Pink Rock Candy - Top fashion trends, news and shopping of 2010 » Dresses

Making The Grade: Rachel Rachel Roy Matrix Dress

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:55:17 +0000

When picking dresses, I have three criteria:

1) The dress isn’t so short it exposes butt cleavage.
2) The fabric quality is directly proportional to it’s price— I’m not paying over $30 for a polyester dress no matter who makes it.
3) It has some waist-defining quality— including but not limited to: an empire waist, ruching, a drop waist, a detachable belt, or the ability to easily add a belt.

The Rachel | Rachel Roy Matrix Dress fits all my (dress) desires and so much more.

On the model, the hem looks at least four inches above her knees. I, however, am not a model, so through a very scientific formula, I’ve deduced the dress should hit me just above my knee. This means, in no way, shape or form will my tush be exposed.

The dress is made out of modal. Meaning, with a $99 price tag, this soft, wash and wear dress isn’t a bad deal. Not only that, but it will also be easy to pull on, no annoying back zippers necessary.

Last, but not least, it comes with a very cute belt to cinch the waist and further accentuate its lithe nature— if you got it, flaunt it! I’m very picking about dress-belt combos, but I’d buy this belt sepreately, so I have no worries.

Overall, the Matrix Dress gets a perfect score and bonus points for the fun heart print, and it will come in time for the first day of school.

Rachel |Rachel Roy Matrix Dress, $99, available at www.rachelroy.com (ships 8/4/10).

Getting to the Point

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:22:41 +0000

For better or worse, I’m an art nut. They say, “those who can’t do, teach.” I can sort of do, but I’d rather consume my little heart out.

My favorite artistic era is the impressionist era— sorry Northern Renaissance professor. I fell in love with Degas at a young age when I realized he painted all the pretty pictures at my ballet studio. The came Renoir and Monet when I visited France in Seventh Grade. I even bought my mom an umbrella with “Water Lillies” on it from Fontainebleau, an arrondissement of Paris where Renoir would sometimes go to paint it’s famous forests. Last, but certainly not least, came my fondness for Georges Seurat, an artistic genius with too much time on his hands, but a genius none the less.

Seurat used a technique called pointillism, where he created giant paintings using little dots like pixels on a screen, or like this dotty dress, Madewell Pointillist Dress ($148).

As soon as I saw this Madewell wonder, it brought me back to my adventures at the Louvre. Let’s just say, the staff was on strike, and security was extremely lax.

It has renewed my excitement for Madewell and art at the perfect time. Madewell has just added online shopping to their website, and I have a bit of free time to spend visiting the NYC art museums.

Seeing Spots

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:03:08 +0000

I bought a black and white giraffe print dress from Zara a week ago. I’m not particularly an animal print type of girl— I love prints, but animal prints sort of scare me— but the dress had a very magnetic effect. After wearing it today, I realized what I’ve been missing out on.

Having a slightly obsessive personality, I now want to buy only animal print dresses in non-traditional animal print colors.

The number one contender for my undying love is this Issa One-Shoulder dress.

I don’t have enough one-shoulder dresses, so this dress satisfies that lust. It’s super sexy and great for a night out— plus— and, the spots aren’t completely uniform and cheesy— plus, plus.

I just know I’m going to dream about this dress tonight.

Une Nouvelle Femme

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:46:16 +0000

Dress by BB Dakota, $88 • Jacket by Topshop, $80

At the end of December, while lusting over the 3.1 Phillip Lim collection for spring 2010, I decided to bid the sharp Balmain trend adieu and go a bit girlier. That however, has quite gone as planned.

In the last month I’ve worn a skirt or dress 90% of the time, which is a much more feminine look than I used to rock, but I have also worn my favorite new faux leather motorcycle jacket over these dresses and skirts creating this girlie/edgy paradox.

I realize, this is not a new occurrence— people have been sartorial pairing contrasting shapes and aesthetics for years— this is more of a self-discovery. I’ve realized I am not just one type of person and my style tends to mimic this notion. I’m complex. I’m shallow. I’m sweet. I’m bitchy. I’m everything a person can be, and that’s why I can get away with wearing a flowy dress, moto jacket and power bitch heels or a cute floral dress and a western-inspired denim jacket, as seen above— new purchase here I come.

I’m slowly, but surely finding out my sartorial personality, and I’m beyond excited to meet the true me.

Talk Back: What pieces make up the puzzle that is your fashion sense?

I Want Rebecca Too

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:19:31 +0000

The other day, while shopping, my mom found Rebecca Taylor. I don’t me literally, as in Ms. Taylor was lost. I mean it more in the sense that she found Rebecca Taylor like some people find God.

