This post is sponsored by Tradlands. All ideas, photos and content are my own.
What do you guys usually do with your Saturdays?
In our household, there is a slight wrestling between spending those precious weekend days on house projects/’things that need to get done’ and FUN. I would say the odds are about 50-50 as to which one wins out on a given weekend. Little known fact about me: before I was a blogger, I had a photography business. I really enjoyed photographing families, high schoolers, etc., but the big bummer was that it meant I was always working weekends. And as those of you with children know, those two days a week, when everyone is home, become more precious with each passing year. Now that I don’t work weekends, I am eager to use each one to the fullest!
A few weeks ago, when I got a chance to work with one of my longtime favorite brands, Tradlands, I decided to blend my love of weekends with my love of reviewing clothes. I picked out the Soleil Dress from their summer collection, and put it to work for me on a fun Saturday.
For me, a fun weekend involves something outdoors, something that makes my kids happy (the two usually go hand-in-hand!) and not cooking. I’m the head chef around these parts and I jump at the chance to share kitchen duties! On this particular weekend (about a week and a half ago) we decided to head to the farmers market, take the kids to ride bikes at a nearby park and, later, hit a local brewery. I find if we aren’t intentional and set some loose plans for the day, it easily gets away from us. Then, we often end up squandering it around the house or worse, by being distracted by our phones!
The Market
I’m very thankful to live in a city that features farmers markets all week, all over town. But my favorite market is probably the big one on Saturday at Portland State University. You can find EVERYTHING there, from meat and fish to fresh fruit and veggies to kombucha on tap. On this day we scored something of a bonus when we started sampling liquors and liqueurs from Portland’s New Deal Distillery.
A bottle of the ginger liqueur – which tastes like fresh, spicy ginger – came home with us. Mix one part gin, one part tonic, and one part ginger liqueur. Add lime and stir for the best G-n-T you’ve ever had!
Tuscan kale and romaine for my favorite caesar salad!
Strawberry season is still in full swing around here. These barely made it to the car!
The Park
Willamette Park is one of my favorite parks in the city. It lives up to its name and runs parallel to the Willamette River. The bike paths are extensive and the river views even better. It’s a great place to work on biking skills with little ones — if it’s not too busy!
Beers on the Patio
This was easily the highlight of my day. We headed over to the new Breakside Brewery location in Slabtown, and soaked up the sun while sipping beers and sharing appetizers.
A cold IPA tastes exponentially better when sitting in the sun. Or, if you’re lucky, your parents spoil you with orange soda.
How did the dress perform?
As you can see from the photos, I wore the Soleil Dress all day long, alternating my shoes as needed (sandals for the market, sneakers for the park and clogs to the brewery). The dress very easily transitioned through each of my activities, I even hopped on my son’s bike at one point! I felt great all day long. I didn’t get hot, I felt styled (appropriately for each activity too!) and chic.
I chose this dress because I like the streamlined look of it. It’s A-line from the front, and slightly cocoon-ish from the side. And of course, I chose it for the stripes. The fabric is a nice, linen-cotton blend so it has a beautiful texture, and it is soft and breezy.
I’ve come to realize I am not a fan of poplin material because it feels too much like something I’d wear to an office, and that doesn’t mesh with my casual lifestyle. When I tried the Soleil Dress on, I knew it was a keeper because the soft, washed feel of the fabric is the opposite of stiff poplin. If there is one thing that has changed in the last few years about how I shop (besides searching for ethically and responsibly made items), it’s the way I hunt down fabrics. I am always reading tags and descriptions about the fabric content because an item might look good, but it’s pointless if it doesn’t feel good. My feel-good fabrics are the ones in my closet that actually get worn.
The Soleil Dress does wrinkle a bit with wear, but not as much as traditional 100% linen. There are 12 (!) hidden buttons up the front which make it easy to vary the neckline between high or low, and boob gap is not a factor. I am wearing a size small. For reference I am 5’7 and usually wear a size 6. If you’d like to see this dress in action head over to my IGTV account later today for a fun, new video!
Tradlands is currently running a summer discount code. Type in ‘SUMMERSTYLE’ at checkout to save 20% off your entire order through Aug 2nd.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this dress. How to do plan your Saturdays? I find the weekend harder to master than the weekdays because we spend so much time on the latter.
Andrea – this dress looks awesome on you! Also, you are killing the sponsored content. Adding in some sort of real-life element like you’ve done here or in the “In my City, In my Nisolos” posts makes the content feel authentic and genuine. Thank you for capturing and posting legitimately fun things to read + sharing great style and ethical brands at the same time.
Emily, thank you so much for the fabulous compliment! These kinds of posts are some of my favorite, I enjoy getting a chance to flex my creativity and try new things. Thank you so much for the support! 🤗
Ooh I might need this if its a linen blend, and hidden buttons! I love my shirtdress from Brass, but its a heavier cotton and the buttons are super gappy, so the layers I have to wear under it negate the breezy easiness (breaziness?) of wearing a dress.
Hi Anne! The hidden buttons are an unexpected bonus for sure! I hope it works out for you to get the dress.
I loved this post and I loved the IGTV video too. Do you find that it wrinkles a lot with the linen in it? Such a cute dress.
It wrinkles, but more like a soft cotton would than a stiff linen, if that makes sense. Thank you for watching the video! They are sooo fun to make!
Such a cute dress!
Thanks Celia!!
Andrea, everything about you is darling! Your wardrobe, your saturdays, your adorable children :)
Thank you for keeping this blog, and for putting a little sunshine in my day!
Love the dress!
Liza! Thank you for the wonderful compliment!! That means so much. I put a lot of myself into this blog, and I’m thankful people like you enjoy it!
I had to call my husband over to watch the portion of the video covering the farmer’s market. We both spent time out in the PNW when we were younger and have been angling to get back. That market makes a strong case for Portland. :)
I was looking forward to your Tradlands collaboration from back when you hinted at it, and really enjoyed it! I want to echo everyone else saying that I love the way you work with brands. It feels both organic and professional. You strike a lovely balance.
I’d had my eye on a couple of Tradlands shirts this summer, and also appreciated the discount code to help with the purchase. :)
Thank you Meg, your support means so much. I had soooo much fun working on that video and the whole collab. It was fun to share a little bit more about my life outside clothes! I am so glad you were able to get what you had your eye on at Tradlands.
As for Portland, where are you now? It truly is a great place to live!!