My Top 3 Trendy and Timeless Formal Outfits for the New Year
*Click the images to enlarge. If you repost these photos please provide proper credit to West Coast Aesthetic, Meghan Klein for photography and Derby Salon for hair styling, thank you! xo
I hope you all had a wonderful time spent with loved ones celebrating the new year! I can't believe it's 2017 but I have a feeling it's going to be the best year yet! This year, I decided to lay low with my boyfriend and a group of friends to ring in the new year by playing games and watching fireworks. It was so low key and relaxing, just the way I wanted to start off 2017.
Despite giving myself a couple of days to recharge and take a break from blogging and work, I'm back and ready to kick off 2017 with some exciting blog collaborations I've been working on and have on the horizon! One of which, I've been dying to share. Having the opportunity to collaborate with Trixxi on styling formal attire was a true highlight, especially this time of year when there's NYE, holiday parties and other formal events going on. I also got to collaborate with Minette, featuring their beautiful jewelry in this series of looks.
I'm doing a wrap up of my Top 3 favorite go-to formal looks that are both timeless and on trend.
FIRST LOOK: The Little Black Dress aka LBD - A must-have for any woman's wardrobe and one you can never get enough of. I love this LBD because of it's gorgeous detailing in the front consisting of lace paired with metallic rhinestones -- subtle details like this is what makes this LBD so unique and stylish. I also love the back of this dress with the lace cut-out. An open back dress is always a show-stopper when it comes to formal attire but the higher neckline of this dress still keeps it appropriate for any type of event.
How I styled this LBD: Color and jewelry! I love bringing in a pop of color to compliment a LBD. My Kate Spade pink crossbody bag along with my Julep matte pink lipstick are the ideal accents of color this look needed! I also love adding statement jewelry to a formal look. This pair of Aria 14k Gold Earrings from Minette do just the trick. Earrings are typically my jewelry of choice for formal looks especially when I have an updo hairstyle -- they can be shown off so easily all while making a prominent statement in an outfit. For additional layering, I'm wearing my Nordstrom leather jacket that is a classic piece that also brings a little edge to a formal outfit. I try to avoid generic black tights when I can, I like tights with character in a formal look. These detailed cut-out black tights I scored from Target are the perfect (yet subtle) statement for layering with a pair of black Halogen heels.
SECOND LOOK: Keepin' it neutral - I'm a lover of neutrals, no doubt. In fact, neutrals are often the color palette of my formal attire because it's a color palette that is so timeless. This cut out cream silver accented dress from Trixxi combines my love for simplicity with some sparkle. Cut out necklines like this dress possesses make me swoon -- it makes such a statement but is still elegant in style.
How I styled this look: When it comes to neutral/monochromatic formal attire, jewelry is your friend! This pair of Minette Aimee 14k Gold earrings embrace both modern and minimalism (my favorite). To enhance the shimmer that my dress already has, I paired my metallic black tights from Nordstrom with this outfit and a pair of Halogen black heels to create some additional shine. My black Nordstrom leather jacket makes an appearance yet again to balance off the softness of this outfit with some edge but still keeping up with the monochromatic palette I have going. I'm telling you, neutrals will simply never go out of style.
THIRD/FINAL LOOK: Blush and bell sleeves - I am a 70's girl at heart so whenever I get the chance to wear an item of clothing with a little ode to the 70's, I'm a happy girl. When I spotted this blush pink lace dress with the prominent bell sleeves from Trixxi, I knew this was the dress for me. Lately, blush pink has become one of my staples for color whether it be in makeup, clothing or accessories. I feel like it's the perfect color for winter since it appears so soft and feminine.
How I styled this look: Styling this look was all about playing up the delicate and feminine appearance of this lace dress. I wanted to keep jewelry and accessories soft and playful. This Minette Gold Nanci Collar Necklace was the appropriate choice for statement jewelry. A delicate collar necklace is the perfect subtle jewelry piece and not to mention, gold is always a complimentary accent color for blush pink in my book! I decided to style a pair of the Minette Rhodolite Sabine Earrings with this look since they bring out the pink in my outfit but are still minimal in style and keep the focus on the detailing of the dress.
Playful accessorizing is present in the way I am showing off one of my favorite trends of the season: pairing socks with wedges/open toe heels. In this case, to keep the color palette light and airy in appearance, I'm wearing a pair of light beige ankle socks with a metallic cuff from LOFT paired with my Brass Plum wedge heels also in a light beige. When accessorizing a formal look, remember that less is always more when you want to look polished.
