Part of our Spring Fashion & Beauty Feature

Ever since I gave birth to my son, I feel as though have become a slave to 'comfy.' You know the saying 'Pain is beauty'? Well, I sort of used to live by that motto. I wore ridiculously uncomfortable shoes, 'rear-view' jeans (if you know what I mean), etc. Seriously, in college, my friends called low-rise jeans 'Ondria jeans!' Cute then, not so cute now! After I got married, something happened- I felt it was more appropriate to dress a little more conservatively, and that has mostly been the case ever since. Some days, I feel like I'm having a fashion identity crisis. I still want to be the girl I was in my early twenties, but I'm eight months away from turning thirty, and I'm a mommy, so I definitely have to find a healthy balance within my own personal style.

Aside from going to church on Sunday, there are a few occasions that call for a dressy look. Springtime is filled with weddings, social events and more, which require a little more effort than dressy-casual. I recently had the opportunity to join a blogger group for Midnight Velvet, a retailer featuring beautiful clothing, accessories, heath and beauty products and items for every home. I was so happy to find them and receive the opportunity to review one of their new spring dresses! I love wearing dresses! I used to be a strictly skirt & top gal, and I don't know why! Wearing a dress is so much easier than messing with an entire outfit of separates! I was able to choose a dress to review from a pretty extensive collection of items from Midnight Velvet.

 Midnight Velvet's Twig Sheath

I chose to review Midnight Velvet's beautiful Twig Sheath, which features a really cool black and white geometric twig pattern, all over. It also comes with an elastic waist belt, in kiwi green- which I have shoes to match! It didn't take long at all for my new Twig Sheath to arrive, and I could not wait to see it in person.

 Twig Sheath in its packaging...

 Twig Sheath and Kiwi Green Belt...

I removed it from its packaging, and laid it our on the table. It looked just gorgeous! I looked down at my body, and then looked at the dress again and knew just by looking at it that it was not going to fit properly. The smallest size available from Midnight Velvet is a size 6... which is what I wore prior to becoming pregnant with my son. By no fault of my own, nature has declared me a size 4, and more recently (in some pieces of clothing) a size 2! I tried the dress on, anyway. Strangely, it fit almost perfectly in the hips, but was too big in the waist, across the mid-section, and I probably could have fit three of me across the top. Nursing Balian was wonderful, but it has left me without much to brag about below the neckline. What to do? I really wanted to wear this dress to an upcoming wedding we had been invited to. My mom is a fantastic sewer, and I asked her if she could 'take it in' for me, which she agreed to do. She had me try it on, and concluded that it would be more work than she felt comfortable doing. So, she took it to a girl she works with, who, as luck would have it, is a fashion designer!

Having the dress 'taken in' didn't take long, but it was a lot of trying it on, pinning it, etc. The dress literally had to be taken apart to be adjusted to properly fit my mommy body. No big deal- it was a few dollars for the alterations, and well worth it, because now, the dress fits like a dream! I haven't worn it to church yet- I am saving it for Easter Sunday, but I truly can't wait! The dress is a cotton/poly blend, which means it's comfortable, and best of all- breathable! I can move in it, too- which is also wonderful, as I move around a lot when I am leading worship on Sunday mornings.

 Finished Product- Fits great!


 Nice, and classy- even with the kiwi belt!



 Had to sneak in a picture with my little sweetie!

I feel so pretty in this dress! I feel elegant, sophisticated and modern! I am going to get a lot of wear out of this lovely Twig Sheath from Midnight Velvet this season, and I can tell from the quality of the material its made with, this dress will be with me for many years! I love the fact that this dress is machine washable. I have way too many dresses hanging in my closet that are dry clean-only, and I wasn't looking to add another to the list. My husband loves this dress, too. He very much likes the 'classic/classy' look. This dress doesn't really even need accessories. I just put on a pair of pearl earrings, and was good to go!

There are so many other beautiful clothing and accessory items from Midnight Velvet that I have been drooling over. I got to look through their latest catalog, and I have been looking at their website quite a bit, too. Midnight Velvet has an amazing design team who are always looking to bring us beautiful styles that you aren't going to see just anywhere! I love that about MV! I can bet that I won't be seeing something featured on their site in my local shopping mall!

 Here are some of my favorites for this season...

 Modern Dot Skirt- too cute!

 Beaded Bib Sheath- I love this! So pretty!

Floral Bandeau Swimsuit... Perfect for post-baby bodies!

It's not hard to see why Midnight Velvet is so popular! They have just beautiful clothing and accessories- boutique fashions at affordable prices! If you're new to Midnight Velvet, be sure to give their website the once or twice-over! You'll be so glad you did! MV is ready to help you stay fashionable, comfortable, sexy, flirty, relaxed- all season long! Whatever your style may be, it remains your own when you wear something from Midnight Velvet! My one and only plea is for Midnight Velvet to carry smaller sizes! I love so many of their items, and would love to be able to purchase a size 2 or 4 from them! Other than that, no complaints here! I can't wait to wear my dress again!

Want It? Buy It!

All of the above featured items and many, many more can be purchased online over at the Midnight Velvet website! Be sure to browse the clothing, shoes and accessories! If you're looking for the perfect gift, take a look at their selection of gifts! Don't get stuck in a rut this spring/summer! Let Midnight Velvet help you look and feel beautiful by giving you the tools to be ready for a night out on the town at a moment's notice! Easter and Mother's Day are both around the corner... be sure to order your perfect dress in time! And don't forget... become a fan of Midnight Velvet on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, too! I can't wait to participate in their upcoming Twitter Party to gab all about fashion and beauty!

Want It? Win It!

You guessed it! One super, super lucky MBP reader will win their very own Twig Sheath from Midnight Velvet! This is so exciting! Just use our simple Rafflecopter entry form below to enter to win!

*Midnight Velvet has the right to substitute this dress for an item of equal or greater value depending on sizing and availability.

Special thanks to Midnight Velvet for allowing me to review this gorgeous dress and for offering one to give away to our readers!

Good luck to all who enter!

~Ondria~

Disclosure: Other than the above featured dress, which I received free of charge for review purposes from Midnight Velvet, I was not compensated for facilitating this review. All opinions expressed are my own. Your experience may differ.