I love the use of gingham in a modern/not country context.  Very cute and casual.  Dress may be found here.

My Alternative:

                      

The Trinette Shirtdress from Anthropologie. Retail price $148.  This is a match for me since it is a short, black, gingham, shirtdress.  Yes, that may be where the similarities end but it is my pick today because it feels more season appropriate.  As much as I LOVE DVF and really like the Prita dress, it feels like more of a fall dress to me despite the silk fabrication.  The Trinette dress speaks to me for the warm weather/summer.  This dress is very cute and feminine without too much shaping or detail.  It's a win in my book at about a 63% savings of $250.  This dress may be found here.

Now back to DVF for just a minute....

In the same collection as the Prita dress, there is a gorgeous short wrap dress that I have been in love with since the runway show debuting the collection.  Check out the Riviera Jersey and Chiffon Combo Wrap Dress:

                                               

I love this dress but will not be getting it because A) out of my price range and B) no longer available in my size.  Remember this dress though because if I can find fabric, I plan to make it for myself instead.  I think it is gorgeous!

Find It Cheaper Wednesday: 2nd Edition: Victoria Beckham

Greetings!

I LOVE Victoria Beckhams personal style and also her self named clothing line.  Today, I am trying to find more affordable options to one of her elegantly tailored designs.

Today's choice:

First of all, big surprise that this dress is orange right?  If you follow me on Instagram (@anuntraditionalfashionista), you know that I am maybe slightly more than obsessed with orange and frequently post orange dresses that I covet.  This is Victoria's T Shirt Fitted Dress.  Listed on her site for $2365 and is made of a silk/wool blend double crepe.  Very gorgeous.  Dress can be found here.

My solution:

This Zara Straight Dress with Contrasting Side Panels isn't quite as fitted, is sleeveless, and doesn't have an exposed zipper but I feel like it is a good compromise at $79.90 (a 96% savings at $2,285.10 less than the VB dress).  This dress is a polyester/elastane blend.  The color is spot on and there is even the matching back slit. Dress can be found here.  I have a couple of dresses I bought from Zara in Chicago last year that I love and am happy with the quality of so I feel like the budget or average fashionista should be happy with this option as well.

Find It Cheaper Wednesday: 1st Edition: A More Affordable Alternative to Burberry's Wrap Front Silk Blend Dress

In my shopping lately, I've been finding some beautiful designer items that I know I can't afford so I thought maybe I should do a weekly blog post where I find more affordable solutions to current trends.  I know that several magazines do this already, as do many blogs, etc., so this is nothing new in the fashion world.  However, it has always bothered me that a lot of these places will take items that cost thousands of dollars and replace them with items that are still several hundred dollars.  Yes the more affordable items are significantly cheaper, but I don't feel like they are realistically affordable to the real, average woman.  Or at least they aren't to me and I don't think they are to many self proclaimed fashionistas my age.

So for today I have Burberry:

This safari style, wrap front, silk blend dress is $795.  Not a ridiculous price in terms of designer wear but still steep for the average Jane.  Dress can be found here.

The alternative I've found:

This belted trench dress from Banana Republic made of modal, rayon blend.  This one comes in at $140 which still could be considered high but Banana Republic has a sale going from now until the 8th that dresses, shorts, and polos are 40% off so that would bring this down to $84.  That's a pretty good deal, especially when compared to the Burberry dress above.  Total savings would be $711 or nearly 90% off and the dress is a pretty good alternative in design, textile, and quality... At least in my opinion.  Dress can be found here.

I just have one for today but more to follow soon...

Italian Style at Portland Art Museum

As I mentioned on the blog yesterday, I spent the weekend in Portland visiting a very old dear friend of mine.  While I was there, we went and saw the Portland Art Museum Italian Style: Fashion Since 1945 Exhibit.  This exhibit was amazing!

This coat was amazing!  I would kill for it! The pattern is incredibly intricate and woven together.  The picture on the right shows how they mapped out the design.  WOW!  Just WOW!  It is so amazing!

This gown is spectacular!  It's hard to tell from the picture but all the silver are beads and sequins that (I am sure) were applied by hand.  Exquisite!

I love this whole look!  I would wear this all the time.

I loved this dress.  It reminds me of lilacs, which are one of my favorite flowers.

Very sexy!

I love the details on this skirt.  It is gorgeous!

I LOVE this coat.  I want to live in it.

This dress is leather.  It is awesome!  I kind of want one but don't know where I would have any occasion to wear it.

Who wouldn't want to rock these shoes?

I believe the exhibit is in the last week now, so if you are in the Portland area, you should definitely go check it out.  It was worth the adventure!

Age of Adaline

Over the weekend I got to spend time with one of my oldest and dearest friends in Portland.  While I was there we went to the Portland Museum of Art to see their Italian Fashion Exhibit (which I will talk about in a different post) and we went and saw The Age of Adaline.

I was so excited to see this movie.  As you all know by now, I love Blake Lively (I think we are meant to be BFFs - someone work on that K?) so of course that's a big reason why I wanted to see it, but also I was really exited to see the fashion from the film.  From all the press I had seen for the movie previously, the ward-robing looked amazing and the movie itself did not disappoint.

For those that aren't familiar with the premise of the movie, Adaline has an accident and from that point on, no longer ages, so the movie spans decades of her in her 20s (I'm guessing on age but she still is a young adult at least).

