Fashion Week Highlight Day 2: David Dixon

 
World MasterCard Fashion Week Day 2: David Dixon White Label

Leaving On A Jet Plane

I am going on vacation, what do I pack? A lot of people struggle with this question, they don’t know what to pack or what to leave behind, and have no clue how to fold, stack and organize and ultimately forget important items at home.

I will admit I once traveled to Amsterdam without a single pair of underwear, I didn't forget to pack make up, hair products and more than enough outfits, yet somehow my panties were left behind.

These days I record and organize everything I pack in an Excel spreadsheet, and no, you don’t necessarily HAVE to be that thorough, but it wouldn't hurt to be.

Friday I am heading to Dominican Republic for bestie’s destination wedding! I am all packed and ready to go after weeks of considering which clothing and accessories would make the cut.

In the spirit of packing for an amazing vaca I would like to share with you a few items I believe are staples for any vacation. All items available on Shopbop 

 1. A large tote: Personally, I don’t think it’s appropriate to board a plane with a designer hand bag, unless maybe you’re sitting in first class and have oodles of space to place your precious belongings chances are your purse will be shoved under the seat in front of you or thrown in the overhead compartment. Also, practicality should be taken into account, you will be carrying your wallet, passport, Ipad, magazine, maybe a novel, snacks, one of those inflatable head rests (its you’re nerdy and you’re me) etc, so space is a necessity.

THIS isn't just a large tote, it’s the new Rachel Roy Limited Edition FEED India tote . I have last year’s Tory Burch for FEED bag and it is easily one of most favorite totes. It’s the perfect travel bag. And um, its charitable, its a no brianer. 

The limited-edition FEED India Bag was designed to raise awareness and funds to help fight hunger in the country that is home to one-quarter of the world's hungry people. I know I will be grabbing my own soon as I can get my hands on one.

 2.Comfy yet fashionable shoes: Unless you’re Victoria Beckham I highly doubt you will be wearing your 5 inch Louboutin’s on a plane. I prefer a simple slip on when travelling. I choose flat espadrilles over running shoes because they are much lighter, you can skip socks (ewww socks) and they're easy to kick off if you are one of those people who enjoy changing into slippers on the plane. 

I usually opt for TOMS, but if you're looking for something a little different and a bit more fancy you can try out a cute lace pair of espadrilles like these ones. 

3. An easy to wear dress: A simple, affordable dress that can be folded without  getting totally wrinkled. And may I add  that a floral print would be ideal. Why? Because a bright floral print is really versatile and will look great in pictures. 

 This one from Splendid would be perfect! I am a huge fan of Splendid and have packed their dresses on many a vacation. 

 4. A jumpsuit: yes I said a jumpsuit. I have become obsessed lately with these easy to wear shirt + pants combo’s, who doesn't love getting dressed in 2.5 seconds? You don’t have to find a shirt to match your pants, you don’t have to work to tuck in your blouse, and you don’t need to plan an outfit, you just slip into a jumpsuit and go! Its brilliant, and so is this jumper from Juicy
 

On vacation that is a luxury you want to have, you’re too busy sun tanning and stuffing your face at all you can eat buffets to stress about your fashion choices. I love combining shorts with long sleeves (only if its light weight fabric, please don't be one of those people who wear shorts with a turtle neck or a sweatshirt, they are just confused) 

5. A Jean Jacket: I take my jean jacket with me every single time I board a plane. No matter where you are traveling you can bet the plane will not be perfectly climate controlled, and your lil denim jacket will come in very handy here. When you reach your destination if its scorching hot you can then fold that jacket easily and stash it away. Mine has visited Dubai, Italy, Miami, New York and Costa Rica; what a lil globetrotting jacket it is.

This one is light and perfect for summer, or any warm destination trust me if you invest just a lil in a quality jacket you will wear it and wash it over an over.

Wedding (Planning) Season: Bridesmaid Edition

If that fugly bridesmaid dress your "friend" made you wear has you down in the dumps you may want to read this...

Still searching for answers as to why your last bridesmaid experience turned out similar to the above photo? Read on, I think I may have found your answer. 

I recently stumbled upon this article from Huffington Post about a bride who admitted to choosing ugly bridesmaid dresses in an attempt to make herself look better on her wedding day. Okay, we have all suspected that bridezilla's do this from time to time, but this chick actually admitted to it. While she remained anonymous by having her face blurred out in the interview she did reveal the dress that she forced her bridesmaids into. The red frock, which looked like it had been made out of wrapping paper was ill fitting and cheap, all qualities the bride admitted she had schemed for when choosing a dress.  When I hear of horror stories like this I wonder if this girl ever considered how hideous her wedding pictures will turn out? Furthermore, either all her friends must already married or she is one brave chick, cause I wouldn't be surprised if one of her bridesmaids sought out retribution when it was their turn to get hitched. 

