I told you I loved this dress from my Zara Dress Try On! I wore it out before I had even tried most of the other dresses on. It was the perfect dress for my Dad's birthday celebrations last weekend. It naturally pairs perfectly with the accessories I have been reaching for the most recently, like my straw bag and boater hat. This outfit now takes top place of my favourite outfit on the blog this year.
Who else loves to buy some new dresses for summer each year?! This girl certainly does and this year Zara have so many gorgeous choices in a huge variety of styles so I wanted to share a quick little try on review of some of my faves and what I loved/didn't love so much about them!
Sorry the picture quality isn't the best as I took them on my phone and I also didn't steam anything, it all came straight out of the box, so a lot of these would look a lot better if they were ironed!
I thought that I would start with a dress that was a keeper and it was also the dress that I went to order when I ended up finding so many cute designs. I first spotted this dress on Monika on her Instagram stories and thought how adorable it looked. You'll notice I am loving button front dresses this year and I have a couple of the spaghetti strap versions from Urban Outfitters, and I had thought about getting the white version. I ended up going with this one as it had sleeves and as I burn pretty easily I do like to keep my shoulders covered sometimes.
The top half of this dress is slightly sheer but the bottom half isn't which I love because no one wants a see-through white dress. I ended up with a size small after ordering 4 of these dresses. The first two both had defects (a hole in the pocket and a weirdly stitched seam). If the first two hadn't have been faulty I would have kept the XS but the second one pulled a bit across my chest so I kept the small.
I really liked this dress, the green checked pattern is super fun for summer and would be perfect for a picnic. The straps also tie so you can adjust them. The fabric was nice and light and it zips up at the back but this one was very slightly lose in the back on me and as I have a blue and checked dress already I decided to pass on this one.
The dress runs huge so size down at least one size, two if you can. I really liked the colour of this one and when I belted it, it looked pretty cute, but without the belt it is totally shapeless. This was a really thin airy material and would be a great fabric to wear on a hot summer's day, I think it old crease easily though. I would be tempted to pick this up if it went on super sale but didn't love it enough to keep it.
The material of this might have been my favourite from all the pieces I ordered. I saw this dress on Stephanie and thought I would order it to try but they only had a size medium left and it was too big for me. It needed to be more fitted through the waist which I'm sure If i got my normal size it would be. The fabric was super stretchy making it really comfortable. I'm just not sure what bra I would wear with this as it shows in the middle. I returned this dress but if I saw it in store in a smaller size I would try it on again!
This was Sean's favourite dress on me. I loved the fun tropical print dress and it was the only dress I ordered that wasn't midi length. I loved the length on this actually because it was shorter but not too short on me like a lot of dresses can be. It also had pockets which is always a plus in my books. I would add another button to this dress or a clip, because it was a little low cut for my liking. This was another dress where I was really impressed with the quality of the fabric. Unfortunately I couldn't keep all the dresses I ordered and there were a few I loved more, but this would be next on my list if I did invest in another dress.
So this style of dress is hands down my fave this year and I would love them in every colour but I just don't have space or the budget haha! I loved the colour of this one, a beautiful pale blue for summer and I love it paired with a white tee underneath. I felt it had a very Belle-esque look to it. This was a piece I wasn't 100% sold on the fabric, although it was super soft to the touch It's another one I feel would be wrinkled with minutes of putting it on. It does have adjustable straps which is something I like, as I often find straps too long on things for me.
This dress is another keeper and was originally my favourite. I would size down if you are in-between sizes. I have already worn this to a baby shower and I am obsessed with the floral print. It's a lovely light linen, so nice and cool for those warm days, and can we talk about how sweet the little ties on the sleeves are?! Although I feel like the white dress I kept is the most versatile piece, I feel like I will be reaching for this one more often.
I know this was meant to be a dress try on but I wanted to share this top too because I who doesn't like a little pompom action. This piece is super pretty but runs big so I would size down and it's also pretty sheer too so you might want to wear a cami underneath.
