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.

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 →