Dressbarn Dresses (plus $25 gift card giveaway!)

Picture blatantly stolen from Eartha's blog. Thanks! :)

Hi guys! I had a really fun time Thursday night at the Dressbarn at Opry Mills. You heard that right! 

While it might not have been the first place to come to mind to stage a vintage bloggers meetup, the kind folks at "the Barn" invited me to bring some fellow writin' friends/fiends to sample the goods at the newly revamped retail location at the newly re-opened mall. I chose Eartha Kitsch from Ranch Dressing with Eartha Kitsch, Rae from Say It Ain't So, and Jamie from Owl Really to come and see if the email invitation for a night of VIP blogging was really a Nigerian mail scheme. Turns out, it wasn't!


My one previous memory of Dressbarn was from the pre-flood Opry Mills period, in which my friend Kelsey took me to the store, bragging of its plus size, dark denim wash jeans and cute shoes. She was right on both counts-- the items were solid, but the ambiance left something to be desired. The store at the time was pretty drab-- moms-shopping-atmosphere of too-white-ceiling tiles and grey industrial carpeting. Well! No more! Updated and redesigned, I was surprised at how modern the place looked compared to its former location across from the AppleBarn. Boasting sizes 4-24, Dressbarn stocks a ton of dresses that look like they've been swiped straight from Betty Draper's closet. Would I lie to you? Check it out:

one, two, three, four

We had fun trying on these outfits in the write-your-name-in-dry-erase-marker dressing rooms, complete with ivory divans (see Eartha's photo of Jamie and me above), beveled mirrors, and chandeliers. Oh la la! As I tried on a dress in a teeny size, I was doing a two-step in the mirror to try and decide if it was TOO too small before I realized I was in a retail setting, and could easily ask for another size. People, shopping at Goodwill and for vintage in general has dulled my retail shopping skills! It was confusing to me to see racks of dresses of similar design in different sizing. This would be a great place to pick up a party dress in those "I need something RIGHT THIS MINUTE" situations that seem to crop up before weddings, birthday blow outs, etc, etc. I think with the right styling and some tall hair you could turn one or two of the ones above into a really vintage looking outfit. Some of my best ensembles have been department store dresses (scooped up from Goodwill, natch) fitted with a belt and topped off with a beehive and lipstick for the whole early 60's look after which I pine so. And again, if the fit isn't right, you can size up or size down! The novelty has not yet worn off on me.

Stock photo. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to take any pictures...but trust me, it looks a lot like this, except cuter in real life.

In spite of some heavy crushing on some of the dresses I tried on, I ended up with these cute-itude, set-your-phasers-to-stun sunglasses, and what better to pair them with than a glam rock t-shirt? SWA.GGER.

Hiya, sailor!

 

Beehive? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Bowie? Check check!

Jealous? You should be, but guess what? Dressbarn has given me a $25 gift card to do with what I see fit. Which is to share the Dressbarn goodness with you kind people! You can grab a pair of these sunglasses or one of these retro-inspired dresses for your very own.

Here's how you can enter to win:

Mandatory Entry:
-Be a follower of this blog either via email or Google Friend Connect (stand up and be counted!). Then:
-Visit www.dressbarn.com and check out all the new-old vintagey dresses. Head back here to leave a comment on which is your must-have. Please leave your email address or blog address so that I can contact you if you win. If there is no way to contact you, your entry will not count.

Bonus Entries: (Leave a separate comment for each entry.)

1.) Like She Was a Bird on Facebook and post the link to this giveaway on your page. Please tag She Was a Bird in your link.
2.) Tweet about the giveaway! Please copy and paste this tweet: "Enter to win a $25 gift card from @dressbarn on @_shewasabird blog!"
3.) Follow @_shewasabird on Twitter
4.) Share this giveaway on your blog or tumblr. Please include the link to your post in the comments.

Let the commenting begin! Entries will close on Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 8:00 PM CST, and I'll choose a winner to be announced a week from today.


To hear more about our girl-bloggers' adventure, head over to Eartha's blog. Check out the cool swag they woo'd us with! I'm hoping to get together again soon with these  ladies to do some vintage crafting...will keep you posted on when and if this super event takes place!


See ya tomorrow!