All Striped Up - Torrid Strapless Dress OOTD

Happy Fourth of July lovelies! I hope you all are enjoying the fireworks along with an abundance of yummy food. Today was an absolute scorcher...well okay, it was a scorcher to ME since anything above 75 degrees has me crying like the Wicked Witch of the West, "I'M MELTING, MELTING!!"

Since it was supposed to be a hot, ahem, beautiful day, my friends and I decided to journey down to the beach and spend the 4th on the sand with a perfect view of the gorgeous fireworks by nightfall. Since I usually come back from the beach exhausted, sweaty, and full of sand where it should NOT be, I decided to take my outfit of the day pictures before I turned into grumpy cat. I figured what better way to enjoy a day on the beach than a cute & casual dress paired with a white denim jacket to keep me at least somewhat warm once nightfall arrived. Okay...you caught me..skip the keeping warm part, I just wanted to rock my new jacket.

By the way, YES! I am wearing a jacket that I haven't the faintest hope of buttoning up. Why? I specifically bought it this way so that whatever top or dress that I'm wearing underneath won't be hindered by excess denim floating in the way.

I decided to wear this outfit sans accessories so that none would get lost in the sand. If you think that the heat makes me grumpy, you can only imagine me trying to dig in the sand for a lost bracelet, now THAT is a sight to be seen (it is similar to a Gordon Ramsay special but, you didn't hear that from me).

Since this post is kind of short I'm going to include my review for this dress as well. I picked this up not too long ago (whenever the last Haute Cash sale was) and I can certainly say, I'm glad I purchased this while on sale and not at pull price. Even though this dress is super cute and beyond comfy, I just don't think that it's worth the $48.50 price tag, in fact nowhere near; I would price this dress as being worth somewhere in the $20 range. Why? I have only worn this dress three times and pilling has already begun, and while that is okay for a cheap item, I do not want a $50 clothing item doing that after only a handful of wears. Also, because of the cotton/spandex material, this dress is fond of losing it's shape after a few hours of wear-time. Thankfully though, the shape does bounce back after it has been washed.

Now, as you've read, this dress has a couple of negative aspects but, don't fret, this dress has a certain level of awesomeness as well. Firstly, if you're like me and you sweat, and by sweat I mean boob sweat, belly roll sweat, and the whole shebang, this dress is perfect. Since it is made out of pure cotton, it keeps you both cool and dry, which is essential when being a fat babe and walking around in 80+ degree weather. Secondly, as I said above, this dress is wonderfully comfy as the sizes run quite large. I purchased a size 5 and I could have easily went down to a 4 or maybe even a size 3. Also, if you're a SPANX wearer like myself, this dress is flowy enough that you can easily forgo the SPANX (I know I did).

Overall, if you're looking for a cute summer dress that will keep you comfortable, cool, and dry, this is a good dress to own. However, I still would not pay full price; this item is on-sale right now for $33.95 but, between you and me, I may or may not have seen a $10 off coupon floating around so be sure to search for that *shameless hint*.

Torrid Black & White Striped Strapless Dress

Ashley Stewart Cropped Denim Vest

Lipstick is MAC Russian Red. Check out my review here!

This dress is also available in two other colors, you can check them out here & here

Much love xo