I said YES to a bridesmaid dress this weekend, second time this year, third time ever. While I can’t say that 3 times as a bridesmaid is enough to make me an authority on the topic I was also a bride and had my own bridesmaids, five of them to be exact. I am lucky enough to say that I have yet to experience anything remotely as dire as the above picture. My experience as a bridesmaid has been a positive one thus far, and therefore I tried my best to repay the favour when I planned my own wedding last year. 

As a bride I recognized that everyone has a different body shape, size and not to mention taste in fashion. While I had a theme and an idea of what I wanted the girls to wear I couldn't bring myself to force them to wear a particular dress. My solution was to lay don’t three simple rules and then have them chose whatever they wanted. The “rules” were 1. It has to be floor length 2. Chiffon material only 3. Any shade of purple. Simple enough! I believe, and I truly hope that my girls all ended up wearing something they really liked, after all they are important to me and I wanted them to be happy. I will never understand how ugly bridesmaid dresses = better looking bride. The reality is that an ugly bridesmaid dress choice = a bride with bad taste, and no respect for her so-called "best friends" and "closest family". 

Since it is no longer 1984 and the dresses pictured above are no longer available for sale (at least I hope they aren't) there should be no reason for brides to commit such fashion atrocities. There are SO many options today. Since I'm on the topic I will just throw out some of the best I have encountered over the past few years. 

Jim Hjelm Occasions
Dessy
Allure
LOVE by Enzoani
Barijay
B2

Those were just off the top of my head in under 5 minutes, there are many more lines that carry pretty, affordable dresses that can possibly even be worn again. Perhaps moving forward us girls can avoid showing up to our best friends wedding looking like a half eaten cupcake. 

If you've been subjected to a big frilly Pepto Bismol dress in the past please share your experience with us. Think of me as your free therapist, it may help you get over the horrifying experience. Or at the very least we can laugh about it together :) 

Wedding (Planning) Season: Bride Edition

It may not be wedding season just yet, but it is in fact wedding planning season! 
If you read the title of this post and broke out in a cold sweat then just take a deep breathe and sit down before you read on. I have always felt that "wedding season" (which by the way is more like 3 seasons with the ever increasing interest in fall and winter weddings) is actually the highlight of my year! Last year I was a bride and also had the pleasure of planning one of my best friends weddings which is taking place this Spring. This year another bestie is now engaged, and her wedding is also this summer. I feel like I have been wedding planning for a living these days, as soon as my wedding was done with I had two more to kick into high gear. But am I complaining? No! Its called multi-tasking! 

My experiences over the past few years have inspired me to create a new series on my blog about what else but wedding season! Today's post will be about the bride, cause lets face it, its all about her isn't it? 

My take on wedding planning is to above everything just be yourself. I don't think your wedding day is the right time to try to transform into something you're not, you want your groom to recognize you when you walk down the aisle right? I took this to heart when planning my wedding and the first thing I thought of was developing my own look for the big day. I went far from traditional with everything except for my dress because I wanted to reflect my personal style which I could say is a mixture of trendy, polished, conservative and quirky. 

I cant find a better way to express my feelings on this then with a visual, so here are some pics from my own wedding. I hope they inspire you to get your butt in gear and plan your dream wedding. FYI, my wedding photos were taken by the lovely Laura May, you may have seen some of her other work around my blog because she is my go-to for everything photography related. She is just splendid, and my wedding pics are proof of her immense talent. 


Yeah, my nails were purple on my wedding day, and one finger was covered in glitter because that's just who I am. 


White wedding shoes? Not for this girl, mine were purple velvet!


My wedding band is blue sapphire, not diamond. 


My lips were a bright red matte. I wore "Lady Danger" from M.A.C


I carried a lavender clutch, inside was a picture of my great grandmother & me circa 1986





Just as a side note; dogs were welcome on the day of the wedding, we had mine and my brother's chillin with us at my house before the ceremony, and our pup attended our outdoor ceremony, I joke that she was our flower girl ;) 

My best advice is to skip tradition when it comes to your styling. I am all for tradition dont get me wrong, hubby and I incorporated many traditional elements into our wedding. None of which were translated into our outfits, the theme, or what our bridal party wore. Stuff like hair, make-up, nails, the gown; I believe this is where you should have fun. Leave tradition for the ceremony, father-daughter dance and family speeches.