All Dressed up & Places to Go: Black Tie in Dallas

Josh, Hugo and I took a quick trip, literally 36 hours, to Dallas last week to celebrate with a friend who was receiving a special award.  And since I’m always looking for ideas of what to wear for special events I thought I’d share this one with you. Be warned, it’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about one little outfit!

What:  An awards ceremony and dinner for the Dallas Baptist University

Where:  The Hilton in Dallas, Texas.

Dress Code:  Black Tie Optional

What I Wore:  A black, fit and flare illusion neckline dress with navy ribbon tied heels and a jeweled clutch.

Hair & Makeup:

I did my usual blow-dry and curled my hair using a 3/4 inch curling iron.  My makeup was pretty simple, I used the NARS naked rose gold eyeshadow set and applied everything on the heavy side for the sake of photos.  Exact lipstick is linked below, Clinique Almost Lipstick, I love this product!  It looks very dark in the tube, but the color adapts to your own lip color and it feels like a good lip balm on.  I always apply false lashes for events, but with our tight schedule I ran out of time, so sad!  Nails are a dark navy gel (I do mine at home, similar color linked below) and toes are a dark purple.

Notes:

Finding a dress for this event was really difficult, I was trying to find something fun and creative but still appropriate.  This dress happened to be on super sale for $24 (it’s sold out, you may be able to find it in-store at Belk, similar styles are linked below) which was amazing and I felt very comfortable all night,  I don’t think it photographed very well, but then again, we were having too much fun to slow down!  My shoes, y’all.  Ok, so besides running around town for a week straight trying to find a dress (with toddler and candy stash in tow…) I also had my heart on finding a pair of heels with a dramatic bow, I know I’ve seen several pair recently but of course, they were nowhere to be found.  The night before we left, I decided I was going to DIY a bow onto a pair of sandals I had in my closet, I went to Michael’s and picked out a gorgeous navy satin ribbon, cut a piece, looped it through the zipper and tied a bow around the ankle.  I received at least 10 compliments on that little trick!