What I Wore: Draper James for ELOQUII

Sometimes designer collabs are disappointing, and sometimes they're pretty fantastic. Other than one t-shirt I tried a while ago, everything I've seen and tried from the Draper James X ELOQUII collection has been stellar in regard to quality and style. I also love that the collection goes down to a size 12! Receiving a store credit in thanks for being part of an ELOQUII fashion show a couple months past, I decided to get myself this gorgeous floral dress from the Draper James collection at ELOQUII.

Dress: ELOQUII (12; paid partially with a gifted store credit, straight size floral dress with similar sleeves) | Shoes: Nine West | Bag: Clare V (same bag in other fabrics, different clutch in same color) | Earrings: Jenny Bird | Lipstick: Urban Decay “66” topped with Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb

This dress is 68% cotton, 29% nylon, and 3% spandex which gives the dress a bit of stiffness that helps it from clinging or sticking in the summer heat, but that hint of shine and stretch to have the dress polished and comfortable. The dress is an a-line, the self-belt only attached by thread loops, so you can customize how tight you want the waist, if you want to wear it just like a shift, or even if you wish to switch out the self-belt for a different belt or ribbon in your wardrobe. The sleeves are reminiscent of my 9th grade homecoming dress, a true bubble that I think keeps the dress looking interesting. This dress is machine washable and able to go in the dryer, but heads up it needs to be ironed after being laundered (to handle those crazy sleeves, I recommend a mix of iron and steamer). However, I don't think the dress wrinkles excessively when worn. These photos were taken after sitting around in the dress for two hours, riding in a hot car with seatbelt, and doing a couple errands. It's a great dress for church, for a day wedding, and even for the office. I chose to make it look a bit more dressy with nude pumps, but this dress would look equally as cute with low wedge sandals or glam it up with some “nude” heels.

I think the v-neck back really adds to this dress.  I've heard some people flipping the dress around to have the v-neck in front but I think that would look weird as there's a seam down the back of the dress.

I mentioned Monday about Urban Decay's “66” lipstick from their Born to Run Collection. Here I am wearing it, topped with Gloss Bomb from Fenty Beauty. I bought this lipgloss after reading a few My Beauty Routine submissions that raved about it. I don't wear lipgloss these days, I find it too sticky and think Carmex works as well. However, after having friends with great taste rave about this gloss I decided to take a chance. LOVE IT. It really works over all lipsticks and makes them look summery and sexy and fresh. On its own, it puts a Carmex shine to shame. Not too sticky but sticks around even through a venti iced coffee or an afternoon snack, no strong smell or taste, and a pretty tube to boot.  While I'm discussing beauty in this post, special dedication goes out to Jergens Natural Glow + Firming (light to medium, I switch to the darker color after using a full first tube). I've been using it after every shower (I put Neutrogena Body Oil over it) for the past two weeks and it has taken me from glow in the dark to a subtly glowy beige color. The scent isn't terribly strong especially since I put moisturizer over it.

The accessories are my go-tos. Nude pumps with a pointed toe elongate the leg and don't compete with a boldly patterned outfit. These earrings from Jenny Bird are my absolute favorite and seem to go with everything. I've been rocking them for over a year and haven't tired of them. And this clutch was a total splurge for me, but I am constantly finding things that go with it. Who wouldathunkit that a dark green croco-embossed clutch would prove so versatile?