Ethnic Trend – The Tribal Print Dress

Posted on May 9, 2009 by fdiary

NOTE:   Several people stated they were going to get this dress, if you want the hem to be close to knee length, you may have to buy it one size up.


I’ve been wanting to get a few ethnic print dresses for the summer. I found this one at Kmart.com on sale and ran down to the store that night to get it. It’s currently marked down from $30 to $19.50.


The print is amazing and I absolutely love how they mixed the pattern with coordinating stripe detail on the side. The colors are striking and weight of the fabric is impressive for the money, definitely a head turning dress for sure. Yeah this little number is hot!

  • Dress – Attention
  • Bag – Kathy Vanzeeland
  • Gladiator Pumps – ASOS

    • In my ear:

    Teena Marie – “I need your lovin’”
    Robbie Nevil – “C’est La Vie’”
    The System – “Don’t disturb this groove’”

    Filed under: Outfits

    « »

    53 Responses

    1. Tarah, on May 9th, 2009 at 2:42 pm Said:

      Ethnic? Tribal? Really, really? No, these are not ethnic prints nor are they tribal; these are ugly prints.

    2. Kokodiva, on May 9th, 2009 at 3:29 pm Said:

      Great deal on the dress and you look incredible as always. You know where those bargain are don’t you! LOL

    3. fdiary, on May 9th, 2009 at 3:42 pm Said:

      @ tarah – your ip address tells me you are from Cape Town, South Africa. I’m assuming you find these prints offensive. I don’t know what authentic Africa cloth or fabric patterns look like but obviously the designers listed above found “inspiration” in global prints from probably many different countries. You have your opinion, I have mine. However, this site is not about the politics of fashion, you might want to take that beef up somewhere else. Take Care and have a great day :-)

    4. Erin, on May 9th, 2009 at 5:31 pm Said:

      Great dress. Great style. Wow!!!! you have done it again. Another exceptional find.

    5. fdiary, on May 9th, 2009 at 6:33 pm Said:

      @ erin – thanks a lot!

    6. missamyshops, on May 9th, 2009 at 8:05 pm Said:

      Love the dress! Those bright colors are killing me! It really does look much higher end than the price tells us. XOXO, MissAmy

    7. living-on-a-budget, on May 9th, 2009 at 8:10 pm Said:

      Okay girl how did you find that dress, crazy gorgeous. I would have never thought to go to Kmart I haven’t been in that stores in I don’t know how long. You put the R in recessionista chic!

    8. Ms. Buttafly, on May 9th, 2009 at 8:28 pm Said:

      I really like the print and cut of this dress. WOW.

    9. MoniMoni, on May 9th, 2009 at 9:17 pm Said:

      I love the dress…and I like the shoes, but not with the dress. I think a more neutral shoe would work better.

    10. The Cheap Chica, on May 9th, 2009 at 10:29 pm Said:

      lovin’ the dress, girl. my local store doesn’t carry this dress, but when I say it online, it looked really short so I debated on getting it. Now that I see it on, I may have to order it now, lol.

    11. fdiary, on May 10th, 2009 at 5:23 am Said:

      @ cheap chica – make sure you buy one size up, if you want it to be close to knee length.

      @ MoniMoni – the shoes is a little strong, I have a tan, brown and mustard color shoes that would work as well.

    12. zulema2, on May 10th, 2009 at 6:29 am Said:

      Whaoo they are all beautiful i like the DVF the most… You always look so great.. Have a Happy Mothers Day ♥

    13. La Couturier, on May 10th, 2009 at 7:01 am Said:

      I’m currently loving anything tribal printed; I love the American Apparel dress!

      Bisous,
      La C.

    14. Truffle, on May 10th, 2009 at 8:53 am Said:

      Your dress is stunning! Love the tribal print dresses.

    15. charmaine, on May 10th, 2009 at 10:19 am Said:

      Very pretty I love your fashion sense, you pick all the right pieces on a dime and still look amazing. Kudos!

