Seersucker for fall? Yes, you can!

Hey there!! Yup, it's me up under the hat and glasses. You haven't seen me in full fall regalia before, all decked out in a scarf, hat, and boots, but ta-da, here I am! Truly, I run a little bit on the warm side so hats don't last long on my hot head. But I couldn't resist showing you how cute this little seersucker dress from Tartan Lane looks when it is accessorized for fall! 

Didn't the summer pass by in just a blink? Are you emotionally ready for fall? For football, chili, raking leaves, and pumpkin spice lattes? I AM. Though I have a confession to make: I love Southern Tier Pumking beer waaaaay more than a PSL, as un-fall of me as that may sound. I do, however, love pumpkin bars and Paula Deen's gooey pumpkin butter cake. And gingerbread. And spice cake. Mmm. Good stuff!  

Have I got you thinking about fall treats now? You may have noticed that I have a bit of a sweet tooth based on my frequent trips to Melt, and while I'm sad to leave behind summertime ice cream cones (they are good any time of year, and they are best in the summer!), I am happy to herald in the fall, especially since I don't have to forego this cute little dress for a long time to come.  

Yep, this little dress lives to see another six weeks of wear because the off the shoulder trend that we have been crushing on all summer continues into fall and winter, and embroidery is exploding as the season's hottest trend. I sure hope you love it because you cannot escape it (and why would you want to??)! ;) I'm a big fan of embroidery when it is in beautiful jewel tones like the deep pink and jade green of this dress. There's also navy and a bronzey-colored thread in the design, which looks great with tobacco brown boots. And the embroidery is on the sleeves, and well, the phrase "statement sleeves" is about to become your new drinking game buzzword, right behind "open floor plan," "travertine," and "shiplap" for you HGTV fans. TANGENT: I know *they* say that shiplap is over. To which I reply:

#longliveshiplap #cheers #wherewasI

Drinking games aside, this little dress, despite its summertime seersucker fabric, is a perfect way to transition into fall. It will avoid being packed away until I see frost on the ground!  

An affordable little number at $36, this dress, and all other Tartan Lane items, will be TAX FREE this weekend when you shop! 

The dress comes in khaki or blue. Both are actually good for fall because the blue is a dark almost denim color, not royal blue like my embroidered top I posted earlier this season.  

This look is so festival. Heck, you can even hayride in it. 

Here's the BLUE and some close-ups pf the dress that I took before I shed my long locks. 

I spy with my little eye a hint of dimpling. #keepingitreal #dimplesarecute  

As far as sizing goes, this dress is available in S, M, L. I'm wearing the medium and I am a 6 or 8 petite.  This one is actually a little roomy on me in the body. You'll see in a photo from the side that I have a little extra fabric happening, BUT I haven't washed it yet. Seersucker is a cotton fabric so one good tumble in the dryer on high heat and I think the fit will be perfect. A small would be too snug in the shoulders and arms because of the elastic banding that keeps this dress in place.

Here's a little glimpse of the extra room in the back. I feel sure one wash and dry will resolve that. Cotton is known to shrink so better to start a little too roomy than too small.

This hot pink stone necklace on a black suede cord goes beautifully with the flowers on the sleeves. I found it at Style Encore for $3 or $5, I forget which. I think $3. They have others. Recently I saw it there in green which would probably go nicely with the dress too.

One of the major trends sticking around for fall is tassel necklaces. All things with fringe and tassels are in, and Tartan Lane has some really beautiful necklaces that are mineral and gemstone beads with soft fabric tassels. Add a little fringe anywhere you can; you'll see it on earrings, necklaces, purses, boots, and all manner of clothing.

This dress would also be pretty cute with those little lace boot toppers or with a frilly slip underneath, you know, the kind that intentionally pokes out so you can see the cute ruffles?  Shop one HERE that's super adorable. This fall, styles are going to get romantic and a bit folksy, so this dress extender will get plenty of wear. The one I linked to will also give you some added detail and a little bit of modesty at the neckline underneath low-cut dresses.

Don't you know my sweet mini Iris tagged along on the shoot. We worked really fast and she kept herself entertained with her sippy cup, Cheerios, and some dancing. She also made friends with some cute little girls who were on vacation. 

Everyone got a little hot and sweaty, and I got a LOT hot and sweaty in my scarf and hat. Though I'm no supermodel, I now feel like I better understand the tough working conditions that models go through, wearing coats in July and bikinis in December. The ensemble is adorable, just save the blanket scarf until later on in the season, unless you're going for the sleek sauna suit look? 

