Monday, April 23, 2012

Inspiration Monday: Sara Rue

This week's inspiration, a short dress with a statement belt. Doesn't Sara Rue look so cute in this? I did not have a nice wide belt to wear so I just went with what I had.


I started taking photos in my front yard and suddenly my neighbour came out with his tractor to mow his lawn and he was peering at me, probably wondering what on earth I was doing, all dressed up and standing in front of a camera with various poses. I had no idea how long he was there but I was really embarrassed. I didn't even say hello, I picked up my tripod, without taking my camera off it and just dashed inside. He must think I am a freak. One day after I have recovered from this I might be able to explain that I am doing this for a little blog that probably less than six people read. 

I bought this dress from Ebay and I suspect it is from the same factory that produces Zara clothes in China because they were selling Zara pieces at discounted prices. The problem I find with buying on Ebay is that you can't do returns most of the time but this seller had a reasonable return policy. I wrote to them asking for specific measurements. The response was swift, in broken English but the dress was less than US$30 including shipping so I thought it was going to be fine in a size S. 


The dress arrived in less than a week from China and I was pleased, but when I put it on, the armholes were too big and the top of my bra could be seen. There is also a billow of fabric particularly around the belt area. I wrote back to them and asked for an exchange in size but - silence. I wrote several times and no answer. In the end I decided not to pursue it because to send it back to China was probably going to be expensive so I tried to modify the arm holes by shortening the top of the shoulders by two inches.

The resulted the waistline going up by two inches as well and it sits higher than my natural waistline. Hopefully this is not too noticeable when I wear it.  However, this is probably the last time I would buy clothing on Ebay, my experiences have been more of a miss than a hit. 


I also experimented with my hair for this post to resemble Sara Rue's a little. I have never really worn my hair any other way except in a ponytail or just loose.  Wendy from Wendy's Lookbook has a fun hair tutorial which I followed. I love her style!


 Wall hugger.


Customary weird picture at the end. "What's that? I can't hear you?" but there was no one around except my lonely camera.



Shoes: TJ Maxx (last year)
Belt: Came with the dress.

Linking up to Two Birds - join in the fun if you can! Have a good week and thanks for dropping by once again.

7 comments:

  1. Such a pretty blue dress! I'm glad you were able to do some alterations to get a better fit. I'm always tempted to buy things on Ebay but purchasing stuff from other countries makes me weary.

    -Sharon
    The Tiny Heart

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  2. Grace, I just loved reading your blog today...it made me laugh out loud, ha! Especially thinking about your neighbor coming outside and watching you take photos...I had definitely had the same problems during some photos shoots. Just smile, wave and have confidence. ;) I love the dress and I think it's a great purchase, even if it was on ebay. The color is beautiful and I love how you styled your hair. Isn't Wendy's Lookbook the best? Well, have a great Monday and I hope you have a chance to stop by and see my DAY style for this week. Talk to you again soon.

    xo Grace
    www.wrinkledchiffon.com

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  3. Pretty dress! I think you did a great job altering the dress! The waist looks like it's in just the right spot.

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  4. you would never know that you once had fit issues with this dress. it looks lovely on you! i love the color, and the fit looks almost perfect!

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  5. Hee hee, I had a similar incident with my blogging picture in the local park! I went on a rainy day when no one was around and of course no was around until I was taking the picture and all of a sudden, a girl with a dog was standing there! I was mortified!!! I just said, "Don't ask!!"
    Lovely lovely dress, what a pity it caused so many problems!!! It's a gorgeous colour!

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  6. I love the color and the design of this dress, it's simple and classy,,thank God you could do the alterations yourself. Now it fits you perfectly, I think the waistline looks fine. I have never bought anything on ebay for the same reason. I need to physically see the item before I decide if it works for me. But I would buy online from a proper store.

    mongs
    mythriftycloset.blogspot.com

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  7. what a pretty blue color! it's so hard to guess fit, isn't it? ha-ha about the hear you pose. ;)

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