Opening Party

Last week, my husband told me that he got an invitation to an opening party for a restaurant. He was not able to make it and suggested I invite a friend.

The event was the following evening and he noted to me that the invitation said cocktail attire. Now I always love a good event to have an excuse to dress up for, so I was excited. (I am not going to kid you, I also love the free drinks and food).

I thought about the options in my closet and decided on a one sleeve, off the shoulder black top with a silver sequin decorated black skirt.

STYLIST TIP #1 - Try to always have something in your closet for a last minute invite to an event.

STYLIST TIP #2 - If you don’t, don’t panic. A basic, dress, jumpsuit or even separates that you may wear to work, can be jazzed up. Black is usually a safe bet. Here is where accessories are key. Pull out those fancy shoes, jewelry and/or bag and make day-wear festive.

I met my friend that evening to go to the event and noticed that she was wearing what I would call office casual attire.

Our outfits were drastically different.

I said that I thought that the invite said “cocktail attire” and she remembers something like “dress well”. UH-OH!

As we traveled downtown, we tried to open the invite on our phones and were not able to do so.

Who was going to be dressed properly and who was not?

It turns out, the invite did say cocktail attire, which frankly, I too might not have noticed, had my husband not mentioned it when passing off the invite to me.

My friend was not wrong either as she had seen at the end of the note, that the sender had written “dress well”. Turns out, that was just his sign off and it would be as if I had written “stay empowered” or something similar.

As the crowd started to fill in, one thing became apparent, there were people in cocktail attire and people who were a lot more casual like my friend.

STYLIST TIP #3 - No matter where you go, there is always a range of appropriate attire. Just don’t go outside that range and whatever you wear should be fine.

STYLIST TIP #4 - This event was not a traditional event such as a wedding or business related cocktail party. Therefore, you have even more range to be creative with your attire. Wear that jumpsuit or fun piece of jewelry that you are never quite sure when to wear it.

STYLIST TIP #5 - Whatever you put on, make sure you feel great in it. “Stay empowered!”

Need help with your next event outfit? Contact me and I am happy to help.