My husband Dave has a big fancy job.
Because he has a fancy job, I get to go to a lot of big fancy events as his date. Because I attend so many events, so often (we have 9 different parties and premieres on the calendar in March alone!) I often get asked for wardrobe advice when my sister/mom/cousin/aunt/friend-from-back-home isn’t sure what to wear to a party or what the different kinds of “attire” mean. To that end I thought I’d tell you all my best ideas for when you’re heading to a fancy event and this weekend I had the fanciest of all to use as an example… The Academy Awards.
1. Dress the Part: The Oscars is definitely a Black Tie Event. If you see Black Tie listed as the attire for a party you’re attending this typically means quite formal i.e., men in a tuxedo and women in a ball gown. However, different cities and parties have a different take on what Black Tie means to them and there’s nothing worse than being over or under dressed for a formal event. If you’re not sure how fancy they want you to go I suggest googling the event from previous years (I do this ALL the time). Look at the images and see what the crowd was dressed like, that typically gives you an idea of what you should wear.
2. Ask for Advice: Once you know the style, now you need to find the dress! I am, admittedly, incredibly spoiled because I use my fabulous stylist Lindsay to help me find the perfect dress. But even if you don’t have your own stylist you DO have at least one friend with great taste. I recommend taking that friend along on your dress hunt because that friend will offer you great advice and feedback, and just like Lindsay does, they’ll probably suggest something you’d never think of wearing.
For instance, I saw this pink dress and thought immediately that it was THE DRESS. It was so pretty and girlie and me… but then Linds made me try on the blue dress “just to see” and it took my breath away.
If it were up to me, I would never even have pulled that dress off the rack because it’s so different than my typical style but it looked incredible and made me feel so pretty. Bring along your stylish friend and don’t be afraid to try something on “just to see”.
One more thought… when you’re headed out to find your dress do your hair and your makeup, wear a nude thong and nude strapless bra… bring a long a pair of heels for the fitting room. No makeup with your hair in a bun? Aint NOBODY gonna like any dress they try on looking like that!
3. Test It Out: Once you’ve found the dress be sure and test it out for whatever capacity you’re going to wear it that evening. If you’ll be dancing all night in the gown, move your arms and legs and make sure everything stays where it’s supposed to. In my case, you sit ALL NIGHT LONG at the awards so it’s important to make sure the dress doesn’t have any boning that would make that uncomfortable… I learned that one the hard way!
4. Don’t Forget the Accessories: Be sure and try out the shoes, the bag and the jewelry with your dress well in advance. You don’t want to assume your red pumps will work perfectly only to find that they’re too high or too low for your hem line!
5. All The Other Prep: A beautiful dress and a beautiful confident attitude is all you need now to dazzle at your event. But, if you want to know the truth I do a few other things in the week leading up to a big party. For better or worse, they’re below 😉
– Cut It Out – All carbs and alcahol (ok, so maybe I have a little wine) but a week without carbs will slim everything down… that little pooch in your belly, the little extra flab. It seems silly but it really does work
– Spanx It Up – most of the time I look for dresses that don’t need Spanx because they feel like a torture device BUT boy do they work. If you need it, do it!
– Add to the Arm Workout – In a ball gown, my arms are on display… I add in some extra arm work to my regime.
– Brighten Your Smile – Use teeth whitening strips for a couple weeks before, it really makes a difference in your smile
– A Little Tan Goes a Long Way – I get a spray tan before a big event like this… for lesser events I just use a tanning lotion on my arms and legs. It makes you look like you lost 10 pounds!
Last but not least… it’s a Hollis tradition, after every Oscars (after all those weeks without carbs) we go to one of our favorite diners for milkshakes and burgers
