The Elite-Inspired Outfit

Hi, friends!  Ok, first of all, I'll be posting tomorrow about my experience meeting author Ruta Sepetys last night.  I CAN'T WAIT to post about it!  One of my favorite experiences ever!!

Ok, but not to overshadow today's post on The Elite by Kiera Cass!  I reviewed this book on Wednesday, and remember it is the second book in The Selection series.  And you just can't design an outfit on these books unless you're going to base the design off the covers.  Let's see them again, side by side:

   

Now as lovely as these covers both are, I have to admit I like The Selection's cover better. I think it's the layering in the red dress...it's just a little too...hmmm...Gothic-looking for me.  I prefer the girliness of the ruffles in the teal dress.

So I decided for today's outfit to find a dress that combined both of these dresses--the ruffles and tulle of the first with the color of the second.  And I love the result!  Here it is:

 

Ahhh!  I love it!

So here's the breakdown of the look:

• This GORGEOUS dress is a 1950s vintage wedding dress!  It's the beautiful red color I wanted with tulle ruffles!  Score!  And just like the dresses in the cover, it is strapless.
• I paired the dress with a small, glittery black clutch.  It's elegant and just adds a touch of glam to the dress (and this clutch is only $30 from Target!).
• Black heels...the perfect accessory when you want the dress to get all the attention.  These are Karen Millen and run a little shy of $200.
• When I have a strapless dress, I like to pair it with a long, elegant necklace.  This filigree heart pendant is beautiful and feminine and perfect for this book since it's all about falling in love with Prince Maxon!  This specific necklace is from Tiffany's and runs about $9500...eek!  No wonder it's so gorgeous!

So what do you think?  Doesn't it look like the great match-up between the two covers?

Come back tomorrow to hear all about Ruta Sepetys...I can't wait!
 

The Selection-Inspired Outfit

Ok, you can't really read The Selection by Kiera Cass without drooling over the cover.  And really, I feel like I'm almost betraying the book by creating an outfit based off of it.  Because it's perfect.  And doesn't need any changes.  Let's just look at it again, shall we?

 

I think if I owned this dress I would wear it all the time.  Even when I did the dishes.  Because it's that gorgeous!

Ok, moving on to the outfit I did design.  It's a day look inspired by the dress and an outfit I could see main character America wearing as she attends an afternoon tea in the palace.  Here it is:

Pretty cute, right?

So here's how I designed it:

• The dress on the cover is all about two things: ruffles and tulle.  Tulle ruffles!  I can't get enough!  So I chose an aqua dress with a ruffle waistline.  This particular dress is from the Mossimo brand at Target and is only $20!
• But I needed some tulle to add to the dress, so I found a white tulle slip/skirt (this one is from TopShop for $50) that could easily slide underneath the dress.  The dress goes from slightly stiff to pretty fun when a little bit of tulle is peeking out underneath!
• Pearls, pearls, pearls!  I wanted the dress to be layered in pearls to add a touch of the dramatic.  The shorter layer here is from Forever New for $24; the longer layer is from Tiffany's and is over $1300...yikes!
• Some silver pumps finish the look, because a possible-princess-to-be has to wear heels, right?  This particular shoes are YSL and are pretty pricey--$665!  But any cute silver pump would do.  

So what do you think?  I know, I know, it's not the dress on the cover...but a good representation, right?

I'll be back tomorrow to review The Elite, the second book in The Selection series.  See you then! 

*I am not associated with any of the companies mentioned.

REVIEW--The Selection

Happy Monday!

Today I'm reviewing The Selection by Kiera Cass.  I've been looking forward to reviewing this book for awhile now because of the gorgeous cover:

 

 GORGEOUS! 

• First book in the Selection series
• Dystopian

So let's get right to it, shall we?!

The Gist:

After having a fourth world war, the U.S. is now Illea, a country of castes run by a royal family.  There are now 35 provinces instead of 50 states.  The castes run 1-8 with 1 being the wealthiest and 8 being homeless.  Only women can marry into a higher caste and premarital sex is a criminal offense--a drastic difference from our everyday world.  Our protagonist, America, lives in a family of 5 while her love, Aspen, is a 6.

Illea holds a "lottery" to marry into their royalty.  In this lottery, 35 girls (one from each province) will be chosen to go to the Palace where Prince Maxon will choose a wife in a televised contest.  America enters the lottery only to make Aspen happy (she could move up a few castes) and accept her mother's bribe.  But she never imagined she'd be chosen!

Now she's being forced to compete for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage, when all she really wants is to be with Aspen...

What I Loved:

• The character names--Maxon, Aspen, Gavril, Amberly, Kamber, etc (ok, America as a name is a little cheesy).  But I named my own children Ransom and Cedar, so I LOVE dystopian names!
• I've already mentioned the cover, but it is GORGEOUS!
• Very entertaining and unique and not overly violent, which is so common in dystopian.
• America stays herself despite being thrust into a new role.  I don't know if I'd be able to do that...
• Maxon is much more likeable than someone like The Bachelor.  He has a reason for the contest (he's so awkward with women and this is probably the only way he'd find a wife).  I sympathized and loved him pretty quickly.
• This book didn't reinvent the wheel by any means but totally had me addicted nonetheless.

What I Didn't Love:

• This was promoted as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, and that is pretty misleading.  Not as thrilling as The Hunger Games and I would have liked to see "challenges" in the Palace that were more Bachelor-like.  How would the girls do when put to the test?  I wanted to see that.
• The Palace security was pretty horrible.  Rebel raids kept breaking through and I just expected more heightened secruity.
• The rebels, especially the difference between the Northerners and the Southerners, was pretty confusing.  Who are these people?  What do they want?  Do they have justification in their goals?

I was sad to hear that the CW was going to turn this book into a TV show and then backed out...it would make a great series!

My favorite quote: 

"I only really ever hug my mother.  Is this ok?" he asked.
I laughed.  "It's hard to get a hug wrong."

 

I'll be back Wednesday OF COURSE with an outfit based off the cover of the book!