Saving in Style Vol. 4

By Amy Power | Photos by Amanda Whitegiver
June 22, 2018

I love weddings. I love shopping for the perfect gift that both fulfills requests from the registry and adds a unique and personal flair. I love attending showers and celebrating people I hold dear. I love watching both faces as the couple catches a glimpse of each other for the first time on their wedding day, and I love seeing months of planning and years of dreaming come together for one perfectly magical day. It is such an honor to be invited to share in these special moments, but that doesn’t mean the logistics are always easy. Getting to all of the pre-wedding parties can be expensive and time consuming, not to mention finding outfits for all of the events! Last week we wrote about how Village Style can help you dress well for every event on your calendar, but I feel like there’s another point to touch on. If you follow the blog, you may already know I had a baby in January of 2017. I’m still approximately 15 lbs heavier than I was when I became pregnant with Brendan, and on a 5’ 1” frame that feels rather significant. I can’t dress from my arsenal of closet staples this year because none of them fit! I also cannot go out and purchase eight brand new dresses for the eight weddings I am slated to attend. Even if I were to only buy four new dresses, that could easily run me $600-$800!

If you’re on a weight loss journey like me, shopping consignment makes a lot of sense, especially for event outfits. I’ve been very hesitant to invest a lot in anything new because it feels like I’m resigning myself to this new size. Shopping for new things makes me feel like I’ve given up, but that’s crazy! First of all, investing in a little self care to make yourself feel confident and comfortable couldn’t be farther from resignation. Secondly, as we demonstrated last week, I can buy an entire outfit, let alone just the dress, for a third of the cost of purchasing retail when I shop second hand. Furthermore, last time I went into Village Style I left with a pair of Lululemon pants, a Lululemon jacket, an L.L. Bean Signature sweater, a pair of Cynthia Rowley shorts, and a Boden dress. All for $103! And no one needs to know these items were purchased second hand.  So let’s explore some of the fabulous options Shelly has in at Village Style right now and see how she’s helping me work through some of the tricky language couples are using to help communicate their vision. What does “Beach Formal” mean? How about “Dressy Casual? Cocktail is a little more straight forward, but let’s unpack that too! Ready? Here we go.

Dressy Casual

Outfit Details

Dress: Sharagano pink flutter sleeve dress (Retail price: $110) VS price: $38
Shoes: Nina gold sandal-stilettos (Retail price: $50) VS price: $15
Necklace: Resin floral statement necklace VS price: $10
Earrings: J. Jill silver hoops  (Retails for: $29) VS price: $8

TOTAL: $71

The time of the event will be your cue for dressing here. Darker more formal colors are more appropriate for an evening affair, where as lighter colors are a great choice for a daytime event. We love this Sharagano pink flutter sleeve dress ($38) for a daytime dressy casual wedding. The soft color is warm and festive, the fuller sleeve keeps things feminine and flirty, and the neutral solid pink helps keep the dress from feeling too fussy. We chose to maintain the neutral pallet with our peach colored statement necklace ($10), and thought the gold sandals ($15) would be fun and festive for any wedding look.

 

Beach Formal

Outfit Details

Dress: White House Black Market floral, hi-lo dress NWT  (Retail price: $160) VS price: $45
Purse: Kate Spade small crossbody NWT (Retail price: $195) VS price: $68
 Shoes: Naturalizer peep toe pump with gold accent  (Retails price: $69-110) VS price: $22
Earrings: J. Jill silver hoops   (Retails for: $29) VS price: $8

TOTAL: $143

Beach formal suggests an elegant beach wedding, but you also need to bear the elements in mind. A formal ball gown isn’t necessary, but you still want to dress to impress. We loved this White House Black Market hi-low dress ($45 new with tags!) for just such an occasion. The darker color helps transition this into the evening, the hi-low makes it easy for beach walking, and the sheer fabric floats beautifully in the soft ocean breeze. We paired it with a Kate Spade small cross body bag ($68 new with tags) and a black peep toe pump ($22).

Cocktail

Outfit Details

Dress: Alya navy/sequin dress ,VS price: $24
Shoes: Nina gold sandal-stilettos (Retail price: $50), VS price: $15
Bag: Coldwater Creek bronze, ruffled mini-hobo (Retail price: $40-50), VS price: $15
Earrings: J. Jill silver hoops  (Retails for: $29), VS price: $8

TOTAL: $62

Cocktail seems to be the standard dress code for many weddings. This is less formal than a black tie wedding, so a full length gown isn’t necessary, but your outfit should still be elegant. Sequins are my mother’s love language, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this Alya navy/sequin dress ($24). It is a festive and fun alternative to the standard little black dress so many of us have tucked away in case of emergency. We love the floral pattern and played on the mixed metallics of the dress with our accessories, pulling out the gold for the shoe and the bronze in the bag.

What style is catching your eye this wedding season? Do you have any tricky dress codes you need help decoding? Let us know in the comments below!

 

DISCLOSURE
This page is sponsored by Village Style.