March 22, 2024
It’s a dressy weekend – the weather will probably be warm… but there is always a chance of a cool snap!
But how to be dressy without bringing everything you own? Well, a tight color palette and planning ahead is always the way to go.
And how about starting with black and pretty accents?
Before you go down this path, you want to be ABSOLUTELY certain that wearing black isn’t a problem. This wardrobe is actually designed for someone who’s a prominent figure in a wedding, at which the bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses; I think she’s okay with this!
She’s wearing a very “normal” travel outfit – closed-toe shoes, and a cardigan for the inevitable freezing air conditioning… but she’s rocking the floral festivities in her accessories!
Black cardigan – Boden; earrings – The Pink Reef; scarf – June Hunter; tee shirt – Boden; pants – Boden; bag – Ted Baker; shoes – Madewell
Please note – I’m not showing her actual “attending the wedding dress” because THAT IS IN HER CARRY-ON BAG!
You can make do and shop a bit if your luggage goes AWOL, but you do not want to be in a position of having to find THE dress in a strange town, in a hurry. Just accept that your entire carry-on is going to be dedicated to your event outfit, and revel in the security that this gives you…
But what she DOES pack and check is pretty lovely…
Silk shift dress – Eileen Fisher; white flower & heart earrings – The Pink Reef; pink netting stitch wrap – Echo; green cardigan – Boden; pink floral & heart earrings – The Pink Reef; black & gold lace tunic – Lioness by TF; black silk tank – Banana Republic; pink tee – GAP; floral skirt – Haris Cotton; black sandals – Naturalizer; floral bracelet – Lauren Conrad; clutch bag – Simitri; gold sandals – Vince
oh my, how that lace tunic calls my name…
So this is what our heroine will have with her – not including her event dress or ensemble:
These special events can be tricky… it doesn’t matter if it’s a First Communion, a graduation, or a wedding; I once traveled to a funeral at which almost everyone was wearing jeans! I was pretty overdressed…
Thus, our heroine wants to be certain that she has a wide range of outfits available, even though she hasn’t packed a ton of things.
Let’s look!
I’m going to assemble a few “dressy weekend” wardrobes – Echo has new floral scarves that will be a perfect starting point!
love,
Janice
p.s. I might have some more AWOL moments – my family health scare is still scary…
p.p.s. Ten years ago, I was trying to encourage all of us to start shopping more for used clothing. I can personally recommend The Real Real – they’re super-picky about what they will accept. Eileen Fisher has an entire site dedicated to used EF clothing too… Every little helps, as Tesco tells us!
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
That’s a glorious scarf. I WISH I wore black, I do. The pink outfit speaks to me – I’m also planning for a trip to a wedding but not until Summer in the UK so thanks for thinking up scenarios that help…
This IS a glorious scarf. I, too, have been veering away from the black. Just too severe for me any more. As far as a dressy weekend, that is just so far out of my wheelhouse. I can’t remember the last time I dressed up, probably a funeral. Living in Seattle, I find people just don’t any more. I had a coworker who went to the ballet last weekend and she said most of the people looked like they’d just rolled out of bed. I remember my grandmother, who dressed up when they “went to town”. Hat, gloves, the works. How times have changed. Have a great weekend everyone!
I work out of a home office and have a dog and two cats, so when not meeting clients I live in secret pajamas: sweatpants, joggers, cargos and soft tops. But for concerts or restaurants I do dress up, because I enjoy it. If people have shaves and multiple piercings, I can wear what I want as well! It’s personal expression!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is precisely what I was hoping for! I love the “dress it up/dress it down” elements. The color palette is also spot on. Merci, my friend!
I’m so glad you’re addressing the issue of the occasional formal dress events. This is actually my Achilles heel – I don’t want to spend a mountain of money, but I simply must have a couple of choices that make me feel pulled together and elegant. Love that tunic – how unusual!!
Sorry to hear about the health emergencies and I hope you can decompress over the weekend.
Thanks for the look back–there were some interesting comments. I do buy used clothes, have been a thrifter since discovering my first poky little local shop as a teenager (and wish I’d hung on to some of those vintage-even-then finds, forty years later).
Thank you for the post!
