LulaRoe Part 5: Dresses - different ways to style Amelia, Carly, Julia & Nicole

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This is part 5 of a series of blogs I am writing on LulaRoe and the products they make. This blog is going to focus on LulaRoe Dresses - different ways to style Carly, Julia, Amelia & Nicole. No I am not a LulaRoe consultant or a LulaRoe expert and I did not partner with any LulaRoe consultant for these blogs. I just have several of their items and am going to share my opinion about the items I have in hopes of helping you decide whether or not to try that item and if so, what size you may need.

Before we get started I want to say that these picture were taken 3.5 months postpartum with my third baby in three years and I am hoping to lose some of my baby weight but in hopes of helping you figure out what size you need, I am 5'7, roughly 150 pounds and currently wear a size 9 in jeans (Juniors section), 8/10 in most dresses. On average I wear a Large from the Juniors section and a Small or Medium in the Women's section depending on how it's made. 

LulaRoe currently has five ten adult dresses and two three kid's dresses. Each dress varies in length, material, style, size and price. As you can tell in the dress comparison picture below, Julia is a straight dress and the others are a little more flowing. Both Julia and Nicole have mid-length sleeves where as Carly and Amelia are short sleeves. Nicole and Amelia are more flowing. The Julia, Nicole and Amelia are all a size Medium. The Carly is an XS.

Update: LulaRoe has added several new dresses to their collection. These dresses vary in design, length and even some long sleeve dresses. I have updated the list of dress names and prices to the best of my knowledge. You can find out more information on LulaRoe's website.

• Amelia - $65
• Ana - $60
• Carly - $55
• Cici - $55/$70
• Dani - $55
• Debbie  - $50
• Deanne - $140 
• Deanne II -
• Georgia - $58
• Jessie - $50
• Julia - $45
• Maria - $68
• Marley - $48
• Maurine - $55/$74
• Nicki - $46
• Nicole - $48
• Adeline (Kid's) - $30
• Dot Dot Smile (Kid's) - $36 
• Mae (Kid's) -$32
• Scarlett (Kid's Carly) - $35 

The prices, $45 to $65, may seem a little high for dresses but if you think about it that is about the average price of dresses in chain stores such as JCPenny, Khols, Macy, Dillards, Belk, etc... sometimes even more. The only differences are chain stores tend to have sales, coupons, etc... allowing you to purchase dresses for cheaper and chain stores usually carry a mass amount of that certain style and size in stock where as LulaRoe does not, thus making them more unique.

LulaRoe clothing is considered unique because they only produce about 2,500 items in a specific print so if you happen to come across a pattern you like I recommend buying it because once it is gone, it may be gone forever. Since LulaRoe makes a limited amount of products in certain patterns, you have a less likely chance of running into someone wearing the same dress as you which is a benefit of shopping LulaRoe.

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Amelia

The Amelia dress is LulaRoe's only dress with a zipper back and hidden pockets. It also has pleats in the bottom part of the dress making it appear flowing and full. The Amelia is LulaRoe's fanciest looking dress. It is also LulaRoe's thickest dress material wise. The Amelia sizes range from XXS(00-0) to 2XL(22-24). The Amelia retails for $65 plus state taxes and shipping. Visit LulaRoe's website, lularoe.com/amelia, to see what they say about the Amelia!

The Amelia dress runs fairly true to size, if not a little small so I would recommend going up a size, especially if you have a bigger bust. I am an 8/10 in dresses so Amelia doesn't come in my exact size but I can comfortably wear a Medium(10-12) Amelia. I was able to squeeze into a Small(6-8) Amelia but it was a little to tight for my liking, especially in my bust and shoulders, thus making it unflattering on me.

I have noticed that like most of LulaRoe's items, the Amelia dresses all fit different due to where they are made and the material. Pictured to the right is a close up of the three different materials. It may be hard to tell by the picture but they each vary.

All three Amelia's pictured below are a size Medium. The first one (brown) is a little snug and made out of a more woven material. It is also a little shorter than the other Amelia's. The second one (navy) fits perfect. The third one (black) is bigger than I would like but I can still make it work, especially by adding a belt. The third one's material is a little more stretchy than my other Amelia's and is probably the most true to size (10-12).

