I am going to a black-tie gala on Friday. I didn't realize it was black tie until yesterday. I bought this dress from Macy's. I got really lucky. It was like 65% off plus yesterday was the last day of a friends and family event where any customer in the store qualified as friend & family and I got an extra 20% off.
It's not quite so neon, more of a kelly green, really.
My problem is shoes. And a purse. I was thinking I would wear the hot hot hot and so comfortable white patent leather pumps that I wore at my wedding. But, I also just ordered these from Zappos.com. I also have a white patent faux-leather clutch.
Here are the big questions:
1. Is white shoes with a white purse just too much?
2. Is a white patent clutch just no good to begin with? I love it, but sometimes, I am a little tacky.
3. It is supposed to rain on Friday. I have a black trench, but I know that, if it is raining, I will be cold. Is it ok to wear a bronz-ish wrap? It's a fake pashmina, but it isn't super-fancy. Sometimes I wear it with jeans. It is a for-serious black-tie deal - Mr is renting a tux. I don't want to look out of place.
4. What the heck do I do about accessories? Necklace? Earrings? Arg!
Dear readers, if you are out there, please help me. I'm a fashion moron when it comes to myself.
ps - the shoes may be a moot point. I ordered from Zappos, but they've stopped advertising and guaranteeing free overnight shipping. They claim that most customers will still get it overnight, but they only promise 4-5 business days. This will be the topic of another post, soon.
3 comments:
I'm certainly no fashion expert, but here are my thoughts.
As a practical matter, you'll probably check the coat as soon as you get in the door, so it might not matter that much what you wear. Or -- if you can park reasonably close -- you might be able to get away without a coat at all (just borrow Mr.'s jacket for the walk from the car to the entrance).
Also, could you possibly manage without a purse? If the gala involves a lot of standing around and chatting, it's kind of awkward to be hanging on to a clutch while holding a drink and/or hors d'oeuvres. If it's mostly a dinner-type event, though, the purse will be useful to leave at the table to claim your spot (assuming no set seating arrangement).
On the jewelry issue: because the dress is off the shoulder, I'd go with some kind of statement necklace like the one in the photo. And tiny earrings. Or (especially if your hair is short or you're going to be wearing it up) vice versa.
Patent leather is very in right now, so I think the shoes and clutch would be fine together. I agree with niobe about the coat issue. I wouldn't overthink that one.
On the jewelry issue, I would actually go sans necklace to show off your collarbone and not detract from your decollatage. For earrings you could go super simple studs, of if you're feeling frisky, maybe some dangly ones. Do you have a bracelet? I think a bracelet would behoove this outfit.
I hadn't thought about the fact that I won't know anyone that we are seated with (whether it is assigned or not), so maybe I will go no purse at all. I wouldn't want to leave it at the table anyway. I'll have to utilize mr's pockets.
The shoes from Zappos turned out to be perfect, and arrived overnight, I'll upload pics soon.
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
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