Inauguration Style

Now that the election is behind us and all the votes have been cast (at long last), let’s be honest, the most important part of today was the fashion. Am I right? At least, that is what I was most interested in! While the Inauguration balls are continuing on tonight, here are my rankings for what the new First Lady and Second Lady wore last night and today.

 

Melania Trump – Inauguration Day: 10/10

She nailed it. I can’t even express just how perfect this ensemble is. Classic and yet modern, and by the famous American designer Ralph Lauren. The color is gorgeous without being too “springy” for a January day, the cloak-like detailing on the bodice makes it unique and even edgy, and the coordinating heels and gloves help it to be modest and proper.

 

Melania Trump – Inauguration Eve – 10/10

Another gorgeous gown but in a much different way. The form-fitting evening gown by Reem Acra glittered in the lights (it’s hard to go wrong with glitter) but was toned down by the fact that it was a very simple style with full coverage.

 

Karen Pence – Inauguration Eve – 5/10

The Second Lady chose a group of Indiana designers to design her as well as her daughters’ gowns for the special weekend. Sounds like a nice idea, right? While I would love to love this, I just don’t. The dress wasn’t flattering, but beyond that – it looked like a second marriage wedding gown. Thanks but no thanks.

 

 

 

Travel Journal: The Breakers

In case you didn’t catch it the other million times I said it or implied it, I love warm weather. Specifically, I love Florida. Sometimes, I even like to pretend that I’m from there (I’m not but my husband is, so that has to count for something!). While I don’t have the privilege of living there or anywhere near there, I do get to visit fairly often because we still have family that live down there. The several times I’ve been to Palm Beach, we’ve driven by the Breakers and I’ve always admired the architecture but never actually visited. Well, a few weeks ago we were finally able to go and I was not disappointed! Photos really don’t do the nearly 100-year-old opulent resort by the sea justice. The architecture is quite incredible, and we had the bonus of being there at Christmastime and seeing those decorations as well. Even though we were only there for a short time, I left feeling inspired – how fun would it be to design a collection (yes, I know Lilly Pulitzer has already done it) inspired by the Breakers! Also, it’s January in the midwest and these photos are making me want to go back right now. Florida, you’re great.

 

    

 

The Top Trends of 2016

Even though we’re less than a week into 2017, it already felt odd to me to write “2016” in the title of this post. I guess I was ready for a new year! Anyways, before we got too far into 2017 I wanted to share a brief look back at a few of what I consider to be the biggest trends in 2016. Let me first clarify what I mean by the biggest trends – because I do not mean that I am just going to share the most popular styles from the past year. I want to share what became known as fashionable specifically during the course of the year – styles that we’ll look back at in years to come and point to 2016 as their origin. These trends may continue on past 2016 (I hope some of them do!) but none of them came before 2016. For example, I left out ankle boots, even though they’re still super popular. The key word is still – they were also super popular in 2015. So, enjoy browsing through the below photos of what I believe defined fashion this past year as we also anticipate what 2017 will bring.

 

2016 top trend #8:  V E L O U R

 

2016 top trend #7:  G I N G H A M

 

2016 top trend #6:  S I L K  S C A R V E S

 

2016 top trend #5:  C H O K E R S

 

2016 top trend #4: D A R K  F L O R A L  P A T T E R N S

 

2016 top trend #3:  M I D I  D R E S S E S  A N D  S K I R T S

 

2016 top trend #2:  L A C E  U P  T O P S

 

2016 top trend #1:  O F F  T H E  S H O U L D E R  T O P S  A N D  D R E S S E S