I left a trail of clothes across the courtyard of House of Blues, much like I did at home in my teenage years, but ahh, how nice it was to dream of fall and how much nicer to unzip my boots and trade them in for peep toe wedges for a look that works right this very minute, while I countdown the days until temps crest at 75 degrees. By the way, don't you think fall needs its own groundhog, some autumnal mascot to predict whether we will have six more weeks of blistering heat or whether we'll snap our fingers and be in the land of Sweater Weather? Who would we nominate to such an important position? I've heard that yellow butterflies come out at the end of summer so maybe if the butterfly lands on a shrub and doesn't get eaten by a rabid wolf, then it means fall officially starts right now? Yes, I think so! Pass the petition!

While Iris wishes she was on the tourist family's vacation instead of on my lap, I'm sitting pretty with a classic LOFT jean jacket, my Nine West peep toe wedges, and the new fall City Chic Tote in peacock pebbled leather from Thirty-One Gifts. I know you've probably seen my navy and straw monogrammed purse that I've carried all summer. This is its fall-ter ego, the Goldilocks-size bag, perfect for carrying every day.  I don't even bother with a diaper bag anymore. This purse holds my essentials plus a container of Puffs, two diapers, a small pack of wipes, and a few small toys for Iris. There's even room for a bottle of water. It zips shut and has interior pockets AND, new for fall, it has an exterior pouch for your cell phone, which I love for fast grabs. Iris does some cute and often funny stuff on her own schedule and I love snagging my phone lickety-split to capture her shenanigans. You can find the bag HERE

This dress has really neat broomstick fraying on the sleeves and hem. It's very soft and gives you a hint of fringe that you can echo in your accessories.

This dress also gets high marks for being nursing friendly. If you're a breastfeeding mom, you'll love it! If you are looking for a fantastic strapless bra to wear under off the shoulder necklines, I highly recommend this one, which I am wearing under the dress in these photos.

Man, Iris is captivated by these vacation-kid! She's got major FOMO here. That or she's practicing her "Mom, you're embarrassing me" face. Funny how that works that once you have kids, you feel a little more comfortable being goofy and free, right when the little ones are trying to protect their cool images. ;) God's sense of humor is awesome.

While I goof off, let me add that I love the length on this dress. As a petite, it isn't too long for me. If you're very tall, go ahead and get the dress extender I linked above for a flirty flounce and some extra length, unless you're embracing the fall "no pants" trend. I'm not kidding. Madame Nicole Kidman was on the cover of InStyle without any britches on, and an article in the mag said fall is all about the long top, sweater or micro dress sans pants. So, um, don't put away your razor just yet. ;)

Get on over to Tartan Lane and scoop up this fab, affordable frock! You can wear it right now and you can wear it all of fall. To order this dress for yourself, shoot the fabulous Jackie Blevin a message HERE. 

Oooh, I just saw a yellow butterfly go by...

You Gotta Have Friends... and the perfect top!

I've been writing since I was a kid and writing about fashion through various publications for years now. But when it comes to hosting my own online presence, I'm still the new kid on the blog.

God has brought some of the coolest, kindest, sharpest people into my network. These talented souls impart wisdom, treat my opinion with the same respect as more seasoned bloggers, and entertain my endless list of questions ranging from big picture musings to technical ins-and-outs to absolute minutiae.

They also encourage me, which I have to say I value SO much in this uncertain time as I take my first unsteady baby steps as a style and mom blogger. Their encouragement helps me gain confidence in my abilities, and my friends prove time and again that they are always there to share the good that they see and help me navigate unfamiliar territory.

...And, they also take pictures of me, bless 'em!

Pretty soon I hope to set myself up with a tripod and a remote so I can gain some independence with my blog-tography, but oh, how grateful I am for Tonya, Josh, and Hatton for snapping pictures of me in this summer heat. Because it isn't just snapping a picture. It's a bunch of pictures. Artfully please. And on my good side, if you don't mind.

As a person who hates to bother or impose on people for help, I have sure learned interdependence and humility in this new season of life as a blogger.

Tonight was a great night spent with my blogger friends Lauren James of  The Olive Shoe and Hatton Gravely of  Fresh Mom, both bloggers and creatives who have been an inspiration to me, especially in the last six months.

