The Nicole Dress...May the odds be ever in your favor!

The Nicole dress is such a fun party dress. To me, it is the perfect all-occasion dress. It is great for weddings, funerals, dinners, holiday work parties, work, just wherever you want to wear it. It EVEN makes a great Halloween costume! I wore a plain red Nicole layered with a red lace Monroe and accessorized with a metallic devil horns headband and plastic pitchfork. It is a very simple fitted dress with a waistline that is right at the natural waist, a fitted bodice with a scoop neck that shows the perfect amount of cleavage without being indecent and fitted elbow-length sleeves and a Katniss Everdeen twirly skirt. You know what I'm talking about...remember her dress where she spun around and it burst into flames? Yeah, the Nicole does that. You twirl and the skirt flares out. Totally fun.

This dress is completely versatile. It can be dressed down with sandals and worn alone. It can be layered over leggings and worn with boots. It can be dressed up with hose and heels for a formal look with a wrap. Any occasion, any season, any day, this is your dress. 

I initially bought this dress for a funeral, and the first time I wore it was in Orlando, Florida, where it is humid all the time. The morning that I put it on, I remember thinking, black dress, 75% humidity, 82 degrees, I'm going to ROAST. But I really honestly didn't. I can't explain it....I don't really sweat that much in Lularoe and I'm a sweater, not a glistener. More importantly, I was comfortable all day long starting in the wee hours of that morning when I woke up to shower and get dressed to the wake to the burial to the party afterwards and then to my aunt's house where we sat around until the wee hours reminiscing. That's nineteen hours in a dress in Orlando, Florida and yet I was comfortable the whole time? That's saying something! I layered a black lace Joy over it which is the perfect layering piece since it is the same length, and it was truly perfect. 

The only thing about this dress that I would caution you about is to definitely find your exact size. The dresses that I am wearing is a 3XL and I can not wear a 2XL in it which is my true size because of how fitted the sleeves are and how fitted the bust is. One of the pictures I have featured is a comparison of my black funeral dress sleeve which is a 3XL and then the red 2XL sleeve. It's a very significant difference, so if your arms are either a problem area or just a little on the large size because of muscle (like mine), size up. If you are big-busted, size up. It's a fitted dress from the waist up without a doubt, but once you find your size, it's a dress that you can take anywhere, wear anywhere and do anything in. I love my Nicoles! They come in the typical Lularoe polyblend of 94% polyester, 6% spandex, crepe fabrics (like the Cassie) which are very stretchy (the blue dress above with the bird print is that type of fabric), and even thicker tapestry fabrics which are great for winter. Solids, prints, stripes....Nicole has it all. The Elegance line that was released in 2016 released Nicole dresses in various materials....crushed velvets, oil-slick colored metallics and glittery knits with poinsettia prints. Oh, and as a side note, my cousin Nicole (yes, I know, funny, her name is Nicole too) and I were both speaking at my grandmother's funeral side by side at the podium. She was wearing an XXS Nicole in a gray snakeskin pattern and I was wearing a 3XL black Nicole. No one had ANY idea that we were wearing the same dress. 

Every one of them is unique. Every one of them is perfect and simple and the very epitome of understated elegance. You can even wear a lace petticoat under them to flare out the skirt and wear a belt around the waist to create a 1950s rockabilly look. 

They are so fun and the ultimate party dress! Add in that they are comfortable to boot, and they are well worth the money for the understated elegance that this style gives that will endure as it has for over sixty years. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Nicole dress is $48.00. 

If there are any questions about the Nicole dress, please post them below. Make it a great Lularoe day!

Day #5: When life hands you lemons....enjoy them!!!

I don't know what it was about this print that I loved so much when I saw it at a vendor event in McKinney, but I really, really did. Nor can I explain what possessed me to buy a lemon shade of yellow in a Monroe with a black fringe even after my best friend told me it would make me look like a bumblebee. 

All I know is that together, these two items of clothing look fantastic. And I never even planned to put them together. I had no plans for the lemon Monroe other than I thought a yellow kimono would be a great thing to have and I loved the sunny color. And I didn't think I would ever find the lemons in ANY piece, much less a Nicole dress which is a favorite style of mine. 

And I didn't. This was a wonderful gift from a consultant that I hostessed for twice who knew I wanted it. It was a unicorn for me. The word "unicorn" in Lula-vocabulary means a piece of Lularoe that you are looking for in a specific style, print and size and are hunting for. It's a fabled creature, a creature of mythology and in Lularoe-world, you question its very existence!

The lemon yellow shade of yellow in the Monroe picks up the lemons, the swingy black fringe matches the twirly style in the Nicole....put together, this is a perfect outfit. Very fun, good in winter due to the dark color of the dress but colorful and sunny in spring because of the gorgeous creamy yellow. 

Paired with black flats or black sandals, this is perfect. And....not bumblebee-like at all. 

Maybe a little. 

The Julia dress...the perfect little black t-shirt dress and more!

Black Julia dress

The Julia dress is a very popular one, but is not an easy one to wear due to its close tight fit. It has a clingy fit to it which makes it a very sexy and attractive dress, but it is imperative that the right size be chosen in order for this dress to look absolutely amazing as it does. It can easily be worn alone by itself with sandals for a casual look or dressed up with heels and a wrap for an elegant night on the town. There are even baseball styles that, paired with chucks, can look extremely sporty and fun for the summer. 

I admit that being a plus-sized woman, it took me a very long time to get up the nerve to wear this dress in person, and I still am not completely comfortable in it without a cardigan or another layering piece over it. However, it is an absolutely comfortable and cool dress for the spring, summer or early fall, and with the way that it hugs curves in all the right places, it is very flattering if you are on the curvy side as I am. If you are slender, it is a wonderful draping dress that hangs perfectly straight to the knees for an elegant but not overly dressy look. 

