Style

Style: July ’10

If I knew how to swim, I’d buy that swimsuit immediately. I still kind of want it anyway. *sigh*

I do however know how to relax at a backyard barbecue (which I will be doing this fourth of July weekend), and this outfit would be perfect. A casual, comfortable dress, awesome strappy flat sandals, a charming necklace, and a punchy straw bag. Done.

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  • Ludmila {creamylife.com}
    July 2, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    love the sandals! this outfit is perfection! happy weekend!

  • Julie
    July 2, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    Love the smimsuit… I would feel like a 50s pin up girl in it!

  • Kelly
    July 2, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    I love this outfit. And this feature. I am requesting you do it more often……

  • Mrs Soup
    July 2, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    Okay, that dress is totally cute and so is the swimsuit.

    And how do you not know how to swim?!

  • Robin
    July 2, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    You don’t know how to swim?! Maybe you can take swim lessons with your daughter – that suit is super cute inspiration! :-)

  • L
    July 2, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    Get the suit – surely your girl will need to be a bathing beauty w/mom this summer!

    Take lessons!

  • coral
    July 2, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    You live in the midwest and don’t know how to swim? Scandalous!

    • Making it Lovely
      July 3, 2010 at 9:53 am

      I know. I can do other things that you learn as a kid (ride a bike, roller skate, etc.), but I never learned how to swim.

      • valerie
        July 3, 2010 at 12:17 pm

        I never learned either. And I’m from the west coast. Hmm.

  • bridget
    July 2, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    emerson made is everywhere these days! and i looove that dress.

  • Jessika
    July 2, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    Make a 31 before 30 and add “Learn to swim.”

    • Making it Lovely
      July 3, 2010 at 9:55 am

      I think I’m going to start a new list after my ’30 Before Thirty’ one… learning to swim should definitely be on it.

  • Sarah
    July 2, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    Ok, I love the bathing suit too – too glam! and the striped bag…adore!! thank you for sharing!

  • Allison
    July 2, 2010 at 8:56 pm

    Love the bathing suit, wish it came in different colors. I don’t tan at all, and black just makes me look ghostly.

    • Making it Lovely
      July 3, 2010 at 9:54 am

      Check out the Esther Williams suits that are linked to in a comment below… tons of adorable colors and patterns!

  • Sarah K
    July 2, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    LOVE that bag! Thanks for sharing. I always look forward to your posts popping up in my google reader feed.

  • Amy
    July 2, 2010 at 9:39 pm

    You don’t need to know how to swim to lounge by the pool or lake in that bathing suit!! I’ll need to lose the baby weight (and actually birth this baby…) before I get anything new though.

  • Lana
    July 2, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    I absolutely LOVE everything about this outfit. I would like to wear it on a beach in Italy with large sunglasses and some limoncello, please!

  • Lisa
    July 2, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    This is your best yet!

  • Jenny
    July 2, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    Cute outfit! I tried on that swimsuit and hated, hated, it. LOVE the look of it; hated it on. There are so many great suits like that nowadays, though, thank goodness. It all depends more on a price point. And I personally get tired of every well-cut suit being in black…
    J.Crew, LandsEnd, and this site http://www.retrodress.com/otherstuffsix.html, are just a few with some good choices.
    Jenny

    • Making it Lovely
      July 3, 2010 at 9:50 am

      Cute! I think those are the same Esther Williams suits another person linked to below.

  • Melissa
    July 2, 2010 at 11:08 pm

    I have to admit that I’ve tried that suit, too, and it just didn’t do anything for me! I think you have to have a pretty extreme hourglass shape to make it really look incredible, and I’m pretty straight up and down! It did a good job of camouflaging everything bad, though!

    And those sandals are to die for!

  • Allison
    July 3, 2010 at 2:35 am

    Get the suit! I love its wonderful retro pinup look! You can wear it to the beach, the paddling pool, or just to run through the sprinkler with Eleanor! No actual swimming necessary.

    Though, like other comments, I encourage you to add learning to swim to your 30-before-30 list (making it slightly less accurately named, but more awesome) and use the cute bathing suit as a bribe to yourself!

  • Skye
    July 3, 2010 at 5:22 am

    That swimsuit it gorgeous and I want it, too. I can’t swim either, but I do float in the pool and play with kids in little shallow pools. I usually wear tankini’s with surf shorts and this would be a great alternative. Thanks for the link!

  • rosecampion
    July 3, 2010 at 7:43 am

    You should totally get the suit. The park district pool in Oak Park is totally awesome for the little kidlets like your daughter. They have a zero depth entry splash area and a special wading pool for the under six crowd.

    A suit that’s very similar to that one, but a lot cheaper is the Esther Williams classic sheath.

    http://esther-williams.com/proddetail.php?prod=Classic_Sheath

    • Making it Lovely
      July 3, 2010 at 9:52 am

      OK, I had to order the red and white polka dot suit. I was just telling my mom the other day that my perfect suit would be that same shape as the black one I included above, but in red and white polka dots. Yay!

  • twyla
    July 3, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    osm dress.
    ANd if I swam I’d be into that swimsuit too, provided it could hold up the sisters without pulling on my neck bad.

  • modernhaus
    July 3, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    I just ordered that suit from Anthro and was a little nervous about fit, but personally I ADORE it. It covers just enough down yonder so I don’t feel like my cheeks are on view and bouncing every which way.

  • Ann M.
    July 4, 2010 at 10:53 am

    The entire outfit is gorgeous, but the swimsuit is just perfect! Why don’t you get it for lazing by the pool/on the beach or even in your backyard with your feet in one of those baby swimming pools? You don’t need to know how to swim to enjoy a swimsuit!

  • dg
    July 4, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    You *must* learn how to swim. Just another thing you must do as a responsible mother. You must learn how to swim right now. You never know but that a life may depend on it.

  • Melissa
    July 5, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    I agree: gorgeous swimsuit. And not being able to swim is the perfect excuse to visit the Dead Sea. :) Think you should make a part of your next travels!

  • Ellen
    July 6, 2010 at 8:32 am

    I love other adults who admit to not swimming, I never learned, and it has been an embarrassing as a kid and as an adult. My 1 year old is getting lots of pool time, and will be in swim lessons. As for me learning…

  • Jenny
    July 6, 2010 at 9:53 am

    Oooo I like that blue dress :D I can never find anything that looks good on me though. All the stuff I ever try on makes me look like a freak… /sad

  • Two Lovely Spaces
    July 6, 2010 at 11:16 am

    LOVE the black swimsuit. Love, love, love!! Thanks for sharing Nicole.

  • Jen H.
    July 6, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    I just bought those sandals yesterday (on sale). I am wearing them today and they are FABULOUS!

  • Robyn
    July 6, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    Nicole, i love you.

  • Morgan
    July 6, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    I always LOVE your style posts! I have a really similar suit from Jantzen and I am loving it, especially on a post-baby body!

  • brit
    July 6, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    Awesome promo for you over at http://www.younghouselove.com today! Love it!

  • Bethany Joy
    July 6, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    Love that bathing suit. Too bad I already took my beach trip for the summer!

  • Nikki
    July 7, 2010 at 6:24 am

    LOVE! the swimsuit.

  • Alicia
    August 3, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    I don’t know if you’ll see this comment since this post is nearly a month old, but your Style feature is one of my favorite things about this blog! Any chance you’ll ever consider doing more than one for each month? :crossingfingers: