summer fashion Archives - Darling Darleen

DIY Pom Pom Shirt

DIY Pom Pom Shirt

Pom poms are everywhere, and I just want to keep this trending going. The round colorful fluffy embellishment is so fun and playful for summer time. We thought it would be fun to make DIY pom pom shirt so the girl cousins could match for the 4th of July, and we could all be pom pom’d out! After making DIY pom pom sandals and beach bag, this was an easy project and one that the girls could tackle themselves. This DIY pom pom shirt project works for just about any shirt you choose. Once all the materials are gathered, it takes less than 15 minutes to complete. Very easy DIY project and fun for the 4th of July!

The girls picked out which shirts they wanted and we kept the t-shirts under $10. I bought a yard of pom pom trim per shirt so the entire project per shirt was less than $15. If you plan to add pom pom around all the edges of the shirt, than plan to buy more than a yard of pom pom trim. We just added trim around the sleeves or the bottom, not both.

DIY Pom Pom Shirt

T-shirt (we bought $8 t-shirts)

Pom pom trim

Sewing machine

pins

Scissors

Instructions:

Take your shirt and turn it inside out. Take your pom pom trim and start at the seam and pin it along the edge all the way around. Sew it straight stitch. Or if you don’t know how to sew, use fabric glue to secure it to your top. After, turn your shirt right side out! Simple and completely changes the style of the shirt.

SHOP the POST: DIY Pom Pom Shirt

Summer Trend Floral Ruffle Wrap Dresses

Summer Trend Floral Ruffle Wrap Dresses

Once warm weather hits, I am living in my dresses. Comfort and staying cool in the hot, humid Southern heat is what you’ve got to do to keep going because it can really knock you over. I usually opt for breezy, flowy dresses and skirts to keep any sort of clothing off my skin and let the wind blow through those sweaty areas (and you know what I am talking about!). If you’re looking for a nice dress, you can see here for cocktail dresses. Cocktail dresses are perfect if you’re going to an evening event in summer. Even wearing shorts can be a little too much to bare. So, I love that one of the summer trend is floral ruffle wrap dresses. My kind of summer trend! My bohemian self comes out and I embrace any floral ruffle dress that is a wrap dress, muumuus and tunics. I picked up this cute blue floral ruffle dress at a local clothing shop near my house, and I am obsessed with the styling. I wore it for the first time on our recent trip to the 30A/Seaside area in Florida. It was perfect strolling to wear around Alys Beach and catching lunch at George’s after church.

Along with summer trend of floral ruffle wrap dresses, what else is still trending are tall wedges and woven straw bags especially the large round handbags. There are so many great variety and prices, you can really find them anywhere now! I love the available options and how they make an evening summer outfit feel a little more beachy.

SHOP the POST: (similar dress to my floral ruffle wrap dress)

Here are some of the summer trend floral ruffle wrap dresses that I am loving right now. They are all so pretty and femme, and the tie around the waist makes it so sweet. They will keep you staying cool and breezy this summer!

4 One-Piece Swimsuit Styles

4 One-Piece Swimsuit Styles

It’s taken me a while, but I think I have finally embraced one-piece swimsuit. After a lot of trail and error, I found 4 one-piece swimsuit styles that work with my body. The cut of the swim suit is also what makes a one-piece swimsuit flattering. I have a very boyish, athletic figure with a short torso and strong thighs. So you can imagine that one-piece swimsuits have been quite a challenge. Patterns and dark colors work for hiding my mommy tummy, while high cut on the thighs make my legs look longer. My one-piece swimsuit collection is slowly growing so I’m excited to wear a lot of them out on the beach this summer. Below are 4 one-piece swimsuit styles that I am loving this season.

SHOP the POST:

4 one-piece swimsuit styles

Plunging Neckline–adds a little flirtatious finish to a one-piece swimsuit and makes it a little more sexy and revealing. Some plunging neckline swimsuits are finished with a lace-up front to add some texture and brings a little 70’s retro vibe to the suit.

Ruffle Off-the-Shoulder–perfect for dipping or poolside lounging instead of a water activity suit. This trend is still going strong this year and now are available in stripes, gingham and floral.

Tropical Print–channeling tropical vibes, palm trees and tropical floral prints are going strong this year with one-piece swim suits and makes it an eye-catching style.

Macrame–offers an alluring detail with the straps and back coverage to a simple one-piece style. These embellishments you won’t want to keep hidden away.

