Hi everyone! Welcome to the very first Wednesday style note, where I’ll be sharing everything from the objects that shape my home to the clothes that shape my days. Just one item, one outfit, or one theme, each week.
This first note is all about my red book launch dress, and all the times I’ve worn it since.
I believe the things we own can be catalysts for self-expression, whether in the things we buy or how we restrain ourselves from over-buying. As I wrote in my memoir, there was a time when I lost my sense of style and, with it, a part of myself. The Wednesday style note is all about reclaiming that.
When I first saw the red Dôen Belline gingham dress with bow-ties and its perfect 4” inset waistband this summer, I thought to myself, “That’s a really pretty dress, but I don’t need it.”
It wasn’t until I was a week and a half out from launching my book that I realized I needed an outfit, and that red dress had to be it.
It was such a magical evening, and it was only after seeing the photos that I realized The Strand’s iconic logo was the same shade as my dress!
I am a big lover of Dôen dresses; they’re incredibly well-made, and their California-meets-East-Coast-romantic visions pull at both my heartstrings; I love and have lived in both places.
Though they are admittedly on the pricier side, my philosophy is that I’d rather own a handful of high-quality dresses I truly love than a closet full of bargains I never reach for. Currently, I have five Dôen dresses, and they are the majority of what I wear in the summer months.
In the last month of owning the dress, I’ve returned to wearing it again and again:
1. In my parents’ bathroom:
2. Jack and I venue hunting/celebrating our engagement in Connecticut:
3. A rehearsal dinner outfit with a linen Eileen Fisher Renew shawl I picked up at the Manchester outlets in Vermont:
4. Picnicking with a friend in Brooklyn last week as the temps dipped below 60°F:
5. And finally, remembering book launch night with my vintage Manolo kitten heels and freshly blow-dried hair from Kara Browning.
Here’s to wearing what you love, even if it shows up in every photo album for a while. Wear the clothes you buy, wear the clothes you love. You won’t regret it! I’ll see you on Friday for my first ritual note on tongue scraping. Can’t wait…
The dress is super cute but also that shawl! 😍