NEW YEAR’S EVE DRESS – BLUE AND GEOMETRIC

Happy New Year’s Eve! Thinking about what to wear tonight? Me too! I think I’ve settled on this blue cut-out shiny sheath dress. It makes me feel like a walking, talking disco ball. Plus, the shoes add some adventurous  and geometric flair to the look.

WHAT I’M WEARING:

• Blue Sheath Cut-Out Dress with Slip: Keepsake The Label, purchased at Cary Lane SF
• Jewel Bib Necklace: J.Crew, purchased on super-sale
• Suede Platform Booties with Wooden Cut-Out Heel: DV8 by Dolce Vita, purchased on Gilt
• Black Wool Flared Military Coat: Miss SIxty, purchased at Nordstrom Rack
• Black Chain Mini-Bag: Mia Bossi

WHY I’M WEARING IT:

I bought this dress in San Francisco at a store I’ve talked about a few times – Cary Lane. It’s a shop in The Mission full of sample items for amazing prices (e.g. less than $50 for most dresses). That means that you get a deal on something that is likely to be one of kind!

This piece is special but a little tricky – the fabric is thick yet delicate, so it can’t really be cut or sewn in a feminine silhouette. It can look a little bulky and add width because of this. Fortunately, it has a matching short slip underneath that provides a solid background and hugs the body to show that I’m not quite as wide underneath. I do love that on top and on bottom, you get a little peek of skin above and below the slip.

• I added black tights underneath to create a contrasting background for the pattern so that the cut-out circles pop. Black tights also make your legs look slimmer – an important need under a wide dress!
• I reached for these black booties for a couple reasons – the cut-out block heels mimic the cut-out pattern of the dress, the platform adds height, and the color matches the tights – creating a longer, leaner line under the bulky dress. 
• This necklace is the most sparkly I have – perfect for the festive occasion. But more importantly, the black beads call on the black tights and the blue beads match the dress. Normally I wouldn’t add a necklace to this dress given how much it has going on, but it needed something to really turn it into a look and pull it together. 
• As for the bag and the outerwear, I worried less about them matching the outfit and more about them matching each other. The reason why is because I’m going to a house party where I’ll immediately remove the coat and put down my bag. The only time you’ll see them with the rest of the look is when the coat is fully buttoned and I’m coming or going, so I see them as an independent look unto themselves. Thus, I made sure the gold hardware of the coat and the mini-bag matched each other.
• As for makeup, I went a little heavier on eyeliner and a pinkish lipstick since it’s a special night but I left out the glitter since there’s so much sparkle going on in the rest of the outfit.
• I *might* experiment with putting my hair up to see if that slims the look by adding a little more height but for now, I chose the glamour-locks and swoopy bangs to frame my face on such a cold night.

THE OUTERWEAR

DETAILS

HOW TO WEAR IT YOURSELF: