For Funs Sake - Part 1

     I had a birthday recently (woop), and for that birthday I asked a best friend to do a photo shoot with me. Being a creative director for a photo shoot is something I've always wanted to do and that sounds so exciting and creative: planning the outfit, picking the location, thinking about what sort of photo I want to create. It's my way of being an extremely amateur Grace Coddington for a day, while also getting to be an extremely amateur Cindy Crawford, and actually model in the photos as well. This whole experience is probably nothing like the real thing, because in real life I'm sure there are a lot of people vying for a small number of positions in the industry, toiling away and dealing with creative, demanding people for hours in all sorts of climates. This day, as you can imagine, was just fun.
      I knew I'd picked the right woman for the job when, instead of looking at me like I was delusional, she finagled us a fancy camera (thanks JT!), a fancy cameraman (thanks DP!), and suggested we get our makeup done (I mean, if we're doing this, let's do this). We did all of those things, so this post and the next one will feature those photos (one of me and one of her) and, because they came out really nicely and cropping the background just ruined the vibe - they will also feature my face. Fun.

Style Dtour: Boston

     As I've mentioned before, I like to souvenir shop at secondhand clothing stores when I am traveling in a new city. This time it was Boston and I was pretty pleased with what I found. I was also incredibly pleased with the Boston museums. I had a chance to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Museum of Fine Arts and highly recommend both of them. At the MFA, your ticket allows you to go back to the museum within 10 days, and I wish I'd had time to squeeze in another visit. It is a really large museum and I made the mistake of going there the first time around dinner, so my stomach eventually won out over my desire to stay longer and see the whole collection.

Diane Von Furstenberg 

Dressing For Someone Else's Wedding

I did not manage to take a photo of every wedding outfit, but here are the ones I did get. 
Read more about them: Blue Floral Dress | Coat and Boots | Plum Dress| Tory Burch Top

As I've briefly mentioned here before, I have gone to a lot of weddings this year (including my own - but that outfit will get its own post, obvi). For those weddings, it is a rare opportunity to dress up and get out of my 9-to-5 comfort zone. I put a lot of time and effort into outfit planning, and thought I'd share some of my thoughts:

Variety: Taking a step back, if I had wanted to, I could have worn the same dress to every wedding I went to this year (baring inclement weather). I had a brief moment of thinking I shouldn't repeat outfits because "the same guests will be at Wedding X as at Wedding Y" but quickly realized I don't care. My family, friends and co-workers routinely see me in repeated outfits, so I'm not sure why it should matter for wedding guests. Also, I saw a lot of the same men at these weddings and they all wore the same suit, over and over, with no one saying a word about it. If having one go-to outfit is how you like to get dressed for weddings, you do you. 

Dress Code: For me, I think finding the right outfit for these events is something that should be planned out and mulled over. It's almost like a sport (or so I would imagine, not being particularly athletic). You've got to game-plan! I like looking at what the official dress code is (be it Cocktail Attire or Mountain Formal or You Have To Wear This Dress Because You Are a Bridesmaid) and combing through my closet to find something that will honor the theme, while keeping with my personal style.

New vs. Old: I don't think that just because you are going to an event, you have to buy something new. In fact, of the outfits shown above, all of them are entirely comprised of pieces that were already in my closet prior to the year 2017 (including shoes and accessories) except for the floral dress on the left, and the bridesmaid dress on the far right. That one might be easier for me than others, as I have a pretty deep closet and I hoard my clothes (so if you take nothing away from this post, it is keep all your clothes, forever...).

Preparedness: I managed to get through all my weddings with no fashion emergencies. The closest I got was with the plum dress. Something exploded in my suitcase, staining the dress. Thankfully it was water based and washed out once I lovingly blotted out each spot, but it would have been a stone cold bummer if my dress was spotted. In the future, I'd consider a garment bag, or wrapping my dresses in plastic. Other than that, I always carry bandaids, bring at least a few pieces of fashion tape and an extra hair-tie in my clutch (or on my wrist, if we are being honest).

Wearing White: This is an interesting topic, which I've discussed with a lot of ladies at weddings this year. It seems like people are still solidly in Camp Don't-Wear-White, but that peach and blush and other nude colors are creeping in. I often see multiple guests in something vaguely "bridal", and it seems like attitudes are definitely shifting here. I personally don't care about white (everyone wear white!), but nevertheless I take a conservative approach.  If I know the bride well, I can usually guess what she prefers (or she has told me), and if I don't know the bride very well, I stay away from white/blush/cream/ivory. 

Do you have any wedding outfit tips? What is the most befuddling dress code you have ever seen?

Peak Plum

Dress | Diane von Furstenberg

     This dress was made for "staring into gorgeous scenery photos", was it not? The open back is basically the reason I bought this dress, which I purchased (not rented) from Rent the Runway. They used to hold an insane sample sale (think long lines and very aggressive attendees) that I would try to visit when I lived in NY, but they have since started selling dresses that they don't rent out anymore, online. The pricing for the items they sell varies, to be honest, but I was pleased with the markdown on this dress, which ended up being a little over 75% off of its retail price. When I found it, the only dress left was a couple sizes too large, but in looking at the reviewer's photos on the RtR website, I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, since the fit is very drapey and loose. Turns out I was right, it looks like most of the size difference is reflected in a change in the length of the dress, and I knew I'd need to get the dress hemmed no matter what. 

