How to Wear Tiered Dresses and the "Ageless Style" Link Up

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages.   Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.  This month's theme is ""May Flowers" and was picked by Marsha.

When Marsha picked "May Flowers" as our theme this month I knew that would be an easy one for me since I could photograph in my own garden.  I planned on just picking out a floral top or dress from my closet, but instead I chose a new tiered dress.

Tiered dresses or skirts are really in-style right now.  And like anything in-style women seem to love them or hate them.  Most women that hate them think they look "frumpy" or too "Little House on the Prairie".  I can see that.  But I love them!  I love how romantic they look, and most of all, I love how modest they are.  Dresses and skirts the past decade have been anything but modest, so it's nice to see a modest style become "in" again.

I purchased my tiered dress from Amazon for only $39.00 (price has gone up since then).   I first saw it on Amy's blog, where the dress is a midi on her because she is so tall.  On my 5'7 frame, it is a maxi dress.  I rarely buy something that I see on another person's blog, but this dress was so pretty and the reviews were so awesome, I couldn't resist.

The best way to avoid the "frumpy" look when wearing a tiered dress is to accessorize with modern touches.  I did this by choosing the latest style of sandals, and choosing modern jewelry.

Another trend this dress exhibits is "smocking".  If you hadn't already noticed, smocked tops are all the rage right now.  I was unsure how a smocked top would work on a bigger bust like mine,  but I think it worked just fine.  In fact, that's what sold me on the dress because a lot of the reviews said the dress looked good on a big busted woman.

I carried a straw bag as my handbag choice.  I probably should have picked something more modern, but I needed a bigger bag this day, and it was the one bag in my closet that coordinated the best with the dress.

As I stated earlier, I chose the latest in-style sandal to modernize my tiered dress.  These are "Quilted Sandals", called such for the "quilt-like" appearance on the strap.  If you can only buy one new pair of shoes this spring/summer, I would pick something "quilted" as they are really on-trend.  I purchased mine at TJ Maxx.

For my jewelry I chose modern white hoop earrings and light green beaded bracelets.

In this picture you can also see the smocking detail in the bodice and the abstract floral print of the dress.

If you haven't tried on one of these tiered dresses, I highly encourage you to give them a try.  It might surprise you, as it did me.  Oh, and did I mention how COMFORTABLE this dress it?  It is a lightweight easy breezy polyester material that doesn't wrinkle and is so cool and comfy.  I love it!

Now be sure to check out how the other ladies in the group are interpreting the "May Flowers" theme and be sure to link up with us as well!

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

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Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog

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Cathy ~ My Side of 50

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Joanna ~ My Slice of Life

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Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

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Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

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Rosemary ~ Distinctly Southern Style

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Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

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Ageless Style - Earth Tones

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women "over a certain age".  Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.

In honor of Earth Day this month, Cammi picked the theme "Earth Tones".  Earth tones are browns, tans, umber, brick red, terra cotta, yellow orchre, warm greys, shades of green, brown oranges, burnt siennas, and grey blues.  They are colors found in nature. 

For this challenge, I decided to wear this dark Burgundy or brick red dress that I received as a Christmas present from my son.  

Now I know certain colors can appear different on everyone's computer screen or phone, especially anything in the red family, but trust me, this dress is a deep, dark Burgundy.  In this photo shoot when I'm facing the sun, the dress appears brighter, but when I turn away from the sun, I feel the true color is shown.

I styled my dress with neutrals, choosing a neutral bag and shoes.

I love these type of shoes for spring.  They are partially open revealing just a bit of toe and ankle, yet the foot is not fully exposed as it would be in a real sandal.  They provide the perfect coverage for the cooler weather.

For jewelry I chose red, black and muted silver.  Burgundy lipstick completed the look.

My dress was on my Amazon wish list.   I can't seem to find it on line now since it was so long ago, but I think THIS DRESS, in a different color, is very similar.  The only thing different is the sleeves. 

I was so pleased when I tried on this dress.  You never know what you are going to get sometimes when you order clothes from Amazon.  But I love this dress!  It's very comfortable, and I like all the coverage.  The length is perfect, and I really like the long sleeves.  I will probably wear it once in the cool of spring and then again in the fall.  I think it will be fun to accessorize this dress for fall!

And now, be sure to check out the Earth Tone outfits of the other ladies and then link up with us below!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Cammi ~ My Happy Place

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Carrie ~ A Simple Lovely Life

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Daenel ~ Living Outside the Stacks

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Jamie ~ No Delusions of Grandeur

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Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style 

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Leslie ~ Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

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You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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New Clothes From My Amazon Wish Lists

 I love Amazon wish lists!  It makes shopping so quick and easy for everyone, and you are always going to get exactly what you want and need.  I still consider gifts from my Amazon wish list a "surprise", because my list is pretty big, and I tend to forget everything I put on it, so when someone gets me a gift off my wish list it's always a surprise to me!

