25 Days of Style: a Fashion Blog series -- Day 12

     Day 12 and I'm halfway to my goal. Whew. This is a lot of work, but the fashion show must go on! And today I'm in the mood for something dark, but beautiful and delicate and Rodarte is the remedy for just that. If you've never seen Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan then you may or may not be familiar with Kate and Laura Mulleavy's work. Because before this film, I feel as if the only association Rodarte has had with popular culture are Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst, who are avid fans of the Mulleavy sister's work. They designed the ballerina costumes that Natalie Portman wore in the film, and I thought that it was very sweet and appropriate that she wore Rodarte on the night that she won the Best Actress Academy Award for that role. This Rodarte dress with the mesh tulle reminds me so much of a full ballerina skirt that I feel like (poorly) dancing to a Swan Lake number. 

     First off, the dress is such a statement piece already that I had to take a moment to think about how I would style it. The design of the dress is so gorgeous but very busy. There are a lot of elements that are going on -- the bows on the shoulder, a busy neckline, the mesh overlay, and of course the explosion of tulle. It looks simple at first glance, but if styled erroneously, it can take away from the beauty of the dress. So how do you style a dress that's already so intricate and complex on it's own? You highlight the dress with the right muted accessories and the right styling of your hair and make up. 

     To showcase the beautiful craftsmanship of the dress, especially the neckline and back, I styled my hair in a cute little chignon (see video below for tutorial via the beauty department.) By taking my locks away from my face and top frame, it gives room for the dress to shine. And for a little delicate and sparkly detail, I styled my hair with an embellished elastic hair accessory. I could've also added a simple black belt to cinch the waist, but decided to opt for sheer polka dot tights instead. The tights create a smooth flow between the hem of the dress and my black suede pumps, but without taking away too much from the pattern of the dress. And of course, I love a red lip to go with light pale blush hues. 

     At first glance, did the dress look too big on me at all? No? Well, believe it or not it once did. This is one of the dresses that Rodarte designed for Target's Go International line (to celebrate all of their designer collaborations thus far) and as you can imagine, all of the dresses were snatched off the rack faster than they were placed on it. So I only got my hands on this dress which was two sizes too big. Not being able to find your size usually deters shoppers from making a purchase, but what they don't know is how useful a tailor can be! From the moment the look book of this collection was released, this was one of the four dresses that I wanted to get for myself, so I couldn't pass the opportunity to get this dress despite the fact that it was too big. So I researched the best tailor in town (this part is very important), got an estimate for the dress, went for a fitting, and paid an affordable amount to get this dress tailored made just for me! Not only does it fit like a glove now, after having it taken in, I can now wear this as often as I want without having it just hang sadly in my closet, which would've been very tragic. So Fashion 101: Take your ill fitting clothes to the tailor. You wouldn't believe how much difference it can make and how relatively inexpensive it is! Happy Sunday everyone! 

Love, KB

dress by Rodarte 

polka dot tights by Urban Outfitters 

elastic headband by J. Crew

black suede pumps by Steve Madden