What I Wore: Candy Stripe
This post brought to you by Sparkling Ice.
dress | shoes | bag | lipstick
Dress: Eliza J (14) | Shoes: Nine West | Bag: c/o Novica (years old yet still available!) | Bracelet: Had forever (similar) | Lipstick: NARS Heat Wave
Oooh I'm so excited that summer is right around the corner! I'm dreaming of warm sunny days, and shopping for them too. As I mentioned in this post, a cotton shirtdress like this one from Eliza J is a perfect choice for rising temps. I love how this print can be work appropriate with nude pumps, perfect for a summer weekend with Birkenstocks or sandals, or can be festive with statement shoes. It was a no brainer to pair it with my favorite color – orange!
In the very town center where these pictures were taken, I will be at the season’s first community festival this Sunday. It's Mother's Day and our annual tradition is for my mom, Emerson, and I to head to my sister's for a fabulous brunch, then Karl joins us and we all walk down to this town center for music, art, and spending time with friends and neighbors. I always see this festival as the kickoff of the summer season, for right around the corner is Memorial Day, weekends at the pool and trips to the beach. This summer the Garys plan on living life to the fullest and we have a lot of adventures on the schedule. Summer is the time of year to seize the day and live in the moment and we're planning on doing just that. Stay tuned as I'll be sharing plenty of them on the blog.
Sparkling Ice reached out and asked if I'd share the ways I plan to live life to its fullest this summer as they are empowering us to, “DO MORE. LIVE MORE. AND EXPERIENCE MORE” this season. Their sparkling waters, teas, and lemonades add splashes of color and intensity to every day. I've enjoyed Sparkling Ice before this partnership, but thanks to it I have tried many more of their 20 different flavors and have some new favorites. I know it feels as though it was just winter, and for some people it may still be chilly where you live. But summer is around the corner and it's time to think about how you plan to enjoy the season. Let me know in the comments how you plan to live life to its fullest and Flavor Up your summer!
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Love the dress! Did you get the regular or petite? Thanks!
I got the regular, when I ordered it petite wasn’t available.
Such a cute dress!!!!
Jaymie
http://www.jaymieashcraft.com
Thanks Jaymie!
Very pretty – that dress looks really well and the pictures are very cute.
Thank you!
I’m with the others that this does feel very promoter-y and false-sounding in a way that your other sponsored posts normally don’t. I think because you don’t actually post much about food or drink in general, sometimes posts on these topics stand out more than sponsored fashion posts? (Wasn’t there one about cookies a while back that got similar critique?) But you know what, I love your blog, and I think you produce great content, and if it takes the odd post that doesn’t sound quite authentic to help fund everything else, then I’m more than happy to roll with that.
Also, that outfit is really cute.
Thanks Emily. The second post from this campaign with Sparkling Ice came out and I think it shows why I chose to work with this brand. I like the message they are sending. And campaigns have contractual obligations when it comes to wording and such, this first post in the series of three was meant to introduce the product to all of you, the next posts will be more about why I thought this campaign with Sparkling Ice was right for Wardrobe Oxygen. THANK YOU for always being honest with me!
That dress looks MUCH better on you than it does on the model on the Nordy site! It is very flattering on you!
Thanks so much!
That dress looks amazing on you! I love the pop of orange!
Thank you!
Allie I am so sorry people are giving you a hard time. These are beautiful photos and an awesome dress. Do these same people get mad when their favorite podcast does a promo for stamps.com or a Dell computer is used on their favorite TV show? I’m happy to see you receive paid opportunities like this. You’ve always done a fine job of spacing out sponsored posts between high quality content.
It’s okay, this blog wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you readers, I want to hear true feedback so I can grow and keep improving Wardrobe Oxygen!
I like the print of the dress. Is the skirt as full while wearing it as it looks in the photos? And I like the pop of orange!
I know they probably give you as set of wording guidelines, but this reads SO MUCH like a fake-perky TV ad rather than a “I tried this, liked it, wanted the rest if you to know, and hey, the makers are even giving me a few bucks for it” vibe that comes from most of your other sponsored posts. I don’t know what tone you were trying to go for, but just wanted to give some feedback.
Sorry for the delay in replying to your comment. The skirt is full, and the cotton has some body to it. And as for the post, I had specific content I needed to include, but yesterday I posted the second in the series from Sparkling Ice and I had the ability to make it less about the product and more the way I desire. Sparkling Ice is a pretty fantastic company, and I’m proud to be part of this campaign, and I think the second post shows more the concept I was thinking of when agreeing to work with them. 🙂
Hi Allie, as you know I am a fan (great dress by the way) but i do find this advertorial for a soft drink (no sugar = artificial sweeteners – even worse) rather too much. I’m telling you because otherwise you’ll never know. Best, and otherwise keep up the good work.
I thank you for speaking up, Ruth. While this first post mentions the drink in detail, in general Sparkling Ice just wants me to talk about having a blast this summer, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Second, when I read the ingredients I felt better about promoting this drink than many other products. I have a bottle of pink grapefruit in front of me, the ingredients in order are: carbonated water, grapefruit juice concentrate, natural flavors, citric acid, potassium benzoate (to preserve freshness), sucralose, green tea extract, calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor), biotin, B3, B5, ester gum, B12, D3, B6.
I cater my content to intelligent women who are careful with their purchases which helps me sleep at night but doesn’t bring in as much money. Blogging in 2016 takes a lot more time and a lot more money to keep it going, and I look for partnerships like this one that don’t compromise my integrity in order to keep the blog running. Wardrobe Oxygen may be a passion, but it’s also a business and one that my family relies on and partnerships like these are not every post and carefully chosen to keep the business going.
Hi Allie, thanks very much for the detailed reply. And I do appreciate that you need to make a living! Having just read Kristin’s post below, I guess it sums up some of my feelings. There were sentences that felt too much like ‘puff’ and, more than any objections that I may have to the drink, I do worry that if you do too much of this it may cheapen your brand. Which would be a shame.
I understand that this is a delicate balancing act for you. I hope that you can take the comments as positively meant and they will help you achieve even firmer footholds on the tightrope of blogging.
With very best wishes. I had been envying you your sunny days, but now summer seems to be heading for London as well.
Stay stripy!