Mel Gets Dressed

Valentine’s Day Looks 2021

Thinking about the upcoming holiday and unsure of what to wear? Whether you’re staying in or going out, you can get festive with these looks!

Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays! I love hearts and pink/red color combinations and though I wear these colors and patterns all year, it’s nice to have something to celebrate!

I will more than likely be staying home this year, but it’s tradition that Shawn and I get a pizza from our favorite place in East Boston, Santarpios. Nothing compares!

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January 30, 2021

Hello last weekend of January! We’ve been fortunate to have a pretty mild Winter so far this year, but with temps dropping down into the negatives with windchill, it’s forced me to have to layer up. Extra fun fact: I got this sweater in the children’s section!

Every one in a while, I see an ad on Instagram/Facebook for something that I absolutely HAVE TO HAVE but when I click it to shop, I’m often disappointed to find that it only comes in children’s sizes and not adult. I guess that’s the downside of liking colorful clothing, but the digital marketer in me always scoffs because they have their targeting is all wrong. This is exactly what happened with this Old Navy cardigan, which I ended up purchasing in a children’s size 16 after doing some measurement comparisons (usually I am a women’s small/medium)!

I paired this cardigan with a v-neck collared shirt and some mom jeans for a quick casual looks. I’m layered up and ready to go!

January 27, 2021

The sweater so nice, I bought it twice! When you love a piece of clothing, you have to buy one in every color. I don’t make the rules.

During the most recent Forever 21 50% sale, I managed to snag one of these frilly cardigans in my size! The best part? It’s one of my favorite pieces I already own and now I have it in PURPLE! My wardrobe is super colorful so this was a no brainer for me.

With Spring coming up, I’m excited to get more wear out of this. I’m still seeing the frilly collar/big sleeve trend carry into Spring 2021, which you already know I’m all about. You’ll definitely see me style this more frequently in the future!

My Dog, Winston

The funniest, friendliest, and wiggliest dog you will ever meet – my dog Winston.

I don’t think Winston’s tail has ever stopped wagging since we adopted him in May of 2018. Sometimes it even wags in his sleep. Shawn and I had just moved into our apartment together and were searching far and wide for a dog that we could adopt. For a few months, we visited the local shelters every weekend and because we had restrictions on what kind of dog we were allowed to adopt (had to be under 30lbs), our options were extremely limited. After months and months of searching, we finally found Winston and it was love at first sight. It wasn’t until after we paid the adoption fees and left that we found out that he hated stairs, hated being picked up, and hated being in the car, so getting him home was quite an interesting process.

Everything about him is a complete mystery to us – we don’t know how old he is, what day to celebrate his birthday, what kind of breed he is, or ultimately why he ended up in a shelter. We were told that he’s a Corgi-Beagle born around October of 2017, but we’ll never really know for sure. What I do know is that he is very loved and that we are very lucky to have him in our lives. I’ll definitely be posting about him often.

January 20, 2021

Curious to hear about my first time purchasing from Zara? I really had to limit myself, but I ended up with five pieces that I absolutely love!

Today’s outfit features one of my brand new tops from Zara! It’s sheer, flowy, colorful, and everything that I’m looking for in a shirt with Spring approaching.

Top: Link // Jeans: Similar // Headband: Similar

Though my style is extremely eclectic, you’ll find that I’m often inspired by bohemian fashion and home decor pieces. I seriously love everything with frills, textures, and embroidery so this shirt checks off all the boxes. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Zara was selling something of this style, because up until this point, I thought they only sold more simple, modern pieces. The quality is amazing and I was seriously impressed with everything I got.

In my order, I received two shirts and three dresses, all of which I plan to post here in the coming days. If you can’t wait until then, check out my try-on in my Instagram highlights here! Spoiler alert – and you heard it here first: I’ve already ordered from Zara again and another try-on is coming soon.

January 15, 2021

And just like that, today marks TWO WEEKS since the creation of Mel Gets Dressed! What an fun journey it’s been so far that I’m excited to continue.

