Fab Find: The Magic Dress

It is true what they say about finding great things at unexpected times... not that I would compare this to finding the love of your life, but it is pretty special.  I happened to be shopping around Chatham, MA over Memorial Day weekend and stumbled onto a very unexpected store.  Through the thick the fog that had suddenly rolled in, I spied a very pretty dress (a maxi - surprise, surprise!) billowing in the breeze.  My radar went off as I quickly made a mad dash over to the store.

The name on the store was one that I was not familiar with... Sara Campbell.  What I quickly learned is that Sara Campbell is a very talented designer.  She has had a long career designing clothing for private labels such as Neiman Marcus.  Several years ago she went out on her own and began designing under her own label.  She now has seven stores the majority of which are located in Massachusetts.  Now living in Boston, all of her clothes are designed and made in and around the city (Yay! for supporting U.S. industry).

More importantly, let's discuss the clothes... her style is a mix of J.Crew, Lilly, Talbot's and Tory Burch and the pricing is more in the contemporary range, but not everything is $300.  In other words, there is something for everyone.  The overall tone is more that of a conservative look, but as individual pieces there are some really great finds.  She designs the type of clothes that my mom and I would both wear, but in very different ways.

A perfect print for summer...

Love the peplum...

The essential stripe dress for everyday...

One of my faves is Sara's "Magic Dress".  This is her most popular style - a ruched sheath that comes in different colors and patterns depending on the season.  The dress is very elegant and can be dressed up or down.  I absolutely love the fact that it comes to the knee (I am not a very big fan of "pencil skirts" that don't actually hit the knee - they just aren't that flattering).  Plus the ruching helps to camouflage problem areas (hips, tummy, bum).  Even if you haven't had kids, I think we all could use a bit of help in these areas.

The dress that NY Housewife Ramona Singer wore...

Seersucker for the summer...

Definitely take a trip over to Sara's website, it will be well worth your time.  She has a fab selection of summer dresses... perfect for those afternoon events that are usually so hard to dress for...  I even found the coolest black maxi dress - very simple, with longer sleeves and a thick colorful belt.  I saw it in the store that day, but haven't found in on the website.  I have been thinking about this dress a lot... I know it would be on heavy rotation in my closet!  It just goes to show that great finds can be in the most unexpected places...

*Photos courtesy of saracampbell.com.