“Do you know you Rebecca Taylor is?” she asks me while pulling a really cute swingy dress from the rack.

“Are you serious?” I remarked as my face twisted into some form of awe.

She was serious. So, I explained my deep passion for the brand and its girlie fabrics, silhouettes that flatter the figure, and slight bohemian flare. After I forced her to try the dress on, she understood and made the purchase.

It was her first Rebecca Taylor piece— hopefully of many to come— but, when will I get my first piece from the brand? I hope soon, because I really, really, really want this Corset Dress in Blush ($495)

The charming dress can be dressed up with a pair of sky high pumps— on the website they paired it with some electric blue sandals— or, worn with a spring blazer or moto jacket, for a fresh day look.

Oh,and, did I mention that I REALLY want it?

[EDIT 5:04 p.m.] I just found out that all the tees on the webstore are from this spring’s new Rebecca Taylor signtaure t-shirt collection. Love this Grey Leopard Watercolor Tank!

Cha Cha at Temperley

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:34:21 +0000

Due to the holiday madness and the excitement for a new year, I completely forget to look at the Pre-Fall collections. Luckily, there wasn’t anything earth-shattering to miss, but I am quite fond of this Temperley London dress with layered riffles, a look I don’t typically fall for.

The look is the British version of what I like to call “cha cha”— and I not talking about the dance. Cha Cha is more a state of being. The girl that is vibrant, fun, and a bit saucy. This dress is fun and sort of saucy in a toned down way, but it is anything but vibrant. That doesn’t keep me from loving it, though.

p.s. I know not all those across the pond are stodgy, but like most people, they’ll tell you their parents are!

Photo Credit: Style.com

H&M’s Garden Collection

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:58:33 +0000

There’s a scene in Sherlock Holmes when Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) slinks off down an alley, and you realize the coat that she put on upon exiting Holmes’ flat is actually a kimono. Said scene reinforce my love of the kimono sleeve, dolman sleeve, bat-wing, and anything that isn’t a normal straight sleeve. So, when I saw this H&M dress on Refinery 29’s blog my heart pitter-pattered a little faster.

Not only do the sleeves meet my odd-shaped, long-enough-to-fall-in-my-soup standards, the dress itself is overwhelmingly cute with the watercolor flowers, wrap v-neck top, and short but not too short hemline.

I can see myself walking around my university’s horticulturally impressive campus, this spring, with an extra pep in my step, knowing my dress is adorable. I could even go to one of Central Park’s summer concerts in it, evoking a very Woodstock vibe— shorts under shirts/dresses are a must at concerts. There are countless places I could wear this dress, and I won’t feel an ounce of remorse if I do buy it because not only did I pay H&M prices— under $60— but also, the dress itself is part of the store’s Spring 2010 Garden Collection and “are produced using sustainable, organic, and and recycled materials like PET bottles and textile waste.”

Photo Credit: Refinery 29, H&M

Taking the Plunge

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:07:19 +0000

Shop: Rachel Roy ‘Olya’ silk dress, $648 – theOutnet.com;ADAM v-neck wrap top, $55 – Bluefly.com; Robert Rodriguez belted jersey wrap dress,$396 – Shopbop.com

In high school I was reprimanded more often than not for wearing tops that showed a hair too much décolletage. I was young and shy (I still am) and thought the only way to get teen boys attention was showing off my two very perky friends. Though I might have been slightly right, we all know the mentality of a 16-year-old boy, but that didn’t help my confidence.

At 17, I graduated from high school and high-tailed it out of the little Midwestern town I’d lived in for years— and when I say high-tailed, I mean graduated on a Saturday and moved the next Tuesday with my family. We settled on the East Coast, and I pretty much left every remnant of the girl I was, including the chest baring tops and need to please everyone.

For the last four years, I’ve generally covered up more and loved every bit of the process, the confidence, and the sexiness I’ve learned to exude without guys being able to look into the depths of my shirt. That is, until I found this amazing, wonderful, unbelievable, super perfect— I’m at a loss for superlatives— vintage Emauel Ungaro top at a local consignment store for, get this, $35, I KNOW!

The shirt had shoulder pads, which I promptly cutout, and is cut down to the belly button. The draped fabric making up the crossover leaves quite a bit to the imagination, but every now and then, it likes flash a bit of skin/bra and say, “well, hello there!” Though this shirt has the potential to show more skin than I did during my entire high school career, there’s something quite demure about it. Plus, now that I’m more aware of my body and internal sexiness— you know, the kind that attracts guys without making you feel sleazy— I’m dieing to get my hands on more tops and dresses with this sort of draped wrap.

Is It Truly ‘Barely There’ for Spring?

