Faux Wrap Dress

Do you ever pick out something to wear in the evening and then the next day change your mind?  It happens to me all the time.  So it was with today's outfit.  Being Friday, my original plan was to do a dress with jeans look, and then I thought dress with footless tights.  But it just seemed a bit weird so I went back to dress with regular tights.

I wanted to wear a bright tee on the inside but the day started out drizzly and cold so I reverted back to a basic black turtleneck.  It looked a bit plain so added the obi thing which I've worn previously as both a scarf and a belt.

To match it all up I added my dollar store accessories (the necklace and bracelet), and at the last moment tossed on another scarf from the market in Spain:

I'll have to try experimenting with my look a bit more because this outfit got a lot of positive comments. 

The dress was $8 from Old Navy, but from about 5 or 6 years ago.  I find that I no longer like Old Navy; most of their clothing is poorly made and of shoddy material.  This dress seems to be an exception.  Seams are serged and it has held up well.

It's actually a faux wrap dress which is nice because you get the look without the hassle of having to worry about the dress flying open or gaping when you sit.

I only wish the cute flower print was on the outer panel instead of the inner.

A Travelling Dress

A friend of mine has been going on cruises since before her kids were born.  And she brings back stories of dining with the captain, eating scrumptious food and just enjoying a relaxing holiday where everything is taken care of for you.

I've never been on a cruise and being prone to motion (think car and sea sick) probably never will.  But, I still like to imagine what type of clothing I'd take on a cruise to a tropical isle.

Ever since I saw one of these versatile dresses on tv when I was small, I thought they would be great for travelling but could never decide on a colour. 

The ones I've seen are called mai tai dresses and they are a stretchy knit material with a giant belt which allows you to loop and wrap the dress in literally hundreds of different ways.

images: maitaidress.com

It's not the height of fashion or anything, but looks like a simple basic dress that travels well.

Here is another one with an uneven hem-line from a different company:

image: fabsugar.com

Just from these 2 pics, you can see how many different ways the dress can be wrapped.  They come in long or short lengths and the short one can be styled like a top.

I still like this dress, but cannot imagine just wearing the same colour over and over again.  People would know it's the same dress. 

The other hindrance factor is the cost - they are quite expensive, around $300! basically for a giant sized piece of knit fabric with super long straps attached. You could probably make one.  Even if you paid $20/metre, how much fabric would you need?  maybe 5 metres at the very most = $100.  And the fabric would probably cost half that or even less.