Julia and I have had a love-hate relationship from the first moment I saw her and tried it on. The first time I saw it was on a teenager who was a size 2, so of course, yeah, she looked freaking AMAZING in it. So slim, so cute, just perfect. That's the love part of the relationship.

The first Julia that I bought was this black one, and one of my local consultants convinced me to try and buy it by showing me how you can ruche up the bottom around your waist for a gorgeously elegant elbow-length sleeved top. The Julia is a knee-length t-shirt dress with a flare at the hips, a nip at the waist, elbow-length sleeves, and a hemmed jewel neckline.

Since the Julia dress has a very long fitted bottom, you can wear it with a skirt and ruche the bottom up to the length that you want and the dress will stay as a shirt since it is so clingy and fitted. The ruching technique will hide your tummy if that is a problem spot and it's great to rock with jeans or a shorter skirt and just get your Friday night on. I threw a pair of jeans on to show how it looks with pants. Basically the Julia is a transition piece....you can wear it to work during the day for a professional yet sassy look and then scrunch it up for a sexy top, throw on some jeans, and hit the happy hour! And...look what I can do so I can pretend I'm wearing a Randy! A reader gave me the idea of ruching up the baseball-style Julias so that it looks like a Randy which is really cute over jeans.

Blue/Gray Julia
worn as shirt

Black Julia dress
worn as shirt

 

I was determined to give this another fair shake, and try it on as Lularoe intended it. AS A DRESS. I will share with you that I was SO afraid of wearing this dress out of the house that not only did I not cut off the tags before putting it on, but I made my husband wait to leave for work until I had his stamp of approval on it. And THEN I cut the tags off. 

Black Julia with crepe Monroe

My first thought when I finally put this dress on before work the day that I wore it for the first time was, "OMG, I FINALLY HAVE A LBD!" I felt HOT and sexy ALL DAY LONG! I layered it with a red, fuschsia and orange crepe Monroe, and it was just a fun, sassy day.

Urban Dictionary definition of LBD: "A term used to define a little black dress which most woman possess.The dress is most likely overworn but always seems appealing especially when added with acessories such as bangles and clutch purse."

Chances are, pretty much every woman under the age of 40 has some sort of LBD in their closet. I remember the term becoming much more commonplace when Sex and the City was the hottest show on cable. Sarah Jessica Parker even has a line of little black dresses which you can read about here. 

It's great that I can finally wear this dress and feel confident, thin and sexy in it. Spanx (my new best friend) is a must for me with this dress as it really pulls everything in for a slim, smooth fit. I wear the Power Shaper in nude which can be purchased here from Amazon. I am 5'7 and the skirt of this Julia falls right at my knee line. If I ever had a night to go hit the bars and have some lemon drop martinis with the girls, this would be the outfit! 

However, this dress also exudes class and elegance. When it came time to select a beautiful and flattering dress yet not too dressy for our family portraits, I immediately selected a dark blue Julia dress, which I am wearing with a gray Lindsay cardigan.

For sizing, the Julia runs small. My true size is a 2XL and this is a 3XL. The arms are fitted just like a Nicole dress and an Ana dress if you have ever tried those on. As you can see in the photographs, I have swimmer arms from high school, a large bust from having a child, and I'm clearly plus-size with my problem area being my tummy area. If you are the same, you might want to size up. Trying the dress on in person at a multi-consultant sale or at an in-home pop-up is the best way to determine if this dress is for you (which it is likely is) and what size looks the most flattering.

2XL over 3XL sleeve

If you are buying this untried (and I commend you for being that brave if you are!), I might suggest that you pull out a sweater or a long-sleeved shirt that you are comfortable with between the elbow and the shoulder and measure the height of it. Then, ask the consultant you are buying from do the same thing with the size that you are considering. The booty area and width of the skirt doesn't seem to be an issue for me at all, so I would say that this is true to size. There is a difference between the sleeve width on the 2XL and the 3XL, so if you are a 2XL but would like a little more room in the arms, size up. 

So channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw or Samantha Baker and go out in search of YOUR LBD! Black Julias are not easy to find, but they are out there, and if not, maybe you'll find a pattern or another sexy color or print that really speaks to you! I own Julias in a number of solid colors, but I also love them in prints, with my favorite one being a jeweled-toned print with black scrollwork running through it. Striped ones are also very flattering and cute, and baseball Julias, worn as a shirt or as a dress, are sporty and fun. Julias are available in so many colors, so many prints, florals, geometrics, stripes, baseball styles....there is truly something out there for everyone.  And Julia dresses are great for layering with a lace Joy vest, a Lindsay kimono, a Monroe kimono, whatever you like!

Peacock Print Julia

Jewel-tone print Julia

Brown and red geometric Julia
with red lace Joy vest

The majority of the fabrics that I have seen the Julia made in is the standard Lularoe poly-blend of 96% polyester and 4% spandex, but there are some very soft silky dresses made of 76% rayon, 19% polyester and 5% spandex which drape beautifully. I own two baseball Julias and they are a blend of polyester, rayon, cotton and spandex. The Elegance line released by Lularoe in 2016 did make the Julia dress in a variety of sparkle and glitter dresses that are absolutely gorgeous and still available for purchase if you are lucky enough to find one that didn't sell during the holiday season. Once you find one that seems to be "your fabric", you might just make a note of that and search for other Julias that are the same blend. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Julia dress is $45.00. 

If there are any questions about the Julia dress, please post them below. Make it a great Lularoe day!