Retro + Weekend Reading

Sweater | J. Crew (Thrifted)
Dress | Diane von Furstenberg (Secondhand)
Shoes | Matt Bernson

Hello and happy Friday! Just a simple outfit today, featuring my tried and true system of putting a black sweater over a printed dress, and calling it a day. It is a particularly nice Friday for me, because I am going on vacation next week, so all I need to do is get through the day. I am looking forward to coming back refreshed, and sharing some photos from my trip (as there are weddings involved, I think it'll be a much more fashion focused sort of vacation). The two weddings I will be attending are the last two I have for the year, and I plan on doing a recap of how I interpreted dress codes, and what I wore, including for my own wedding day (dun dun duuuuuunnnnn). 😊 

Pack of Peplums

I love a good peplum, and think that a peplum top is a nice way to add a little visual interest to a work wardrobe. They are a bit unusual and fun - I mean they are basically a kooky little skirt for your top, but I don't think that means they can't also be office appropriate. Here are two examples of how I recently wore a peplum to work.

Top | Rebecca Taylor
Cardigan | Abound
Pants | DvF
Shoes | Coclico 

If you had to wear the same work outfit for a week, what would it be?

This post is inspired by one that Adina of BlueCollarRed Lipstick did a bit back about the platonic closet. Essentially, she went through and picked one item in each category of her closet, that was most indicative of her personal style. I don't currently have the time (and maybe, if we are being honest, the discipline) to complete this exercise myself but I have been thinking about it and realized that I do have an ideal work outfit, and if I had to wear it every day for a week, this would be it. I think it nicely incorporates my love of solids, unique subtle details, and streamlined silhouettes.

Top | Ted Baker Osster Embellished Top (very similar, in pink)
Pants | Diane von Furstenberg Gennifer 2
Shoes | Coclico Pink Flat

First off, it definitely involves pants - they protect you from over-zealous office air-conditioning, and you can sit cross-legged if the need ever arises. These pants were a Nordstrom Rack find, and are incredibly comfortable. They are navy (my neutral of choice) but have a little bit of a textured fabric (it is sort of hard to see this in the photo) which make them a little more interesting. Plus, there are pockets, so I can carry my phone and clip my office badge onto my pants. I'm not sure how many of you have to wear office badges but it is terrible when you come into work and realize you have nothing to clip it to and then you forget to carry it and subsequently get locked in an elevator bay...hypothetically speaking.

For my top, I have found a blouse that is essentially a pumped up solid. I love the embellishment on this shirt and it helps make up for the fact that I otherwise don't wear a lot of jewelry. The fabric is stretchy and comfortable, and the collar makes it a little more professional, balancing out the short sleeves. 

Close up of the textures. Also of wrinkles. Wrinkles are sort of a texture though.

Upon reviewing these photos, I have decided this look could use some earrings. Or maybe a ring. I finished the outfit with my favorite flats, and boom - I'm ready to work. 

Lastly, this is a shot of the shirt with a skirt, which isn't part of my ideal outfit, but just to show how darn versatile this top is. Do you have a work-piece that embodies your personal style? If you don't - what would it look like?

Who is Diane von Furstenberg, and why are her wrap dresses so sick?

Did you know she was a princess?! I decided to start a series where I do a little background research on a designer I'm interested in and whose work I admire. It is sort of fun to dive into the history of fashion lines, and who better to start with than wrap-dress queen and CFDA president, Diane von Furstenberg. 

Dress | DvF (obvi)
Bag | Mansur Gavriel (read a review here)
Sunglasses | Ray-Ban

To get the ball rolling, here is a great 10 minute interview between DvF and Leandra Medine, of Man Repeller, where she doles out such wisdom as "when you doubt your power, you give power to your doubts"

DvF on the cover of Newsweek in 1976

She was born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin, and later married Prince Egon of Furstenberg, a German prince. (Did you know Germany still had a royal family...I'm not going to lie, I did not). Although they later divorced, she started designing clothes when they married, and she kept his name on her brand as it grew.

Far more interesting than her royal past, DvF introduced the jersey wrap dress in 1974, which put her brand on the map, and launched a thousand imitators. Since that time her company has grown into an international business with, per Forbes, estimated sales of $500 million. 

Oh, hello there. 

The wrap dress is pretty universally flattering, nipping in at the waist and then flowing down across the hips. There is something about the cut which is so easy to wear, and yet comes across as very polished. I also appreciate that the prints DvF picks are always fun. This particular dress is from the RealReal, and instead of having a tie at the waist, it just has a wide elastic strap, which sort of acts like a belt, giving you a faux-wrap that can't accidentally come un-tied. 

This particular dress also has pockets, which is always appreciated. 

A print in two colors is twice as good!

No knots needed. 

I've enjoyed reading more about DvF, and might check out her book, The Woman I Wanted to Be. Have you read it and would you recommend it? I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about this awesome entrepreneur and business-woman, and in the meantime I will have to think about who I want to learn more about next!

Some DvF options below, priced from low to high: