The Jesse Dress
I can't explain just how surreal it is to see the line i collaborated on with Addition Elle out in the world, on all kinds of real bodies, and have people tell me how excited they are to wear them. It's the best feeling, (and for all of you sharing your NicoletteXAdditionElle dresses on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat - THANK YOU!!) There's also a special promotion on now until March 24th, offering 25% off the entire collection (and don't forget the prices on the site are listed in CAD, so US-babes, there are major deals to be had).The "Jesse" dress, above, has been a fast favorite of mine in the collection - and while it's a perfect all-in-one look, while I was in Toronto for our launch event at Addition Elle's Queen Street Flagship Store, I styled it with a black turtleneck sweater underneath. I also loved how StyleBySadi styled her Jesse dress with a white-button down shirt underneath, (this can easily take the dress from work-to-cocktails, I love it).Like all the other dresses in the collection, this dress is named after one of the most important people in my life: my BFF Jesse! While I, embarrassingly, don't actually remember our first interactions all that well, I vividly remember our first very serious heart-to-heart, where Jesse broke down some hard truths that no one else in my life was really willing to say out loud. It was an act of love that came from the most earnest, selfless place, and that undoubtedly changed the course of my early adult life. While that was years ago, it's a moment in time I frequently look back on with a world of gratitude. As I've gotten older, I've learned that beyond history, a storybook of memories, and unconditional love and support, a true friend is someone who is willing to say the things you don't want to hear. Since then we've shared a lot of super fun times that span from the east to the west coast (but entirely not enough on the west coast, and I have many plans to change that). Jesse is thoughtful, compassionate, a critical thinker, the keeper of all my secrets, and one of the people in my life who makes me laugh the hardest - but who I'm also able to be vulnerable with and one of the very few who have seen me full-blown-ugly-cry. While I haven't seen Jesse wear a dress since the very early days of our friendship, and probably won't ever again, I couldn't not name one of these dresses after my very best friend. Simply: Jesse is the best!
We kicked off the celebration of the collection in Toronto, where I first got to spend the day with Carolina, a long-time reader and Edmontonian, with a special girls' day: we got manicures, had our hair blown out, went on a personalized shopping trip for Carolina (outfit with champagne and macarons, of course), and had an incredible dinner in Downtown Toronto at The Catch. I cannot recommend it enough! The following day, after a full morning of press, we had an all-pink-everything at the Addition Elle flagship store, where guests enjoyed a DJ spinning Rihanna & Beyonce, tons of sweet treats and bubbly, and a lot of twirling in all the dresses!It was especially exciting to be able to continue the celebrations from Toronto to New York, the city where all the friendships that I named the dresses after were born. I'm so honored to have the collection sold at a selection of Lord & Taylor stores, and having the opportunity to celebrate the collaboration at Lord & Taylor's 5th Avenue Flagship store was an absolute dream! We had a runway presentation where each of the dresses were worn by a model (spanning a range of sizes, body types, and heights) - each looking gorgeous! Thank you to the Lord & Taylor team for making this bucket-list moment a reality, and to Laura Mercier for providing gorgeous makeup for myself and all the models!
If you've been lusting after anything in the collection, now is the time: shop the collection from now until March 24th with 25% off!