Rate My Look: Re-purposed Wedding Outfit

In early September, McKenzie got married and the wedding was lovely. She wore Jenny Packham and I made her veil, which immediately blew off her head the minute she stepped out to walk down the aisle. Tornado warnings caused the caterer to try and blow off dinner, but in the end, we all ate. The wedding was a blast and, despite the weather, really beautiful. The bride was stunning, of course. I hadn't been to a wedding in almost a year (remember I had three almost back-to-back last year), and I decided it would be fun to make a dress to wear. I don't have a single decent photo of myself at the wedding, but I can say that my dress was a hit.

I made it with an olive green cotton sateen and I kept it simple- a fitted bodice and pencil skirt with an asymmetrical neckline. The color was divine and that was what inspired me to make the dress. I stumbled upon the fabric and I knew it was perfect for a simple, elegant, fitted design. It only took a few hours to make on one of my days off. It got completely soaked more than once at the wedding, and after that date, I hadn't really thought twice about it.

The thing is, I knew from the minute I made it that it would be great to dress down and wear to work. Why I waited three months to bother doing that, I'll never know. Anyway, I thought about it early in the week and then found myself brainstorming a different way to style it to make it work appropriate. At the wedding, I wore it with fuchsia satin and rhinestone heels and some sparkly jewelry and a silver belt. For work, I needed it to look good with flats, but I still wanted to play with color a little bit. I decided to mix it with a sparkly silver belt (the same one I wore to the wedding), grey flats, a charcoal cardigan and bright purple tights. I'm happy to report the resulting outfit worked perfectly!

I've lost close to 15 pounds since the wedding (low carb diet), so the dress is far less fitted than I originally intended. However, for work, I think it's more appropriate somehow. Even thought it's now a little too big, it worked once I cinched the belt around my waist and added the cardigan. 

So, what do you think of this (somewhat) recent Bouchard Original? It's not my best work, but far from my worst, and I really love how versatile it is. The color and fabric will work in many different seasons. I'm looking forward to styling it differently in the future. 

On another note, this was a particularly good make-up day for me. I pretty much NEVER try to match any of my make-up to my outfit, but with this look, I thought it would be fun to do a little purple eye shadow. It's a flattering color, and I used different tones, so it didn't ACTUALLY match my tights. (That would be weird.)

I think it makes my eyes go "BAM!!!" 

So, there it is- a fun and fabulous Bouchard Original with some even more fun and fabulous make-up. It's been a while since I've sewn anything, and I hope you like it! 

Accessories Anonymous: More Stupid Hats

I'm obsessed with hats right now. I think I've been watching too much "Downton Abbey" because all I want to do is dress in beaded sheaths for dinner and talk walks through the countryside in a flattering coat with a spectacular hat on my head. Gloves, too. I want to wear gloves ALL the time!

I know this hat isn't exactly in line with the 1920's; it's more of a modern interpretation. I think that's why I love it so much.

Ring of Sapphire Hat, Modcloth, $49.99

I think I would look pretty adorable in this hat. I could curl my hair and wear a simple outfit to let the hat be the star of the day. Which is saying something, because I'm pretty much always the star of the day. 

Rate My Look: Do People Really NOT Iron?!?!

I got dressed in this fabulous outfit the other day and I was quite pleased with the result:

Top: TJ Maxx

Skirt: Daffy's (may they rest in peace)

Booties: Bloom

Yes, I am wearing those incredibly fabulous new glitter booties that I wrote about not too long ago: 

As fabulous as these glitter booties are, they are not the primary focus of today's post. Nope. What I want to talk about is ironing. 

Not too long ago, several of my coworkers and I were talking about ironing. Who does it and why? Who doesn't do it and why? It's amazing to me how many people try to avoid ironing at all costs. To me, it's such a simple thing to do to get your outfit looking polished and put-together. It only takes about 5 minutes to iron a complete outfit, so why not do it? 

Juhree NEVER irons and she's proud of it. She simply hangs her wrinkled clothes in the bathroom and the steam from the shower seems to do the trick for her. I decided to try that method the day I wore this outfit. I hung the very wrinkled shirt in the bathroom and then I took about a 15-minute shower. Here's the shirt AFTER the "steam treatment." 

I repeat: This is NOT a "Before" photo. It is an "After" photo. Am I crazy or is this unacceptable? After seeing the results of hanging the shirt in the bathroom while I showered, I quickly set up the iron and ironing table and in moments I had the following: 

Obviously, the difference is like night and day. So, tell me what I did wrong all ye who choose never to iron. Should I have tried the five-minutes-in-the-dryer trick instead? You know what, forget I asked. I actually don't care. Because figuring out the lazy-girls' method is actually more work than just ironing the d@mn shirt. Seriously, people, learn how to iron and just do it. It's not that hard. I swear. 

Holiday Switcheroo

I know I posted a blog about how I had this adorable silver sequin dress that I planned to wear to the Madeleine's Daughter company holiday party, but I lied to you. I didn't mean to lie. At the time, I meant every word. And the peter pan collar necklace I made to go with it? Also, not a lie at the time, but I did not end up wearing either the silver sequin dress or the peter pan collar necklace to our company holiday party this past weekend. Here's how it happened:

The Tuesday evening prior to the party, Brandie expressed her need to find an outfit. After work, Juhree and I went with her to Marshalls to help her pick something out. I had absolutely NO intention of shopping for myself while we were there. However, sometimes these things are out of our control. While looking through the racks of sparkly holiday dresses, I came upon the most stunning art-deco dress I've seen in a long time. The price? Just $59.99. Now, 60 bucks isn't much to spend on a cocktail dress but it is a lot to spend when you don't NEED said cocktail dress because you already have a silver sequin cocktail dress hanging in your closet at home. I bought it anyway. And here's why:

1.) I look incredible in it.
2.) I can wear the silver sequin dress to a New Year's Eve party (and I plan to).
3.) I can get another wear out of the second dress by wearing it to my friend Jen's wedding in January.

