J Crew Franny Dress (Retail Only?)

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  We are headed off to a Mexican Fiesta Pool Party tonight - grown-ups only.  I want to be wearing a cute little dress...but it's about 70 degrees right now and headed down to a low of 51 tonight, so I don't think a cute little dress is in the cards...unless I go with a coat and tights...but it's Labor Day weekend - way too soon to pull out the tights in MD.   Instead I'll be wearing a pair of white jeans, like probably 50% of the ladies there.  I imagine that about 35% will have on regular jeans, and the other 15% will split out between black pants and the fools crazy enough to go with bare legs.  Did I mention it's always very breezy at our pool, so it's going to feel a lot chillier? 

But I'll have my Jaspe sequined slouchy sweatshirt to keep me warm...and sparkly...and given all the gardening I've been doing today, a sweatshirt seems about right  I've posted on that before and I'm not sure if I'll get pics before I go, so I thought I'd share what I wish I were wearing.  And I'll brace myself for the tomatoes, because a lot of you saw it on AppGal of Musings on the Mountain and I think pretty much everyone agreed with her big thumbs down.  Then again, I've always said it would be really boring if we all wore the exact same JCrew, right?

J Crew Franny Vintage Mixy Dress (#31033, $128, currently marked down in stores but not sure of the price).

Let's get this out of the way...it's short.  It's shorter than anything I own.  But I fell in love with the dress...in spite of the length.  Now I'm certainly not going to wear it to volunteer at school.  For me, it's a great party dress.  I wore it a week after I got it to a wine tasting and fundraiser for Grassroots Soccer.  (fantastic organization, by the way, a co-workers daughter is doing a fellowship in South Africa this year) 

Even though it's short, the way the hem falls, I actually don't feel like it's about to blow up in the wind - it's cut straight at the bottom - not billowy.  I actually felt very secure in it, hem-wise...and you know me, I'm usually the first complaining (whining) about JC's hemlines.

I love love love the fact that the dress is cotton.  I like the mix of textures - the black eyelet is just fun for me.  The waistline hits me at a good spot.  It's cool and comfy, and works great with just a regular black bra (so it's easy).

Interestingly enough, I got this dress when I was out shopping with one of my dearest bloggie friends, dinagideon - who is a couple inches shorter than me and is long-shinned as well (while I am short-shinned, with more of my leg length in my femur).  Dina tried on the dress, but it actually looked shorter on her, which was weird.  And we both agreed it was weird because usually everything looks and is shorter on me.  We think it had something to do with the weird bodice fit on her.  For me and my wide shoulders, it sat in the right spot.  But it was nice to ha

But I go back to Ema's sidebar notes on her blog, My Closet, My Baby, and I:  "If something that you are trying makes you feel like you are Kate Hudson (replace Kate Hudson with your favorite style icon), BUY IT."  I felt a bit Gwyneth in the dress.

Given all that's going on with the dress, I kept the rest of the outfit pretty simple - ponytail, stud earrings, and flat sandals.  Yes...FLAT sandals...because it is a short skirt and flat shoes always ground the short length a bit. 

Funny story:  When I was trying the dress on at my not-usual B&M, the SA suggested it would look great with heels.  And I just looked at her and said "with a hem this short?  seriously???  Um, yeah, I don't think so."  But I may try it out in chillier weather with tights and a long cardi...we'll see...not sure if I'm that adventurous yet.

And if you need a tomato to toss, check out the gorgeousness below...fresh out of the garden this morning:

Get Thee To A Dermatologist...

Ladies, I've been meaning to do this post for a while because I am a bit of a nut on the topic. I am a sunscreen Nazi and I will get on my soapbox to preach about going to the dermatologist. Regularly. Unless you have been living in a cave all your life, you've been exposed to the sun and other elements and need to be evaluated. Again - regularly. You should have a skin cancer check once a year.

Now's the time of year that all the magazines are talking about it. And for good reason. Hey, I did my fair share of tanning back in the day. I never did the baby oil thing because ewww, it was just too greasy for me. But remember using SPF 2? We didn't know any better. But we do now.

And you can talk to the dermatologist about more than just skin cancer. Talk to them about your overall skin and whatever concerns you have. My derm, Dr Lee, is just fabulous and I love him. (If anyone in Montgomery County needs one, let me know - he has offices in Bethesda and Germantown. My pickiest friends actually go to him.)

