Mommy Style Monday #24--Party On, Pregnant Girl!

Although most of my days are spent in your basic "SAHM style" outfits of skinny jeans, embellished tank, jacket/cardi, and a pair of fun boots or flats, I am occasionally called to bring my style game up a bit more...especially by my husband's work. They have parties like no one's business.

Their office parties don't even qualify as "typical." 

(You know what I mean, drunk people staggering around the copiers, etc.)

They have those, but they also have "functions." These occur at glam hotels that we can only ever stay in if priceline happens to accept our stupidly low offer (which, btw, happens. all. the. time.). I happen to love party frocks so getting kitted out is never ever a bad day for me, but I always feel challenged to make it just right.

Last year's attempt was my most successful, and one that I would love to be able to do again and again, but sadly for the two parties I have been to this year (so far, I have another one on Wednesday), my baby belly was just a smidge too big to let that particular ensemble out to play again (plus what if someone remembers, lol, just kidding, definitely not possible with the crowd Mr. Dina runs with).

I also liked the party outfit I wore to teach my Spring into Style class, but again, not an easy look whilst giving Gus a ride.

So what did I do and what am I planning to do?

The first event was a VERY BIG ONE.  On our tenth anniversary, the place where my husband works had their 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner.  Yeah, 50.  They showed us.  :)

I partly pretended that I was going to this amazing party for us, and that the hundreds of people there were all saying, "Happy Tenth, dinagideon and Mr. Dina, you all MADE IT, Huzzah!"  Ha.

In reality, it was just a nice way to celebrate the long, hard road that his non-profit has had to take.  I actually learned quite a bit about his company that night, which made me more appreciative of the work they do.

But...and this was a stickler, I needed a floor length gown that would fit.  And still fit after I was done being pregnant.  Fortunately I wasn't full term, but rather, just a bit bigger through the waist than normal (I believe I was 16 weeks at this point).  So I turned to ebay and the lovely sample purveyors that exist only there (well, at least for those of us who aren't in NYC for the sample sales). 

Turns out there was a size 6, J. Crew Madison Ave. Collection one-shouldered dress available...and had been available for a while.  I had been eyeing it ever since finding out I was pregnant AND knowing that this gala was on and I was going.

I first asked for measurements, which they sent, and looked okay to me (bit tight, but spanx can work wonders), and I made an offer, then a counter-offer, and finally, it was on its way to me.

It has pockets!

Best I can tell, this is a dress meant for either a mother of the bride OR for exactly what I did with it, a fab soiree that is black tie.

It is a silk/rayon blend with a poly lining, and it's decorated with little white dots and black fuzzy dots all over.  It looked like stars on the web, and from far away in real life, still does.

I needed to define the waist a bit so I could take the attention away from my baby belly, so I pulled out my black elastic blossoms belt from J. Crew last season (so stretchy!).  :)

The dress is really long, but because of the full skirt, glided nicely over my belly and exactly to the right length on the floor.  So you couldn't see my beautiful Tilly Satin Two Tone heels, but I showed them to all the women who wanted to see them. 

Makeup is always fun for me, and I spent as much time of the kids' naps getting ready.  Still didn't have as much time as I would have liked, but ah, well, that is life with toddlers.  You all remember being young and spending all day getting ready for prom or homecoming?  Yeah, I do, and I sometimes miss that level of "me time."  ;)

I needed a very lightweight fancy topper, so I pulled out yet another sample from my closet.  I bought this cardigan more for casual wear, but have yet to wear it as such.  This one is another J. Crew Collection piece that was never made for the retail market.  I think it is a really over the top piece, but definitely less so than some of the doozies they've pulled out in the past few years (porcupine popover, I am SO looking at you). 

That said, I bet Jenna Lyons thought this cardi read "too old," which I can see, but regardless, it is a really fab bit of shine.  It is all hand applied sequins and has a zip front...on very soft merino wool.  I believe the seller wanted some really low amount, like $40, so I bit.

The bag is another J. Crew piece, again, bought on super sale, the crushed glitter satin clutch.  It was an exact match for the shoes, which I don't normally care about, but liked that night. 

Just some simple earrings helped finish off the look, didn't want to over-bling, you know?

And then, THREE days later, we had a wedding of one of Mr. Dina's former co-workers.  At night, natch.  So guess what?  Cocktail dress!

