Winter Wedding Outfit

Reader Question: I’m attending a wedding this month in Chicago. What the heck does one wear to a winter wedding?!

Style Me Thrifty: Winter weddings can be romantic, cozy, and well, freezing cold. Here are a few easy tips keep in mind when putting together a winter-friendly outfit for a wedding.

• Pick a dress in a rich color like burgundy, eggplant, or peacock blue. These colors are great for cold months and look lovely with non-tanned skin.
• Stay warm in your cocktail dress by adding tights. I especially love textured tights – they add personality!
• When in doubt, a little black dress is a solid choice but spice it up with colorful heels or jewelry.
• Pack layers — a pashmina for when you’re indoors and peacoat and gloves for the trip home.
  

Sidenote: I’ve started using Polyvore, an interactive site that let’s you assemble outfits and links directly to the retailers that sell the items. I’m still learning the ropes (which is why some of you got an email saying the outfit was posted, oops!) but I think it’ll be fun. Let me know what you think.

Winter Wedding Outfit by stylemethrifty.

Dot tight
$8.99 – kohls.com

Forever21 fringe earrings
$4.76 – forever21.com

Forever21 bracelet set
$6.80 – forever21.com

eShakti – Dressed in Pink
$100 – eshakti.com

Kohl’s Sacred Heart Amano Platform High Heels
$60 – kohls.com

Go Nude

I do my best thinking during Body Combat class. I realize this sounds a little random, but I like having an uninterrupted hour to be alone with my thoughts… while also beating the snot out of an imaginary opponent.

Some days, I contemplate life’s important questions: maybe about my career path at work or deciding what colors to include in Style Me Thrifty’s new logo (get excited!). And other days, my thoughts turn a bit more superficial, as in: how can I make my legs look longer?

[I know, my brain is a scary place to be!]

But as I jabbed and kicked my way through Body Combat this week, I started thinking about my height (an average 5’4”) and got stuck on the fact that I want the long legs of a 5’10” model! By the time our cool down song came on, I had come up with a simple solution that I wanted to share with everyone.

Go nude.

Nude shoes, that is. Pop on a pair of nude heels and you’re able to instantly create the illusion of longer legs. It’s like magic! Heels that match your skin tone trick the eye into seeing a leg that goes on for days. Instead of cutting off your legs at the ankle (which is what bold colored shoes can do), the eye follows your leg all the way to the ground. That’s exactly the few extra inches I’ve been looking for. The proof is in the picture:

Corso Como Del Beige Patent – $129
Cheaper/lookalike version by Chinese Laundry – $68.95
(Skirt from JCrew outlet)

—–

Here are a few more nude shoe options, all under $100!

Where to shop (click above photo to enlarge):

1) Aldo Ragonese – $22.49 (GREAT deal!) from Aldo

2) BP Platinum Twirl Sandal – $59.95 from Nordstrom

3) Arturo Chiang Womens Chanps Wedge – $78.99 from Endless

4) R2 Women’s Castine Pump – $50 from Endless

5) Seychelles Women’s Chirp Open-Toe Pump – $89.95 from Amazon

6) Boutique 9 Women’s Karyl Open-Toe Pump – $85.49 from Endless

7) Seychelles Change of Venue – $66.85 from Zappos

8) Report Grover Flat – $62.95 from Zappos (since I know you love flats!)

9) Kelsi Dagger Kaden – $89.10 from Zappos

Poll: Which Bridesmaid Shoes Would You Wear?

THIS is what a fashion indecision looks like:

My lovely older sister is getting married in a week. Since my sis is pretty awesome, she told me I could pick out my own maid-of-honor dress and shoes. A dream come true for any fashionista bridesmaid!

Here is a color swatch of my periwinkle dress. The color is called "Something Blue" :)

With much determination, I was able to find the prettiest periwinkle non-bridemaidy chiffon strapless dress out there at Nordstrom. Finding the dress was tricky, but with so many adorable heels in this world, picking shoes was even harder! There are also a LOT of ugly dyeable bridal shoes out there, bleh.

After months of internet research (god bless Zappos and Endless), I’ve picked a winning pair but am curious to see which ones my Style Me Thrifty readers would choose. Which shoes would YOU wear to the wedding? Cast your vote below!

The wedding is an outdoor, late-afternoon ceremony at a historic farmhouse. Informal. I’m the only bridesmaid so we don’t need to worry about matching other girls. Choose wisely!

(Click image to enlarge)

Where to shop: Michael Antonio Palmero flat $19.99 from Endless; Capparos Sharelle Open Toe Pump $69 from Endless; Bouquets Blythe Ivory Satin sling backs $75 from Zappos; Capparos Olinda $69 from Zappos.