White Florals

I will admit that the prospect of having to take photos of my summer wardrobe kind of has me wanting to wear stuff I've already shown here.  (And yes, I know it is ridiculous--I could photograph the stuff another day I wear it, or even just not blog it, but it feels like cheating or something).  It's not that I don't like my new stuff (I do!!  Really!); it is more that I'm carrying a fair bit of water weight in the last week (especially in my legs) and I find myself reluctant to take photographs of myself right now.  I feel puffy and sloshy.  I keep hoping it will go away soon.

But seeing as 80% of my summer wardrobe is new, I ran out of old options pretty quickly, so I had to man up and take pics today.  I really love this dress, so I think it isn't too bad.  I went to the gym with the kids this morning (thank the Lord for babysitting service at the gym!) and logged 4 miles.

The fabric for this dress almost screamed at me last summer in Joann's.  I was literally across the store, on my way out the door, when I saw this peeking out of an aisle of fabric, and I decided I had to buy it.  I'm glad I waited until this year to make it up, because it is so lovely as a Dottie Angel frock.

I went with a kangaroo pocket for this dress, and partial elastics on the front and back, just to keep it super simple.  I went with a lower neckline in the back (I did this on many of my summer frocks), but I think I will keep my higher back neckline (2 1/2" higher than the XL size, for reference) for future dresses, as it significantly widens the front neckline.

The fabric was quite stiff when I first bought it, and I despaired of it working as a garment, but it softened up remarkably with prewashing/drying, so I think it will only get softer with time.  

I love the saturated colors of the flowers--there are so many colors to draw out with accessories.  I also like that it is bright and white without washing me out. 

I wore my new turquoise salt waters with it (they fit better than my other two pairs, oddly) but I could easily put them with my dansko sandals as well.

The fabric is a shade lighter than a standard quilt-weight cotton, and the weave is just slightly looser, which I actually like for a summer dress.  It is really quite lovely.  The humidity is still quite high here, so cool and breezy is a good quality to have!  

I know I'm overdue with my summer rotation--I have everything now, and just need to take one more photograph.  Hopefully I can post on Monday--I'm having another endoscopy on Monday to help with my swallowing issues, so we'll see how I'm feeling afterward.

Just the facts:

White Florals dress: Simplicity 1080 (redrafted), bias tape, elastic

Necklace: had since childhood

Earrings: etsy

Shoes: saltwaters