This dress is the reason that I rejoined Gwynnie Bee. I saw it in a blog post from Authentically Emmie and fell head over heals in love with the dress. It’s a Melissa Masse, a designer I’ve never heard of before, so I had no idea what the price point would be, but since Emmie’s post came up on my birthday I took it as a sign that I needed to have it. So I went out and looked around for it. And found it at Bloomingdales for $295.00. *GASP* Now, I make good money. But I only barely paid that for my WEDDING dress, I sure as heck wasn’t going to pay it for a casual dress. So I rejoined Gwynnie Bee, just so that I could wear it, and discovered a a whole pile of upgrades to the program. The first was obviously the brands; when I left I complained that most of the items were from less expensive brands; ASOS Curve and comparable. All brands that I could just go out and buy if I wanted. Obviously that’s changed. The next improvement I found was that Gwynnie Bee lets you BUY the items you have at home, generally for a considerable discount. Talk about happy dance! It took a few weeks, but when this dress finally came and I tried it on, I vowed that it was NOT going back. That meant that when it showed up with a price of $120, I jumped all over it. 
Seriously, what’s a girl to do? Anyway, here are the details:
- Dress: Melissa Masse, mine now but originally through Gwynnie Bee
- Shoes: Earthies (older, similar)
- Purse: Kate Spade (Kirk Park Maise, similar)
- Bracelet: Kate Spade (Locked In, pink, older)
- Necklace: unknown
(Yes, as a matter of fact, I AM a huge kate spade fan. If she would JUST make her clothes in plus-sizes, I would be happily broke for the rest of my life…) 
Note that this bag is somewhat larger than I usually carry, but I have a whole bunch of meetings today and needed to bring my notes. I also have a lovely graphic Rebecca Minkoff Mac that is black with pink details and more in line with the size I usually carry. This bag, except in Black and Pink instead of Navy and Pink. Looks just as good (actually potentially better since it echos the pattern) but carries a fraction as much. 
Sorry for the complete lack of smiles – it was hot (95) when I took these pictures, my hair was lifeless from the rather high (for arizona) humidity (50% – it started raining minutes later) and I was quite literally melting. It made me kind of grumpy. See how much I love you?
