The Wedding Crashers

Dress, RACHEL Rachel Roy (via consignment); necklace, Winners; shoes, Steve Madden (via consignment)
Dress, RACHEL Rachel Roy (via consignment); necklace, Winners; shoes, Steve Madden (via consignment)

Don’t worry – we have not taken up wedding crashing as a hobby. I just liked having an excuse to name-check one of my fave silly comedies from the mid-aughts. My husband and I are now at an age when weddings are rare events. Most of our friends are married, but the next generation is still, mostly, in diapers. Ironically, I actually now enjoy weddings, whereas in the past, I hated them. So I’m always excited when an invitation comes. This one was for the wedding of a co-worker, and it took place out in the country, about an hour’s drive away from town. I’d never been to a “country” wedding before, and this one was a blast. It is always lovely to watch two families come together at such a happy time, and the atmosphere this time was especially laid-back and welcoming. The home-made moonshine wedding favours did not exactly hinder the fun, if you know what I mean.

beautiful Fallis, Alberta
beautiful Fallis, Alberta
the best kind of wedding favour ...
the best kind of wedding favour …
looks good from the back?
looks good from the back?

The dress code for the wedding reflected its venue (business chic, I think was the term used), so I picked a dress that would look nice, but not too fancy. The necklace was, admittedly, a little bit over the top, but I’ve been waiting for an excuse to wear it with this dress for ages. The wedges were a compromise because I knew we would be in a field outdoors the whole time, which meant that heels were a no-go. In retrospect, I wish I had worn close-toed shoes, because the weather turned pretty chilly by the time we got there, and I could have used the extra warmth. Another reason to be thankful for the moonshine …

Rachel Roy really does make the prettiest dresses ...
Rachel Roy really does make the prettiest dresses …

Christmas in July

Top & skirt, J. Crew (via consignment); shoes, Ferragamo (via consignment); necklace, BR; bag, MbMJ
Top & skirt, J. Crew (via consignment); shoes, Ferragamo (via consignment); necklace, BR; bag, MbMJ

This title is more appropriate than you might realize at first, seeing as how I’m on vacay as we speak. But I’ll save the holiday chat for another post. Pairing red and green might not be the most stylish move, but I think it can work when the red comes in small doses. Basically, I just needed an excuse to show you this faux dress combo again, and changing up the footwear totally counts as a new outfit, right? Right.

red + green for non-holidays
red + green for non-holidays
still loving the faux dress ...
still loving the faux dress …

There’s really not much more to it than that. I will say that this Banana Republic pendant was hands-down the best costume jewelry investment of the past couple of years (along with my vintage flower brooch, natch). I feel like pendant necklaces are still having a moment after the bling necklace extravaganza of a few years ago, and they’re a nice, subtler way to add some sparkle to an outfit.

looking for the holiday ... any holiday
looking for the holiday … any holiday

Tibi Or Not Tibi

Dress, Tibi; blazer, J. Crew; shoes, Ferragamo (via Etsy); bag, Marc Jacobs (via eBay)
Dress, Tibi; blazer, J. Crew; shoes, Ferragamo (via Etsy); bag, Marc Jacobs (via eBay)

I know, you guys: WORST punny title ever. But, I couldn’t resist. Or, more specifically, I couldn’t think of a more creative answer than the umpteenth variation on “floral … something or other”. Wardrobe rut? I prefer to go with signature style. Pota-toe, pota-toh.

Anywhoodle.

I scored this dress for a steal of a deal, and I will bore you with the details here again, even though I’ve already crowed all over Instagram. So. I noticed this dress months ago at Winners, and started eyeing it seriously when it hit the clearance rack. Still, at $120, it was too pricey for my taste. That might seem wholly arbitrary but hear me out. It’s (a) a pretty memorable print in a dressier silk fabric, (b) a non-versatile silhouette (dropped waist plus a low, open back that’s NSFW when worn alone), both of which mean I can’t really wear it at the office very often. It’s a once-a-month-tops kind of dress. I already have a lot of special occasion dresses I rarely wear, so I can’t justify buying a new one on that basis. However, when the price finally dropped – to $60! – you can bet that I was all over it. At that price, it will only take about 2 years to get to a reasonable CPW, which is doable. Plus, I can now brag about getting this dress for 90% off the original retail price which, as a friend pointed out, is practically FREE. That’s a pretty good brag. [Winky face emoticon firmly in cheek]

floral at the office
floral at the office

So, the outfit. It’s cute, yes? Dropped waist silhouettes can be tricky – they have a tendency to look toddler-esque – but the dark floral and office-appropriate hemline (plus the always classy Ferragamo flats) balance things out.

best foot forward?
best foot forward?