Sartorial Saturday–A Diamond of a Dress

When it comes to Miss Candyfloss, there are two styles of dress that stand out as my absolute favorites. One has a v-neck with a gathered bust and buttons all the way down the front, and the other has a square neck with a row of asymmetrical buttons down the bodice. I have several of each style in my wardrobe in various colors/patterns/sleeve lengths. The Fabrizia-Kat swing dress is the latter style, and it is my most-anticipated item from this year’s “Exquisite” collection!

I love the color of this dress…it’s a gorgeous shade of teal. And the polka dots on the skirt and cuffs are actually tiny little squares, which is such a fun twist on a familiar pattern!

I choose pink accessories to contrast with the dress, including a fuzzy bucket hat, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, and an Erstwilder Christmas tree brooch:

It’s such a pretty look for the approach of winter!

Maybe it’s my imagination, or maybe it’s just the lovely fabric, but the skirt of this dress feels fuller than some of my others, and as someone who judges a skirt by its twirl, that makes me very happy!

And like all the best dresses, it has pockets!

The wait for this gem was long, but she was worth it!

Sartorial Saturday–Courtesy of Miss Candyfloss

Back in October, I entered a Miss Candyfloss giveaway on Instagram. I enter a lot of those giveaways, though, so I didn’t think any more about it. You can imagine my surprise and excitement when, on Moose’s birthday, they notified me that I was the winner of the Morie-Abalone dress, plus a hat from Mein Wunderbarer Hutsalon!

This was extra exciting for me because I had originally considered buying this dress, but when I narrowed my wishlist down, it got cut. I can’t believe it’s mine after all!

Here’s a closer look at the lovely wool felt hat…I’m ecstatic that I now own a hat from an actual hat shop!!!

In addition to the hat, I accessorized with an Erstwilder brooch and a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles:

The bodice of the dress is fully lined, which is nice because wool can be kind of scratchy.

Here’s a closer look at the lovely cuff detail on the sleeve:

Between the warm fabric and the full-length sleeves, this is the perfect dress for late autumn/winter!

I’m beyond thrilled that I won something that I wanted to add to my wardrobe in the first place!

Sartorial Saturday–The Double Collar Dress

Time to take a look at a dress in a rather unexpected color for autumn…the lovely Xanthe-Mai double collar swing dress in shades of wine and pink:

This dress looks very similar in style to the Minerva-Lee double collared blazer and the Cressida-Lee swing skirt, with the added bonus of being a single, easy-to-wear piece!

The Xanthe-Mai, like the Minerva-Lee blazer, has an absolutely stunning double collar in contrasting shades that I love:

The contrasting colors also appear on other bodice details, including the buttons, as well as the included belt:

I accessorized with a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, an Erstwilder brooch, and the very first hat I added to my wardrobe many years ago:

I also added my black lace gloves and a statement ring:

I love that this looks like a skirt suit!

Miss Candyfloss does peplums exceedingly well, whether on a jacket, or on a dress that looks like a jacket and skirt:

This is bright and cheerful look for fall!

I recently won a Miss Candyfloss Instagram giveaway, and I can’t wait to share that look, too!

Sartorial Saturday–Falling for Gingko

Today I’m taking a look at a Miss Candyfloss dress that’s very different from my usual style…the Kelly-Tara stretch dress in shades of blue with a stunning gingko leaf print!

I had to wear my Erstwilder gingko leaves brooch (of course!), and that set the tone for the rest of my accessories, including a stack of Splendette duchess bangles and a green belt that I really wish I had just left off because it kept slipping…live and learn!

My plan was to photograph this dress by my favorite gingko tree in town once its leaves turned that beautiful, buttery, gingko yellow and started carpeting the ground. But I’m not sure it’s going to happen this year (they’re predicting sparse fall color and the leaves aren’t looking so good), so I just went ahead and took the pictures while the leaves were still green. It’s the thought that counts, right?

As I mentioned, this dress is very different for me. It’s soft and stretchy, with no zippers or buttons at all. The skirt is also a bit more narrow than my usual twirly styles. But it’s lovely and easy to wear…kind of like a sundress for the cooler months!

I love how soft the material is!

This is going to be a dress that’s going to get a lot of wear!

I’m glad I tried something different…it’s fun to add a new style to my rotation!

Sartorial Saturday–Mad About Plaid

Can you believe the Heidi-Abalone tartan swing dress from Miss Candyfloss wasn’t originally on my “must buy” list this season?!? But one day when I was flipping through the lookbook, I realized that it’s basically the same style as what has become my favorite style of dress for summer, just with longer sleeves. So I combed through my wishlist to decided what was going to get the axe so I could add this lovely dress to my wardrobe!

There are some beautiful and unexpected colors in the dress (I love the teal and red!), and I can’t wait to accessorize based on some of those, but to start, I went with basic black and grey with my Erstwilder brooch, Splendette stack of Duchess Bangles, and hat and gloves:

The dress has lovely puff sleeves, which I’m especially enjoying since Chickadee and I are reading Anne of Green Gables right now!