    16. Workchic, on May 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am Said:

      I love the dress and the whole outfit looks great! It didn’t photograph very well on kmart.com so it looks super short. So glad I saw it on you.. I am going to order it now!

    17. Jen, on May 10th, 2009 at 4:59 pm Said:

      Wow! Great find. It reminds me of DVF. I need to get my butt to Kmart.

    18. tanisha, on May 10th, 2009 at 5:14 pm Said:

      I’m getting this dress! Thanks for posting it, I love it! :-D

    19. Mallika, on May 11th, 2009 at 12:41 am Said:

      Lovely as the dress is, it adds unnecessary volume to your frame. The chunky shoes aint helping either …they looked better with the previous outfits. The dress somehow reminds me of an oddly shaped tent…might look flattering on the likes of anorexic ppl like the olsen twins…lolz…on you it is hiding all the lovely curves.

    20. Brooke Smith, on May 11th, 2009 at 2:57 am Said:

      I read your article on Gerren Taylor and used it for my research paper! Thanks!

    21. fdiary, on May 11th, 2009 at 5:39 am Said:

      @ Brooke – please make sure you credit this website and list it as a reference source on your paper since the article is copyrighted by me. Thanks!

    22. fdiary, on May 11th, 2009 at 5:46 am Said:

      @ mallika – thanks for the feedback. This is a kimono style dress with a belt tie. It’s made to be loose and fluid below the waist. The dress is made out of clingy polyester fabric and it moves and wears better then it photographs. Obviously I’m not a professional photographer but trust, the dress looks a lot better in the flesh then through my camera len. I also sized up to a medium so the dress would be knee length. The small was more form fitting but that is not the look I’m going for with this particular dress. Thanks!

    23. tappyb, on May 11th, 2009 at 7:45 am Said:

      very pretty, i love the colors so striking!

    24. sharon rose, on May 11th, 2009 at 8:46 am Said:

      Hi there–your dress is fabulous, I really love the vibrant colours! Have a great week my dear!

    25. Kim Brown, on May 11th, 2009 at 10:15 am Said:

      Girl, I would never believe this came from Kmart, I love this on you. Yeah color!!! Ok, I know you will disagree, but I think less of a heel would have been more in this case, because the dress is so striking. But you know me, I love seeing more strappy stuff in the Spring/Summer.

    26. Mallika, on May 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am Said:

      :) even so, its a bold color choice, colors look great on you. i was skeptical before writing the previous comment, as i did not want to sound negative :)

    27. fdiary, on May 11th, 2009 at 11:29 am Said:

      @ mallika – its cool. Lots of people did not like the gladiator heels with this dress, but they do work – again the camera, the lighting and not having enough definition in the photo could be a issue. But I will wear this dress with the tan gladiator heels I just ordered and I think that will work out better. Thanks for the honest feedback, it ain’t about the kudos all the time.

    28. fdiary, on May 11th, 2009 at 11:30 am Said:

      @ kim – hey lady, I just ordered some tan gladiator heels, so that should work out better with this dress. ;-)

    29. doingit4fashion, on May 11th, 2009 at 11:56 am Said:

      Great dress! You can’t go wrong for twenty dollars!

    30. Terri Walton, on May 11th, 2009 at 12:58 pm Said:

      Budget Chic, you’ve done it again. You look spectacular!

    31. fdiary, on May 11th, 2009 at 1:02 pm Said:

      @ teri – thank you! I appreciate it! :-)

    32. Briana, on May 11th, 2009 at 1:16 pm Said:

      Girl you rock! I love this dress, now you are going to force me to spend money! Kmart here I come! LOL

    33. Goodbuygal, on May 11th, 2009 at 3:10 pm Said:

      Wow that dress looks fabulous. I’m going to have to take a closer look at Kmart.

    34. soloden, on May 11th, 2009 at 10:18 pm Said:

      Oh i like the Tory Burch Leeona..=)
      They are all gorgeous.=)

    35. soloden, on May 12th, 2009 at 1:05 am Said:

      Love the fourth dress.Love the print and the color.So cool.=)

    36. Ruddyzell, on May 12th, 2009 at 5:15 am Said:

      Loving this dress, especially the price. What a find!