While it sounds like it’s still an on going issue, hope the road to recovery is moving in the right direction. Best wishes to you and yours.
You are in my thoughts…family health issues are very difficult and heartbreaking
Beautiful assortment of clothes today. I like how they go from casual to dressy. So sorry for your family health issues. It’s always so scary.
Janice,
Continued prayers are being offered on your behalf and for whomever the health scare has been associated . So sorry that this is happening for you !
I love the accent colors, but for me, who always needs both a top and a topper, I would have added a pink sweater jacket to the pink skirt outfit .These are not my colors, but I appreciate the lesson here , as always !
Thinking of you and sending prayers for peace, strength, and recovery. And . . . Thank you for posting despite it all. Wow! This wardrobe is glorious! That combination of colors resonates and I love how you worked them into a dressy weekend mix.
Sending healing energy for continued improvement on the health front. Having just said goodbye two days ago to my beloved furbaby, I appreciate all the love from friends to help us through a difficult time. Your community is there for you.
This is a beautiful, six-pack, spring wardrobe in colors that would work for me. It has options in case the weekend includes a Friday rehearsal dinner and/or Sunday brunch. Although I love wearing tunics, I would swap this tunic for a dressy jacket in the same colors. Just a personal choice as flowing, dolman sleeve wraps just don’t feel right on me. Even though I’m tall they seem to take over my silhouette, much prefer something more tailored. But that’s the good thing about TVF…the wardrobes and palettes are suggestions making it easy to swap colors, garment styles, etc. for what works for you.
An earlier post about dressy options made the point of choosing solid color garments then accessorizing. That way you can do more with fewer garments. For example, most of my summer dresses are florals and prints with some accessorizing. So I decided to get a dress that worked in cooler weather. It’s a print in good colors for me, looked great online, and I have accessories for it. But I wonder if I’ll ever wear it, just didn’t look and feel right, should have returned it immediately. A costly mistake but a good lesson learned. Only buy what you love and what loves you.
Oh, yeah. Another category for me is gardening and home project clothing. Once garments are well-worn, some go into a basket for “dirtier” projects. Same thing with sheets and towels, they get downgraded for those type of projects. Came in handy for my furbaby’s hospice care.
As for used clothing…I do tend to buy more new but steer away from “fast fashion.” However, I have scored some great finds at used clothing stores and even bought an Italian wool sweater at a yard sale for a few dollars. In addition, there are retailer discount websites such as Chico’s Off the Rack, Nordstrom Rack, etc. Discount codes also help on Lands’ End and L.L. Bean.
I will continue to hold you and your family in my heart, sending thoughts of health and healing to you.
I love this scarf although the it appears to be out of stock as a scarf. But I don’t actually NEED another scarf so it’s all good. I would wear all of these clothes ( with a bit more length on the skirt and dress). Sooo pretty.
I get most of my clothes off eBay these days, ‘cause it’s easy. And I keep them forever. I’m currently wearing a pair of trousers that I wore to Ireland for our 20th anniversary. We had our 42nd in November and the trousers are just now beginning to show some wear. Yea for elastic waists!
Many items just aren’t made to hold up like that anymore. I have some really old pieces that are still in very good condition. I love that you remember where you first wore the trousers. I mark my old pieces by events as well.
Wow – thank you for featuring June Hunter’s scarf. She is a fellow (very talented) Canadian photographer and lover of crows/ravens/other birds. She’s a great writer and her newsletter and Instagram always make me laugh as she comments very wittily on the antics of her local birds.
@junehunterimages on Instagram
Wishing you and your family the very best in challenging times, Janice.
I had one of these weekend wedding events last May in Baltimore in Cork and my approach was to list all the possible events, from pub, to boat trip, to romantic lunch with SO, to barbecue, to small cosy dinner in the accommodation, oh and a day to night wedding! A post wedding rest day in my own holiday home afterwards completed the long weekend! Plus planning for weather !!?? Nightmare !! In the end I created full outfits for each part of the days and wore some twice. If I didn’t know what was planned or the weather was changeable I now have this strategy to try ! Thank you and Well done! Not an easy assignment !
Oh my, packing for a wedding in Ireland is one of the great challenges of a woman’s life!
hugs,
Janice
I love pink and green together, and that is a great green and a fabulous pink.