Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Colour Therapy: Best Blue Dress Flashback and Pops of Yellow

I spent this morning trying things on in my closet. I've been in a bit of a "closet funk" lately, feeling bored of the same ol', same ol', and instead of wallowing in my funk (which I'm really good at), I chose to do something creative and make some outfits for whatever my next few weeks hold. Good times! 
While I was doing that, I put together an outfit for today's weekly Zoom call with Mom. She's a fan of bright cobalt blue, and I needed some Colour Therapy. 

  • Dress - Nanette Lepore, thrifted, Vancouver; last seen here in May 2020 with turquoise and PANK
  • Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here in August 2020 with dots and daisies

As in my Always Be Upgrading motto, I've achieved peak Best Blue Dress with this one. We'll take a quick look back at my past outfits via Flashback shortly.
It doesn't have pockets, but I'll let that slide. The colour just makes me happy, and the pops of yellow smiled at me.

The dress looks good with my ink, which is something that I always have to factor in. 
At one point in my tenure with this dress, I put it in the giveaway pile. Yes, I recognized that was a bad idea. 

The skirt is snug to the hip, then flares out from a couple of big pleats. 
Same on the back. The outer layer is a sheer-ish fabric with lines of ribbon-like texture. 

It has a Rather High slit in the front. 
When I'm sitting down, this is a Quite Risque slit, but when I'm standing or walking it's really a nice detail. It's very swooshy.

The stuff: 
These are the same shoes as yesterday's, only in waxed cotton. They've been successfully repaired with melted crayon (sadly, the orange ones did not survive).

Yellow bling: 
With one blue! 

  • Belt - Liz Claiborne, vintage 80s, thrifted
  • Cuff - thrifted
  • Bakelite earrings - vintage 60s, thrifted
  • Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

More bling: 
I'm so chuffed that brooches are "a thing" again in fashion, especially in menswear. You can see the nice texture of the dress fabric there. 

  • Bee pin - gift from Megan Mae
  • Flower brooch - Roberta's Hats

I bought that flower brooch at the local hat shop around 2000, and wore it pinned to a knit cloche hat for our friends' wedding. 

Mom and I on our call. 
Caught during a moment of hilarity. 


Flashback: Nanette Lepore Dress

I always seem to find good things when second-hand shopping in Vancouver - I can't wait to go over and visit friends and do that again! I found this dress at My Sister's Closet (a thrift/charity shop) here in March 2018 on our 21st anniversary trip.
As I noted at the time, I've been a fan of blue dresses in this shade for decades, and I've had a LOT of them over the years. This is easily the best one. It's a lovely shape, great colour and it has good details. I feel like me in it, which is the most important part. 

It's by Nanette Lepore, and is from around 2014. It's made in the USA (rare), is called the Blue Picture Day Dress, and would have retailed for between $400-500. 
I paid $26.00, which felt like a bargain at the time.

I wore it within days, in March 2018. I'm a big fan of "if it works with one colour, it will work with many" accessorizing. I always add a belt - it doesn't look right without one.
White, cream and gold there. 

I've done yellow before, here in May 2018. 
I wore this to the theatre with Mom. 

Magenta and gold in September 2018.
I miss those shoes, but they were way too high. 

Silver and black in May 2019.
I didn't wear it for the rest of the spring/summer 2019 season, which is when I decided it was too tight (it's always been snug in the boobs) and put it in the giveaway pile. 

When I cleaned up all of my giveaway stuff  in May 2020, during the early months of pandemic lockdown, I said "Regret-me-not!" and added it back in my closet. 
And there I am with all turquoise. But this goes to show how versatile a simple blue dress can be, and why I've been searching for an upgrade all these years. I think I've found it in this dress...but if a similar one comes along with pockets...I'm just sayin'! 


Mathy stuff: I still have plenty of wear left with this dress, but for now we're at 6 outfits, which is $4.49 per wear. Excellent.

Do you practice Colour Therapy? How would you accessorize this dress? 

34 comments:

  1. I love the pairing of yellow and blue. Something about the combination of those two colours is just fabulous. So, I really love the outfit you wore for zoom meet up with your mother. The blue dress fits you like a glove and I love your yellow shoes and accessories: the belt, the bracelet and the brooch.

    I enjoyed your flashback a lot. Thank you for sharing and have a nice day.

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    1. It's such a cheery combination, isn't it, Ivana? Thanks!

      Delete
  2. I can't get over how alike you and your mum are, you've both got the same beautiful smile!
    I love cobalt blue and it looks incredible on you, thank goodness that dress got rescued from the giveaway pile, it'd put a smile on anyone's face.
    Always Be Upgrading - that's me, too! Forever on the hunt for an even better version. xxx

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    1. We do! I'm thankful for the good genes!

      Me too, and I'm happy to have her back in the wardrobe. It's a good motto!

      Delete
  3. That is such a fantastic blue dress on you, I'm glad you kept it, and it looks so good with the yellow! :)

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  4. GORGEOUS! Very glad on your behalf that you rescued it from the GAP.

    And yes, I learned from you to add Color Therapy not only to my vocabulary but to my outfit choice. Earrings play an even bigger role for me than the clothes! I noticed that the more my constitution needs uplifting, the bigger and brighter my earring choice for the day.