So, without further ado, I present to you my holiday party look for 2012:

Go ahead and TRY to tell me this wasn't worth every penny. In fact, go ahead and TRY to tell me it wouldn't have been worth it had it cost DOUBLE what it did! It's a phenomenal dress that fits me like a glove. 'Nough said. 

The best thing about this dress is how I feel in it. I walked strutted around that holiday party KNOWING I was the best dressed in the room. Maybe I wasn't actually the best dressed (not likely), but I felt like it. The only regret I have from this night is that it was an event the Professor could not attend. Which is why I'm incredibly excited to wear it again to Jen's wedding! He'll be my date that night, and he's driving 6 hours to be there, so I'm looking forward to dressing up for him. 

Now that I'm done bragging about what I hottie I am, let's talk about why this dress is so flattering. Do you guys remember when Kate Winslet wore that amazing Stella McCartney dress with the remarkably slimming optical illusion? Here's a photo in case you forgot: 

My dress has a similar effect because of the dark sequin banding on the sides. In my opinion, it's a brilliant design idea and one that everyone should try. Just like Kate, I tried to keep my accessories to a minimum- I chose rhinestone embellished black pumps, black rhinestone earrings (not pictured in the photo above, unfortunately) and a sparkly feather hairpiece (unfortunately also not pictured). It's easy to over accessorize a simple dress, but that's just the time when you need to exercise restraint. I actually didn't want to wear anything in my hair, but unfortunately there were some tacky-looking bobby pins ruining my elegant updo and covering them with a headpiece was the quickest, simplest fix I could come up with. The earrings were sparkly, but not too over-the-top and my make-up was actually pretty neutral. 

I'm hamming it up with co-worker Meghan during dinner. 

What did you wear for your company holiday party? Was it formal or casual? Are you dressing up for New Years? Whatever the look, just remember to wear it with confidence and walk strut through the room like you're the hottest one there. Unless I'm there, too and then I hate to break it to you, but you'll be the second hottest one there (wink). 

Beauty Product Review: O.P.I Nail Polish

Normally I love O.P.I. nail polish, but I have to be honest about this one. Maybe I got a bad batch or an older bottle or something, but this particular polish didn't go on very smoothly.

Color: My First Knockwurst

I bought this bottle at the brand new Ulta store in Newington, NH. I was drawn to the pinkish nude quality. In some lights it actually takes on a slightly purple hue, but overall it's pretty much a blush/nude color. It is the kind of color that definitely requires a second coat for full coverage, but I was disappointed with the application. It was a little gummy and on some of my nails I was never able to achieve a perfectly smooth finish. I could care less because manicures don't tend to last very long with me- I'm rarely surprised if a few minutes of typing don't do some amount of damage. 

Overall, I love the color, but the product itself was disappointing. Given my previous experience with O.P.I., I'm inclined to think I got an old bottle or a bad batch. They're usually much better than this. 

On another note, who comes up with the wacky names for their colors? "My First Knockwurst?" Really? What does that even mean? What IS a knockwurst? Is having my first one a big deal? It certainly sounds like something unpleasant. Just sayin'. 

Bouchard Originals Out & About

The other day both Elizabeth and Juhree showed up to work wearing scarves I had made for them. It was pretty exciting to see not one, but two different creations of mine! I love knitting and sewing, but I especially love when someone else loves something I've made! Call me a narcissist, but it feels great!

Who doesn't love an oversize cowl scarf? Am I right? Juhree's is an infinity scarf and Liz is wearing my button-cable design. It can be worn lots of ways depending on how you button it, but on this day she chose to just button it into a circle. I think they both look fabulous, but I'm admittedly biased. Feel free to leave your honest opinion (just so long as your honest opinion jives with mine). Kidding. Or am I?

Rate My Look: Mustard Love

Did you know that mustard and pumpkin are basically the new blacks? I'm joking, but it seems like it lately- the popularity of those two colors has gone through the roof. Remember Kristin's pumpkin top last week? I was inspired by her outfit and decided to put together my own look incorporating a trendy color and our favorite boots. Here's the result:

Top: Marshalls or TJ Maxx

Skirt: Zara

Boots: Charlotte Russe

Ring: Stella and Dot

Necklace: Ablaze

This photo was taken towards the end of the day which is why my skirt is so wrinkled and my lipstick is non-existent. Regardless, I'm a fan of the look and I think it works. The chunky necklace is one of my favorites- I found it at a little boutique in Exeter, NH this summer and snatched it right up. Juhree bought a white version of it, although I don't think I've seen her wear it. Maybe I can convince her to wear it to work one of these days so I can snap her photo for the blog. It won't be the first time we were necklace twinsies. Honestly, with all the accessories my coworkers have in common, it's surprising we aren't a little smarter with our shopping. We should really have a common closet in the shop that we can all contribute to and pull from- it would save us beaucoup bucks.