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:27:05 +0000

From left to right: 3.1 Phillip Lim S/S 2010 – Style.com; ‘The Vanna Grey Dress’, $63 – Modcloth.com; Fendi Blouse, $960 – Net-A-Porter.com; 3.1 Phillip Lim Tiered Silk Mini Skirt, $550 – Net-A-Porter.com

I’ve grown up in a time of platform sneakers and boy-bashing tees, bell bottom jeans and cropped tops, and of late, shoulder pads and metal overload. The only thing I’ve yet to truly experience in my short lifetime is pretty sophistication. Sure, I had pretty as a baby with my itchy crinoline dresses and patent leather mary janes, and there is always some level of sophistication, but it’s never been trendy, and in 2010, I hope my cravings for what I lack will be satiated.

For spring, it seems the fashion industry is divided. The editors will quite obviously fill their magazines with the underwear as outwear trends seen all over the runway, while the rest of the world looks on in horror or at least confused amusement. New York Magazine’s The Cut Blog even describes spring’s look as “a lot of panty bottoms and feminine ruffles and bras we’re supposed to wear as tops. You know, conventional femininity of yore, skank gear [...]“, but I’m not exactly sure that’s what spring will be.

Sure, that may be what slinky models wore down the runway and what will be on display in a Vogue of your choice, but I’m not sure designers or editors, for that matter, are as incredibly out of touch as people are making them seem. I’m sure they realize the proletariat masses aren’t going to be seen wearing a boudoir style bra while walking down Broadway— unless it’s a work uniform of course.

I think… I hope… the boudoir movement is less about getting naked and more about how it feels to be naked, the sexiness and apprehension you feel when peeling off your clothes for another person, the delicateness of a woman’s body. We’ve experienced an eternity, at least in fashion years, of geometric silhouettes, skinny jeans, and sharp shoulders, but now it’s time to be pretty. It’s time to strip away all the armor and replace it with amour, to work with the natural, soft, feminine beauty, and this doesn’t mean every fabric worn should be sheer, garters should show, or actual shirts should disappear. It just means, the clothes created and worn should feel good against your skin and make you feel as if you’re baring it all without having to bare anything, all things I personally feel Phillip Lim, though a young designer, does quite well.

Lim’s spring 2010 collection is going to be my personal guide to nudity because not only are the designs pretty, something I’ve longed for, but they evoke a certain boudoir feel without actually going that extra mile and put panties on preview.

Screaming for Elizabeth and James

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:59:34 +0000

Oh, hey, perfect floral dress from the Elizabeth and James Spring 2010 collection. If I owned you, the current climate in the northeast would make me “scream pretty” just like the model in the picture, “AHHHHHHH! Are you sure I still look cute? Ok, ahhh!”

Did I mention I like all your amigos seen in the Elizabeth and James Spring 2010 lookbook on Nitro:licious, too? Just not as much as I like you.

Waiting to be Kissed

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:34:01 +0000

Generally, I’m not one for large fabric flowers unless they’re in my hair, but even with the oversized flowers covering many of the garments, Rita Saardi’s new collection entitled “Waiting to be Kissed” completely knocked me off my feet.

The collection, made complete by handmade organza water lilies, girlie colors and diaphanous organza and silks molded perfectly to accentuate a womanly figure, is perfectly representative of that feeling when lust first hits.

I remember my first kiss, I was so anxious knowing it was going to happen but unsure exactly when. I though the guy was so cute, and the knowledge that he liked me and wanted to kiss me made me feel as if I was floating on Cloud Nine. Sure, after the kiss, Cloud Nine disappeared from under me and I plummeted back to earth where the cold, hard reality hit that the guy A) was a bad kisser B) was not as cute as I thought and C) probably needed a breath mint.

Thankfully, with clothing, you never have to fall from that cloud. The high of wearing a beautiful garment never goes away, and you’ll never have to worry about it being a bad kisser or needing a breath mint.

I think, in my case, this high may be problematic to my wallet, but who can resist the thought of feeling perfectly pretty all day long? If I could, I’d wake-up put on the sheer voile de soie tunic dress Outfit 1 with a bright camisole underneath because the entire back is sheer, a comfortable pair of leggings and my black Loubs. I’d spend the day getting complimented and hit on, then go home and change into the nude organza trench dress in Outfit 2. I’d head to some fabulous party and meet Prince Charming (Enough), come home and put on the very boudoir sheer dress with an amazing thread detail in Outfit 3. The under garments are actually secondhand and Rita Saardi added Black silk tulle and lace to transform them into the wonders they are now. Wearing this, I’d surely have the sweetest of sweet dreams, probably, about what beauties I’d wear the next day.

Keep up to date on all of Saardi’s new creations and inspiratin via her blog.

