It’s wedding season and we all want to show up in a great dress, whether we’re seeing friends or bringing a date to the event. I thought it would be appropriate to talk about what to wear to a wedding. A wedding is NOT about you. It’s about the bride and everyone attending must respect that. Whatever you wear and how you do your hair remember to keep it low key. You should never outdo the bride. If it’s a black tie wedding keep it simple and classic.

Stay away from red and white. Black is permitted but use accessories so you don’t look like you’re going to a funeral. Don’t go too short. Try to keep the length of the dress about 2-3 inches past your middle finger; you’re not going to a dance club! Take a scarf or a light sweater that will compliment your dress.

A great dress option would be the French Connect Juliet’s Dream Dress. It’s simple with classy lines and you may wear your hair up or down. A short or long pearl necklace and bracelet would be a great finishing touch. A cocktail ring might be too much. Don’t forget the clutch and carry a scarf as wrap for the evening.

My friends and I finally sat down to dinner. The topic of fashion and style came up. We were all wearing black, but in a completely different way. We all have our own style. It’s funny how we could all be friends but not share any of the same style interests.

What is even more interesting is that we’re all different ages 40, 32, and 26. The youngest, a designer, said that making things simple was key. She buys only A-line dresses and once in a while may throw a belt into the mix. It’s a rarity that she will put on heels unless going to a wedding. I’m always wearing a suit of some sort and stiletto heels. Our friend that is 40, owns her own business and once she finds something she buys several of the same item. Amazingly, she’s the one that wears jeans and the short skirts! She’s got legs that go a mile high. Tonight she’s in this Vince Dindl skirt (she’s had it hemmed up) with a white button up. Watch out 20-somethings!

The young designer friend came in a French Connection Mandy Minim dress and I was in a JCrew suit. No matter what age, no matter what event, know your own style and personality. If you’re not comfortable, it will show. You’ll end up becoming our entertainment for the night like the promotional models did.

I’ve got a few examples of fun dresses. But I’m also going to talk about fabric. Two of the dresses I want to profile are made of fibers that are very unique. I hope this helps you understand what you’re paying for in a brand name. The first dress is a casual Jo Jersey gray dress by French Connection. I would wear this dress to do my errands, my shopping, and even play with my kids. All this with a pair of flats of course. The fabric it’s made of is strong. It’s 100% tencel, a fiber made of natural wood pulp cellulose. Tencel feels like silk and drapes beautifully. It wrinkles less than cotton and it’s breathable. Oh, it also shrinks less than cotton. Tencel is a little expensive but can be woven into other fibers so I expect to see it used by more designers into their clothing line.             

The second dress is the Sequined Keyhole Dress by BCBG. I love how this dress drapes. It’s sexy and cool. The sequins are not the only cool factor to this dress. It’s 100% modal.  You may have seen modal at Target since Merona has been using it in their mens underwear. Calvin Klein also uses it in his undergarment line. It’s rare to find 100% modal in a garment. This fiber is also a wood base fiber but from beech wood trees. Modal has become known as the“artificial silk”. But it wrinkles less than cotton and shrinks less as cotton as well. Don’t mistake that nickname. The fabric is good quality.

Banana Republic has a beautiful Georgette Dress for this season. Because its Spring, go with the yellow color if your skin tone can pull it off. It’s so classy and would flatter every figure. I also found a wonderful Vera Wang Chiffon Dress at Kohls for a great price. It comes in black or gray, I would pair with a colored pair of shoes and accessories.

Black and whites are always classics such as French Connections Juliet Dream Top, but I’m seeing a lot of black and white tops with band lines on them. I’m also seeing a lot of stripes.  Have fun with stripes, but be careful, some striped looks can make you look bigger. Try on before buying.

Graphic T’s have made a come back and they are gorgeous ladies. You can grab one from ArdenB or Forever21. These will surely go into summer as well. Stars such as Beyonce and Hayden Panettiere have been spotted with graphic T’s at the beach and at events. Go glam or go casual with them.

So I’ll leave with one last item: the jumpsuit. I’m not a big fan of these personally being a petite sized woman with short legs. But I put one on my niece who’s a gorgeous 5’8 skinny girl with long legs and it was stunning on her. It was an off the shoulder drape jump suit from ArdenB. We added a bold necklace and earrings and she was ready to go on her date. The jumpsuit was simple as were the accessories.