Monday Madness: Mission Accomplished

So as you may know, today I was in town looking for a dress for my upcoming grad event.  Many of you checked out some of the dress options, and a few of you left input as to which dresses were your favourite.  I can now happily say that I found a beautiful dress, though not one which was on my original list.

After meeting with no success at the first boutique we tried, we (my mother, sister and I) headed over to BCBG Max Azria, which after all was kind of my number 1 choice.  Within ten minutes we had a hefty collection ready, and over the course of the next hour or so we narrowed the choices down to two, and then ultimately to The One.

While I had initially intended to get something rather flamboyant and flashy, I wound up going with something much more conservative and subdued.  However, I totally love it.  If I were a dress, this dress would be me.  It features a subtle one-shouldered look and some lace details, both of which had strong showings on this season's runway.  But it also has a classic feel and cut to it - my sister's words were "It's very Audrey Hepburn".  This is what I most love - a blend of the modern with the classic to create total perfection.  It fits me perfectly, and for the first time in my life I can say with confidence that it looks better on me than on the model in the photo below, so don't judge too harshly.  The modest cut and the black colouring mean the dress can be adapted for a multitude of events with ease, and I think I can count on this being my go-to LBD for at least a while.

I wanted to dress it up a little since it is so conservative, so I wound up getting a jeweled rose belt (also from BCBG Max Azria) to cinch in the waist a little more and to bring some sparkle.  It wound up being just the right accent to bring the dress a more evening-appropriate finish.  I am not ashamed to admit that the belt idea is one I got from watching obscene amounts of Say Yes to the Dress.  We rounded out the day by finding a pair of shoes - my old patent ones have bitten the dust at long last - to complete the look.  The shoes are BCBGeneration, and I intend to swap out the current laces in the back for some black satin ones that I think would be more appropriate.  All around a very successful day.

The only thing that remains is to decide whether to go for bright crimson nail polish and lipstick or a more natural peachy-pink lip with black nail polish (to which I would apply clusters of rhinestones).  Also, I need to pick a mask seeing as the theme is masquerade.  The options are a royal blue mask with some black feathers and gold sequins around the eyes; black, white, and brown feathers with green sequins around the eyes; or scarlet feathers with some brown feather accents.  Decisions, decisions...