This look is from early on in the movie, before her accident, 1920s sometime.  Very simple, sleek, and spot on for the decade.

The evening gowns in the film were my favorite by far.  This gown was for modern time (however I think it may also have shown up in a flashback to a New Years Eve party in the 1930s, I can't remember for sure though) and it was stunning.  The burgundy velvet is beautiful and elegant.  The fit is incredible.  It's almost as though the dress was painted onto Blake. 

I believe this look was for the 60s, maybe 70s, and it is another of my favorites in the movie.  While it was what we would now consider vintage, it still is very classic and modern.  You could wear this exact outfit today and still be chic.

Classic, simple, sophisticated look, again for modern time.  (Anyone else have a flashback to Gossip Girl with her sitting on the steps eating her lunch?)

Jacket envy here.

This look is amazing.  It's such the classic 1950s woman.  Perfect hair, beautiful, fitted dress, spotless makeup.  Gorgeous!

These are only a few of the looks from the film but everything was really spot on.   Costume designer, Agnus Strathie, did a fantastic job in this movie.  She absolutely built a believable and realistic wardrobe for the character.  The modern look and wardrobe of Adaline still has a very classic feel and you can spot pieces within it that she probably had in her closet for decades.  Adaline is a sophisticated and classy woman.

DAILYLOOK Month 2 Review

I got my second DAILYLOOK Subscription box yesterday and had a better experience than last month so I thought I should do another review to explain some of the differences this month compared to last.

The first thing that I was impressed with this month is that on the packing slip, my personal stylist wrote a note that she was sorry that my box didn't work out last month and that she hoped things would be better this time around.  She also provided me with contact information for her so I may communicate with her should I feel so inclined.  I thought this was a nice touch and appreciate the sentiment.

Like I mentioned in my review last month, when you return items you get to review them so that they can make changes on future orders.  I didn't show this in the post so I'll share snapshots of the process I went through this time around.

As you can see from above, for each item that they send you, you answer a series of questions and also have space to leave notes, should you feel the need to leave any additional feedback.  I have been trying to make it a point in leaving comments with everything I both keep and return so that my stylist can have a better understanding of me and why I keep some things and not others.

I received 8 items, same as last month, and decided to keep 4 this time, whereas last month I sent everything back.  A couple of the items that I kept are not my normal style and I really debated on keeping them or sending them back  but then I reminded myself that one of my goals in signing up for the service in the first place was to try new things and get out of my comfort zone so that is what I am doing.  There also were a couple of things that I would have kept had they fit better, so overall this box was a pretty good success.

In addition to reviewing each item, you also get to review your overall experience, make suggestions, or request items for a special occasion.

The items are a little more expensive than I feel like they maybe should be or than I would normally spend on similar things, but they are still reasonable (I'm just a bargain shopper and love a good deal).

Want to see what I kept this month?

I really wasn't sure about the vegan leather leggings but they look a lot better on than I had expected and are different for me but I'm going to try them out.  The other item I wasn't too sure about was the Ally McBeal Boyfriend Button Down because I don't often wear button-up shirts but this one is long, which I love, so I decided to keep this and will probably rock it with the leggings.  I'll have to post a picture on Instagram when I do.

And the items I returned:

I liked the Origami Mini Skort (and so did my husband) but they were too small and I couldn't zip them up, so they had to go back.  I also considered the Classic Knit Jumpsuit (that would be very different for me too) because it looked awesome in the pants but I felt like the top drew too much attention to my belly so that had to go too.

I think I'll keep trying DailyLook out for a while and see how it goes.  But this month was better than last so that is promising!

If you want to try out DailyLook for yourself, sign up here: http://fbuy.me/ch8hh

My Rachel Zoe Box of Style Has Arrived!!!!

When I posted my review of DailyLook last month, I mentioned that I was going to sign up for Rachel Zoe's new Box of Style and my first box (the first box they've done also) just came.  I am so excited and thrilled with this box!

As I also mentioned in the DailyLook post, I am a sucker for packaging, textiles, stationary, etc, so opening this package was a treat all in itself.  I can't believe the amount of time and effort that must have gone into putting these boxes together.  The products were all wrapped in tissue paper, like the lovely presents that they are, then wrapped in a gorgeous package.  I am VERY impressed with the presentation associated with this.  It really impressed me.

The box costs $100 each season and you receive an assortment of beauty and fashion products selected by Rachel Zoe and her assistants.  I think I calculated that the retail value of everything I received was $338.  That is a pretty sweet deal, and like I said before, I was excited about everything in the box so I don't feel like anything was a waste.

This months box had 3 colors  of nail polish from Zoya ($30 value).  Some of which were designed in partnership with Rachel Zoe, Tartie Mascara ($20 value), Stylin Tape (to keep things in place) ($10 value), TOMS Sunglasses with a plush sleeve to keep them protected ($68 value), and a gold cuff bracelet from Miansai ($200 value).

I also really like that the box came with a product information fold out that tells about all the products and suggestions on how to style them.

I really don't have anything bad to say about this.  I am super excited about the products and the subscription service all together.  I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested.  My thought is, it is all quality products so if there is ever something you aren't excited about, you can give it as a gift to someone for all the lovely gift exchanging holidays that we have, or for just because and you are still giving someone something nice and of quality.

If you are interested though, sign up soon because the summer box is already sold out so if you want to get one in the fall, you probably will want to act quick!