Outfit Post: South Moon Under

Last week was my 10 year college reunion. When deciding what to wear for my first night - the first time I would see my classmates in a decade - I knew exactly what to pick.

This dress.

This is my no-fail dress. It's the dress that I always, always get compliments on. It's the dress that strangers stop me in the street to comment on. During my reunion, on my half mile walk from my hotel to the bar, I had five strangers stop me. Five completely random strangers on a 7 minute walk.

People have literally chased me down in the parking lot to ask me where I got it. It's been re-pinned thousands of times. It's brought tens of thousands of people to my blog to find out where it's from. I get weekly emails from readers pleading with me to help them find it.

A dress like that is wardrobe gold. And the store it's from - South Moon Under - is my holy grail of shops.

I first discovered the boutique when I was a teenager. Each year during our summer vacation, my family would pack up, pile into our family minivan, and head to one of the many east coast beaches. It was on one of these trips that I first discovered South Moon Under. And every year after, I would drag my mom back during our beach trips to shop. Several years later the store opened a location in my hometown of Reston, VA and I've been a frequent and regular customer ever since. Even after moving away to Detroit, I still make it a priority to stop in and check out the new merchandise whenever I'm back home visiting friends and family.

So I was beyond thrilled, honored, and humbled when the team at South Moon Under reached out to me to collaborate on an outfit post for the blog (I may or may not have reacted something like this). Hello, dream collaboration!

I'd like thank the dress for making my internet discovery possible.

When picking out an outfit for the blog, it would have been really easy to highlight a festival look or boho vibe (the store started as a surf shack in the 1960s so they have perfected the free spirited, bohemian style). But honestly, I wanted to do something totally different from the dress. I wanted to showcase some of the more modern, classic pieces they offer. And frankly, these shorts were love at first sight. French inspired, slightly nautical, with a hint of whimsy. Tailored but not stiff. Sexy but not overtly so. Feminine with a tomboy nod. These are my perfect shorts. And the perfect backdrop for some killer accessories in a pop of color, like these turquoise earrings and clutch.

And while I haven't been chased down in a parking lot in them yet, just give it time.

South Moon Under tends to have that kind of effect on people.

If you are on the east coast, check out one of their 24 locations (from Maryland up to Connecticut). If not, shop online and keep me posted on random stoppings, compliments, and inquiries from strangers.

Thanks again to South Moon Under for collaborating and for the sales team for being so accommodating as I tried on basically every piece of clothing in the store in order to find the outfit.