Special Event Style: Floral Midi + Platform Sandals

Earrings: Nordstrom. Also caught my eye: flower drops, sculpted studs.
Dress: Chelsea28 midi dress xxs (fitted on me) worn with nippies
Sandals: Schutz platforms 5.5 + clear slides
Sunglasses: $15 cat eyes. Nice fit & quality for the price. I have both colors!
Handbag: Saint Laurent Kate

Nick and I snuck away to Charleston for two nights on our first parents-only trip since becoming a family of four! It was so nice to experience some sunshine in one of our favorite charming cities to visit. With spring and summer wedding season around the corner, I wanted to share this affordable find from Nordstrom’s dresses that would be beautiful for a garden or semi formal dress code. You can see this dress in motion in my Instagram video.

Floral Spaghetti Strap Dress

This is my first piece from Chelsea28, and it has me now interested in several others by the brand! It looks simple on the rack, but once you put it on it’s actually very fitted and shapely around the waist and hips, creating the illusion of curves on me. The fabric has a slight crinkle to it in a pretty watercolor print, and travels wonderfully as it’s wrinkle-resistant and lightweight.

Sizing & Fit: Currently full stocked starting in xxs regular, and for someone petite, the adjustable shoulder straps here really helped with fit. This dress is fully lined and fit snugly on me without much stretch.

XXS measures: 16.5″ across the bust (a little loose on me), 12.5″ across the waist (fitted on me), 16.5″ across the hips and is 38″ long not including the straps. I could go bra-less with this due to the crinkle texture pattern fabric, or wear with my usual nippies.

Schutz Keefa Platform Sandals

Platform sandals like these are a bit of a throwback for me – they’ve really made a comeback in recent years and are one of my favorite trends for spring and summer! I’ve been eying the Schutz Keefa since last year and they turned out to be very lightweight and elongating, and feel fairly comfortable given the height. I’m usually either a 5 or 5.5 in most brands, and almost always take 5.5 in Schutz shoes.

For a lower and more practical footwear option, here’s how the dress looks with my usual go-to clear Schutz Victorie slides below. These have a stable block heel that I can walk comfortably in for HOURS, and they take seconds to slip on and off with no strap to fidget with.

Flutter Sleeve Midi Dress (nursing + bump friendly)

I wanted to quickly share another Chelsea28 dress with good reviews that I tried on. This is a much more flowy and stretchy option compared to the form-fitting spaghetti strap dress above. The material is a finely pleated texture with lots of stretch, and the style is both nursing and early bump friendly. The length is longer, and the neckline and torso are a little loose on me since this is regular sizing.

The xxs measures 14″ across the bust, 10.5″ across the waist (super stretchy), and 46″ long.

Thank you to Nordstrom for partnering on this post.