Day #4: Get Rhythm When You Get The Blues

Seriously, you would think that no one in Dallas had ever seen snow or ice before. But I digress. I teased my coworkers enough at the office for standing at the window watching our parking lot get covered in white yesterday. I know a lot of people were excited about the snow, and I know I should be too, but I guess in Dallas it's more of a hassle than pretty. But at least the city is preparing better.

Since it was going to be COOOOOOLD yesterday, I decided to take advantage and wear an Ana which I hardly ever get to wear! I know it looks purple in the photographs because of the flash, but it is actually a mix of navy blue and royal blue. I paired it with an Aztec-style turquoise and royal blue Lindsay and turquoise leggings. Accessories? Denim blue Skecher ballet flats (let's face it, after my shattered foot, I don't have a lot of options for footwear), an aqua agate faced Fossil watch with a stainless steel band, turquoise headband, blue topaz cocktail ring and a pair of turquoise and teal beaded earrings. As my coworker said, "look at you in all that blue!" If you picked my favorite colors dependent on what the predominant color is in my closet, blues and turquoise would be it. 

The Mimi was nice to have on with the cold in the morning. I didn't take a picture of me wearing it because I have a few pictures up already with me wearing it and the Mimi, really, doesn't look any different worn over different dresses. I wish I was all stylish and fashionist and wore it all scarfed and everything but I just like to wear mine poncho-style with the buttons in the front or pulled to the side so that the bottom hem of the Mimi drapes at an angle. I will be honest that it did not do a thing for me in the afternoon when I walked out at six pm when it was 23 degrees with a wind chill factor of 9 degrees, but fortunately my car warms up fast, and once the heat was going, the Mimi kept me snug as a bug in a rug. 

The Ana dress is a fantastic dress and if you know your Nicole size, this is the same as the dresses are identical, it's just a longer skirt that doesn't twirl. However, as you can see, it is rather clingy. I didn't wear a Spanx under mine since I was wearing leggings and you can tell for sure!

Wearing leggings under an Ana is something that a lot of people don't think about doing because it's such a long, formal dress, but I have done it now on two occasions and no one has noticed my leggings either time. Both times that I did it, it was on really cold nights and I don't think I would have been warm enough either way. The Ana is a fantastic dress and I am so excited to get to wear the ones that I have this winter with leggings as an accompaniment. For this dress, the blue is so vibrant and vivid and beautiful, it is perfect for winter, and the Lindsay that I selected is in a combination of so many shades of blues and turquoise that it was the perfect compliment to this perfect dress. And the flash of turquoise as the skirt of the Ana swished matched the Lindsay. 

The Lindsay, a hard to find one, is available in S for purchase from Deborah Shute. She also has the turquoise leggings in OS and TC.

Make it a great Lula day and stay warm!

The Randy Baseball Tee: Batter Up!

Batter up, Lularoers! One of the most popular tees in the Lularoe shirt lineup is the Randy baseball tee, which ranges in size from XXS to 3XL. It is a fitted bodice with three-quarter sleeves. Most of the shirts either have a patterned shirt and solid sleeves or solid shirt and patterned sleeves or dual colors, but there is always some differential between the sleeves and the shirt part, just like on a regular baseball jersey.

The Randy is an adorable darling little baseball t-shirt that can be worn with so many things. It can be worn with skirts, shorts, jeans, capris...really just about anything you want. I have seen them on girls and women of all ages and shapes and they are truly too cute for words! My favorite ones are the ones that have the floral shirts and solid sleeves as I just think that's such a feminine touch on a sporty fun style. It's like seeing a little girl play softball with a pink baseball glove! 

I will be honest that this is not my favorite Lularoe shirt; in fact, I don't even own one. My daughter owns four. It is a very fitted style and the abdomen is cut straight with no curves or flares or anything. In other words, if you are like me with a straight hourglass figure and some pounds to shed, this is probably not going to be your best friend. Every woman that I have ever been with that has purchased a Randy tee has sized up two sizes since they run smaller than the true size. My daughter is a perfect example. She is eleven years old and is five feet tall. In a Carly, she wears an XXS, but in a Randy? A clear small. 

I will add here also that by the time I discovered Lularoe, my daughter was already ten and too big for any of the kids' clothes that Lularoe carries, BUT the Sloan tee shirt is the kids and tween version of the adult Randy. Her best friend is modeling it with tween leggings, and as you can see from the big smile on her face, she's very happy with her Sloan and leggings!

I have some pictures of me in the Randy. When I first discovered Lularoe, I refused to accept that I could not wear this shirt well and bought two shirts in florals, which were promptly exchanged. This shirt is just not flattering on me at all. My bust is too big and the bottom is too clingy around the stomach area for my preference. The photographs in the red floral and the yellow floral selfie were both taken in August, and since then, I have lost weight. When I took the new picture in the dark blue butterfly Randy, I was wearing it with a Spanx shaper, and yes, it does look better, but not enough for me to invest in this style as part of my wardrobe. 

However, I took a new picture at a consultant's house in a butterfly Randy (I love butterflies) to show that it is possible for it to look better after I lost weight. The floral one with the red was me in August, and the butterfly one was me 35 lbs lighter wearing a Spanx i November. 

The skirt that I think they look the best with is the Cassie, left untucked and casual, but you can honestly wear them with anything. My daughter is featured wearing her Randys with leggings and since I don't have a lot of Randy pictures to share, one of my readers Katy graciously gave me permission to use her Randy collage and pictures in my blog to share.

 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Randy baseball tee is $35.00.

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

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!