Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Ball Gown...

Date: January 16, 2010.
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!!!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everyone looks so cute! Love it!
Hope you had fun!

HeidiG said...

You look simply gorgeous. Love you will all the makeup, honey - you glow even more. Love the story on the gown - amazing color - love that dark red on you! And so glad you were able to work the Crew in. And you are definitely channeling Betty Draper. What a fun evening!!

Rachel said...

Hooray the ball gown. Stunning.

amy kelinda said...

Oh WOOWWWWW! You look goooorgeous, lady! I love the story of your gown too - it's been with you for quite a while, and definitely earned its original $200 price! I love the little sash detailing at the waist, too. Congrats on not only looking amazing, but also for finding out that you're still tiny enough to slip into that dress. Amazing!

tm said...

aww you look great! good for you getting more use out of the gown, and adding some jcrew. :) ...and, that saints game was lively, i'll admit (even though the score was kind of lopsided)).

tm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tm said...

oh, the saints-vikings game is going to be even better! (maybe you can come up with some gold-black-yellow-violet jcrew ensemble??? mr. dinag might get a kick out of that.) :)

Anonymous said...

That gown fit you perfectly and you were glowing! Beautiful color on you.

According to Moi said...

Dina you look GREAT!! The best feeling putting on something from the PRE-BABY days!! Ugh I wish I could say the same!! I love the way it looks with the J.Crew cardigan! Fabilis, girl!

JustVisiting said...

Very beautiful! Love the sequin scarf cardi...like it was made for wearing w/the gown.

Audrey Allure said...

such a beautiful gown!

love your blog! :)
- Audrey Allure <3
http://audreyallure.blogspot.com

Pamela said...

Oh you look beautiful. Truly and utterly beautiful. the color of the gown is perfect for you and the fit looks amazing! The j.crew cardigan looks perfect with it. I love all of it!!

Sarah said...

Lovely! And it sounds like a fun night too.

nobelle said...

Really elegant, love the dress and the way you combined different items. Hope you had a great time at the ball!

Summerilla said...

You look absolutely FABULOUS, just gorgeous in this dress. The color suits you so perfectly too and the cut of the dress is super flattering. I'm loving the JCrew pieces you worked into the outfit also, they look great!

Christina said...

you look gorgeous! absolutely stunning!

Drewablank said...

Aww, Dina! I am at a loss for words...

You. Look. Absolutely. Breathtaking.

And for Mr. Dina to come out for a photo! Very handsome indeed. And CW's hair is gettin' so long!

I agree with IRL, it looks like that cardigan was meant to be worn with that dress! You, as usual, did a bang-up job on putting everything together. :)

Unknown said...

So glad you enjoyed Amaretto! We'd love to play for your next event, feel free to get in touch:

ww.chrisgrassomusic.com/Amaretto/index.htm

Unknown said...

correction, sorry!

www.chrisgrassomusic.com/Amaretto/index.htm

AppGal said...

WOW!!! You look stunning! Beautiful dress, lovely family picture. I love it all :)

LT said...

You look great! I LOVE wearing things I've had for a while- chances are no one will be wearing the same outfit. Oh, and nice job mixing in the crew :)

Kathy said...

You looked beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Oh Dina... This may be the prettiest you've ever looked!! Sigh... maybe someday I'll have an occasion to wear a ball gown to.

Cate said...

the gown is gorgeous! very, very timeless. love the cardi with it too!

Moda said...

Don't you love those long gowns? You look so glamourous chic!!!

Slastena said...

Glorious! And make up is gorgeous, you should do it more often- you shine like a star!:)

dinagideon said...

Hi, all!!! Thanks for stopping on by!

I have limited time, so I will stick to answering questions and comments that need it, but as usual, I know you all know I appreciate every word everyone says...

One thing, though, I felt so special this evening. It is rare for me to have this experience...I wish we all could have beautiful evenings out like this at least once a year...girls can dream, right? I guess that is why proms are so freaking popular! :)

Amy Kelinda: I had forgottenn about the sash detail, it is a great feature...definitely helps whittle the waist. Well, the Spanx helps, too. LOL.

Tastymoog: Oh, man...maybe I will just wear some of our Mardi Gras beads. ;)

NoJCrewinJapan: If this had been a pair of pre-baby pants from when I was 23, I would have not fit in them. My upper-half is the only part that is back to pre-baby. I think bottom-half will never catch up...it's okay. My babies are definitely worth it. ;) I know you get it!!!

Drewablank: Your cuff bracelet made the outfit. :) I love it!!! The other pieces were mere background singers to this lead. Well, the lead was the dress, but you get what I am saying...heehee.

Chris: I like America and all, but (and don't tell them this), I liked your part of the evening much more. I spent a good portion of the time you all were on stage dancing, dancing, dancing. My fave was your cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Lots of fun!!!

Anon at 5:12: Are you Dot-Mom? If so, very sweet!!! Love you...and don't worry, Ken-Dad and you will have an opportunity...maybe a 40th anniversary party???

Slastena: I wish I could. :) I will definitely do it at least once a month, promise!

Unknown said...

I found this clip -- not sure if you can find yourself in the crowd, but maybe!

http://vimeo.com/8901622

Anonymous said...

Hi Glamour Girl you looked simply stunning in that dress! Like Cindarella!