This is the same exact dress I wore to Mr. Dina's last office holiday party (link is in the first part of this post), except this is the Caspian blue one that I bought in a larger size for when my best friend got married a few years ago and wanted me to be a bridesmaid. 

Well, what do you know?  16 weeks pregnant is similar to dinagideon at nine months postpartum (hopefully not with Gus, though, lol), so with the exceptionally full skirt, it was the exact right dress for the night.

Again I paired it with a belt to hopefully draw the eyes upward (to where I am not gaining weight).  The unique halter straps of the sangle dress helps, too. 

I wore the dress with a pair of pewter heels from Nine West, and dangly earrings from J. Crew.  The headband is also J. Crew.

Pockets!  And at this angle, you can see a bit of the belly.

The bracelet is the amazing beautiful classic pave link bracelet that J. Crew must always sell, definitely classic, and definitely worth the price (especially if you can get some sort of discount).

This looks very Mid-Century Mom, I know.  In fact my dad said his mom wore outfits like this out a lot when he was growing up.  He said this is the way for a pregnant woman to party.  Hee.  My dad.  (Rolls eyes.)

This jacket was yet another ebay score...it is called the Metallic Mosaic Jacket and was made by J. Crew in 2008.  CW has a similar coat that I got for a song at one of their clearance centers. 

In fact, this jacket was noticed by the bride's sister, who happens to work at one of the NY magazines, maybe People Style?  Anyhow, it made me feel like I had chosen exactly right...

So what are my takeaways?  (BTW, this can work for you all without extra "baggage," too.)

1. EBAY, EBAY, EBAY.  If you know that you have a function and have some time to prepare, buy from there.  Not only do the sellers have retail party dresses and toppers, they also have many very cool and unique samples.  Admittedly it helps to have a dress size of 4-8, as the samples are usually a 6, but every so often, the samples will be made in other sizes, too.

2. J. CREW ON SUPER SALE.  Oh, yeah, baby.  That crushed glitter clutch was like $20 at the end of the season because of the markdown and then an additional 30% off. 

3. RE-USE.  Especially if you are constantly asked to dress up, have a staple set of six-eight dresses, in all lengths ready to go.  As of now, I have two floor length gowns (the other one was worn to the Inaugural Ball for Governor McDonnell a couple years ago and is far too small for my baby belly) and about ten knee length cocktail dresses.

I am very glad I didn't sell my larger sized cocktail dresses as it turns out I needed them, so you may want to bear that in mind if you have the room to store the extra frocks.

And finally, what the heck am I going to do on Wednesday?  I really don't know.  Isn't that crazy?  I have an ancient dress from my first pregnancy with Rex, and it is dressy, but I am not sure it is dressy enough.  (I am unable to wear my normal dresses anymore, they are all far too small in the middle.)

So on Friday I bought a dress from ebay for a fairly decent price (maternity is expensive and going to my local Pea in the Pod is not even an option right now), which I truly hope gets here by then.  Unfortunately the seller is in CA, but he did send it priority mail, and I have a confirmed shipping number, so I am crossing my fingers.  (And if it doesn't come on time, there are a couple more small events that require me to get dressed up, so I will just wear this dress then and over-bling the ancient pregnancy dress.)

I guess I followed my own advice by turning to #1, EBAY.  :)

Any of you have any yummy party outfit tricks that you employ?

Summer Sun-dressing in the Fall...

Happy Wednesday! If all goes well, this will be my first of two posts today centered around sequins (and who doesn't love sequins--lol--just kidding, I am sure some of you are a bit over them, but to me, Miss Magpie, I don't know if that will happen).

I had a special event to go to over the weekend, and seeing how I had not gotten around to wearing the Painted Silk Bridget Dress, I really wanted to wear it. Problem? It is silk, one-shouldered, and clearly meant for the summer. It wasn't cold-cold, but it certainly wasn't warm, either, on Saturday. Enter a fab sequined jacket from ASOS.  Ah, perfection. Now I could wear a completely inappropriate dress and make it just a tad more appropriate.