Lauren, a fellow Socastee Brave, is a Jill of all creative trades and specializes in custom invitations, stationery and gifts, and creative consulting services. Just a few months ago, Lauren with the wiggle of her nose, rearranged the clouds in the sky so I could see the light of a vision for my blogger life that I hadn't been able to see just moments before. She's good at that.

And Hatton, who I thankfully inherited as a friend by way of our husbands, gave me all the technical details, motivation, and emotional support that I needed to get my blog off the ground. Hatton is deeply funny, no-nonsense, and highly empathetic. She's the friend who gets mad for you when injustice has been served. Her blog is peppered with useful mom/family/kids/style content that gets right down to the meat and potatoes because she gets busy working moms.  

These ladies are some of the best people to know, and I had the joy of introducing them to each other when I heard that they were both going to attend the Blog Her conference in Orlando. Turns out, Lauren's mom and Hatton's mom-in-law attend the same book club that's been happening for 30 years! Lauren and Hatton's lives were destined to intersect, and our meet-up today to share the latest in our blog-spiration sounded like convo between lifelong friends... who all just happen to be bloggers. You know you're in the presence of your tribe when conversation is constructive and to the point, when implications and nuances are understood without need of framing or backstory.
   

On the way to our Power Hour, I snapped this selfie, excited to show off my new top from my fashion entrepreneur friend Jackie at  Tartan Lane, and asked Hatton if she minded taking a "quick picture" of me to post. You'll see from the shots below that she of course went well beyond the casual cell phone picture, and in the span of 90-seconds, captured some pretty late day light on Howard Ave with her favorite camera. 

A busy day of errands and working on baby shower planning (for my sister in law) meant that time ran short for me to wash my hair, so I donned a lemon-print silk scarf to cover my dirty strands. Josh called it my "little 70s hat," which tickled me. As I wrote this, I looked up head scarves and discovered that each decade has its own spin (and tutorial) on how to tie a scarf. Probably because hair-washing takes time, as we all know, and well, I spent my time today at Hobby Lobby instead of lather-rinse-repeating. ;) Seeing how every decade has adopted the head scarf trend gave me added confidence that yes, we can and should embrace head scarves more. I can see where a lot of us might find the look a smidge intimidating but how can you resist the allure of extending the life of your blowout and adding more color or pattern to your look?    

I didn't even realize that Hatton was snapping pictures because she worked so quickly, plus I was completely distracted by the horse-drawn carriage that was klop-klopping down the street. It gave our beachy town a nice upscale feel, even as it rolled past the sound of Team Trivia kicking off.   

For the evening to have been really muggy, I stayed comfortable in my air-conditioned top. The embroidered floral shoulders are such a romantic and beautiful detail but also a practical one since it makes for a well-ventilated top! The blue striped fabric (comes in pink stripes too) is really lightweight. Thin but not immodest. 

  

The streamer detail on the sleeves is not only cute but provides yet another option to let the heat escape your body. And let's state the obvious: the streamers make you feel like you did as a girl when your bicycle handles fluttered in the breeze. I totally let my streamers fly in the arctic blast of air conditioning as I drove home. 

Also, here's my Tartan Lane scalloped clutch. The initials might be my monogram or they might stand for Sara Wise Style. ;) The clutch comes in white, gold, red, and green. $18 plain, $25 monogrammed. My friend Diane Dale recently won a clutch in the giveaway I co-hosted with Tartan Lane, and she chose gold with chocolate embroidery. It is so elegant! Since I tend toward bright colors, I wouldn't have thought to choose brown embroidery, and the combo has me sold for fall. 

 

This top is really nursing-friendly for any of my breastfeeding mamas. Nursing or not, if you need a new strapless bra, I've got on the best one I've ever owned underneath this top. Convertible, wide band (FOUR eye hooks to hold it in place) Here's the link to shop it: http://www.shopstyle.com/collective/stylishasamother/42892565

Here's the selfie I snapped the other day so you can see how versatile this top is. Just look at how nicely it plays with pineapples! ;) 

  

To order your own off the shoulder streamer top, as I have dubbed it, message Jackie Blevin at  https://www.facebook.com/tartanlane/. The top is $36 and comes in sizes XS-2XL. Mine is a Medium for reference. It looks great with navy or denim shorts, white capris, or your favorite summer skirt.

I can't wait for the three blogger babes to reconvene in October when Lauren is back in town (she lives in Greenville, SC). We shared some delicious appetizers and some enticing ideas for future collaborations that I think you'll love. Stay tuned to hear more about some new must-haves for ya from The Olive Shoe.  In the meantime, "keep smiling... keep shining..."