    37. Tigerlily, on May 12th, 2009 at 6:58 am Said:

      oh wow look at those colorful dresses, such pretty hues. my fave is the ones from johnathan saunders and antikbatik ^^

      xoxo

    38. kate, on May 12th, 2009 at 12:13 pm Said:

      FABULOUS FOR FABULESS. You do this so well, that one of the reasons I like visiting your site. Keep up the good work chica!

    39. Jill Knapp, on May 12th, 2009 at 2:56 pm Said:

      Love your site!! And a big thank you!!

    40. Budget Babe, on May 12th, 2009 at 3:13 pm Said:

      Love it!! i dont know how you do it. my kmart did not have that dress but i’ve been loving a lot of what i’m seeing from them online! glad to hear its decent quality, i’m ordering some stuff from them soon…

      also, you know i never critique a thing you wear but i think MoniMoni makes a good point, this dress might look especially fab with neutral brown sandals and purse :)

    41. fdiary, on May 12th, 2009 at 3:43 pm Said:

      @ budgetbabe – hi sweetie, yep. I noted that I will be wearing the brown gladiator sandals I just ordered with this instead of the black and I need a good brown/tan tone slouchy bag. I’m working on improving the whole look and I will re-post this dress again.

    42. bella, on May 12th, 2009 at 3:52 pm Said:

      You look fantastic!!! I’m in love with these prints and I can’t believe you scored that dress at Kmart! Holy crap babe!
      If I say I want all the dresses in this post, it souds a tad overzealous… but I do!
      lol-xxx

      And the shoes, I’m coming to steal them.

    43. Anusha, on May 12th, 2009 at 9:36 pm Said:

      OMG Love it! I adore African and African-inspired prints! I think they are just soooo beautiful. Many years ago a college friend who did service work in Ghana brought me back this amazing printed and embroidered native dress, and I loved it so much I wore it till it literally fell apart. I still miss that dress! These prints remind me of it. Wish I could find one similar. Of course our lame local Kmart has nothing like this, but my search continues …

    44. Marian, on May 13th, 2009 at 5:11 am Said:

      darling i have missed your savvy blog while on holiday. adoring that tribal print dress. the colours are gorge! the shoes go perfectly with it. Tribal is such a big trend at the moment. I hope you have been well honey!
      big kiss,
      Marian

    45. Troy, on May 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm Said:

      This dress looked so fabulous on you that I went right to kmart.com and ordered 1 for me. Just got it today and really is fabulous. Thank you!

    46. Kim Brown, on May 13th, 2009 at 7:07 pm Said:

      Make sure you try to show this again with the other shoe options, I love seeing what you do. Also, is Tarah trippin’ or what???

    47. fdiary, on May 13th, 2009 at 8:50 pm Said:

      @ kimmie – I don’t know girl, maybe she was upset because she thought that her native fabrics were being too commercialized. I traced the IP address to Cape Town, South Africa. She may have a legit beef but running up on my website being childish and having a virtual tantrum on my blog – ain’t gonna help ya! Cause I ain’t changing my game for nobody!

    48. keshia, on May 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm Said:

      I love your style and that dress is fabulous on you!

    49. N+S, on May 18th, 2009 at 3:01 pm Said:

      What I love about these dresses is that they really suit curvy women (like me!) – perfect for summer!

    50. LuckywithFashion, on May 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 am Said:

      This was a good score, I love the ethnicity of this piece and the price makes it even more appealing.

    51. Kristin, on May 24th, 2009 at 1:37 am Said:

      Loving that dress!

    52. elanarobinson, on May 29th, 2009 at 7:09 pm Said:

      It looks hot! That’s all there is to it!

    53. kiara, on September 14th, 2009 at 1:20 pm Said:

      You look fierce in your ethnic print outfit!!

    Leave a Reply