Pictured: Medium Amelia Dresses

I personally think Amelia is adorable as is but if you want to change it up, here are a couple different ways how (from left to right):

1. As is or add a cute belt, a bow belt would look so cute paired with Amelia.

2. Reverse your Amelia and zip it up to your liking. A reversed Amelia makes for a great breastfeeding dress.

3. Amelia paired with Leggings.

4. Create a bow on the side by making bunny ears with the material, wrap a hair tie around them and spread the bunny ears out. I would not recommend knotting your Amelia because of the pleats and the thickness but this bow is a great alternative and cute in person.

5. Belted Amelia turned into a top but tucking the bottom of your Amelia into your leggings and adjusting the material to your liking. This looks super cute paired with a Cassie as well.

Amelia is literally the perfect dress for church, weddings, date night, graduation, the office etc... I would definitely recommend giving Amelia a try!

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Carly

The Carly dress is LulaRoe's most versatile dress. The Carly is considered to be a swing dress as it is a very loose and flowing dress. The Carly resembles a long t-shirt style dress with a patch pocket and a high-low hemline. It comes in different materials including leggings material and is super comfortable and stretchy. The Carly sizes range from XXS(00-0) to 3XL(24-26). The Carly retails for $55 plus state taxes and shipping. Visit LulaRoe's website, lularoe.com/carly, to see what they say about the Carly!

Carly runs big so size down one to two sizes. I am normally an 8/10 in dresses so I would need a Small(6-8) or Medium(10-12) Carly according to my size but guess what... I can wear an XXS(00-0) or XS(2-4) Carly! I don't think I've ever fit in an XXS anything but hey, I'm definitely not complaining.  All the XS Carly dresses I have fit me a little different.  As you can tell in the picture below:

• The Red Carly is the biggest in both the front and the back; it is made in Guatemala. 
• The Blue Carly is made in Mexico, it seems to be a little wider than my other Carly's but the high-low hemline isn't as high-low as the other Carly dresses I have. 
• The Brown Carly is made in Vietnam, it is a little more fitted than my other Carly's. It is a little shorter in the front and probably has the most difference in the high-low hemline. 

Pictured: XS Carly Dresses

Just like the Carly is different lengths, it is also made in different materials. As you can tell in the picture, the blue Carly is your normal cotton polyester blend Carly and the purple one is textured with small ridges. I have also heard that there are Carly dresses made out of legging material. The material didn't seem to make a huge difference in how the Carly dress fit but I did feel like the textured Carly was warmer and thicker were as the other Carly was nice an breezy.

Just like the leggings, the rumors seem to be proving true that LulaRoe made in Vietnam are running small for the most part. Personally I don't mind the smaller fit since Carly is so big anyways but it may play a roll depending on the item and size you are purchasing, how you want it to fit and how you want to style it. T

hese three Carly dresses are all made out of the same material and are the same size but fit me differently which makes it hard to decide on a size. The benefit of Carly is that most people and body types can fit in several different sizes when it comes to Carly. I have tried an XXS, XS and Medium Carly. The XXS Carly fit but was a little lighter in my arms and bust. The XS Carly is a little to baggy for my liking but fits the best out of the ones I've tried. The Medium Carly  swallowed me and looked like I was wearing a night gown but I would be able to easily style it. 

I have seen people that are a size 14/16 able to wear an XS to XL Carly and I'm sure you can find a better size comparison picture out there since I have yet to try all the sizes. I have heard of petite women purchasing a larger size Scarlett dress (kid's version of Carly) as well. If you are unsure of what size you need, contact your consultant and they will be able to help you find the perfect fit for you!

Carly is the most versatile and most comfortable dress that LulaRoe has. Carly is so versatile because you can wear more than one size for different looks and the extra fabric making Carly a swing dress allows you to knot the dress in several different ways. The most basic Carly hack is knotting your dress in different locations. 

You can knot the middle of the dress or the bottom of the dress to make it a little shorter. You can pull more material and make a larger knot to one or both sides of your Carly and pair it with leggings. If you go up a size you may even be able to knot the sleeves. Basically you can knot your Carly anywhere you want and depending on how you knot it you can turn it into a tunic top or a regular top. You can have a variation of the knot by making cool designs such as flowers, bows, circles, etc... by gathering the extra material different ways and adding hair-ties to hold them together.

You can belt your Carly, pull it up and fold it over to make the dress appear different. You can also turn your Carly into a wrap dress by pulling all the extra material to one side and wrapping it across the front of your body then using a hair-tie to gather and hold the material together on the inside of your dress. I've seen several tutorials using coasters, quarters and clips to add different designs and patterns in both the front and back of the Carly.