If I’ve learned anything so far from this new blogging endeavor, it’s that you get out of it what you put into it. If I want so see more engagement and reach a larger audience, I have to branch out and engage with others in the same way. It’s introduced me to so many new creators so far and they inspire me every day.

To celebrate, today I’m sporting this black and white buffalo plaid printed dress that I recently purchased on sale from H&M right before the holidays. I love to wear buffalo plaid in the winter, as I feel like it’s an easy way to incorporate more color into your wardrobe with a more seasonal and classic pattern. This piece is one of my favorites from the many items that I purchased – I’ll have to do a haul before everything is sold out.

January 14, 2021

Today I’m giving you a peek inside of my MASSIVE shoe collection and dishing out the inside scoop on some of my favorites.

Free People simply cannot make a pair of shoes that I don’t like. It’s just not possible. The perfect example is this pair of red/cream houndstooth booties, which are some of the most unique looking shoes I think I’ve ever seen.

I’m not sure what year these were released, but I found them on Poshmark for a very reasonable price and scooped them up immediately, even though they are about half a size too small for me and I definitely feel it after walking around in them for a while.

I typically dress these down a bit with a pair of jeans and simple sweater in the winter, and I’m excited for the day that I can wear these to the office again!

January 11, 2021

Introducing… my first official shacket! I can already tell you that it will NOT be my last.

For the past several months, I have been watching the “shacket” trend and waiting for the perfect one (for me). The day is here and I finally have one in my hands!

I purchased this shacket during the Forever 21 50% off sale sale (sale sale), among many other things, for the great price of $17. It’s cropped in length and super soft and warm – perfect for the upcoming winter/spring transition we’ll be experiencing here in New England! Also, I’m a HUGE fan of buffalo plaid anything. I seriously wish they came out with more colors – I’ll have to keep an eye out.

January 10, 2021

Tan western shirt with Quay Jezabell sunglasses

Is Sunday the last day of the week or the first day of the week? I definitely see it as the last day of the week because I need a full day or rest before Monday comes and the madness begins again.

Speaking of rest, I’ve been taking a lot of it recently! Between Christmas, New Years, and the on-going pandemic, I’ve been staying home a lot more often than usual. The most productive thing I’ve done is clean out our basement storage and filling an entire box of of odds and ends to donate to charity. This is something I’ve been putting off for about three years now!

Because I’ve been home so much, the most exciting thing that’s happened to me is getting my package from the Forever 21 sale. I’ve been trying to stay away from buying things just because they’re on sale, but with an additional 50% off, I picked up a few pieces and trends that I’ve been wanting to try out, like this very cool western shirt. It’s a cushiony, soft material that will last, paired with my favorite Jazabell Twist sunglasses by Quay Australia. I’m excited to incorporate these into my wardrobe and style it up with existing pieces!

January 6, 2021

My outfit today is what inspired me to make my blog in the first place! It was my first time layering a collared shirt under a sweatshirt and it will definitely be a trend that I continue.

Collared Shirt: Similar // Sweatshirt: Similar // Skirt: Link // Necklace: Similar

This look consists of a lot of my personal favorite brands. I’m sporting an H&M red tennis skirt, my classic black patent Dr. Martens, a Fred Perry white button up, and a Fred Perry black sweatshirt. Though completely unintentional, it’s interesting how even the roots of this outfit are connected, as the Dr. Martens and Fred Perry brands both originated in England, and Fred Perry was a tennis player himself. Although most of these are recent purchases, the Docs and Fred Perry pieces are secondhand.

Over the past two years, my Fred Perry collection has grown exponentially thanks to ThredUp. Every now and then, someone will donate a few shirts and I always scoop them up because you really can’t beat the quality and the prices are so much lower than retail value. In this particular haul, I managed to get FIVE pieces, all for ~$100 which is a STEAL. I’ll post details of that haul in another post!