Yes, the slutty cupcake moniker above is in reference to my outfit, and not to a promiscuous dessert (although if anyone here knows of any sweet treats of easy virtue, feel free to send them my way). My boyfriend and I agreed that between the flared skirt and the strategic cutouts on this dress, I quite resembled a wanton pastry–which he maintains was intended as a compliment.

About this dress: being that I am excessively vain and believe that somehow, someone from the fashion police always has their eye out (hello, website dedicated to pictures of myself), I prefer to borrow dresses for special occassions rather than purchase them. No matter how much I adore a fancy frock, I harbor an irrational fear of being photographed in it more than once. In college, my five(!) roommates and I made much use of each others’ closets for formals and dances, but now that my cocktail-attire events lean more wedding/gala than drunk fraternity party, I have become a very loyal customer of Rent The Runway. In my 20+ rentals, I have never once had a bad experience. The one time my dress ended up being too big, RTR managed to track down the same dress in a smaller size, deliver it that day, and add a gratis necklace. Thus, my usual go-to as soon as I receive a save-the-date is to venture straight to the site. This time around, though, I spotted this dress in a random boutique window and chose to buy rather than lease. When the price is right (and is it ever), I’ll figure out a way to style it differently for another fête (update: a reader just found this dress for even cheaper!).

Photos taken on our beautiful AirBNB roof. Outfit credits after the jump.

• Dress: Mustard Seed (buy it)
• Shoes: Zara (closer look here. Unfortunately, I can’t find these online anywhere but Zara has a great shoe selection on sale right now)
• Purse: Vintage Chanel via Eleven Consignment Boutique in the East Village
• Earrings: Kendra Scott, borrowed from my best friend (get em here in slate or here in red)