When Amy from Fanny Crown contacted me about their blog contest, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to join in. I mean, I guess I could take time out of my busy schedule to drool over peruse a website full of oh-so-beautiful dresses. If I must.
The mission was simple: Pick a dress, tell us why you like it, how you would style it, and the occasion to which you would wear it. Simple, right? You'd think so, but Fanny Crown has so many gorgeous styles, picking just one was near impossible. I love them all! They're all so elegant, so beautiful, so high-class. I cry myself to sleep at night because I need to own at least 70% of their collection.
I digress.
Sadly, I'm not considered royal enough to get invited to elegant soiree's on the regular (which is their loss really), so as much as I would love to, having a long, flowy gown in my wardrobe would unfortunately be rendered unnecessary. Although you KNOW I'd wear that sucker to the shops to buy milk if it were deemed acceptable.
Until that day, I'll opt for a shorter dress as they're more suited to the kind of events I attend. Meaning, I'm going to get a lot more bang for my buck.
After much deliberation, THIS bad boy is my choice. My holy grail. My precious.
Ladies (and gentlemen - we're all friends here) of blogland, I introduce to you,
Try saying that three times fast!
How utterly gorgeous is this dress?!
Everything about it screams 'flirty' from the sparkly sweet heart cut, to the gentle, rippling overlay.
And that colour! Oh lawdy!
I really like strapless dresses, and I feel the sweet heart cut adds an extra dash of femininity to the whole thing. The curves just give it a softer touch and creates the illusion of fuller breasts, (huge bonus!), as opposed to a straight cut, which can make your shoulders appear broader. This dress is also very kind to your figure, as the waist is tailored with a cinched 'belt' separating the bust and skirt, hugging your body, creating a thinner silhouette as the soft fabric of skirt overlay gently falls away from the body hour-glass like.
Back to that colour. I adore the lighter side of yellow (I’m calling this shade buttercream), and you do really get the best of both worlds as it's such a fun, Summery colour, making this a perfect day-time dress, but the sequined bust area allows the dress to transition nicely in to elegant evening wear if need be. I'd wear this beauty to fancy dinners, cocktail parties, formal lunches, prom, it's just that versatile! So versatile, in fact, I couldn't stick to just one styling! The colour scheme allows for so many different style combinations. You could accessorise with silver to accentuate the sequined bust, or gold to bring out and compliment the yellow.
I have only a few rules of thumb for styling this dress:
Hair rule: Opt for an elegant up do, or half up do as to show off the sequin detailing. I'm a sucker for curls, and I think soft, face framing ringlets are just perfect for such a soft dress.
Shoe Rule: Even out the glitter factor by bringing some dazzle to bottom half of your ensemble with some sparkly heels. Strappy or cage heels would go wonderfully with this style of dress.
Jewelry rules: Don't go overboard! It's so tempting to throw on every shiny thing you own. Instead, pick a few subtle pieces that compliment the dress, that way all the attention goes to the rightful star of the show. I don't even feel you need a necklace (unless you have in your possession, the Isadora Diamond from 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' - Ermahgerd) as it my look too busy at the top sparkle wise. Instead, opt for some big, gorgeous earrings
Yum.
Anyways, without further ado, here are my style options;
(The Christie no longer has Photoshop edition)
Casual Blush
This particular styling, I've intended to be more causal.
I love anything pastel! Although any pale pastel accessories really would be lovely with this dress; lavender, mint, peach, my all time personal favourite combo is buttercream and pale blush. It's just so girly and chic!
As you can see, by keeping accessories to a minimum, you can acheive a gorgeous casual outfit perfect to wear to a nice lunch, or a warm afternoon picnic.
Keeping make-up simple and fresh, start with a lighter base. The foundation you choose should be natural looking. Think light and breezy with clever highlighting down the bridge of your nose and cheek and brow bones.
I'd then opt for a natural looking blush to give that youthful glow. Your best bet here is a sheer cream cheek tint on the apples and a light peach gloss for a fresh-faced, dewy look. Accompany all this with a simple winged nude smokey eye with hints of coral in the crease, and a Lauren Conrad style high sock bun, and you've got yourself a gorgeous Springtime look.
I love anything pastel! Although any pale pastel accessories really would be lovely with this dress; lavender, mint, peach, my all time personal favourite combo is buttercream and pale blush. It's just so girly and chic!
As you can see, by keeping accessories to a minimum, you can acheive a gorgeous casual outfit perfect to wear to a nice lunch, or a warm afternoon picnic.
Keeping make-up simple and fresh, start with a lighter base. The foundation you choose should be natural looking. Think light and breezy with clever highlighting down the bridge of your nose and cheek and brow bones.
I'd then opt for a natural looking blush to give that youthful glow. Your best bet here is a sheer cream cheek tint on the apples and a light peach gloss for a fresh-faced, dewy look. Accompany all this with a simple winged nude smokey eye with hints of coral in the crease, and a Lauren Conrad style high sock bun, and you've got yourself a gorgeous Springtime look.
Elegant Gold
There's something I find to be so royal about gold. This style I've designed for more elegant events.
By wearing gold accessories, you really bring out the yellow of the dress, but it's easy to look too overdone. Try sticking to lighter shades of gold with your selection of jewelry.
I'm in love with Taylor Swift's signature bouffant and side curls so I've designed my golden look with that in mind.
Since gold is a light reflecting color, go for a darker contrasting smokey lid. Keep the colour matte and sweep a touch of light gold shimmer over the top, and white shimmer in the inner corners once you're done. You don't want to overwhelm the eyes since gold can be overwhelmingly shiny in itself. A black smokey eye is too harsh and dramatic for the dress, so choose a dark brown for a softer effect.
To compliment your golden accessories, opt for a warmer coloured powder blush such as peach under the apples of the cheeks, then extended out towards the ears. Peach is a universally flattering color that suits people of many skintones and it goes just marvellously with gold. Add a touch of highlighting powder under your eyes and on your cheekbones and finish the look off with a warm rose gold coloured lipstick.
Stunning Silver
Silver accessories are best for people with a cool skin tone. With that in mind, the jewellery I've chosen for my third look consists of cool-skin complimenting white gold, silver, white and platinum which all accompany the white and silver sequined bust without appearing too bedazzled.
To compliment your accessories, keep makeup light. Highlight all areas the light would hit your face with a highlighting powder (forehead, nose, cheekbones, chin). This creates a luminous effect. Finish it off with a light cream blush applied under your apples (and highlighting), and blended out towards your ears. Can you tell I'm obsessed with smokey eyes yet? A soft, shimmery white and silver smokey eye looks beautiful when a dab of yellow is added to the centre. Highlight the brow bones for an angelic finish.
A nude lip ties the whole look together!
A nude lip ties the whole look together!
And now, what you've all been waiting for since reading the title:
A generous 15% off store wide for my lovely readers!
All you need to do is enter this exclusive code at the checkout:
CHRISTIETOL14
The code is only valid until May 3 2014, so head over to the website this very second!
CHRISTIETOL14
The code is only valid until May 3 2014, so head over to the website this very second!
I'd like to take this time to thank Fanny Crown for their generosity, and Amy for taking the time to contact me. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
I was approached by Fanny Crown to feature one of their pieces in this post but all opinions and stylings are 100% my own.
I was approached by Fanny Crown to feature one of their pieces in this post but all opinions and stylings are 100% my own.
