Thursday, August 17, 2017

Review: Trashy Diva Wildflowers Streetcar

Trashy Diva has almost-singlehandedly turned me into a floral aficionado. Between their glorious tropical prints, their classic allover florals, and their big, bold flower prints, I've come to see the light at last! So when they released their Wildflowers collection, it was love at first sight! I had a little trouble deciding which style to order, but since I've been drooling over the Streetcar dress from afar for ages, the answer seemed pretty obvious.

Trashy Diva Wildflowers

Oh, what's that you say? I'm not wearing a dress? Well, it certainly looks that way, doesn't it? But this is actually a clever pregnant-lady ruse: I'm wearing my new Streetcar as a skirt! (For the moment, I'll bracket the question of whether it is in fact a dress if you're wearing it as a skirt.)

In this particular case, necessity was truly the mother of invention: I waited too long to photograph this dress and couldn't quite zip it over my rapidly-expanding bump anymore. But instead of putting this dress away until next spring, I decided to MacGuyver it into a working outfit anyway!

For those of you who haven't worn dresses as skirts before, here's how it works. First, unzip the dress and fold the bodice inside the skirt portion of the dress. I like to leave about an inch of bodice above the waistband and fold it there. Step into the vaguely skirt-shaped object you've made and position it at your waist/above your massive baby belly. Zip it up as far as it'll comfortably go, and then use a safety pin to keep the zipper in place by pinning just under the zipper pull. Straighten things out and throw on a belt to beaten the look. Optional: add a petticoat or slip between the bodice and the skirt, to hold it more securely in place and smooth things out.

Trashy Diva Wildflowers review
I traipsed all over town to find pretty flowers and stand in front of them.

Honestly, I think this Frankenskirt is cute enough to wear even after I'm able to zip this dress over my belly again. But I am really looking forward to wearing my new Streetcar properly, because this style is seriously amazing. I love the way that the neckline highlights my shoulders and shows off all the time I've spent repeatedly lifting dumbbells over my head (#strongisbeautiful!), and the removable tie it comes with is the perfect amount of giant bow for me.

I went with the size 10, and after exchanging a mislabeled one that measured much smaller than the size chart, mine is right on the money. It measures 19.75" from armpit to armpit, plus a little bit of room from the darts in front, and 15.25" at the waist. The cotton voile also has a bit of give and loosens up with wear.

Trashy Diva Wildflowers streetcar as skirt

Speaking of which, I absolutely adore how the voile drapes in a gathered skirt like this one. It's nice and full even without the petticoat, but in a much more subtle vintage-inspired way. The Streetcar has pockets (!!!) and is fully lined, so there's no need to worry about accidentally showing too much. (The proof? I'm wearing it with my ruby-red petticoat!) I do wish the bodice was lined in the same plain white voile as the skirt, rather than with the print, but that's small beer given how much I love this dress. 

Trashy Diva Wildflowers

Wildflowers is one of my favorite Trashy Diva collections of the year, so much so that I had to restrain myself from picking up a third thing in this print. (Should I resist?!?) I'm really looking forward to wearing my new Streetcar dress post-baby, and I'm sure it'll make an appearance on the blog when I do!

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13 comments:

  1. Hahah I love your "frankenskirt"! This is such a wonderful idea for adapting clothing to your pregnancy figure without the need to pick up a needle and thread! You look fantastic and I never would've guessed that this wasn't actually a skirt! I adore the print too, it's a little different to standard florals with the gorgeous large poppies and the surrounding smaller flowers! Can't wait to see how you style this differently once the little'un is born!

    Abbey šŸ˜˜ www.abbeylouisarose.co.uk

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  2. Hi, I love dress I needed though that it was a skirt and top, a clever trick on your behalf. I love the bright floral patten / colours, Chloe.

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  3. Your dress looks fabulous as a skirt! Such a fun design. Kx

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  4. Such a beautiful print! I love finding amazing prints but can't resist buying everything at printed on afterwards haha šŸ’–

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  5. This is an absolutely stunning skirt and I honestly only recently noticed that your pregnant, it's amazing how you've adapted your clothing for that x

    Kayleigh Zara šŸŒæwww.kayleighzaraa.com

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  6. Look at you being innovative! I'm already imaging how cute some of my dresses would be as skirts. I'm totally going to have to remember this trick. But anyway, the Frankenskirt is lovely, so I'm sure it is indeed a lovely dress. You're forever my fashion inspo, Emily!

    Breanna Catharina
    toocuteforlife.com

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  7. This dress is absolutely stunning Emily! I really love clothes with flowers on them for some reason.
    Amy x
    www.goldenbooksgirl.wordpress.com

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  8. What an absolutely amazing idea, I would never have though of doing that. You look amazing too.

    Kristy | www.thevioletblonde.com

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  9. Love the pattern on the skirt part of the dress!

    Kirsty
    www.corinneandkirsty.com

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  10. Awesome Post. I love the way you've styled the skirt! Also, I really like the backgrounds you've found for your pictures because they really add to the mood of the post.

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  11. I love this post, and never even thought of turning a dress in to a skirt but ill definitely be giving it a go! Beautiful print on the dress too!

    Sarah | sazsinclair.com xx

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  12. The dress looks beautiful! I love your hair too.
    P.S: you're gorgeous!!

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  13. Your outfit is amazing, so bright and colorful!
    Have an awesome day!
    xx Kris

    https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com

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