Friday, May 24, 2013

Frock Fridays: Shore Whites

It's Memorial Day Weekend!  At this time last year, I was a week away from repatriating to the United States.  Can you believe I've been back for so long?  Not sure I can!  But it means that we're a year closer to my wedding and a year closer to being reunited with Jon for good.  Speaking of my wedding, I realized too late that I wasn't ready for Wedding Wednesday this week so, since we're officially allowed to wear whites as of this weekend, let's make this a Frock Fridays / Wedding Wednesday hybrid post again today.

My amazing sister and Maid of Honor has been emailing me about my American bachelorette party - yes, I'm having another one in London! - and I'm getting so excited about it even though she's keeping her cards close to the vest.  The main idea at the moment is to spend some time on the Eastern Shore, the spit of land split between Maryland and Virginia just below Delaware that divides the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.  It's got lovely towns full of antique stores and bars right on the water, restaurants offering crab buffets so wonderfully overwhelming that you leave with Old Bay in your pores, and, of course, miles and miles of beaches.

I'd love to pack an outfit like this if we go out for the weekend: a breezy white sundress cinched with a braided brown leather belt, accessorized with chambray mini-wedge espadrilles and a nautically-striped tote and topped of with a vintage denim jacket for the cool evenings.  It would be perfect for a day on the shore!

Actually, these pieces would also be perfect for an early morning on the promenade in Saint Malo, France.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, head over to Le Petit Village, where I'm sharing the story of how international love blossomed one summer many years ago...

summertime


Edited: the bag I had originally included with this outfit was from Primark, and after receiving an incredibly thoughtful email from a reader (who will be named as soon as she gives me permission to do so!) reminding me about Primark's abysmal record when it comes to corporate social responsibility and human rights violations.  As much as I liked that bag, I like life more - so I've replaced it with another.  (I couldn't find anything horrible about Michael Kors, though it sounds like the company isn't actually very transparent in their practices, so I'll keep reading up on it.)  This is obviously a topic for a much longer blog post, but I do quickly want to thank that reader here for making me stop and think and change.

linking up with {long distance loving}

35 comments:

  1. What a lovely dress! Especially with the jacket!

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  2. Hello Betsy,

    I love the combination of a white dress with jeans. :)

    I saw your guest post on Sara's blog and I am also part of an international couple so I had to check out your blog and I will definitely come back!
    I am a German living in the United States. :)
    Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
    Katrin
    landofcandycanes.blogspot.com

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  3. Great outfit and love this set! Perfect for this weekend and that bag is absolutely adorable since I prefer my horizontal stripes on places other than my body, haha!

    XO ~Kim @ popcosmo.com

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  4. perfection. Love it with that bag! Have a great weekend love! PS Can we do brunch again soon please???

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  5. LOVE the outfit!! It is incredible! And would be perfect almost anywhere, but especially for an American bachelorette!

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  6. I'm so hiring you to fill my closet.




    Oh wait, I'm broke. But someday.

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  7. I'm pretty sure I retired my last jean jacket in the 90's but I'm so tempted to get another one!

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  8. YAY hello and welcome! I'll head over to check out your story, too :)

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  9. denim jackets are classic! have a great weekend :)

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  10. I've actually just changed the bag - cute is great and I was totally with you on that, but human rights look even better!

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  11. stripes FTW, especially during the summer - and yes :)

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  12. Love the outfit! I miss sundresses and sandals!

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  13. Ethical textiles is a sticky situation and we could (and should?) talk A LOT about it. Especially when things 'made' in a certain place could have been 'assembled' elsewhere, and the fabric made elsewhere again, and price is no guarantee it's ethical, sadly.
    I recently stopped myself from buying socks in H&M because they were made in Bangladesh, and in light of what happened there recently I couldn't earnestly support that. Economists would argue that any job is better than no job, but that doesn't stop me from looking at the labels of the clothes I buy, noting where it was made, and wondering how.

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  14. Jean jackets! I got my first one this year and cannot stop wearing it around town. It's simply the best. And somehow, I feel so cool carrying it when it's not even on :)

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  15. haha I'm thinking of going EXTRA red/white/blue for the London one since it's on July 4th :P

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  16. (**playing devil's advocate; I have very mixed feelings on the issue**)


    Just after the Bangladesh tragedy I listened to an NPR interview with a woman who's dedicated her life to textile-workers' rights and she said one of the worst responses would be for Western countries to stop buying items made in impoverished companies. She said it is far more productive and helpful to continue buying but to petition and voice opinions to the companies to increase safety protocol and employee welfare. She basically said that the initial response of not buying products made in X or made with X or whatever doesn't last, at least not with a large enough percentage of consumers to make a true difference- but that consumers are more likely to remember and voice their opinions when a label is consistently in their faces. When consumers stop buying things "Made in Bangladesh", the companies just close up factories there and find a new country (the movement over past decades from Hong Kong to Taiwan to India and so forth), leaving former workers in worse condition, with menial skills and nowhere to apply them.

    I wish I could remember her name, but I was on an hour's drive several weeks ago so the interview ended long before I was stationary. But she was very adamant that boycotting/avoiding items from specific countries is only likely to have negative impact on the workers.



    (again, just putting information out there.)

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  17. You need this shirt: http://shirt.woot.com/offers/dependence-day

    (I proudly rocked it on July 3, 2010 and July 3, 2012, but July 3, 2011 we were in Rep. of Ireland, so it didn't seem wise...)

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  19. I adore this outfit! Love everything about it.
    Lori

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  20. me too - it was warm enough a few weeks ago, but now it's cold again :(

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  21. haha I don't think I've had one this millenium either!

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  22. WHY IS IT SO COLD THIS WEEKEND. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

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  23. FIRST ONE? what kind of deprived childhood did you have... haha :)

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  24. I too have mixed feelings on the whole issue and I've heard the same argument before, that we should continue to buy from countries with low wages because eventually wages should level out. I'm proud Betsy addressed the issue on her blog because there are so many facets to it. To be honest I'm never sure what the 'right' answer is.

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  25. I seriously love those espadrilles!

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  27. One of my closest friends grew up on the Eastern Shore and I've been lucky enough to get to steal away there for many a summer weekend, it truly is lovely! Kudos to you for adjusting even your dream outfit to really conform with your values...plus the bag is super cute!

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  29. Manohar Singh Aakeli'B'May 26, 2013 at 5:16 AM

    I’ve bookmarked your blog just now and Ill be back to read more in the future my friend! Also pleasant colors on the layout it goes well with the blog in my modest opinion. Designer lehenga

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  30. Almost a year already! How time flies! Before you know it, you'll be a Mrs. :)
    Thank you for guest posting for me, everyone loved your post! x

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  31. I can't believe it's been a year! And oh, fashion rules. I forget that Memorial Day is the day in the North, it's Easter here :)

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  32. Dammit. I wish i had to bod to wear that outfit. Betsy- stop torturing me!

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