inspiration: jess & joan...

it's no secret that i draw on inspiration for outfits from some of my favourite tv shows and actresses.  two of my favourite, stylish tv gals are Jessica Day of The New Girl (miss Zooey Deschanel) and Joan Harris on Mad Men (Christina Hendricks).  quirky, lovable and geeky meets sassy and sexy with these two ladies.

this season on the new girl, jess wore a light blue dress (from modcloth, which alas, is now out of stock), with a red cardigan. i feel in love with this colour combo.  i've also been wanting one of those dresses for sometime, and thought, i'll get the powder blue one! when i realized it was out of stock, my first reaction was to try to find it elsewhere.  then i realized, i've been wanting a joan-esque dress for some time.  something that hugs my curves in a classy way.  maybe i should mix the two?

and so i started to look for a powder blue, fitted dress.  my first attempt was for a vintage one.  unfortunately, anything i liked was much too small in size. particularly the waist. so, i started to hunt for a custom made one.  i came close to ordering one on etsy, which was stunning, and my find itself in my closet at a later date.

I spotted this blue dress on two different american sites, but the shipping was pretty pricy.  not to mention the added risk of duty/customs fees. i have another dress from heartbreaker fashion, and the sizing was pretty wonky. i had to have a lot of alterations done to it. so, $60 dress, + $30 shipping, + possible duty, + possible alterations? no thanks.

then my friend introduced me to a website, specializing in dresses, here in canada.  do you know what that means? fast shipping, and NO DUTY/CUSTOMS! this is so excited for an online shopper.  duty and customs fees can add up to $30 on a single dress! no joke, i've had this personally happen. and they just happened to have this dress in stock. fate? destiny? i think so.

and so this is the result. powder blue paired with red, à la jessica day, with a more form fitted joan-style dress. i'm quite happy with this look.  not to mention the dress is like wearing an extra long thick-tshirt. so comfortable! i may end up having to order it in black as well.

     dress: heartbreaker fashion (bought from dress911)
     shoes: modcloth
     cardigan: pseudio
     belt: forever 21
     pearls: anniversary gift

ps... have you seen a beautiful mess's new app for photo editing? it's just lovely.