Who: dinagideon and Mr. Dina, plus Bob McDonnell, our good friend, the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (heehee...I am sure he knows us by name and everything).
When: Evening time...past the babies' bedtime. Grandpa and Grandma babysat...Sweet!!! :)
Where: Convention Center, corner of Broad and 6th in Richmond, VA.
Why: It was time to celebrate the inauguration of the above "good friend," and dance the night away with the bands America (yes, the actual band America), and Amaretto (whose singers are really REALLY scarily good at doing covers of Beyonce and such).
Worn: Not J. Crew!!! (You'll see...J. Crew wasn't forgotten...they are a Virginia company, after all, but why would I buy a J. Crew gown when I could wear the one I chose instead?)
Story on the gown: I was invited to some gala or another that was basically a fundraising event for some health non-profit or another, maybe the American Heart Association? I was 23 at the time and I was like every 23-year old...pretty much poor (seriously, as "glamorous" as working on Capitol Hill is and was, it does NOT PAY WELL). I had to get a gown, so my erstwhile friend Lara and I went to a store in Pentagon City that is now a Baby Gap (funny how the stores work for me in all stages of my life). I spied this, the gown, the first time I walked in. I was smitten. The color, the embroidery, the life because of the multiple layers of fabric, the fact that the skirt would work for me and not against my hips (even at my thinnest, and trust me, it was borderline scary, ribs showing and all, my hips were always very full). The best part? This gown was not *that* expensive. Maybe 200 dollars? At the time that was a serious chunk of change, but one that I was okay with as I figured it would stay in my wardrobe. (I did wear it again a couple of years later to another event.)
Fast forward: Two babies later, I was getting stressed that the dress wouldn't fit. I had about a month to go before the event, and I figured I should just bite the bullet and try it. This gown is not vanity-sized, so I figured it may not work. I slip it over my head around the middle of December, find it easily slides over my hips (yay!) and then do up the zipper in the back...and, it FITS!!! I knew I would have to use the wonder power of Spanx just for my own "comfort" that evening (the dress did up without spanx, but I am not a crazy woman living in crazy town who thinks that miracle will include a meal and dancing).
And what you see above is the front view of the ball gown...isn't the embroidery scrumptious? BTW, this is not a silk gown, or anything fancy like that, probably poly blend of some sort, but I don't care...this made me feel special, and the best part? It is so unique...I have never seen a gown like it!
From the back...even a bit of embroidery on the upper back. I love this shot, it feels very mid-century glam. :) Good on Mr. Dina for trying to January Jones me.
And here it is with the gold Coach shoes peeking out, and the sequin scarf cardigan that I last wore here. This is a FANTASTIC cardigan, and works so well, dressed down, or dressed WAY UP!
Please note the amazing cuff bracelet given to me by the spectacular drewablank. The color is perfect with the floral design. Thank you, again!!!
Makeup: I went much heavier than I normally do...including a bunch of eyeshadow and illuminating lotion, etc. Stuck to my true self, though, and wore a whole bunch of lip gloss (mixed together), rather than a lipstick. The earrings are the free Flora earrings given to some JCAs back in October, and the headband is a J. Crew (in-store only) braided job.
I love this photo. I do wish to know why Mr. Dina and CW found the Saints game more interesting than our family photo? Hmm???
So there you go...my ball gown...I hope it didn't disappoint. I did see a few ladies with their J. Crew gowns, and they looked AWESOME, but for the most part it was very "Miss America Pageant." A LOT of sequins and rhinestones and bright blue pleated jobs. Which is cool...but definitely not my cup of tea! ;)
And because some of you may like the accessories, above are the pieces together in a polyvore.
Have a great night, all!!!