You can add belts, scarfs, pins or poppyclips to style your Carly however you want. I've even seen someone wear a petticoat under their Carly to give it a completely different look by making it look fancy, the possibilities are endless! To find more ways to style or hack your Carly all you have to do is type in "LulaRoe Carly hacks" or "How to wear a LulaRoe Carly" into your search engine and several pictures, videos and tutorials should pop up. There are tons and tons of Carly hacks out there, these eight don't even begin to cover all the different ways you can style and hack your Carly dress but it's a start.

Not only is Carly super versatile but Carly pairs well with a couple of LulaRoe's other products. Carly pairs really well with LulaRoe leggings and cover ups - Sarah, Lindsay, Monroe, Joy. Carly even looks cute paired with the Cassie pencil skirt or a LulaRoe top - Classic, Randy, Irma depending on the colors, patterns and how you knot it. So get creative and style/hack your Carly to suit you and your body!

Here is a closer look at some of the styling hacks - use the extra fabric to create knots on the side, on both sides or in the middle. You can use as much or as little material to make a knot at any height you want.

You can also style the Carly dress by pulling the extra fabric at the waist and tying an elastic around the extra material underneath or on the outside to create cool designs. As I mentioned before, the Carly dress is very versatile. These are just a few of the ways you can style/hack your Carly dress.

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Julia

The Julia dress is a form fitting dress perfect for showing off your silhouette. It hits right around your knees length wise and has mid-length sleeves. Picture a long Randy and you have Julia. The Julia sizes range from XXS(00-0) to 3XL(24-26). The Julia retails for $45 plus state taxes and shipping. Visit LulaRoe's website, lularoe.com/julia, to see what they say about the Julia!

Julia runs pretty true to size but if you don't want it to appear fitted then you need to go up a size. Julia actually comes in my size. I wear an 8/10 in dresses and can wear a Medium(8-10) Julia. The only problem I have run into so far, just like several of LulaRoe's other products, was that the Julia's I have are different lengths.

Both the blue and black Julia pictured below are a Medium, yet the blue one is two to three inches longer than the black Julia. The blue Julia falls just below my knees and the black Julia falls just above my knees. I am 5'7 and personally like to wear my dresses above my knees so liked the fit and feel of the black Julia better. When it comes to Julia you may need to try her on since the sizes are inconsistent because some are a little too big, while others of that same size are not so forgiving. The size inconsistency could be because LulaRoe products are made all around the world.

Another thing to keep an eye on while shopping for Julia is the patterns and colors. Like any item, the color and pattern can draw attention to all the wrong places. My solid blue Julia tends to show off all my curves where as the pattern in the black Julia does a lot better job at hiding them.

Julia isn't as versatile as the Carly dress but you can still dress her up or down. The main thing you can do with your Julia is change the length. You can change the length of your Julia dress two different ways. You can pull/scrunch Julia up a little to make the dress shorter or you can fold the bottom under and smooth it out to make the dress into a tunic top or a top that resembles the Randy Baseball  T.  Dress your Julia up or down by adding accessories such as belts, necklaces, scarfs; flats, heels, boots, converse. Pictured below are the different lengths you can make your Julia.

Like I said before, the main way to style a Julia dress is by changing the length. It pairs great with  leggings when folded to a tunic length and great with jeans when folded to a t-shirt length. 

Julia isn't the most versatile dress but Julia pairs pretty well with LulaRoe's cover ups - Sarah & Joy and the Cassie pencil skirt. You can wear Cassie over Julia with a little bit of Julia showing at the bottom to help blend the colors/patterns, you can wear Cassie completely over the bottom of Julia or you can wear Cassie as an infinity scarf with Julia. I'm sure some of LulaRoe's other skirts such as the Madison, Jill or Lola would look really nice paired with Julia as well.

Pictured: Medium Julia & Small Cassie

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Mommy & Me - Nicole & Dot Dot Smile

LulaRoe carries both adult and children's dresses and if you are lucky, you may be able to find a Mommy & Me set. If consultants get products that have the same pattern or match they will usually pair them together in their Mommy & Me albums. Keep in mind that the consultants do not get to pick the patterns, colors or material of their products so you may have to check out several different consultant's albums to find matching products.


Nicole 

The Nicole dress is a very comfortable, very flattering, light weight dress. Nicole is designed to have a fitted body with a full skirt and mid-length sleeves. The Nicole sizes range from XXS(00-0) to 3XL(24-26). The Nicole retails for $48 plus state taxes and shipping. Visit LulaRoe's website, lularoe.com/nicole, to see what they say about the Nicole!

