We love a banded-bottom dress. The way they show off just-bronzed legs while camouflaging troublesome hips or adding curves to a lanky frame is simply divine. Luckily there are several options this season for your next dress fix -- Bloomingdale's presents a pullover version with a surplice neckline in enchanting lilac and chic black for $58. Over on Amazon you can pick up a XOXO number with bold flower print (pictured) on sale for $40.80. And fuller figures can rejoice in their curves with Lane Bryant's black double-v-neck fierceness for $59.50. Le sigh.

Pair your dress with flip-flops for afternoon window shopping, with a cute cardigan and ballet flats for work, or with anything from sexy booties to strappy sky-high stilettos for evening. With infinite wearability and flawless versatility, the banded-bottom dress can truly do no wrong.

We bought the pale gold Willa strappy sandal at Target ($13.99) on a whim one day and they have proven themselves to be the best sandals we've bought in a long while -- perhaps ever.

Never since our tweenage obsession with Jellies have we ever been so enamored of a pair of shoes, and we shed our flip-flops only for them. We love wearing them with our dark-denim shorts and a white blazer, or with a black dress and a long gold necklace. The soles are deceptively soft and padded, the straps don't slip or cut into your feet, and even an unexpected summer shower could not make our feet slide around inside them. We are urban warriors, and they are our chariots. The Willa sandal is a truly great summer shoe.

We all have The One That Got Away. That one piece that, if only you'd had the cash on hand, if only you'd bugged your mom a little more, if only your Visa wasn't maxed out, would have made your wardrobe -- nay, your life -- complete. Ours was a swimsuit we found at Goody's (!!!) in the 7th grade. That is, until we went to Urban Outfitters one fateful day a couple years ago and stumbled on a tiny watch on a long silver chain, like a miniature stopwatch, with a blue and pink cloisonne top. Suddenly, we were in love.

We love funky necklaces here at Styledash, but the Charming Tiny Clock necklace available on Urban's website for $28 is probably the closest reincarnation to that cloisonne miracle.....at least, that we can afford. (We're looking at you, Marc Jacobs.) Here's hoping this one doesn't get away from us before we can save our poor-kid pennies for it.

We must admit, earlier this season Old Navy came out with a line of swimwear that left us a little puzzled, a little blase. Strangely unsupportive one-pieces, standard-issue boring teeny-bikinis. But they did hit on a great idea- metallics! And lo, their Spotlight Collection was born.

The best part of metallics is that they can be dressed up for evening or incorporated into an otherwise demure outfit for a touch of daytime sparkle. Old Navy does a good job of offering both matte and shiny metallic options-matte sequins can be used in place of a netural- pair this gold tank ($29.50) with a white blazer and capris or this silver and black dress($39.50) with a bright shoe in a red, white or neon.

The collection also includes options in the same tones, minus sequins. Try this colorblock tank dress in misses and womens' sizes for $34.50 and $39.50 respectively.

The Old Navy Spotlight Collection provides fun, flirty ways to integrate sparkle and sheen into your wardobe for summer! Check it out!

From time to time we at Styledash will cover items and topics that seem only tangentially related to fashion -- from a schlumpy anti-fashion celebrity to kitchen supplies, and it might be cause for confusion -- why spend the space on a fashion blog to talk about seemingly non-fashion things?

We understand how this is perplexing because not only is this blog called "Styledash", which implies a commitment to fashion coverage and therefore unsurprising dealings in fashion commentary, but the idea of a "fashion thing" vs. a non-"fashion thing" is peculiar. We're not sure that there's a dichotomy at all, really -- in fact we are pretty certain that every thing, to an extent, is a fashion thing.

Continue reading “Everything is a fashion thing”

Something we've noticed lately is the sudden prevalence of relatively inexpensive wedding dresses on the Internet. It started with Lane Bryant's now-dwindling Bridal collection of dresses and separates, all priced at around $150 initially and now on sale for about fifty bucks a pop. Then we noticed that David's Bridal has an online gown collection with dresses for all sizes priced under $250. Now Torrid has a few new wedding options for the curvy bride, all priced under $250.

Sounds great, right?

Continue reading “Budget brides can buy gowns online”

In light of the Talbot's overhaul, they might want to turn to fellow women's retailer Chadwick's for inspiration. Their clothes are tasteful without being matronly, youthful without being too young, and classic without being boring.

We first encountered Chadwick's on our hunt for a pair of heeled oxfords (we were going through our menswear phase then) and have been keeping up with their collections ever since. It's important for a girl to have a go-to source for a nice dress appropriate for Easter/meeting the parents/ sorority tea/your cousin's wedding, especially bigger girls because we know, WE KNOW how depressing it is to be offered long, shapeless dresses with ridiculously large flowers again and again like so many floral pup tents. Check out the gallery of our favorite selections from the most recent catalog.

Hey! Remember that one time Diddy made a t-shirt about the 2004 election? And it had a witty catchphrase on it? Boy, I sure do!

Well, the man, the myth, nay -- THE LEGEND has come up with a brand new shirt (using, oddly enough, the same font) with a brand new catchphrase!

Ladies and Gentlemen.....No Bitchassness. Say it loud and proud -- you are bitchassness free! You will have none! If you see bitchassness in the street, you will let it lie.

Other possible suggestions for Diddy t-shirt catchphrases:

• Vote or Be Bitchassed
• I am against your penchant for bitchassness
  
• Please refrain from either bitching or assing
• Bitchass says RELAX!

I'm surprised, with the nascence of his two young daughters, that this slogan isn't available on a romper.

I'm not even sure what this means. Besides Diddy having entirely too much money to blow on t-shirt manufacturing, obviously. But really, when you get down to it, my only question is....why don't I have this shirt!?

In honor of March Madness, Styledash blogger Lauren Perdue is bringing you the scoop on what really matters in this year's tournament -- fashion. We know two of the teams we're featuring today technically lost last night, and are no longer in the tournament, but this isn't a sports blog, so we prefer not to bother ourselves with these sorts of trivial details.

Ah, Xavier University. For the longest time I thought you were just a men's school based on the complete lack of Musketeer swag for ladies, but after a bit of research I see that 52% of your incoming freshmen this year was women. So let's find them something cute to wear before they die of polo-induced boredom, shall we?

If you're feeling subtly whimsical, a tie ($72) can double as a belt or a headband. But if you're feeling a but more low-key, Target has a cute little shirt with banded sleeves for $9.09, and this drawstring-detail top by Rebecca Beeson is available via Bluefly.com for $40.

If you're feeling a bit fancy this Max & Cleo jersey dress in that lovely Xavier blue is for you (Nordstrom, $98). And how could you go wrong with denim? This halter look from Torrid ($68) is a real showstopper. Get the game called on account of fierceness and goooooooo Musketeers!