Fantasy/Reality: a-line spring dresses

I love a good A-line dress. It looks put together and feminine without looking too sweet, and does wonders for a gal’s figure.

I have been lusting after the Proenza Schouler Grosgrain Stripe dress since I saw it on Rent the Runway:

I love the structure of it, the sheen and texture of the material, and the sweet ribbon striping at the bottom hem. It’s technically a fall/winter dress, but with the bright color of the ribbon, it could work all year round. It retails at $1175. Even RTR’s rental price of $250 is, decidedly, out of my budget.

Click here to view the dress on RTR; you may need to sign up, but the ability to rent couture is a tool every girl should have in her back pocket anyway.

Lucky for me, sweet, ladylike A-line dresses are BIG this spring.

DaisyJD recently featured this lovely Jason Wu dress in her blog and I think it’s a perfect spring/summer substitute for the more-expensive-than-my-rent Proenza Schouler:

I love the high neckline with the almost mini-skirt hem, and the classic navy and red color combo. It’s cotton poplin, and not nearly as luxurious or evening-appropriate as the Proenza, but its tailored enough fit right in at all those spring weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, and charity luncheons. At $39.99, I’ll be happy even if I only wear it to brunch with my girlfriends.

The Jason Wu for Target line is available February 5. Here’s to hoping there won’t be any Missoni-esque lines and website crashes this time around, so I can get a piece of this pretty capsule collection.

I WIN! Sort of.

Different kind of “Fantasy/Reality” for you today:

I won one of my Fantasy Football leagues! Against The Namby Pamby Lawyer! This is a no-money league with just bragging rights in the Victor’s purse, so I intend to take full advantage of my newly-acquired right to brag. Yay!

On the other hand, I lost in my big-money league:

Going in, I was in the lead in scoring, and the points projection for this matchup showed me having the advantage in every position except kicker and winning by over 20 points. So I set my lineup Christmas Eve morning and walked away, confident in my players’ ability to bring me the Win. Unfortunately, Cam Newton and Kahlil Bell did not get the memo and put up outstanding numbers for my opponent. Not even stellar performances by Drew Brees and Mike Nugent (a.k.a. the Nougat Nugget, per @actionflikchick) could make up for my 14.1 point deficit. Jermichael Finley and I aren’t even speaking any more.

Sigh. There’s always next year. As a Chargers fan, I’m already pretty good at saying that mantra.

The single worst thing about losing is that my opponent is the biggest shit-talker in our league. He will never let me live down losing to him, especially considering I proxy-picked the winning teams in the prior 2 years, I’m the Commissioner’s wife, and I beat him in overall points and winning record. In 5 years I’m sure we’ll be at some BBQ or kid’s party and he’ll start in with, “remember that one year I kicked your ass in Fantasy Football? That was awesome.”

Oh, on top of the loss, I’m also the league Banker. It’s a tradition in our league for the banker to take the winner to lunch and disburse the winnings, and I am not excited about it. Maybe I’ll start a new tradition and make him pay for lunch instead.

Fantasy/Reality: Fall and Winter Boots

The arrival of hot-cocktail season also means the start of boot season in San Diego, and this girl needs some new boots. Luckily, the Nordstrom Ladies’ Half-Yearly is in progress.

I’m searching for brown leather knee boots, flat or a wedge, round or almond toe (and not riding boots). I need to be able to walk 3/4 of a mile or more in these boots, and I need them to have serious longevity, both in terms of style and durability. Basically I’m being uber picky.

The Fantasy winner:

Hello, lovely.

 

Stuart Weitzman ‘Mainline’ Stretch Fabric & Nappa Leather Over the Knee Boot — $595
Nordstrom.com

 

But seriously, who has $595 to spend on boots right now? My friend J at Living According to Scales (and presently sitting next to me)  says Carrie Bradshaw does. I argue that boots are more Charlotte’s thing. But I digress.

Reality: The boots I will, more than likely, end up getting:

Runner-up.

 

REPORT ‘Waldron’ Boot — $70.90 (sale price)
Nordstrom.com

 

 

They’re leather and they have a good calf  circumference. They don’t have a zipper, which kind of sucks, but I can tough it out. They look like they’re supposed to be slouchy anyway. Of course they don’t looks as high-end as the Stuart Weitzman, but that’s because they aren’t and I’m ok with that.  I’m a little worried about the 3.5 inch heel, but since it’s a wedge I should be fine to walk in them. I’ll probably have them resoled with something more durable.

So what do you guys & gals think? What items are you coveting for your cold-weather wardrobe, and what are your “Fantasy/Reality” picks? Let me know in the comments.