Summer Sun-dressing in the Fall (with Sequins)! by dinagideon featuring j crew handbags

Above is the polyvore of the entire ensemble. The polyvore is a bit different from my polyvores of the past as I tried out the whole "make your polyvore look like an actual paper-doll" route. It was a bit difficult, but in the end, it almost works... :)

Sizes:
Dress: Size 8. The Painted Silk Bridget Dress was a J. Crew Collection item that I had bought in June (with some sale or another) and had intended to wear out while dining al fresco with my hubby. The one time I did that kind of date with him, I was feeling gross and kind of bloated, so the poor dress just sat in my closet all rejected feeling. I was not feeling gross and bloated on Saturday, however, I do believe my bandage on my leg gives a certain extra something special to the outfit. LOL. I should have bought these bling-ed out bandages instead. BTW, my hubby HATED the bubble hem of this dress but loved the rest of the outfit.
Jacket: Size UK 10, Size US 6. I think I may have bought this sequined boyfriend blazer for $35 dollars, with free shipping and returns. This jacket has convinced me that ASOS is a good company, but that said, the shipping was SUPER-SLOW, so bear that in mind if you buy something from them and it expect it on your door quickly. Having dealt with slow shipping from Boden in the past, I wasn't worried about it, but it can be frustrating if you have never bought from the UK before.
Shoes: Size 10.5 AA, Cole-Haan. Yum.

I wore my hair in a side ponytail just to be a bit different. I actually like it in this style.

The earrings are the fun dangly ones from Mickey last year.  I still love and wear them...a lot.  I also use the free daily calendar agenda they gave us as a Christmas gift last year, so I have to say, if they are still sending out free gifts, that daily calendar agenda would be fine by me!  (I am such a relic, actually "penciling" things into a calendar and not using a computer calendar instead.)  Not that anyone at corporate even reads this blog (I know, I have seen the stat counter)...lol.

You all have a great day.  Sequined outfit #2 up later today!

Golden Roses Cardigan and the Wool Pleated-Silk Chimera Jacket...Two Lovely Additions to My Wardrobe...

Guys, a semi-miracle has happened today...I am actually posting pictures and a polyvore of the outfit I wore TODAY! (I still have a backlog of photos from other outfits, but if I can post a set of two outfits a day for the next month or so, I should get caught up. YAY!)

Golden Roses on a Cardigan??? by dinagideon featuring J Crew

This is the polyvore of today's outfit. It includes a very lovely J. Crew Outlet piece, the Golden Roses Cardigan. I love this print, and am glad that the outlet is offering pieces like this up to the consumer. I bought it this weekend from the Lancaster outlet, in Pennsylvania. The saleslady said this was a particularly good seller. She was probably right, as there were only a few left. I also purchased a few necklaces and the Hayworth Giraffe cami. You know what I spent most of my (my husband's) money on? Crewcuts outlet stuff...OMG, this store was like the motherload. I bought the most darling jacket for CW that just so happens to match one of my coats...cannot wait to wear them together (yes, I am a big ole nerd like that). It is her Christmas gift, so you all will have to wait to see it. Rex got some goodies, but they are also Christmas gifts...

The rest of the polyvore is self-explanatory. Only beef I have? The tissue turtleneck has a falling-apart hem...ergh. I only have worn it once. I paid 9 bucks, so I am not going to complain much, but if I had paid full-price, I would be spitting mad.


Cardigan: J. Crew Outlet, size medium, winter 2009.
Turtleneck: J. Crew, size medium, winter 2008.
Cords: J. Crew, size 31 short, winter 2008.
Necklace: J. Crew, Magnolia-leaf, spring 2009.
Shoes: Aerosoles, Grey Patent Flats, size 10, ??? (got on clearance).

My pants, if you look closely, have water all over the bottom of the right leg...I accidentally turned on the spigot outside of the house and water came gushing out. Mr. Dina thought it was so funny...ha ha. :P


CDP--Where do my watermarks go??? Oh, well. Here is a close-up of the cardigan. This is a Mr. Dina special shot...take a photo when I am walking towards the camera. Blegh.


I took this at the coffee shop I was at with CW this morning. My computer can take photos. I took this shot for Mr. Dina to show him how cute CW looked. Mr. Dina agreed she looks PRECIOUS. I also met 3-Penny Princess for coffee...it was a lot of fun to see her and catch up...she is SO busy!!! I am glad she found a moment to just hang out...those moments are good for the soul. :)

Lady-Like Meets Office Party! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

The second outfit is from about a week ago...I went to an office party for Mr. Dina's work...it was all fancy-schmancy, so I knew I had to bring it. The Wool Pleated-Silk Chimera Jacket was the perfect addition to the dress I wore...


