Adventures in the OC

Today was one of those days, lots of running! I drove the ROTC kids to their event and decided to take advantage of being in Laguna Hills. I mean, it IS summer sale season!

My outfit for my shenanigans:

Dress: Kate Spade Lyric
Shoes: Jonquil Strassed Jimmy Choo Flats
Handbag (not pictured): Kate Spade Wise Owl Quinn

Photos taken while out, as I left the house at 5:45am and it wasn’t quite light enough to get a decent photo!

I started at Fashion Island, checking out the pre-sales in person at Nordstrom, then of course making a trip through Kate Spade, to which I was fairly disappointed! The collection this month, while pretty, just is “meh”. There was a necklace that really caught my eye, but not enough to shell out the price listed on the tag! The concept is great, I just didn’t cRe for the execution of the prints. The Rose print is gorgeous, but the dress is that viscose blend, and I am just not a fan of that fabric, especially at the price point!

But then I stepped into Neimans. Not a usual haunt for me. And fell in love. With a new brand. Theia. I have never heard of it, seen it, nor tried it on. But this dress was on the sale rack and the colors spoke to me:

It’s pink, two shades of red, has pockets, and is just a well constructed dress.

I also tried this one on, from their current collection:

I tried these other two on, the pink one is Carmen Marc Valvo, and the green/blue one is also Theia. The CMV was HUGE on me. The smallest size they had in store was a 2 (it’s on the last call sale rack for an incredible price), and it probably needed to be taken in 5-6″. I was really disappointed as I LOVED it. Great shape, love the length, and it had pockets! I’d not tried on CMV before, so it’s a brand I’ll keep an eye on. I just didn’t feel tailoring it would be good, I have found tailoring THAT much on a dress tends to change the shape too much. My opinion, I know gals who will tailor 4-6 sizes down and be happy with the result.

But Theia, oh my. It’s a brand I have fallen in love with (sorry Kate Spade!). Which is why this one came home with me: (pictured next to my Hattie dress that arrived last night)

My husband wasn’t as excited as I was, which really surprised me!! I think it’s so very different from the Kate Spade dresses he loves, because of the texture and detailing. It was something different and unexpected! I also loved the blue one, (not on sale) but not enough to justify that price tag!!

That was my biggest excitement today, that dress. I then scored some Lilly Pulitzer at a goodwill (that evens out the dress purchase, right?! Lilly for $2.50???), and finished shopping for my daughter’s birthday which is in a couple of weeks. She’s at that age where she wants clothing. (Yay!) She hasn’t started putting Kate Spade on her wishlist yet, but I know it’s looming. She’s going to be 10! She actually has one already, an old black Claire bag I picked up for under $5 earlier this year. Oops!! Hey, in a house full of boys, we have to band together!

Since I have yet to hear from the two entries from my latest giveaway, I will re-draw two new winners tomorrow and post them. Good luck! Those pretty accessories need a better home than in a pile on my floor!!

Hope your weekend is grand! I’m off to relax and unwind after today.

Until next time,

Jules