I consider the Nicole dress to be a more relaxed, fun and comfortable version of Amelia. I consider Nicole to be more fun because the skirt has several loose pleats that make the dress perfect for twirling. It is also super lightweight so even though it has mid-length sleeves, it is breezy and perfect for spring or summer.

Nicole seems to run true to size, if not a little big. This is the only Nicole I have tried and it is made out of the super stretchy material that my Azure and Maxi are made out of. I wear an 8/10 in most dresses so like the majority of LulaRoe products I fall in-between sizes. I am wearing a Medium(10-12) Nicole and it is a little big on me but that may be because of the material of my Nicole. By my understanding Nicole's come in a couple different kinds of materials so depending on the material you may need to get a different size.  I could honestly probably fit into a Small(6-8) Nicole, especially if it is the same stretchy material as this Nicole.

Dot Dot Smile (discontinued)
The Dot Dot Smile aka The Lucy Dress is the kids version of the Nicole dress. It has a flare skirt that is perfect for twirling. The Dot Dot Smile sizes range from a kids 2(2T-4) to a kids 12/14. The Dot Dot Smile retails for $36 plus state taxes and shipping. I believe the Dot Dot Smile dress was discontinued in late summer/early fall of 2016.

My daughter is newly three in the pictures and is wearing a size 2 Dot Dot Smile. As soon as we put it on her she started twirling and smiling, she didn't want to take it off! If you like the Dot Dot Smile dress, LulaRoe has a kid's dress called Adeline that is similar but has quarter length sleeves. The Adeline retails for $30.

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Hopefully this blog helped you get a better understanding of what dresses LulaRoe has, how they fit and different ways to wear/style/hack your dresses. As you can tell LulaRoe dresses all look and run different; they come in different materials, styles, sizes, and colors - patterns and solids. LulaRoe is designed to fit several different body types and all items fit people differently depending on their build and the size of the item. LulaRoe is also designed so that you can fit in several different sizes to give off different looks, especially the Carly and Julia, so if you happen to come across a pattern you love but it isn't your size you may be able to still make it work. Before you buy make sure to check out each item's size chart and how that specific item runs because each LulaRoe item has it's own size chart and some items run big, some run small and others run true to size.

LulaRoe products in general really aren't that bad appearance wise, I just hate that their size charts are so random and their products are not consistent with each other size wise and material wise so it makes it hard to shop online since everything fits completely different but I think that is online shopping in general. Every item has it's pros and cons and everybody has a different sense of fashion so it may take a while to find an item you really love. Overall I would recommend giving LulaRoe a try if you can afford it. Yes I think most of their items are overpriced but like I said before, several chain store dresses are priced the same, if not higher and make mass amounts of dresses where as LulaRoe has a limited number in their patterns so you are less likely to run into someone wearing the same exact dress as you.

If you are still unsure about LulaRoe's dresses and sizes then visit a "pop up" boutique in your area and try on some different styles to figure out what size and style you prefer for your body type, then go online and join a bunch of consultant's groups and enter contest in hopes of winning LulaRoe or Lulacash that way if you end up not liking the products, you aren't out as much money, if any. I also recommend looking for Muli-consultant sales or consultants that have Bargain Bins, offer free shipping or are in a no tax states to help save a few bucks (It is rumored that LulaRoe is changing taxes to match the shoppers state tax no matter what state you purchase from). 

If I end up getting any different sizes or styles I will update my blog to help show you the difference in sizes and possibly a few more ways to wear that style in that size. If you are looking for more information on LulaRoe, what other items they carry and how to style them you can check out my LulaRoe related blogs below or you can visit LulaRoe's website, lularoe.com, to find out more information about the company! 

Everybody I know that has tried LulaRoe has an opinion on it so feel free to share your's below, all I ask is that you keep it clean!

My other LulaRoe Blogs:

• 6 Tricks for getting Free or Cheap LulaRoe
• LulaRoe Part 1: What is LulaRoe? Is it worth it?
• LulaRoe Part 2: Leggings - sizes, styling tips, Legging hacks, Q&A and more!
• LulaRoe Part 3: Tops - different ways to style Irma, Perfect T, Classic T & Randy
• LulaRoe Part 4: Skirts - different ways to style Azure, Cassie, Jill, Lola & Maxi
• LulaRoe Part 5: Dresses - different ways to style Carly, Julia, Amelia & Nicole
• LulaRoe Part 6: Cardigans - Lindsay & Monroe