Nope, I’m not going anywhere just yet … but I am saying good-bye to this dress. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, made part way through the day on which I wore this outfit, but I’m pretty confident about it. There is nothing wrong with the dress; I simply don’t feel “wow” in it, and so I wear it mostly out of guilt. It’s a nice dress, and it deserves to be worn with joy. Consider this my Kondo-approved “thanks for all the memories” tribute before the dress goes off to meet its (new) destiny. (Coincidentally, for those of you who have been asking, tomorrow’s post is *all* about the current state of my closet.)
accessory close-upfanc-ay!
I had initially planned to wear the dress with my greige blazer, only to realize that the result was … a whole lotta beige. Instead of reverting to my usual default — black — I chose to go the opposite way, and pulled this old cream cardigan from the back of the closet. I think the draping of the cardigan worked nicely with the draping of the dress. I added one of my fave waist cinchers to add some visual interest and definition, since the cardigan is fairly voluminous. Last but not least, I went with burgundy accessories rather than black so as not to “weigh” down the outfit too much. The result is, well, as you see it. Not a bad way to bid adieu.
The “neutral column + pop of colour” formula returns with a vengeance, eh? This time, I chose navy, instead of black, to pair with my bright mustard yellow jacket — largely because I’m pretty sure I’ve already done black before. As you might surmise, I really enjoy this type of outfit. I’ve never been a huge fan of trousers/pants, but I’ve been finding myself wearing them more and more. I think it’s because of outfit formulas like this one; tried and tested, comfortable, and easy to constantly remix. It puts my extensive blazer collection to good use, in any case.
mod touchesshoes + bagruffles + peplum
I’m always looking for opportunities to wear my funky Ferragamo block heels, so I pull them out for consideration every time I wear anything navy. As I was pondering whether they “went” with this outfit, and simultaneously thinking about what accessory to add, I had a stroke of inspiration. My MaxMara chunky necklace! It has a very similar mod-ish vibe as the shoes — frankly, I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. They’re a match made in heaven! This won’t be the last time you see this combo … or let’s face it, some very similar version of this entire outfit. Here’s hoping your memories are short, or your fondness for repetition great 😉
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I did bring a bunch of “evening” clothes on my trip to Mexico, although I use that term very loosely. We are talking casual dresses that are no longer in my everyday rotation (and, hence, things I would not mind getting dirty and/or losing in transit) and met the necessary criteria, to wit: being lightweight and comfortable, and somewhat dressier than a cover-up. Here’s a good example:
One of the best things about traveling with friends that also have children (who are our kids’ BFFs to boot) is that we could arrange an evening trade-off. Each set of parents took the kids for a couple of hours while the other enjoyed some much-needed alone time and a quiet dinner; then, we switched. This is how my husband and I got to explore the resort a little bit without having to worry about the kids’ attention spans. One of my favourite things to do during our “adults-only time” was to walk along the beach (the appeal of which is apparently lost on 3 and 5-year olds) and relax in a hammock-swing contraption with a frothy drink in hand. Like so:
hideawayswing!
My trusty “evening” maxi dresses were perfect for these sorts of mini-excursions; casual enough for a sandy stroll, but classy enough for a grown-up (buffet, natch) dinner. I did bring a black cardigan with me in case of cooler evening temps, but I never ended up using it. In retrospect, I’m glad I nixed the denim jacket I almost packed. As it was, that left more room for dresses, which meant that I got to wear a different dress almost every night AND used up only half a suitcase. Packing win!
(On that note, I have to mention that I just discovered the magic of packing cubes and I cannot say enough good things about them. Because I am cheap, and was doing everything at the last minute, I ended up getting 4 packs of IKEA packing cubes, which were only $9 a pop. They are not very large, but can fit a decent amount of clothes, especially kids’ stuff. They also work for adult clothes, although it helps if the clothes in question are easily rollable and lightweight. Bulky sweaters, not so much. In the future, given that I am traveling for work more frequently these days, I am probably going to invest a bit more money in getting a bigger set of packing cubes on Amazon.)
another evening, another maxi dress (Gap, old)hello, waves!hair disaster, immortalized
During our early evening walks, I loved watching the preparations for the various events that were hosted, seemingly on the regular, at our resort; we saw 2-3 weddings, a corporate retreat, and a bar mitzvah. Funny story: I used to hate weddings, including the planning process for my own, but I’ve had a change of heart in recent years. I not only love weddings now, but I also get quite emotional at them. It’s a sign of my advancing age, I’m sure. I’m also a sucker for a good floral display, so you can bet that I stopped and smelled the roses (literally and figuratively) here:
wedding set-upswoon
In addition to my old maxi dresses, I did bring one new-to-me short number with me on the trip.
dress, Dex (thrifted)
This thrifted Dex dress turned out to be my favourite. The ponte-like black material is hella comfortable, and the floral overlay is ideal for concealing the evidence of my buffet-loving ways. I like this dress so much, in fact, that rather than keeping it in my vacation micro-capsule going forward, I have added it to my everyday casual rotation. Surely, there will be a summer BBQ or two in my future, and this dress will come in handy.
Last but not least, I really ought to give a shoutout to my old J. Crew sandals. I had originally brought another pair of sandals with me — a recently thrifted, never worn gold BR pair — but threw these black ones into the suitcase at the last minute in case the other proved uncomfortable. Boy, was that a smart idea! Sure enough, the BR pair gave me blisters after the first wear, and the inner lining on the straps started peeling in a most peculiar fashion. Needless to say, they went straight in the garbage after that; thankfully, because they were thrifted, the damage to my wallet was minimal, but what the heck, BR! Anyway, I ended up wearing these J. Crew sandals for the rest of the trip and they were as versatile and comfortable as always. I might add that this trip was something of a milestone for my over-packing self: not counting the disastrous gold sandals, I got through a 7-day trip with only 3 pairs of shoes (and that is counting the Chucks I wore on the plane to deal with the 60 degree swing in temperature between departure and arrival). I call that a triumph of minimalism, hah.