    Yea for Mom time and your weekly chat. ❤️❤️
    Cheers for a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. GAP, ah, giveaway pile! I didn't even think of that, ha ha! Thank you, Laurie!

      It's a big lift, isn't it? I love that you get a boost from bigass earrings!

      Thanks so much, Laurie, right back at you!

      Delete
  5. Wow! I really love cobalt blue (I have a couple of things in that color) and it sure looks amazing with yellow!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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    1. Thanks, Mireille! I hope you'll wear them together too!

      Delete
  6. Hi there Sheila, SO glad you did not give that beautiful dress away!! I love blue but this is just divine, such a nice fit on you. You are like a ray of sunshine. You do look like your lovely Mum. I love so many of the flashblacks esp. the all blue. I know it takes some effort to get out of a funk (believe me I do know not just saying) but with your attitude and closet well you go girl!! hugs Shazxx

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    1. Same here, Shaz! Thank you so much - yeah, I get my genes from her for the most part (although I see a lot of my dad and his sister in me too). I'm glad you enjoyed the look back. I'm trying...it can be rough. Hug!

      Delete
  7. I love playing around with my wardrobe and assembling outfits, although lately I don't indulge in the latter as much as I used to when I was working full time. When strapped for time, it's nice to have couple of outfits ready to choose from.
    Your cobalt blue dress is gorgeous, and the pops of yellow delightful. Talking of colour therapy! Scrawling through the dress's flashback, this is by far my favourite. I'd wear it with yellow too.
    Colour therapy is the best there is. I practiced it myself wearing red today! xxx

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    1. Every time I do it, I go, "Oh yeah! I like this! It makes me feel good - why don't I do it more?" It's like I forget how good it is for me.

      Thanks, Ann! I love this bright blue with yellow. Colour therapy is the best - can't wait to see your red.

      Delete
  8. It is the perfect blue dress. It fits you beautifully and looks stunning. I really like it with the pops of yellow. I'd say 26.00 dollars was an absolute bargain!!
    xxx

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    1. Thanks so much, Vronni! I know, right - gotta love a steal like that!

      Delete
  9. Love blue and yellow sheila - what a nice dress and beautiful accessories you've picked. Jacqui xx

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  10. You could never be in a wardrobe funk for long with stunning outfits like this within your grasp! Gorgeous blue and yellow combination. I'm also pleased that brooches are back, I love them. Thanks for linking at #WowOnWednesday Sheila. Don't worry about the Disqus thing.

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    1. Aw, thanks, Gail - I feel bad that I can't comment! But I'll keep popping in every so often - you know how much energy all this blogging takes.

      I am getting there - the colour does help. Yay for brooches, right?

      Delete
  11. Indeed, what a mistake to put that dress in the give-away pile. It is so good on you, especially with your "ink" as you call it.
    The yellow is such a nice, cheerful pop of colour with it. Fun to have a bee brooch going to the flower brooch haha. Nice detail.
    Greetje

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    1. Thanks so much, Greetje, and yes, I'll keep it now (until I find a better one!). I love the yellow pops - thanks for noticing the bee going to the flower.

      Delete
  12. That is my favourite shade of blue, and it looks great with yellow. It would also look good with orange accessories too.

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    1. I adore cobalt blue - it's such a great colour. Orange is a fabulous idea!

      Delete
  13. A outfit planning session sounds like such a blast!!! I tend to get nearly giddy with happiness when I do the same. It's something I particularly associate with travel (I almost always pack a fairly coordinated capsule wardrobe of sorts for trips longer than a couple of nights) and even just thinking about this fun act makes me miss hitting the open road all the more. Hopefully it won't be too much longer now until doing so is safer and more feasible for us here in BC.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. It's so good for my mental health to do that every so often, Autumn. I enjoy doing capsule travel wardrobes too. I hope we'll get to hit the road again really soon!

      Delete
  14. Week, that dress is wonderful! It looks so happy with yellow accessories!!! It's so flattering too! Xx

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  15. Oh my gosh, it really is a fabulous dress, Sheila! And $26 is a great price for a Nanette Lepore dress. When I worked in a local consignment shop a few years back, we got a mini collection of Nanette Lepore dresses and we priced them all at $50 and up. They were beautiful dresses but sadly much too small for me. Cobalt is such a magnificent color on you. I love this shade paired with other bright bold colors, too. The yellow is so good! And I am also having a moment with brooches and finding creative ways to wear them. Thanks for linking with me, my friend.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Isn't it, though? I know it's a bargain - I regularly see her stuff for $50 and more in the consignment shops here too. I love this colour - it's one of those that looks good on everyone.

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  16. Glad you rescued it from the give-away-pile, it's a stunning dress with a fab colour and texture and shape!, it ticks all the boxes!. And I love the way you styled it with yellow accessories!, so brilliant and joyful!.
    And I'm a huge fan of your 'Always Be Upgrading' motto!, it's inspiring!
    besos

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    1. I agree - it's such a great colour. I need to hang onto it...at least until I find a better one!

      Delete

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