Feeling Like a Movie Star with JJ’s House & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #36

September 5, 2017 / 72 Comments

The title of this post is a bit misleading as I didn’t actually feel like a movie star…at first, anyway. Actually, I was just feeling rather silly walking around Watertown, New York, in this gorgeous black evening gown. At 10:00 in the morning. In the rain. Having myself photographed. Movie star, I am not. But fashion blogger with obligations, that I am. And finally, two years into this gig, I am just now owning that. But that doesn’t make me feel any less ridiculous in scenarios such as these.

*This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let me be clear…as much as I love blogging and have gotten comfortable in front of the camera, I absolutely hate when I have an audience during a photoshoot! My blogger friends know what I ‘m talking about. You’re innocently and discreetly trying to get some outfit photographs in a public setting and a small group of people start watching, wondering what the heck you are doing. And then they keep watching. Sometimes, they start asking questions. Oh, I feel so absurd when this happens. But again, I just have to own it.

The above photos were taken at Thompson Park. When we arrived at this exact location, there was a group of people sitting at a table socializing. In the rain. We kept driving. When we circled back around a few minutes later,  they were just leaving. Even this…circling back around…elicited lots of stares in my direction as I got of the car in this fancy dress. We got a few decent photos here and then decided to change location. We headed to the Paddock Arcade to get out of the rain for a bit. And this is where the movie star business happened!

As I was posing for these photos, an elderly gentleman was strolling through the arcade and stopped to watch. And by stopped to watch, I mean he sat down on a bench, front and center, and watched. At one point, he chimed in and asked with a hint of adulation and very much sincerity, “Are you a movie star?” Well, then. I maybe never laughed so hard in my life. But it was a good laugh. I was not laughing at him at all. Rather I was laughing because my ego just happened to need a comment like that right at that moment. It was the kind of soulful glee-filled laugh that is drawn forth because of someone’s extraordinary kindness. Although I was temporarily uncomfortable with this one-man audience, the reward was exponential. Because I rocked the rest of the photo shoot like I was a real movie star!

Seriously, I channeled my inner movie star. Everyone has that, right? An inner movie star? My ego was boosted and I no longer cared if people were staring at the strange girl in a black evening gown at 10:00 a.m. on a rainy morning in Watertown. Whatever.  Let them stare!  I’m a freaking movie star!  At least in the eyes of that one man!

I mean, I went all out Hollywood here…

I even took the opportunity to model some fun eyewear from EyeCrave Optics.

But even though I am feeling like a movie star, I still have blogger obligations! So now I have to tell you about this dress.

Yes, it looks much different on my size 18 frame than it does on the model’s size 2 frame. But still it is fabulous!

The dress is from JJ’s House, an online retailer that specializes in all of your special occasion needs from wedding and prom dresses to shoes to accessories. You can read more about them and see my favorite picks here. All of their gowns are made to order with your size and color choice. The selection is extraordinary. The service superb. And the shipping was super fast! It was 10 days from the time my order was placed to the day I received the dress at my front door.  So if you are looking for wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, or other special occasion gowns, JJ’s House is the place to visit.

Other than one minor alteration, the fit was great! And now I have to add a huge thank you to Judy Groff. I recently met Judy at a Business Networking event and I called her to see if she could tack the sides of the train to the shorter skirt to hold them open and in place. She was at my door within 20 minutes. Ten minutes later, I was all pinned up and she took the dress with her. The next morning she delivered it right to my door, perfectly altered and ready to be styled!

So if you are local and need an amazing seamstress, do let me know so I can forward her contact information to you!

In the interest of #SpreadingTheKindness, which is what this post is about, and to show my gratitude for the kindnesses I have received, I want to say thank you to JJ’s House for my beautiful movie star dress. Thank you to Judy Groff for making the dress perfect. Thank you to EyeCrave Optics for letting me borrow all of this gorgeous eyewear. And thank you to the man in the arcade for making me feel like a real Hollywood movie star!

Outfit Details
Dress: A-Line/Princess Scoop Neck Floor-Length Chiffon Bridesmaid Dress With Ruffle Lace Beading c/o JJ’s House.
Shoes: Mix No. 6 Lina Sandal from DSW.
Bag: Lulu Townsend Glitter Mesh Clutch from DSW.
Jacket and Umbrella: Very Old.
Jewelry: Claire’s (All old).
Eyewear: EyeCrave Optics.

How much kindness are you giving and receiving these days? Let’s check out your favorite posts from last week’s link up!

Of course, you all were clicking on Jessica’s page at JESCA.life…I mean I featured her. And she is fascinating. And exuberant. So I get it! If you missed it, you should go check it out!

Jessica of JESCA.life

Pamela of Style Yourself Confident shared a fun color lesson in her post Who needs 50 Shades of Grey? Check out what she has to say about the right shades of gray for your complexion!

Pamela of Style Yourself Confident
“Who needs 50 Shades of Grey?” by Pamela of Style Yourself Confident

And Catherine of Atypical 60 is featured for the second consecutive week…well, because she is awesome! She shared her post A Paler Shade of White Eyeliner! which has everything from food, fashion, make-up, and her man-candy! So definitely go check it out. She always provides a good chuckle!

Catherine of Atypical 60

And I have to share this photo from Catherine’s post…well because she said this about it…“Manchic!! Or is it Man Candy? The very bashful and handsome Bonaparte. He will be so surprised when he sees this!! He should be a model!”

Catherine’s Man Candy, Bonaparte

Won’t he be really surprised now!?! Sorry, Bonaparte! I know you may be bashful, but Catherine is right, you should be a model!

Have fun linking up! And keep spreading the kindness!


Feeling like Hollywood on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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