Black Dresses....and showing a little love to Banana

Today was a total sweater dress day. Do you have the sweater dress love? I will admit, it is hard to find the right fit, as they usually come in the alpha sizes, not numeric. But when you find one you love...mmmmmmmm...cozy... Nothing better for a chilly day - sweater dress, tights, boots...and done. And it just feels like you're wearing a big huge sweater all day. Danger areas? Either end of the spectrum - the too-tight & too-short hoochie SD, and the so big it makes you look like you are one big tea cozy SD. Last year, I got 2 great sweater dresses from Banana Republic.

(side note - any of you moms out there seen Elmo's World when he did the banana episode - and he sings ba-ba-banana, ba-ba-banana - well, it's been about 7 years and that song still pops into my head whenever I go into BR. you're welcome...)

This is one of the 2 sweater dresses from last fall. I got this one with 30% F&F last fall (so $130 less 30% = $91.) I have definitely worn it enough to be worth it and I'm not done yet. Last Christmas when we visited the in laws in NC, it was unseasonably warm, so I wore it plain with footless tights and ballet flats. And I layered it with a white or cream tee plus tights and boots all last winter. BUT...I kept wanting to get a striped tee to layer underneath because I thought that would be cute. If I do say so, I think I was right. Ta da!!

Today's outfit was the BR sweater dress from last year (in M), BR gray/white striped tee from this fall (M), black tights, flat black boots, plus some silver hoops & my Tiffany silver mesh ring from ages ago. I wore my hair down today (probably for warmth, hehe), but the dress looks really cute with hair up.

And you probably can't tell so well from the picture, but there is an inverted pleat in the front of the dress below the empire waist. So it's a great dress to wear when you might be filling the belly, so to speak. And today I had brunch at a friends' in the morning and then we went out to dinner tonight. Excellent wardrobe planning. Hubby & I took the kiddies out to a Japanese steak house for the first time and it was way fun - they loved it!! Of course, I'm sitting here in pj-sweats, because it's almost my bedtime, but the dress was a good dinner dress.

Polyvore from today:

11/6/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew bags

Items in this set:
J Crew t shirt, $33
Forever21 dress, $23
Ann Demeulemeester boots, 795 GBP
J Crew tote bag, $150
Thelook4less.net ring

And speaking of dresses... I really, truly, honestly appreciate all the feedback from everyone on the 3 Nordies dresses. I also applaud everyone for the very constructive comments. (You all didn't love all of them, which is fine - but you played nice - and I do appreciate that as well.)

I think my problem is that I am just not totally 100% feeling it with any of them. They are all very nice dresses and any of them would be fine. (yeah, I know, nice problem to have). And maybe part of the problem is that I got the 3 of them from 2 different parts of the store over 2 different shopping trips of about 15-20 minutes each, so I was rushed-rushed-rushed - and they just have some bad vibes attached. Or maybe I'm just being ridiculous and overthinking this whole thing because, this is not a problem - it's an irritation...at the most. (Thanks Jemma Ruby - ever since you posted on that, I try to hold those words close.) So it's not a problem, other than the fact that I clearly need to get a life.

If you did comment on the 3 choices, please don't feel that it was a waste of time at all (and don't shoot me)...it made me really look much closer at the dresses and figure out what did and didn't work with them.And, I have come to the conclusion that I am just prejudiced against chiffon. I don't like how it feels. Ok, lesson learned.

But I think I have found true dress love... After debating over the 3 Nordies dresses, I happened to be perusing the BR website and found the dress at right. BR Tiered Pleated Dress ($132). They are already showing this dress on the large placard in the window, but it's Holiday 03 and only Holiday 02 is in the stores - wish I hadn't needed that level of detail. So I ordered it with 25% off and it is supposed to arrive on Tuesday.

And, I believe, it combines the best of the 3 Nordies dresses - the versatility and lack of chiffon in #1 (I would totally rock this with tights and boots for a more casual look), the tiers & necklace potential of #2, and the fun & flirtiness of #3. And when I first saw it, I swooned I felt it. We'll see. I've got my fingers crossed. So should you, so that I shut up about this. Whew, it's late, I'm punchy, and I should go to bed. Here's my planned ensemble in Polyvore...let's see how it all comes out in the proverbial wash...

Idea #1 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew jewelry

Items in this set:
Banana Republic dress, $132
Gojane.com shoes, $13
J Crew necklace, $98
Banana Republic earrings, $35
SEPHORA by OPI nails, $9

Speaking of Banana Republic (coincidental timing), Slastena has an interesting post on Banana Republic today, from some spring magazine catchup - yay, I'm not the only one. Hop on over to comment - are you a Banana Fan? Or is your new theme song "Yes, we have no Bananas"?