Tartan is such a pretty pattern for autumn!

The skirt has a fabulous twirl!

This is the perfect fall dress!

This “Exquisite” collection has just been flying by, but I still have a few more pieces I’m looking forward to sharing!

A Very Exciting Day

Yesterday was a Very Exciting Day, because Rene Knott, morning news anchor on KSDK in St. Louis (along with cameraman Joe, who was very nice and made me feel quite at ease about wearing a mic and having a camera on me), came to our house to do a story on one of my favorite topics…fashion!

There was much preparation for the event…I was up at 5:15 to make sure everything was just right. It gave me a good excuse to wear a dressing gown, though!

I got to choose several outfits to feature, and I had a fun time planning the accessories and laying everything out so it was ready to go:

I’m not sure our den has been so clean since we first moved into the house!

I did a lot of work staging displays to reflect my personal style, focusing both on German-Austrian national dress/family heritage, as well as retro fashion:

I did the interview in the first dirndl I purchased from Rare Dirndl, and included some of my favorite dirndl accessories, plus my Docs:

I also modeled my favorite new outfit from Miss Candyfloss:

And a Miss Candyfloss piece from last year’s autumn/winter collection:

This was a dream come true for me…it’s quite an experience to discover that someone in the press finds something interesting enough about you to do a story on. While I was super nervous, it was also a lot of fun to get to talk about my heritage and fashion, and a great honor to meet Mr. Knott, who was just as great in person as you’d expect him to be from having watched him on the news! The story should air before the end of October, so, if you’ll excuse the expression, stay tuned! Until then, you may refer to me as “Local Celebrity Amanda Markel!”

Sartorial Saturday–Stripes and Tartan

Time for a look at another piece from the Miss Candyfloss “Exquisite” collection…the Ottilia-Sadie swing dress! It’s a beautiful style that looks like a suit. The bodice has my favorite row of asymmetrical buttons, but this time, they’re decorative, not functional. It has a lovely high collar and subtle stripes, which go really well with the tartan skirt and belt.

Because the colors are so neutral, you can accessorize with just about anything! This time, I went with my favorite camel hat, grey, cream, and burgundy Splendette Duchess Bangles, an Erstwilder brooch, and black gloves.

The skirt is lovely and full, perfect for twirling!

I’m really excited about wearing this dress in the cooler months…it’s versatile and so, so pretty!

Sartorial Saturday–Swinging the Blues

It’s time for a look at an outfit from the Miss Candyfloss “Exquisite” collection that I almost didn’t order…the Minerva-Lee double collared blazer and the Cressida-Lee swing skirt with buttons!

In general, I prefer wearing dresses to skirts, because dresses are so much easier (no worries about what top you’re going to pair with them), and you can worry a bit less about the fit (no fussy waistband as long as the rest of the garment fits). I had a dress that I was planning to order from Miss Candyfloss (the lovely Xanthe-Mai blazer dress if you were wondering), and I was really looking forward to it, and then I saw this beautiful skirt suit styled a few different ways, and I knew that I had to add it my wardrobe instead.

I accessorized with blue and white Splendette Duchess Bangles and a cute Erstwilder bird brooch, plus some lacy gloves and my favorite hat:

The jacket is the most gorgeous shade of blue! I love the double collar, and the contrasting cuffs and buttons.

One of the best features of the jacket, though, you only see from behind…it has the most elegant peplum!

I also love that the skirt buttons all the way down the front…I think that will provide some interesting styling opportunities next summer!

This look is so lovely…I’m glad I decided against my standard dress for once!

I’m looking forward to pairing the jacket with some of my dresses, and the skirt is going to be a great year-round piece that will go with so many things!

Sartorial Saturday–The Eponymous Dress

I’m very excited to share my first purchase from the new autumn/winter collection, Exquisite, from Miss Candyfloss, and the reason I am so excited about will be very obvious…it’s the lovely Amanda-Sunrise swing dress!

Yes, when I realized that one of the new dresses shares my name, I knew I had to add it to my wardrobe. But it’s not just tastefully named…it’s also the perfect dress for fall! The colors are warm and gorgeous, I love the tulip sleeves, and the skirt is wonderfully soft and cozy!

I accessorized with a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, an Erstwilder brooch, velvet gloves, and my favorite hat:

Everything about this look just screams autumn!!!

I’m looking forward to sharing a few other pieces from this collection that might not share my name, but certainly called it!

Sartorial Saturday–Where Spring Meets Autumn

I’m back with another look I created from pairing two pieces from two different Miss Candyfloss collections that I already had in my wardrobe. I picked one of my favorite spring dresses, the Amina-Regina, because it has so many lovely colors to work with, and topped it off with my Elke-Amber blazer, which is a perfect match for one of the shades found in the dress: