Today's post continues my adoration for beautiful...
Read moreGanni Lace Dress
As the wedding invitations and Save the Dates for 2017 celebrations have come flooding through my mailbox, one thing is very apparent - it’s time to get creative.
Because when it comes to wedding guest dressing (touched a bit on that here), a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t going to work. There are beach weddings, picnic weddings, church weddings, semi-formal, black-tie…the list goes on.
So when I received an invitation for a semi-formal wedding, I immediately scanned my closet. Quickly, I realized how little ‘fancier dresses’ I actually had. Between my semi-dramatic style evolution (haha kills me to say that BUT HAVE YOU SEEN MY OLD STYLE POSTS? NO? GOOD. PLEASE DON’T), loosing a bit of weight last year, and the shift into buying fewer, better things, it was clear that this gaping hole for wedding dressing had to be filled.
But instead of popping over to the mall (my former go-to strategy that always seemed to leave me empty-handed and overwhelmed), I found myself at one of my favorite boutiques in Georgetown, Lynn Louisa. While I typically find the best casual pieces there, I knew she’d have something just right for one of my upcoming weddings. And she did.
When I saw this Ganni dress, it was love at first sight. The lace is the softest I’ve ever felt, and the length is just right for a number of dressy occasions. My friend Natalie always says, “If you can immediately think of three different ways to wear something, get it” so this was an easy choice for me. While I’ve dressed it up here with a slip dress underneath, it would be adorable paired over high-waisted, wide-leg jeans and also with a cozy sweater come fall and winter.
And better yet - this dress is currently on sale now at Lynn Louisa so if you love it as much as I do, be sure to check out Washington's best new boutique, as voted by Washingtonian Magazine!
Wearing Ganni lace dress via Lynn Louisa (this is next on my list!), H&M slip dress (under $25!), Banana Republic sandals, Jeffrey Levinson clutch c/o, Sophie Blake bracelet.
Featured
Boucan at Hotel Chocolat
When I visit another country, I always like to experience the local flavors. When in Italy, pasta and wine reign…in Greece, I ate feta cheese and a warm baguette just about as much as I drank water. In St. Lucia, chocolate is king.
I was so surprised to learn that St. Lucia is a huge exporter of cacao beans, which are made into chocolate. Guess where they export the majority of it? HERSHEY PARK! While I was surprised to learn that they don’t keep a ton of cocoa locally, we did find an amazing restaurant where chocolate still reigned.
Enter Boucan at Hotel Chocolat. This is basically every person’s dream. The boutique restaurant (with killer views of the piton mountains) infuses chocolate into everything they make. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. At first, honestly, I was weirded out…like I love chocolate but NOT THAT MUCH. But, I was pleased to experience, whether Boucan uses cocoa as a delicate spice or infused into the meal in a bolder way, it was always outrageously delicious. And get this - cocoa was used as a SAVORY ingredient for 3,000 years and a sweet one for only 500 years! WHAT?! Mind blown, I know.
This was by far one of my favorite food experiences ever. Between the impeccably paired wines and the chocolate shots they made us upon request (which we insisted they refer to as the G-shot given our last names), the whole evening may have been my favorite of the trip.
For the special evening, I wore this sold-out Kate Moss X Toyshop collaboration piece I had been lusting over ever since it was released. I couldn’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on a dress with sequins, but as fate would have it, the dress appeared on my instagram feed with a “for sale” sign attached from a fellow instagrammer. I couldn’t type in my paypal email fast enough.
I also wore the ultimate bohemian accessory, my Samantha Wills ring and my favorite clutch of all time by Jeffrey Levinson. I've also been wearing this Kendra Scott necklace on repeat - it goes with literally everything.
Can't wait to show you guys the last few posts from St. Lucia! Stay tuned ;)
Wearing Kate Moss for Topshop dress (old), Jeffrey Levinson clutch, Samantha Wills ring, Kendra Scott necklace c/o, J.Crew mules, Claire Ashley X Makeup Meltdown lipstick in "Siren"
The Mango Tree
Happy Friday!! Ending the week on a little wanderlust from our trip to St. Lucia. Because we wanted both the exotic mountain and luxury beach experience, we stayed in two different hotels on our trip! We spent the first few days at the rustic Stonefield Resort and the last few days at the luxurious Sugar Beach resort.
The thing I didn't realize about St. Lucia is that you honestly and truly have to take a taxi everywhere you go. Forget walking around town to find a great place. You better have somewhere in mind ahead of time and be prepared for a fairly expensive taxi.
Luckily, there was a great restaurant on-site at Stonefield called The Mango Tree. The food was much pricier than I'm used to, but we found that's pretty common for the area. Oh well, YOLO.
I wanted to wear something super special for our last night at Stonefield, so I wore my custom Zophia blouse (named the Julien Top!) My good friend Betsy designed the shirt and I knew St. Lucia would be the perfect occasion to rock it. I love that this piece was totally tailored to me, giving it the perfect fit. Oh, and did I mention it's on sale right now?!
I paired this with a pretty Elizabeth and James skirt that I initially tried on the top with. It was my first fitting and we met at Intermix so Betsy could show me how versatile the top was. I tried it with this skirt and WOW it fit like a dream...but the price tag left me feeling very, very sad. $265 was a bit much for a summer skirt, so I sadly said goodbye and vowed to snag it as soon as it went on sale. WHICH IT DID 3 months later!! Yes, it's a summer skirt, but you know full well I am going to try to do everything in my power to make this work for fall. Challenge accepted.
I also brought along this gorgeous clutch from Jeffrey Levinson. I've never felt leather so soft in my life. It's an investment piece for sure, but in the few weeks I've had it, it's garnished more compliments than any other bag I own. Not to mention Olivia Palermo has one of his bags and so does Diane Guerrero (from OITNB!)
I finished off the look with some jewelry from my favorite local jewelry gals...the cutest Rachelle Celine midi rings and rose gold necklace from my babe Sophie Blake. Stay tuned for more St. Lucia goodness next week!
