A Floral Minidress for Spring
At the beginning of each new season, I love doing a closet refresh and donating or selling pieces I haven’t worn and making room for new seasonal items that I’ll get more use out of. To me, there’s nothing more satisfying than getting rid of clothes that I haven’t worn in over a year with the hope that someone else will breathe new life into them. Spring is by far my favorite season to shop for. Something about the first signs of warmer weather on the horizon is so inspiring to me, and it makes me so excited for lighter weight fabrics, crisp colors and relaxed silhouettes to freshen up my wardrobe. Even though spring is still a couple of weeks away, we’re always trending ahead of schedule here in Phoenix. We also have warm (read: scalding hot) weather for the better part of the year, so springtime is when I usually stock up on some new pieces that I know I’ll be wearing for at least the next 6 months.
If you read my leopard dress post last week, then you’ll know I was so excited to re-discover the Dutch clothing brand, Scotch & Soda. I love that they’re all about shaking up the status quo by putting little twists on classic silhouettes. A couple of weeks ago when Freddy and I went to our local Nordstrom to pick up his alterations, I was surprised and delighted to find that they recently started carrying the brand in-store! It didn’t take my very long (2.5 seconds) to find yet another dress that I had to try on! What can I say? The ruffles and flutter sleeves had me at hello. As soon as I slipped it on I wanted to be transported back to Florida ASAP, and that’s when I realized that this felt like the perfect spring dress to add to my closet.
When I’m out shopping and trying things on, I often think about the instructions Marie Kondo gives her clients when it comes to purging their stuff: “Does it spark joy?” I ask myself that question, because I know that if the answer isn’t an immediate “YES!” then it’s a definite “no” and I have to walk away. Putting on this dress took me back to our Florida adventures and made me smile thinking about our walks along the beach in the warm sunshine. It reinforced my desire to travel and explore new places. It’s crazy that sometimes a piece of clothing can have that kind of effect on us, but I find that when I buy things that I have an emotional connection to, I’m more likely to wear them and cherish them for years to come.
A straw bag felt like the perfect accessory to compliment this dress for the warm-weather months, and I had been wanting this Mini St. Tropez tote by Kayu for so long! Literally for the past 2 years I’ve been saying, “I want a straw bag this year!”. Well, I finally did it! I love the detail of the yarn-wrapped handles and the raffia pompoms, and the size is perfect to hold my essentials: phone, wallet, keys & lipstick. I eventually want to get it in the larger size too, but I need to pump the breaks a little bit because I could easily see myself becoming straw bag obsessed! I’m so excited to take this dress and little straw tote on many adventures this spring and summer, and I’m thankful that you’re coming along for the ride too!