If you’ve watched plus-size fashion evolve over the last decade, it’s mindblowing how far it’s come in fashion-forward style. I’m a blog reader/follower in addition to being a blogger myself and the digital landscape has changed so much. For one, you can say things like “the digital landscape” with a straight face. I know many of us look back fondly on the early days of blogging for the novelty, the community, the sincerity of style.

And then there’s life and the news. But I hope this blog is still a brief escape; a place to relish fashion together. A cup of tea. The smell of lavender.

Today I wanted to share one of those dreamy outfits that live in the imagination. What do you wear to a garden party? The garden itself! A midsummer night’s dream dress! I’ve LOVED all these sheer, embroidered dresses. They’re so very impractical, but so very beautiful. Hats off to ASOS for making this dress. After so many years, ASOS can still hit it out of the park.

You know, my inner style is often at odds with my outer life–that is, my IRL. In day-to-day life, I’m a mom who spends a lot of time in my kitchen, in kid-friendly frocks, in (gulp) Birkenstocks, or in sneakers getting miles in on the trail. YES, I have that section of my closet dedicated to dresses that remind me of this other part of me. I just don’t get to spend very much time there.

When I do get the time, I share it with you. This is the kinda stuff I’ve been wanting to talk about. So if you’re out there, I’m waving hello from my garden.

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2 Scene 1

Photos by Jessica Castro