Clothing Items as Art with VIPme
I’m not an artist and I don’t even play one on television. However, I can certainly appreciate the beauty of gorgeous paintings! As I’ve said many times, I’m always on the lookout for great clothing for us older women that look great and are within a reasonable price range. When I was reading Kileen’s blog post back in June, I fell in love with the print of her dress. And I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it wasn’t super expensive.
As I looked through VIPme’s website I ogled over so many of the items because of the prints and materials of their pieces. It was obvious that they do not market to us older women when looking at the age their models. But that didn’t deter me! I think so many of their items would be fun, not only for the youngsters, but also for us oldsters!
I really was trying to analyze why I was so drawn to many of the clothing items on VIPme’s website. And then it came to me….many of the prints were like artwork. It made me think of beautiful canvases with lovely colors and scenery. Since many of us are in the second half of our lifespan, I think it’s wonderful to find options ways to set us apart from the masses. I feel that one of those ways to do that, is to wear unique and artsy pieces of clothing. Have a look at their site and tell me what you think below in the comments!
How I got involved:
So, for the first time, I actually reached out to a company to see if they would want to work with a more mature crowd (the three of us!!). What that means is VIPme gifted us these three dresses for us to review.
If you are looking to purchase clothing, let me give a hint or two. Don’t be put off if the item says mini dress or seems too short for your comfort—it can always be worn as a tunic with leggings, jeans or a skirt underneath it. I also realize that the sizing can be problematic when looking at a new site. Some of VIPme’s clothing do not yet have actual measurements listed with their S,M,L sizing chart. This will change very soon though, I was assured. Thus, to be safe, I would only order items you can be sure will fit since returns are accepted but the return postage is paid by the customer.
Another important fact about the measurements. My experience with these overseas companies is that their measurements are the exact measurements of the area of the clothing. I think in the States when you order an item with a 35-inch bust, build in an allowance factored depending on the cut. This is not the case in this clothing. Thus if your body measurement is 35 inches, you will want to size up. Unless, of course, you want it to be tight. I would say, it’s easier to go up a size and if needed have it taken it or altered. It is much harder to make something bigger than it is to make is smaller.
Outfits:
So onto these “dresses”—and I say that in quotes to show how we wore them differently. I wore mine as a dress, Nancy wore hers as a tunic and mom wore hers as a covering.
Jodie’s (50’s) Dressy Outfit: The green of this dress is what drew me to it….I have nothing like it in my closet, so I felt it’d be a good challenge! They have the same dress in yellow, but I already have a yellow dress! I had a couple of options for shoes to wear for the summer months. These sandals are my go-to in the neutral category, but I also could have worn my white sandals or my blush patent sandals. For the cooler months, I could substitute my sandals with black or grey pumps!
The dress comes with a slip that is attached throughout the body of the dress making it quite modest. The sleeves are sheer and I love the trim on the collar & sleeves.
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Shoes: Chinese Laundry (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)
Jodie’s (50’s) Casual Outfit: For the casual look, I could have easily thrown my denim jacket over top, but I didn’t want to take away from the dress itself. Thus I threw on my brogue shoes instead and grabbed my fringe purse! Another option would have been to wear my silver sneakers or even my dark brown sandals (which is what I ended up wearing the rest of the day)—I tried them all and was pleasantly surprised at how many options I had!
Since this is a shift dress it’s very loose which is nice for the hotter weather. When it’s over 100 degrees, the last thing I want is a tight-fitting article around my body!
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Shoes: Aldo (similar here-a little darker but a nice price)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)~~Purse: (similar here)
Nancy’s (60’s) Dressy Outfit: I’ve always thought that the dresses with the different colored panels down the sides are so flattering. And that’s what this piece reminds me of with the portrait in the middle. For this dressy look, I had Nancy wear a pencil skirt under it, but you could also layer it over a shift dress.
This printed tunic is extremely popular, and we were lucky to get one! Since it is sold out at this moment, I still recommend taking a look at their site and finding a similar style like this black mini dress—it’s the same pattern, it just doesn’t have the rushing or elastic on it (that I show below).
I tried to get a closer view of the print because the flower at the woman’s nose has beading on it, and the yellow flower under it has sequins. This is one of those pieces that would be perfect for those of you who do not love to accessorize. It certainly doesn’t need a necklace with an interesting picture on the front. So all Nancy wore for these shots was earrings!
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Shoes: Anne Klein (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)
Nancy’s (60’s) Casual Outfit: Then for the casual look, we added leggings! I realize that Nancy probably wouldn’t wear her leggings in the summer because hers are a heavier material. However, I know there are lighter-weight leggings out there. Besides, I’ve seen many women wearing leggings in the summer.
Thus we added in her new sandals to keep the outfit somewhat summery. There are other interesting details about this tunic besides the bling on the front. It has an elastic band at the waist in the back which gives it a little shaping. It also has some ruching in the front!
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Shoes: Steve Madden(similar here)~~Leggings: Coldwater Creek (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (70’s) Dressy Outfit: I picked this dress for mom, for a couple of reasons. I love that it buttons down the front, so it could also be worn as a duster! For the dressy look, I had mom wear a black skirt & black tank. Mom could have also layered this piece over a dress! The details I love so much about it, is, of course, the print, but also a couple of other things. The trim down the button panel is a ribbon-like material. This trim is also around the armband hems. It’s a hi-lo hem and thus hangs lower in the back. And then it has the beige panels of material on the side to break up the print.
This particular piece is very sheer, so I doubt you would wear it by itself. Then again, the sheerness is cooler for the hotter weather. It could be your kimono, or jacket when going to an air-conditioned place. I left the sleeves down which is just below the elbows for those of you that prefer a little longer coverage. The material is silk, so a good reminder is that it doesn’t have stretch in it…another reason to go up a size. We buttoned just the top button, so we’d have the black line of the outfit continuing down the front for contrast. Since it’s summer, I had mom wear the beige shoes for a lighter effect! But black pumps would be fine also.
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Skirt: Mom made (similar here)~~Tank: (similar here)~~Shoes: Nine West (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (70’s) Casual Outfit: I wanted to show how the same piece could work in a more casual setting! There are so many colors in this print, that you could probably pair it with anything muted. I really wanted to show off the loveliness of this dress though, so I kept it relatively neutral with navy capris & a white tank.
This time we buttoned the middle buttons, added sneakers, and a necklace. The dress has tabs in the arms so you can roll up the sleeves. Since it was warm out, we did that this time. Mom grabbed her artsy wristlet bag and we were good to go!
Dress: VIPme.com (here)~~Pants: Fabrizio-Gianni (similar here)~~Shoes: Keds (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Wristlet: (similar here)
Lo, and behold, I also found out that VIPme is hoping to empower all women no matter their race, religion, or age in their #UniquelyME campaign—see the non-commercial video on Facebook here—it brought a smile to my face–tell me what you think?
Again, I thank you for your support—it’s been so fun to find these different companies that could work for any ages!!
This week for styling our 3 generations, we’ll be each wearing a jumpsuit! I must admit, I thought those words would never come out of my mouth, but, never say never, right?
