Saturday, June 2, 2012

Duality

In an effort to reduce spending on new clothes, I surveyed my closet for items into which I can breathe new life.  I found this dress.  The dress is, in fact, the very first one I ever wore on my blog.  Back in my LiveJournal days, I bought this piece mail-order from Metrostyle.  (I wasn't brave enough back then to enter a real clothing store.)

The dress is feminine, yet bold; mature, yet youthful.  Those themes persist in my fashion choices to this day.  My whole life has been an attempt to reconcile opposites.  Male/female; young/old; proper/wild.

To update the dress, I'm adding a new belt and a cuff-bracelet I picked up yesterday on Canal Street.  Have you heard of Canal Street?  It's on the edge of Chinatown in NYC where you can buy grey-market goods at low prices.  The bracelet was only $10.

What do you think?








27 comments:

  1. I remember this dress!! I still love it. Love your new accessories, too. Trendy but classy. Always a winner.

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    1. Wow. I went back to look at that two-year old post -- and you commented on it! We've know each other forever.

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    2. You guys are so sweet! I hope I still know you in 2 years!! :)

      xxx,
      Alexandra

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  2. Ooh, I love it! You styled it well.

    (If you need cash for new clothes/want to recoup costs, I'll say it again: I WILL BUY THAT BLACK/WHITE PEACOCK DRESS FROM YOU.)

    The Tall Blonde Artist

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  3. I think it's brilliant! The print look fresh and bold, and the color is omg gorgeous! I love how you off-set the yellow shades with the cocktail ring and black accessories. I think this is a great example of how you've grown in your style and ability to accessorize.

    (also I went back through some of your old LJ posts, and saw a post where you were talking about the movie Sunshine Cleaning - I just watched that a week ago!)

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  4. This looks LOVELY on you, and just as fresh now as I imagine it did two years ago. I especially your accessories in this look - that bracelet was an amazing find!!

    Next time I'm in NYC will you take me shopping on Canal Street??! You seem to know all the right spots!!

    xxxx,
    Alexandra

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    1. As a lifelong resident of New York, I can direct you (and anyone else) to the best of everything. I'm a restaurant maven!

      And we'll still be friends in two years, Alexandra. I'm sure of it. :)

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    2. This made my day! :)

      See you soon then dear!

      xxx

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  5. You look great! I love the colors and the print on this dress and I really like how you updated it.

    Life is a romantic poem

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  6. I love the print of this dress and I really love the accessories you added! It really looks great!

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  7. Hey, thanks for following me today!
    I really love the graphics of this dress and your ring is awesome! I hate over spending on clothes because what I really want is variety and I can't afford variety if I don't buy second hand.
    I go back and forth with the proper/wild thing too. Let's hang on to both sides! I'm a biker too!

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  8. I love those heels. They are my go-to style.

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  9. I totally ADORE this dress! Reading your write-up, I was wondering how something could look mature yet still youthful, and yup! this dress is both simultaneously! I also really like that bracelet!

    ♥ laura
    the blog of worldly delights
    the shop of worldly delights

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  10. You've come such a long way, Ally! This dress is just awesome on you! Perfectly accessorized.

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  11. Hello Shybiker! Thank you for visiting my blog! We've had more great celebrations today which I'm going to post about, but it's been great fun seeing all the different ways people have been celebrating!
    I love the accessories you have paired with this dress, the shoes are lovely particularly! That zigzaggy ring is really funky! Lovely to meet you! :-)

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  12. ohmyGOSH -- This dress is faboosh. I would totally rock this every single day until people begged me to wear something different.

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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  13. That dress looks great on you. And I agree with Megan, you have amazing legs ;)

    ∞ © tanvii.com ∞

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  14. Black (or gray), white and yellow is a super combination in my opinion. It seems to make an appearance ever so often and I'm always happy to see it!

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  15. I agree. You have to take the time to go through your wardrobe and find new ways to remix what you've got. I think it's fun to remix my clothes, and I get a lot of inspiration from fashion bloggers.

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  16. This is a marvelous dress on you.
    I see tht you are exploring mixing and matching :) which is something us women have to do over and over not only to not repeat but also as you mention, to keep control of our budget.
    I haven't been to Canal street for a while now, or at least I havent bought anything !

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  17. That dress is gorgeous. I love the colors, and you accessorized it perfectly!

    May the force be with you.
    Emily

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  18. Oh I think this is just a gorgeous outfit. The accessories are the cherry on top of the outfit. Very attractive.

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  19. This color and print of this dress is fantastic! And it looks great on you. Beautiful bracelet too.

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  20. Love the dress. The length of it makes you look like a tall drink of water!

    I missed it the first time around - how do you feel when you compare your look now to when you first posed & posted it?

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