I have two clothing and accessory items from my children that I received as Christmas gifts this year that were off my Amazon wish list.  The color block cardigan you may immediately recognize as I think just about every blogger in blog land owns it by now.  The other item is the gorgeous faux leather brown bucket bag.

I've had my eye on this cardigan ever since I saw other bloggers wear it.  Color blocking is super on-trend this year, so I really wanted at least one color block item in my wardrobe.  I tried a color block cardigan from Stitch Fix, but I did not think it complimented my figure:  wide stripes across a big chest is not flattering at all.   I thought a color block cardigan might work better for me because there is a break in the chest area where the opening is.

I was absolutely correct in my assumptions.  The openness of a cardigan is much more suited to my figure.  The long length of this cardigan is also very elongating and slimming.  But buyer beware, if you are petite this may not be the cardigan for you as it is very long.  I'm 5'7 with a long torso and long legs and it comes to the top of my knees.

As for sizing, it's a little big.  I'm wearing a medium, but I should have a small.  It's a little big in the shoulders and I had to roll up the sleeves.   I usually always wear a medium in everything, so I was surprised it was so big on me.

As for the quality, I have no complaints.  It's absolutely stunning!  I love the colors I'm wearing, but this cardigan comes in many other color patterns as well.  I also love how thin the knit is.  Anyone who is a regular reader of my blog knows I prefer thinner knits over chunkier knits.  They are more figure flattering and not quite so warm.

My next Amazon gift was this Hobo Bucket Bag.  I just LOVE this bag!  My old brown purse was getting quite worn, so I really needed a huge one.  This bag is so huge!

 

I pack up the whole house with me every time I go anywhere, so I need a huge bag.  Every side of this bag is a little different so I included pictures showing all sides.  I love this side zipper.  The back of the bag also has a zipper pocket, and the front has a nice vertical detailing.  It also has two strap options.  The one I'm showing in this post is the shorter strap.

The bag is very high quality for faux leather, and it came with a nice dust bag fo storage and a sweet handmade gift inside.  I love it when sellers are so thoughtful like that.  

For footwear I chose my grey booties to pull out the grey in my cardigan.

I highly recommend both of these Amazon purchases.  You will find links to these items at the end of this post.

Lovaru Womens Boho Open Front Cardigan Colorblock Long Sleeve Loose Knit Lightweight Sweater in Khaki - Amazon,   Large Ladies Hobo Bucket Bag - Amazon.  Pull on denim jeans, Stitch Fix, old, similar HERE.  Grey Booties, Blowfish, old, similar HERE.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A New Top From Amazon

I've noticed more and more people are buying their clothes from Amazon lately.  You can get some real good deals for sure!  I've never been one to buy clothes on-line because I like to try them on.  That's why I love Stitch Fix so much, because I don't have to buy them before I try them.  But I saw this top on another blog somewhere (sorry, I can't remember where) and so I put it on my Amazon wish list.  My son ended up buying it for me for Christmas!  Yay!  Lucky me.

I was interested in this top because I love to wear leggings in the winter but I'm always struggling finding tops long enough to cover my butt and my front side.  I am 5'7, plus I have a very long torso, so a top that might be long enough for most women, isn't long enough for me.  I usually end up wearing short dresses with my leggings, and those can sometimes be too long making me look frumpy.

This top is the perfect length to wear with leggings.   It is just long enough in front to cover the "you know what",  without being too long that it looks frumpy.

And the back is the perfect length too;  providing perfect coverage without being too long.

The top is edged with two layers of flouncy chiffon.  I really like this added detail, however, I did have to spray the chiffon with Static Guard to keep it from clinging to my ponte knit pants.

I styled my top with a long pendent leaf necklace and multi-strand gold bracelet (both from Stitch Fix, old).

For footwear I chose my old Liz Claiborne booties.

This top is available in both long sleeve and short sleeve in a wide selection of colors.  I chose Emerald Green because it is the one color I don't have much of in my closet and it's also a color I think will really be trending soon.  I'm wearing a size Medium for reference.  It does tend to run large, so if you're worried about this style of top making you look like you're wearing a tent, I'd size down if I were you.

You can find the top HERE if you're interested.  I should also mention it has a seam running down the middle, but that doesn't bother me at all.

So what about you?  Do you buy clothes from Amazon?  Have you found any good deals lately?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!