Make sure to check out Nordstrom’s Half Yearly Sale on all the One-Piece Swimsuit Styles that are on sale right now!

End of Summer Blues

End of Summer Blues

It’s the last of summer! After Labor Day, summer is officially over. Boo-hoo! I am holding onto the last of summer days, and trying to enjoy what is remaining–last pool days, last barbecues, last nights catching fireflies, last picnics. End of Summer Blues for sure! But really we are down to the hours than days. The good thing is by now all the summer sales are happening and the time is now to stock up for next year or those days that will still have over 80 degrees, which we have quite a bit here in Georgia. So end of summer blues may have some good in it. We did an impromptu picnic this past weekend in a field close to our house. This tiered ruffle skirt was perfect and a bonus with it being on sale with an additional discount. So I was excited to snatch it! Stella joined me and her dress is a favorite that has last more than two seasons. Here is a similar style.

Another bonus to end of summer blues is my jewelry shop has it’s summer sale! And good news, it’s going on right now. I just added new markdowns up to 40% off. I’m wearing the Padma earrings that I love. It’s on sale and goes with just about everything.

Shop the POST:

Can you believe it’s just about September?! This year has flown by and fall is just about here. We are tenatively heading to Nashville for the weekend unless if the weather clears up we may head somewhere that has a large body of water! Have a great weekend.

Take a peek at my girl Shanna from Restoration Redoux. I met her at a blogging retreat not that long ago and we hit it off and have been supporters of each other since. She always has the best round up of sales and have listed some other ones that I missed!

Here are some “end of summer blues” sales that are going on during Labor Day weekend!

Quay Australia Sunglasses: Love their sunnies! 20% off with code: REWARDSTYLE

Boden // 20% off everything for Labor Day! Use code 6J4P

Villeroy & Boch: 30% off site wide. They have the best china!

MissGuided: 50% everything!

J.Crew: 30% off your purchase. Use code YESPLEASE

Jonathan Adler: 20% off ALL furniture!

Get the LOOK of End of Summer Blues:

Cute Modest Swimwear

Cute Modest Swimwear

Spending most of your summer in Las Vegas requires a suitcase full of swimsuits because you spend the majority of time at the pool. This last trip to Las Vegas the high was between 110-115 degrees. It definitely felt like an oven! Being around a ton of family and being on mom duty, I always feel more comfortable wearing cute modest swimwear. Modest swimwear is out there in the swim suit world, but finding cute modest swimwear can be tricky especially when you want to hide your baby belly but at the same time don’t want to look like a grandma.

While in Vegas I stopped by the Pink Desert warehouse and bought a few pieces of their cute modest swimwear. They have an entire line of one pieces, high-waist bottoms and tankini tops . I feel in love with the macramé front tankini top and a few other pieces for an upcoming beach trip. I tend to be drawn to tankinis more so than one pieces because my body shape is so boyish, and one pieces are not flattering on my figure. But I love all the one-piece swim options out there.

Here are a few other online boutiques that have a selection of cute modest swimwear:

Kortni Jeane — mix ‘n match swimwear for women and children that will fit your personality and will make you feel comfortable in your own skin.
Lime Ricki — swimwear with fun, bright prints with a variety of styles that will match a fit with anyone.

And here are a selection of ones I’ve seen around in stores:

Striped Seersucker Dress

Striped Seersucker Dress

When the temperatures start to raise here in the South, seersucker dresses are what I like to turn too especially if there is an afternoon party to attend. A striped seersucker dress is breezy and light and perfect to wear when the humidity raises. A southern staple, seersucker is classic to wear for a summer hostess dress or a baby shower luncheon. There are so many versatile styles made in the cotton textile. The striped seersucker dress I wore over the weekend is a perfect example. I couldn’t find it online, so I linked it to another similar dress from Target. It is from the Who What Wear line and here is the style number of the dress (#WD-249 in Athletic blue) if you have troubles finding it because I think it’s only sold at certain Target stores, and I think it is only sold in stores, not online. I am also wearing it in a size medium, and I bought the dress for only $39! And the best part is is that it’s lined! The timeless frock can be styled in so many ways. You can dress it up for office ready with a belt and heels. Or keep it more feminine with a sparkling necklace. I wore a fun pair of tassel earrings to accessorize my striped seersucker dress.

