There are dresses that while easy to throw on make you look and feel much more pulled together than the most complicated ensemble. Dresses that seem imbued with a certain charm that appeal to your spirit long before you've worn them enough to tie them to specific memories and significant events. Maybe these dresses don't even bring you compliments from strangers or a smile to your lips (smiles are overrated anyway), but still these dresses are special. You'll wear them until they fall to pieces and people tease you about how often they've seen you in them. They will go out of style, if they were ever in it, but it won't matter because their relation to culturally constructed concepts of style was never relevant to you. What makes certain dresses this way? I hardly know, but they're the sort of pieces I want to fill my wardrobe with.

valentina photographed by stockholm streetstyle

I bought this dress over a year ago and wore it few times then forgot about it. Even in a carefully color-coded closet like mine, things can temporarily disappear. I think this is an indication I need less black in my wardrobe. Regardless, I'm quite glad the dress decided to resurface because it certainly is a fun one to wear. It reminds me of Proenza Schouler F/W 2010. Sort of dark schoolgirl vibes; a mix of edginess and naivete that really doesn't get boring. I think I should find a petticoat to wear underneath it to make the skirt even fuller and more dramatic.

Summer heat is burning all the inspiration out of me. I have nothing of consquence to say and no energy to go forth and do interesting things...

After reading about Belmead on the James on National Geographic's site as one of the 11 most endangered US historic sites, my mother and I decided to pay it a visit. It was rather difficult to find, but worth the hunt and we were greeted upon arrival by two very friendly nuns. It was far too hot to do much exploration of the grounds, but we quite enjoyed the glimpse we did get. It's sad that this place and others like it are falling into disrepair and disappearing...

I haven't worn this dress a ton (although I've worn it more times than I have photographed it), but it's one of my favorites. There's something so nice about the blurred flower print and sweet black trimming. It's by Cynthia Rowley and I got it on Gilt.