Designer Collaborations: DRESSBAR at Dressbarn

I love a good designer collaboration – its a way for me to try designers whose aesthetics I’ve admired but were otherwise out of my budget. As many of my dream designers stop at a size 10, collabs usually have the added benefit of offering larger sizes, typically up to a size 16. Most do not do true plus sizes, though, so I was thrilled to hear that the DRESSBAR collaboration with designers like Carmen Marc Valvo would include plus.

Paging through the lookbook, I saw tons of gorgeous dresses, fit for every style and occasion, from casual brunch to drinks with friends to a formal wedding. The DRESSBAR concept is occasion based, helping you find the perfect piece for your event and mood.

The dresses, from designers Carmen Marc Valvo, Adrianna Papell, Heidi Weisel, and DB’s own Etta Granata, are pretty and reflecting a lot of spring trends, like perennial florals (of course), and scalloped edging – a big detail on SS15 runways. Cobalt + scalloping is a combo I love, so this dress is calling my name:

I was happy to attend the DRESSBAR launch party in NYC, which was staged beautifully: It felt like a fairy wonderland with shopping, which is pretty much perfection in my opinion.

I loved that the event highlighted that this collab is meant for all, with dresses shown on both straight and plus size mannequins.

This inclusion extended to the marketing, with ipads with their interactive dress selection app fronted by a picture with both a straight size and plus model (the gorgeous Ashley Graham).

Head to your local Dressbarn on March 21st for an event of your own!

There were also gorgeous watercolor fashion illustrations of the DRESSBAR collection from Martha Napier. We had a chance to get our own painted (watch the blog for my plaid dress OOTD for the final product!).

It was a lovely event, and seeing the clothes in person made me even more excited about this collaboration. The quality was great, especially for the prices, and the styles got me ready for spring. I’ve included a few more favorites below, all available in both straight and plus sizes (online and in stores!)