Inspired by Elegantly Dressed and Stylish: Red Sweater Dress for the Holidays
For my entire life, literally for as long as I can remember, green has been my favorite color. But ever since I started this blog, which obviously requires lots of photographs of myself, I am realizing that while green might be my favorite color, red might possibly be just my color. Over the past few years of blogging, I have been adding more and more red items to my closet. I will often add bits and splashes of red into my outfits which tend to be heavily anchored in black. But every once in a while, I will step out of the black and into the red and what better time for that than the holiday season when the color red seems to be appearing everywhere.
Last year I purchased a red sweater dress from Torrid and while I loved it in the store, every time I have tried it on at home, it has left me disappointed. And then I saw my very dear friend, Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, wearing a gorgeous Red Sweater Dress for the Holidays. Her outfit was even the featured reader favorite on last week’s #SpreadTheKindness Link Up.
My Torrid dress is very similar to the one Jess is wearing except it has a lace up corseted waist instead of a belt and it is a bit more a-line in shape. The knit is soft and fine and lends itself to being dressed up for the holidays. So with a newfound inspiration from Jess, I pulled out my red sweater dress and slipped it on. And I was disappointed yet again. It’s probably not the dress’s fault. I have gained about 10-15 pounds in the last few months and I definitely see it when I look in the mirror. Once I ditch these pounds, I am going to give it one last try before listing it on Poshmark.
Even with my red sweater dress failing me, I was still so inspired by Jess’s gorgeous look in red for the holidays so I wasn’t quite ready to give up my red sweater dress quest. And then I found this cute and cozy red cable knit sweater dress at Old Navy. It was half off the day I spotted it, so I figured I better grab it for the super reasonable price of $25. And I am glad I did because it is now only 20% off of its marked down price of $45. But still definitely a great buy for $36.
While it is not the most flattering cut on me, I am taking Jodie’s words of wisdom to heart…”I’m finally learning that ‘flattering’ isn’t everything.” I like the dress. I like the color and the cable knit detail and the warmth and coziness of it. I like the bold red color and I like the way it makes me feel. So darn it, I am going to wear it. I tried out a few different styling tricks with a scarf around the waist and a scarf around the neck. And I followed Jess’s lead and added a fun brooch to jazz it up a bit. And then…I went a little bit country and grabbed my cowgirl boots, which by the way, are not at all suitable for the snow!
Now that I gave you a whole pointless story about my red sweater dress dilemma, let me talk about Jess for a minute. Do you all know her? If you don’t, you need to! Not only is Jess one of the friendliest women in the blogosphere, but she is so very interesting, too. She began her blog, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, as a way to improve her mood as she struggled with her diagnosis of EDS, which is a connective tissue disease that causes hyper-mobility, joint dislocation, and severe muscle pain. Jess is truly inspiring in the way she prevails while coping with chronic pain. She uses her blog not only as a forum for sharing fun fashion, but also as a platform to spread awareness about EDS.
Jess is also a musician and former music teacher with a Master’s degree in Jazz Guitar and she is the proud mama of two shih tzus, Gibby and Truffles. She has been married to Roy for a really long time and he is equally amazing. And I know this first hand because I had the opportunity to have lunch with Jess, Roy, Gibby, Truffles, and Jennie of A Pocketful of Polka Dots this summer when I visited Asheville, North Carolina. If you missed that post, you can check it out here.
But seriously, if you don’t already follow Jess, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. Tell her Shelbee sent you!
Have you ever met a blogger friend whom just instantly connected with? I have had this experience with literally every blogger friend whom I have met in real life and Jess is no exception. I guess we are a special breed of people who decide to share our lives in the public eye with the hope that we can inspire and empower others to live their best lives. I am always and forever grateful for this amazing community.
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.
Shop my look…
Outfit Details: Dress-Old Navy / Coat-Charlotte Russe (Old) / Boots-DSW (Old) / Gloves-Walmart (Old) / Clutch and Scarf-Target (Old) / Tights, Brooch, and Earrings-Old
31 Comments
mireille
Red sure is your color. I absolutely love wearing red but sadly I think I only have one red item in my closet, I need to remedy that at some point. That dress sure look cozy and I like the different tricks you tried with the scarf. Those tights are pretty neat too.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mireille! I bet red looks great on you, too! You definitely need some more red. I have a whole bunch of different red accessories that are super easy to throw on for extra color.