I Only Have Eyes for Lim

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:19:57 +0000

This weeks unattainable lust is a 3.1 Phillip Lim burnout silk dress named the ‘Surplus Neckline’ dress.

I adore a good v-neck dress, and think it can be flattering on almost anyone especially with this amount of draping. Plus the soft lines and slouchy lace is so effortlessly chic it hurts. I can totally see myself wearing this out to some chic fashion party I’ve yet to be invited to in NYC. Since I’m sans and invite, I guess being sans the dress is okay to, but it does happen to be perfect. Did I mention how apropos kitschy bow is for a fun-filled night of soirees and beautiful people?

Oh, Phillip Lim, will you be the Karl Lagerfeld to my Rachel Zoe and have gorgeous clothing babies with me? I’d much appreciate it!

p.s. This dress was part of Confessions of a Marc Addict’s Romantic Girl Gift Guide. Great minds think alike!

My Birthday Wish No. 2

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:03:00 +0000

In light of the fact that I’m surly not going to receive my first birthday wish, I figured I’d pick something a little more affordable (read not priced at thousands of dollars) in the form of clothes from MYNE.

I first took notice of MYNE only a few days ago, after seeing Rachel Bilson sporting one of their perfectly patterned skirts. I headed to their website and fell hard for their fall 2009 collection. The cut of the the tops, bat-wing sleeves and all, are exactly what I’ve been looking for,while the structured skirts and silky fabrics would be perfect for work.

My three favorite pieces from the line are the Frankie top ($176 on Shopbop.com), the Skylar skirt, and the Stella dress.

Click here to see where MYNE is sold.

A Little Dahl in My Life

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:03:30 +0000

Having been under the weather since Friday, all I wanted were cute, comfortable pieces of clothing I could lounge in and be paired casually with a hoodie for the times I had to leave the house to walk my dog or get cupcakes to make me feel better. Oddly, these items were nowhere to be found, and that’s because they were still on the Laura Dahl website waiting to be purchased.

Laura Dahl, a Las Vegas native, moved to NYC to pursue her dream of designing clothes. She worked under Cynthia Rowley, Anne Bowen and Catharine Maladrino, then went solo. Dahl started with the Wifebeader line, a collection of intricately beaded tees, tanks and tops, in 2003, and in 2006 launched the Laura Dahl line which is currently tops, bottoms and outerwear.

Not only would most of the pieces in the collection have been perfect for the chilly weekend I spent coughing, sniffling, and aching— I had a cold and my wisdom teeth were killing me— but they’re things I could see myself wearing on a daily basis, mixing them with more structured pieces for work or just wearing them as is for school and play dates— yes, big girls should still make play dates with friends.

My favorite items from the collection are the ‘York’ top ($54), the ‘Warhol’ dress ($238), and the Keats jacket ($348).

p.s. Laura Dahl also has a blog called Dahlight where she talks about everything from food recipes to fashion news to movies, music, and life lessons.

Eryn Brinié: Can’t Stop The Feeling

Chelsea Rae Simmons — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:35:07 +0000

Camel Plaid Dress, $132 on PixieMarket.com

I’ve been obsessing over South Korean-based brand, Eryn Brinié, for almost a year. When I first heard of and fell for the brand I was actually interning at the public relations company that represents them, so I thought it best to remain unbiased and refrain from posting about them. I have kept my silence for much too long, especially since I now know that you can buy Eryn Brinié online at Revolve Clothing and Pixie Market thanks to a post NYLON did on the brand at the beginning of this month.

I’ve been meaning to make my way to the Eryn Brinié SoHo boutique since the beginning of the summer, to no avail— I’m in NYC at least twice a week, but I’m either working in the Garment District or never get below 14th Street before stores close.

Though I’ve had plenty of time to fondle the soft fabrics and seen the durability of the well-made garments tested relentlessly by editors and stylists alike— they aren’t as easy on press samples as you’d think— those aren’t the reasons I love the brand. I first feel for Eryn Brinié because the first pieces I saw were super ethereal shirts and dresses, and then as the seasons progressed the sheer spring pieces turned to bright summer numbers, like high-waist, neon, denim miniskirts, and heavier woven winter coats.

Did I mention, everything looks very high-end without the jaw-dropping prices? I kid you not, I don’t think I’ve met an Eryn Brinié piece over $300, and that includes winter coats.

Though online retailers are making it easier for us to get our hands on Eryn Brinié, currently, the entire collection is only available to US residents at their SoHo location: 501 Broadway (btw. Spring St. and Broome St.), New York, NY 10012. However, from the looks of the website they are working on their own e-commerce store, which makes me squeal with glee!