Here are a few other striped seersucker dress that I have been eyeing:

Traveling to Cancun Mexico

Traveling to Cancun Mexico

My husband and I just got back from an awesome, much-needed and long-overdue couple’s trip. This past weekend, we traveled to Cancun Mexico and met up with some of our dear friends from Connecticut. Traveling to Cancun Mexico and leaving four children behind and a new puppy was no easy feat. We don’t live near any family, and there were so many silly obstacles to overcome to make it happen. I seriously was about to throw in the towel when I found out my passport expired two days after we got back (Mexico has a 2-month expiration passport request), but somehow I got everything taken care of and we stuck with our plans of traveling to Cancun Mexico! So glad we made it happen! It was so nice to spend time with my husband and laugh and chat about things that had nothing to do with the kids or house or financial obligations. And even better to see good friends we haven’t seen in quite some time.

If you have future plans of traveling to Cancun Mexico, I highly recommend staying at the Secrets Silversands Resort. It is all-inclusive and adults-only resort about 20 minutes from the Cancun airport. The resort grounds are so beautiful and the food was amazing! You can eat whenever, and they have multiple restaurants, and they have fresh seafood all day long. Our room was so nice with a modern style and a jacuzzi in the middle of the room. My only complaint was the beach was not my favorite. There was coral in the shallow part of the water so you couldn’t walk in without hurting you feet! But the ocean view was so beautiful with that turquoise Mexico water.

Arriving from Cancun airport and getting ready to head to the ocean.

Shop the outfit:

Ocean view of one of the restaurant spots. This was also our favorite spot at night for stargazing and listening to the waves!

Shop the Outfit:

Heading to the pool to work on those tan lines!

Shop the Outfit:

DMJewelry: tag necklace | charm bracelet

One of the nights out with dinner with friends and then off to a live show.

Shop the Outfit:

Can’t get enough of the gorgeous hibicus flowers varieties all around the ground of the resort.

Shop the Outfit:

Another beach shot.

Shop the Outfit:

Last night in Cancun with dinner at Navios.

Shop the Outfit:

Ruffled Sleeve Tops Under $100

Ruffled Sleeve Tops Under $100

Oh the sleeve drama! I’m sure you’ve noticed that the style trend this spring and summer are ruffled sleeve tops and dresses. I love the playful style of the ruffled sleeves. Gathered at just the right spot and then some loose and others with more structure. This gingham billow sleeve top from Shein is my kind of style. The sleeves are a little more billowed but gathered front and back with a box top. You can dress it up or down. I went a size larger as I have found Shein to run small. I wore the ruffled sleeve top out on a date and it was perfect and comfortable. I’m listed below some of my other favorite Ruffled Sleeve tops under $100 . There are so many options to choose from.

Ruffled Sleeve Tops Under $100 from Shein

Here are some other Ruffled Sleeve Tops Under $100 from other retailers.

Thank you Shein for sponsoring this post!

Swimsuits Under $200

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Swimsuits Under $200

The temperature is heating up, and I am thinking about swimsuit season! I’m trying really hard to get my body in shape to have confidence this summer when I hit the pool and beach. I’ve changed up my workout routine and also following the workout and eating plan of FitMamaof6. I’m happy to say that I have lost an inch! It might seem not much, but it’s huge to me. I’m eager to keep up the routine, even though when the weekend hits it’s so hard to eat clean, clean, clean! Anyway, I have been looking at new swimsuits, but don’t want to pay a fortune so I created a list of swimsuits under $200. I love the look of one-pieces. There are so many good styles. But I have such a boyish figure and short, thick legs that one-piece swimsuits are not flattering on me. Same with high-waist swimsuit bottoms. But I’m going to re-approach one-piece swimsuits and hope I can find one that works good. Bikinis are more flattering on me but I do have stretch marks all over my stomach from my babies. So either way, swimsuits can create a lot of insecurities that you just get to a point where you say screw it! Who cares and go for whatever makes you comfortable. Basically that is where I’m at. Here are a few swimsuits under $200 that I’ve been eyeing.

One-Piece Swimsuits Under $200

Bikini Swimsuits Under $200

Powder Bathroom Inspiration Board

Best Ski Gear for Kids

Darling Travels: Winter in Vermont

Best of 2018

10 Tips for Throwing a New Year’s Eve Family Party

DIY Pom Pom Shirt

Summer Trend Floral Ruffle Wrap Dresses

4 One-Piece Swimsuit Styles

End of Summer Blues

Cute Modest Swimwear

Striped Seersucker Dress

Traveling to Cancun Mexico

Ruffled Sleeve Tops Under $100

Swimsuits Under $200

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @darleenmeier

Disclaimer