Now this dress was something I threw in my cart last minute because I was so undecided about it and they only had XS left in stock and I normally would have ordered a small. Once I opened the box this one jumped out at me straight away and as soon as I put it on I knew I was keeping it. I love the mix of colours of this dress and the cute tie waist under the ruffle. The straps aren't adjustable on this one and I think on a small would have been too big for me. It also has pockets so it's a winner all around. You might see it appear in an outfit post soon because I have already worn it and I'll probably be packing it for my trip!
Have you found any pieces in Zara lately that you have been loving for summer?
I've linked so similar dresses below to the ones featured in this post in case you don't have a Zara nearby.
It's another outfit post featuring all older pieces from my wardrobe, but I have linked to some of the pieces you can still pick up like these earrings.
I picked up this dress a couple of years from Ann Taylor. We had just got back from our trip to Sorrento and I saw this adorable dress popping up all over Instagram and it was named the Amalfi Dress. I kept wishing I had had this dress for our trip, but as we had fallen in love with the Amalfi Coast I knew we would take a trip back there one day. So I decided to pick up this dress when it went on sale and have vowed to pack it when we hopefully head back to Italy one day. Until then I shall continue to enjoy wearing it on beautiful warm days here in the UK.
Happy June everyone! June is one of my most favourite months of the year, and this year it is going to be a jam packed one. I can tell you now my June Faves won't be up until probably mid July haha!
But back to what I was loving in May. It's a rather random selection this month and just a small round up because I have been super busy again but wanted to at least share a few things as I promised I would do this every month and I am determined to at least share my faves for all twelve months of 2018. So here it goes.....
If you follow me on Instagram {spark1988} you'll have noticed that this hat made quite a few appearances in outfit snaps throughout May. It came to Venice with me and will be going to France this month, where I'm sure it'll make even more appearances on the blog and Instagram. Stephanie shared this hat over on her blog last year and my favourite thing about it is that it has an adjustable band inside so you can make it fit your head perfectly and there's no risk of it falling off and getting lost.
T.K. Maxx Note Cards
I can't link these I'm afraid as I found them in the clearance section of T.K. Maxx but I wanted to share them because they are just the sweetest little note cards. I love sending snail mail and I always pick up pretty note cards when I find them so I always have some on hand. I adore the floral envelope liners on these ones, I might even pick up another pack if I find anymore.
I have had this water bottle for a long time now and I have quite a few different bottles but I have been reaching for this one more and more recently. Now I will start by saying it takes a little while to get the hang of how to drink out of the rubber top haha. It took me some time to figure it out but once I did it became one of my favourite bottles to drink from. It has a straw inside so you don't need to tip this one up to drink from it. I'm also not sure that there could be a more perfect water bottle for me because we all know I only go to the gym so I can eat more pizza haha!!! If pizza isn't your thing don't worry this bottle comes in lots of different patterns like this cute floral one.
Another product I have owned for a long time now but was reaching for thought out May was this cologne from Jo Malone London. It is one of my favourite fragrances and I purchased a bottle of this in the airport on our way to Sorrento two years ago and it was the scent I wore throughout our trip so whenever I wear it now it reminds me of my holiday memories from Italy. Plus it's peony season and I am peony crazy!
Zara has been getting it so right with dresses this season. There are so so many dresses I am loving there right now (I might do a review of some of them soon) but this beautiful floral print one is hands down my favourite. I love the soft pink floral paired with the most gorgeous shade of pale blue. I am actually wearing it right now as I type this as I just got back from a baby shower.
It seems apt that that my favourite nail polish that I wore a lot last month is called May. I don't think Chanel sell this exact shade anymore but they have a very similar pink available. I love a good pink polish, pink is always my go to colour when I'm not sure which colour to go for on my nails and I love that this one is a slightly brighter pink but it isn't too in your face and is still quite subtle.
So there we have it, some of my favourites from May, I am already excited to start making my list for June! Leave a comment below with some of the things you were loving in May.