Jacket: J. Crew, Wool Pleated-Silk Chimera Jacket, Dusty Blossom, Size 4, Fall 2009.
Dress: J. Crew, Cecelia Silk Dress, Deep Atlantic (or something like that), Size 10, Winter 2008.
Necklace: J. Crew, Crystal and Pearl Pastiche Necklace, Pink Frost, Winter 2009.
Bracelet: J. Crew, Gold and Crystal Cluster Bracelet (I think), Fall 2009.
Shoes: Coach, Gold, Size 10, way back when...a long time ago.


The Chimera Jacket is made well, and the color and fabric is divine. One caveat...I bought two...one was at 150 minus a discount, and then one week later, I bought the second one for 99 dollars. I am SO glad I ordered two. The first one was a wreck. The pleating was all wrong on one side and barely tacked down. The second one (this one) was perfect. When I went to return the original Chimera, the ladies at the store were very concerned and put it in the defect pile right away (it so happened that one of the SAs was wearing the grey version, and hers was perfect, so she knew that my jacket was in BAD shape). There is a two-clasp closure to the front of this jacket, but on this night, I only used one of them (I think the bottom one).

I cannot wait to try this jacket with a tee and some jeans...the whole feminine with casual grunge look that is quite popular now. Obviously when I wore it for this evening out, I was going for more of a mid-80s Moonlighting look (although Mr. Dina says I would have had to been in soft focus...haha...so funny, Mr. Dina).

Check this jacket out on gigiofca, LizPoms, OneFashionistaDiva, and jillian, inc.


The Cecelia dress is such a beautiful creation. I know it is meant as an upscale bridesmaid look, but it works so well in the DC area as a party look...we tend to have more conservative, fancy events when we have parties.

I bought the ten, and it was lovely...just enough wiggle room to allow me to eat, drink, and be merry.

And you all be merry, too. :) Have a great Tuesday.

Awesome Times Were Had By All at the DC JCA Event!!!

I am going to start with the best pic--all of us JCAs together at Pentagon City's J. Crew Store. We all had such a great time. We walked in at around 10 am and were greeted by incredibly enthusiastic staff members who catered to our every need. "Do you want a mimosa? Do you need that shirt/top/pants/dress placed in your fitting room? Would you like me to bring this to the register?" To have a gathering were EVERYONE truly appreciates the items that are around us was so special. My husband collects action figures and treats them very well...we are the same with our J. Crew items.

It was nice to feel no pressure to be done quickly. I tried on many items I would normally never have looked at. One item that surprised me at how much I loved it? The Sanur convertible dress. With a pink belt (provided wisely by the sales associate), it looked awesome on me. I ended up buying it in the charcoal color. And this is me...the non-strapless dress lover. I wanted to buy but did not end up getting these items (too expensive...I will have to wait until I have saved a bit more money):

Things I Tried on Today that I Would Love to Buy!!! - by dinagideon on Polyvore.com

After we all enjoyed the mall portion of the day, we scooted off to Boulevard Woodgrill. We were treated so kindly by our waiter and we really enjoyed some scrumptious food. I will definitely go back there soon!

I am so very impressed by these ladies...we are fast becoming good friends and have already discussed a May meeting. AWESOME!

Please visit 3-Penny Princess for more information and some spectacular photos. By the way, the pic of me wearing that blue necklace on her post? Designed by one of the JCAs!!! I will be presenting info about her work very soon (as I am sure 3-Penny Princess will). http://3pennyprincess.blogspot.com/2009/03/jcrew-private-shopping-event-and-brunch.html
HeidiG did a great write-up here: http://headtotoewithheidi.blogspot.com/2009/03/update-from-dc-jca-event-and-my-1st.html

Slastena also did a nice post here: http://jcrewchick.blogspot.com/2009/03/dc-jca-event-at-pentagon-mall-3292009.html


Here is a photo of me taken before the event. This is a dress from Summer 2008. I bought it off ebay for next to nothing. It is a J. Crew Collection piece. It is a tad bit dressy, but I would rather be over-dressed than not. And based on what I saw yesterday, all of the JCAs and the Sales Associates agree! The shoes are the Cate Slingbacks in soft shell.


This is the jacket I wore...which is also the reason I can't do a polyvore. This jacket is from back in SPRING 2005. That's right...four years ago. I LOVE this jacket. I also have a mini-skirt and a button-down in this fabric. I will eventually get them out of mothballs...but I still have a few pounds left to go before I can do so!!!



There she is...our future youngest JCA! She even coordinated with momma!!! :)

You all have a great day. I am so very fortunate to have been able to spend the day with everyone.