Tag Archives: Spanx

Tips for Surviving and Conquering Gala Season

You may think of September as the harbinger of the school year, cooler weather and football season. That may all be true, except for the cooler weather in Texas, but in my life, fall is better known as gala season. Because of my day job (yep, I have one, and it’s not blogging!), I go to lots of events. And styling myself appropriately for each event is like an Olympic sport for me. Just this weekend I attended one brunch, one cocktail, and one black tie event. I thought I’d share my trade secrets, in no particular order.

Charlize Theron best red carpet looks

My red carpet wearing idol, Charlize Theron

PLAN EACH OUTFIT WITH A PROPER RUN-THROUGH
Don’t just pull a dress out of your closet two hours before the event and slap it on with some shoes. Yes, sometimes I’m working off a last minute invite, but typically I’m doing my dress selection at least a week in advance. I’ll try the dress on, decide on shoes and accessories – jewelry, handbag, and, if needed, a coat or wrap. And don’t forget to carefully select your undergarments (see my True Story below). The advance planning allows for adequate time to fill in any missing items. Continue reading

24 Hours to Fabulous

MONDAY NIGHT

7:00 PM:  While babysitting my BFF’s kids, I receive a text from a good friend inviting me to go to a fundraiser dinner with him tomorrow night. It’s a $1000/plate event benefiting Share Our Strength.  Umm, I guess I can skip ballet class for that.  What’s the attire?

Jenn's dress options

10:00 PM:  After much investigation, I receive confirmation that the dress is “Business/Dressy

Business”.  I interpret that as “Cocktail” for women.  Hmm, this may be difficult.  I know it’s odd, but I actually have more formal options than cocktail in the dress archives.  And as I mentioned in my Fashion on a Shoestring post, I haven’t been shopping in a looong time.


11:00 PM:  
As suspected, my dress options are limited.  Let’s just say I would be in better shape (pun intended) if this were a stand-up cocktail affair.  I need to find a dress I can semi-comfortably sit in for a multi-course meal.  Yikes.

12:30 AM:  No decisions are being made tonight. I leave the dress options hanging on the door and go to bed. Will deal with it in the morning.

Continue reading