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Flattering isn’t everything! Ha that is a fantastic quote! I often wear something that I look not at my best in, but I just love to wear it! How fantastic that you have met Jess! I love cable knit dresses, they are very cozy!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
It really is a great quote, Nancy! My husband has recently challenged me to show what I really look like at home…and let me tell you…that is not flattering! Hahaha. I am usually in mismatched sweatpants with a fuzzy bathrobe on top looking very much like I live in a cardboard box!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tamar A Strauss-Benjamin
So pretty in the red against the snow!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Tamar!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mel Hwang
You look fabulous in all of these looks girl! You go girl!
xx, mel
http://melinspired.com/gift-ideas-every-girl-friend-life/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mel!
xoxo
Shelbee
FancyBoy
Love red!!! I am having issues with my figure-flattering (or not so flattering!) knits as well this year!! Struggle is real!! I know everyone says photos show the truth, but I’m not always photogenic and sometimes I think stuff def works in person for me, but can’t seem to translate or get ‘caught’ on film quite right…
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Becky! The struggle is real, for sure! And are any of us really photogenic all of the time? We all have good days and bad days and good outfits and bad outfits. Just keep smiling right through it all because you are beautiful in every way, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
FancyBoy
Oh, and I just followed Jess!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Yay, Becky! If we hadn’t had our telephone number mix up in July when I was in Asheville, you would have met Jess in real life and already be following her! Hahaha. Better later than never though!
xoxo
Shelbee
jess jannenga
awwww, thanks so much ! I love getting inspired by other bloggers too. So glad you liked the dress. I have about 5 sweater dresses in my closet, and this red one is the thickest, so it is warm and cozy for winter. I love the stitching and design of your dress. I hear you regarding fav color. I dont know what mine is- I used to think green too.. but I like alot of colors. I noticed your brooch, so cool! It certainly is a similar shape. You have alot of snow already, and this week it is certainly colder here. I have been a wimp getting photos done in 10 min as I dont like the freezing cold. YOu look wonderful!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jess, thanks so much, my friend! I only have a handful of sweater dresses because they are not super flattering on me, but they are so cozy so I don’t care! I styled a green one recently, too, (it is actually just a really big sweater that I was able to wear as a dress) and photographed it in the snow. We have been getting significant snowfalls followed by warm, rainy days which wash it all away just in time for the next snowfall! But all in all, not a bad pre-winter season for where I live.
I have so many brooches and I only recently just started wearing them again. Thanks to your inspiration! This white flower one was the one I wore on my coat when I got married 10 years ago, so it has lots of sentimental value. I don’t even know where I got it…probably somewhere on clearance!
Stay warm, my friend! Winter photos are no joke! I am trying to make my way to NC at some point this winter, but I am still working out details. It may be the week between Christmas and New Year’s or it may be in February. I will keep you posted!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
Looking so very classy and sweet. Love the look and the patterned tights. Very beautiful.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Patrick! You’re awesome!
xoxo
Shelbee
Darlene
Shelbee, your red sweater dress outfit is perfect! I love your interpretation of Jess’ look! I had to laugh as I am sharing one soon in a post–they are just the thing for the holidays and winter, aren’t they?! I hope you don’t mind if I link back to your post to share!!
Happiest of holidays, my friend,
xx Darlene
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Darlene! I do love to be all cozied up in warm sweaters and sweater dresses! I look forward to seeing your look! Please do link back, that would be awesome!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mica
What a cosy red dress! I like the tartan tights with it, so fun, as are the printed gloves! 🙂
Hope that you are having a good week 🙂 We have a Christmas party today I’m really looking forward to!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mica! I hope you have the best time ever at your party!
xoxo
Shelbee
jodie filogomo
GIRL!!! I love that you quoted me for one thing. But I think this dress is fabulous on you for so many reasons. Why should everything fit like a glove. How boring because then we would basically always look the same.
That pin is amazing too!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this look!! And I have tights like that!! I’m going to wear them soon,
XOOX
Jodie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so, so much, Jodie! I agree, it is way more fun to change things around and keep it interesting than to fall into a boring old tap of the same old things. I wore this pin on my coat the day I got married…nearly 10 years ago. I don’t even know where I got it, but I have had it for quite a long time.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacqui Berry
Loved this dress on Jess, and yours is just as nice, well done Hun. Jacqui x
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jacqui!
xoxo
Shelbee
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Michelle
Red is definitely your color! I love the cable design on the front of this sweater dress. The zebra stripe gloves, plaid purse, plaid stockings, and black scarf are perfect accessories. The outfit looks fantastic on you. I do understand about trying to choose outfits that are best for figure, but I think some outfits make us feel good and that’s an attractive look on anyone.
Michelle
http://mybijoulifeonline.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Michelle! Yeah, sometimes just being comfortable is way more important than having everything fit perfectly.
xoxo
Shelbee
Karren Haller
You look beautiful in red my friend!!
Merry Christmas!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so very much, Karren! I do need to wear it more often! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
xoxo
Shelbee
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shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks for the feature. Much appreciated.
xoxo
Shelbee