how to buy online dresses

i love weekends! needless to say, after a week of work and school, there is NOTHING better than snuggling up to my husband and sleeping in until noon on saturdays. unfortunately, i am evidently unable to sleep in. i woke up at SIX FIFTEEN on saturday, ready to jump out of bed and wide awake. what a letdown. i forced myself to sleep in until .... EIGHT. yippee. i never thought it would happen...but i think work has made me a morning person. terrible i know.

husband and i lazed around most of saturday, prepping for this coming week and resting up after being a little under the weather all week. Sunday brought church, lunch with new friends, and i spent the latter half of the day shopping with addi. this week brings a packed work week, but im excited that we will be headed up to Portland on the 4th of February, to see my bestie Liz and my sister Sarah. We will also be watching three of my favorite people in the whole wide world on Saturday night, so my sister can get a date with her hubby. I am happy my sis gets a date night, but actually am secretly just happy to snuggle with my niece and nephews ;-)

i ordered this cute blue dress the other day, finally using some of the gift cards I have had in my purse. i like the pretty ruffles and it's spring-blue color.



Some people have asked me where I get my clothes, so here are my top favorites:

MODCLOTH: This site, while spendy for dresses, has beautiful, longer length and vintage style dresses. I am currently drooling over this incredible french inspired piece:




ANTHROPOLOGIE: Ah...sweet anthropologie! These dresses are on the high end, but they are LOVELY and high quality. I am loving this songbird covered navy blue dress with its mint sash.



SHOPRUCHE: This site has pretty, romantic pieces, but is of much lesser quality of the other sites. It is on the lowest end of my favorite sites, but occasionally I can find a dress I like that is a great brand.

LULUS.com is my fallback. It has tons of pretty dresses, but beware the SHORT LENGTHS! I am 5'2" and I must purchase dresses at least 34" long from shoulder to hem. Anything shorter cannot be worn even with tights or leggings, because it pretty much resembles a shirt. I prefer around 35-36.5 inches which hits just above my knee.

Okay lots of my friends have asked how I can purchase dresses and know they will fit. Here are my KEYS TO BUYING ONLINE:

1) RESEARCH THE BRANDS. Sites have size charts but they carry different brands. This means their size chart is an average of their brands. If the site lists the brand, go to the BRAND WEBSITE and read the size chart. Often it will be much different. For example, on lulus.com, they sell many Tulle dresses. On the Tulle site, the size chart shows me I can't fit into any of them because they are too big. On the lulus.com site it makes it look like I can wear an XS.

2) KNOW YOUR ACTUAL SIZE. It doesnt matter if you are normally a 2, chances are you won't be one online. Take your measurements, and take them where they actually are! Your waist is NOT where you wear your pants. It is your natural waist, above your belly button. Your hip and bust measurements need to be taken at specific places, or you will always get the wrong size.

3)CHECK RETURN POLICIES. No matter how good you get at this, you will sometimes get a loser. A coat came to me the complete wrong size, and I had to send it back. Make sure its returnable.

4)KNOW WHAT WORKS. I know that I need dresses that taper in at the waist and have snug underarm fits. Anything with ruffles works for me, as well as high waisted belted dresses. I know that shirt dresses will always look funny, and they anything "loose" in the bodice will swallow me whole. Learn what works for you and stick with that.