It’s rare to see a Delpozo dress in Lake Highlands. Perfectly modern and colorful with oversized ruffles, origami flowers and woven bows, it’s far too fanciful for the everyday. Yet, Chelsea Bell embraces the Spanish fashion house’s fussy details.

Between dropping off and picking up two small children, 35-year-old Bell is constructing her own fashion line in her ABC Streets home. The ruffles in her shift dresses aren’t as exorbitant as the ones on Delpozo dresses, but a Rosie+Belle dress can be tossed in the wash.

Founded by Bell in April 2017, Rosie+Belle offers dresses, skirts and accessories in bright colors. Garments are manufactured in Austin, and she personally makes all handbags and accessories in her Dallas studio.

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“As a mother of small children, I need things that can be easily cared for because I am always getting touched with grimy hands,” Bell says. “Just today I got to my destination and noticed that the toothpaste my daughter was slinging around the bathroom while brushing her teeth had ended up on my skirt.”

Bell wears her own pieces almost daily because she can’t seem to find exactly what she wants on the market.

“Many of my garments offer a slight reference to another time with modern sensibilities that work with the busy life of a 21st-century woman,” Bell says.

“People stop and ask me where my things are from, so I just decided to take the plunge and go for it.”

Bell studied historical designers such as Pierre Cardin, André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne while completing her bachelor’s and master’s in fine arts and fashion design. She also earned a master’s in education. Bell conceived of Rosie +Belle during her last semester of teaching at Texas Woman’s University and SMU.

“More than anything, the timing was right, and I had a concept that I felt would work,” Bell says. “I have always made clothes for myself. People stop and ask me where my things are from, so I just decided to take the plunge and go for it.”

She missed teaching so much that she now teaches two days a week at El Centro College.

“It is refreshing and inspiring especially on days when things are hard,” Bell says. “When a woman is wearing clothes that fit her properly and make her feel comfortable, she exudes confidence and beauty.”