When I first started seeing him, I used Differin to address some blackheads (I know, ewww, but I have an oily T-zone) on my nose and chin. Then, 6 months later, I upgraded to Retin-A. I loved my Retin-A for about a year and a half. Then my skin completely flipped on me. Age, I guess? Ugh, that's a depressing thought. Anyway, all of a sudden, the Retin-A was making my skin red, peeling, dry, irritated. Of course, since I'm a dingbat, I didn't say anything at the next appointment because I figured it was just the winter. And I continued using the Retin-A, aka way-too-harsh-for-my-skin-what-am-I-doing, once a week or so. But my skin didn't really feel that great. It was just meh, ok.

The *next* visit, this past April, I finally wised up and asked Dr Lee - so he immediately downgraded me to Renova, which is 0.02% instead of 0.1%. Within a week, my skin's texture was so smooth and it feels great! Because I am finally using the right formula for my skin. Now this isn't the right thing for everybody but it certainly worked for me. Bottom line, go to the dermatologist and talk to him/her about what's going on and what you need.

I will really get on my soapbox about sun exposure....

When you are in the sun - -

1. Wear SPF.

2. The highest SPF you can, in a formula your skin will tolerate. This may mean something different for your face, nose, lips, etc.

3. Reapply often. I am a huge fan of the aerosol sprays as they make application and reapplication quick and easy - especially when you are headed out to the pool/beach/lake/river with a couple of kids. There are so many formulas out there. And I don't know about you, but I can't stand that feeling of rubbing lotion in my skin with sand - blech.

4. Wear a hat. This will (a) help to protect you from the sun, (b) help prevent the dreaded pool-headache from glare because it keeps so much of the glare from getting in around your sunglasses, and (c) protect your hair in general, especially if you do any coloring or other chemical processes to it; if not, then it will save your scalp.

5. Don't forget your: lips, ears, scalp, feet, etc. (On a multi-family beach vacation once, one of the dads got sunburned on the bottom of his feet. How do you walk?)

6. If you have kids, make sure they are protected. My kids are so brainwashed, they ask for sunscreen when we go to the pool at 6:00 pm.

7. Don't do the tanning bed thing, please. Seriously. Or if you do, do some serious research first so that you are fully aware of the risks.

Ok, end of rant.

Follow some good common sense and you can have skin as fresh and glowing as these lovely spring flowers from my garden...

ps - I know I promised you some posts on dresses, awards, etc. Still getting pics off the BlackBerry. Coming soon...

Wearing Today - plus some hair tips and updated Lucy pics - what more could you ask for?

Crazy spring weather here - started sunny, poured, sunny again, poured, then sunny/cloudy. But plenty of time to take Lucy for some walks, and oh my plants are so happy! Of course we've had an issue or two with plants in the backyard because apparently, to a puppy (or at least *my* puppy), this:

looks a lot like this:

Who would have thought? Fortunately, the clematis buds are just about to burst and hopefully there will be too many for Lucy to get all at once. At least my peonies are safe...for now.

So a note about today's outfit...the not-so-great hair. I had an appointment for a cut and toner (not full color, thank you very much, not there, it's just like a little watercolor on my head) on my hair this afternoon and - you all know this, right? - (hair tip #1) color takes much much much better on dirty hair. The accompanying rule (hair tip #2) is that you are supposed to wait 72 hours to wash your hair to complete the bonding of the color to your hair shaft. Of course, we have the DC JCA tea on Saturday - so my stylist suggested, and is permitting me to, just using a teensy drop of shampoo that day, and start at the ends and work my way to my scalp so that it's really diluted by the time it gets to the color at the roots (hair tip #3). Same with conditioner. My hair gets oily very quickly. My mom & sister can go a few days without washing their hair - I am very jealous of that. I have to do mine every day. But usually to do the shampoo, I put massage a bit into my scalp and then let the rinsing take the shampoo all the way down the hair shaft. That's enough to get it clean, and leaves the ends in better condition. (hair tip #4) I read that somewhere a while ago, one of my magazines probably, and it seems to work really well for me. So, since I couldn't wash my hair this morning, I just tried to smooth it and tie it up. Works for me...a little more often than it probably should.

Back to the outfit...I have on a new ON striped tank. Sparrowsandsparkles gave me the inspiration to get this tank since I saw her sets with one. It's very fun with the J Crew navy short sleeve sweater. And I did pull out the new Target pewter peep toe flats that I posted a week ago. They are very comfy. And I still have OPI You Don't Know Jacques on my toes, so they match the polish quite well. comfy outfit. Would translate well to other pants, such as white pants/jeans, or some khakis. Maybe the linen-cotton seaside pants, speaking of which, I really need to iron those!

Polyvore set for today:

To Wear Today - 5/7/09 by HeidiGblog featuring Old Navy jackets

And to complete...some updated Lucy pics. I love the outside ones because you can see so much more detail on her coat - which got a bath today, so it's nice and shiny.