Red heart cut out dress & Red lips for Valentines Day!

I felt like I would be remiss to do Valentines Day outfits without incorporating the ultimate Vday dress - my bright red pleated A-line dress with heart cut out from Charlotte Russe! I don't wear this dress very often because I feel like it stands out quite a bit, but when I do, I always love how girly and cute it feels. 

I had wanted to put together a few looks with the dress for Reels, and it came out cuter than I expected so I couldn't resist posting here too! (even though low quality screenshots, I think the bold color still comes through)

Start -

This outfit doesn't really have anything to do with the red dress but I started the Reel in this outfit and I thought it looked nice with the red lip! (It's also from my previous pink outfits post even though it's mostly white lol.) All items from Delyle Noir.

Dress by itself -

Front and back view of the red dress! I think the front is cute on its own but the back takes it to another level although the side cut outs are a little unnecessary. I actually had to have my mom take it in on the sides when I first got it and the waist fits very snugly now. If I don't have good posture, my lower back looks terrible in it lol. As mentioned, this dress is from Charlotte Russe, but I originally got it maybe 6-7 years ago so unfortunately I can't help much if you're looking for it now but have been multiple random dupes (if the Charlotte Russe one wasn't a dupe to begin with). 

Coordinate 1 - 

For a cozier look, I wanted to use a momonga-type cardigan. This one has a particularly nice knit pattern and a ribbon detail along the edge with a bow in the middle back (which you can't really see in any of these shots wtf). It matches well with the large white ribbon on the beret (also apparently not shown because it's the back of my head). I finished this off with a simple die cut heart pouchette to keep the vibe casual. I don't feel like it's too matchy since the dress cut out can't be seen through the cardigan anyway. Beret and cardigan are from Liz Lisa, pouchette is from Forever 21. 

Coordinate 2 - 

How much red is too much red? It didn't occur to me to pair this red cardigan with this red dress until a couple years ago, but now I kind of love the red overload! The lace collar detail and gingham bows on the pockets of the cardigan keep it from being completely monotone. I played off the gingham bows by adding my DIY gingham ribbon woven purse and then topped it off with the tulle can can hat which has its own red ribbon and bow. Cardigan and hat from Liz Lisa, bag is a DIY project inspired by a Liz Lisa purse. 

Coordinate 3 -

Wanting to go for something a little different, I tried using the dress like a jumperskirt and layered it over a collared blouse with a red ribbon. Tbh on its own, it does look a little lumpy, but I also thought it had a little bit of a sweet look as well! I added on the floral lace cardigan because I love seeing the bold red color peek through the front and I think it just adds to the girliness. I would have preferred to try a lightweight white turtleneck for layering, but unfortunately the only one I own is quite a thick knit (and it's just reasonable for me to really own more than 1 in Hawaii). Overall, this look is my least favorite but still turned out quite nice I think!

Gifs from the Reel 💓

And probably no one cares but I framed this set of photos/videos differently because I have a burn on one leg and a scratch on the other and I didn't want to deal with having those in the shot lol. Back to full length when they heal! But also, it's just so much faster and easier to shoot without shoes too, ngl.

I finally also invested in a lip color after all the comments I got about it on IG. Tbh I still feel like it's ridiculous to spend any amount of money on a purely aesthetic lip product when we're wearing masks at all times in public for the foreseeable future, but I had some store credit to Sephora that I wasn't going to use on anything else so I gave in. 

I have to admit, I do like the little extra oomph it lent to these outfits in particular, but overall, I still don't really want to spend time or money on lip products on the regular tbh. (I definitely wouldn't have put my own $ towards this one is particular and don't actually like it that much. I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I couldn't even use any of the tester products in the store ....obviously bc of covid.) Ultimately, it performed how I wanted it to for this purpose but there's no way I'm going to spend $16-38 on multiple lip sticks or glosses going forward. Would love to try out more with outfits if I got them as gifts though ;)

Happy Valentines Day whether you're celebrating solo, with loved ones (socially distanced) or with a partner!