What to Wear to a Spring Wedding

Well, I wish I had a spring wedding where I could wear this stunning Lipstick Red bell sleeve dress from Calvin Klein. But alas, I wore it to church last week. And if the occasion arises, I will gladly wear it to celebrate a new marriage, retirement, graduation or anniversary! Bring on the special occasions. I have just the dress!

You may recognize this dress from other photos I have here on my website. That’s because I fell in love with the color and simplicity of this Calvin Klein dress and decided it was the perfect one for my head shots. I picked my dress up at Dillard’s about a month ago, and the price was already reduced then. It’s still reduced, but that means the sizes available are down to slim pickings.

But the dress is still available at Dillard’s in a full range of sizes in some additional great colors, such as Black, White, Regatta (a bright blue) and Ember (a golden yellow). Also, I found some other beautiful bell sleeve sheaths that you might like. Some are solids and some are floral. And I’ve included a variety of price points. And of course the one I showed you in this post is still available and included in the links below.

I wore this same white and floral Calvin Klein handbag with my pale aqua bell sleeve dress. I love that it is able to do double duty! And it’s been marked down 30% at Dillard’s. Here are some other beautiful bags I thought you might want to check out. I tried to select bags in a variety of price ranges, but under $150. I think it’s nice to carry a purse that looks especially pretty, but also a little different from the ones everyone else may be using.

My white Antonio Melani Jolai patent leather asymmetrical multi-band dress sandals are so very comfortable. The 3.1 inch stiletto heel feels much lower to me, and because the heels have a slingback strap rather than a full ankle strap, they are more flattering for women with thicker ankles…like me! I especially love the cherry red these shoes comes in, but they just weren’t quite the match for this dress.

I’ve included these shoes in the shopping selections below, but I’ve added some others that I think would be pretty for special occasion dresses such as the bell sleeve sheaths. Once again, I’ve hit a variety of price points. Oh! And disregard the colors that appear in the shopping widget here. I selected mostly floral or flesh toned shoes, but the widget selected photos of black shoes! Ha! You’ll have to click on through to see the other shades available.

 I can’t find the necklace I’m wearing in any store right now, even though I just got it about a month ago. Oh well! But I do think this dress calls for a necklace that is both simple and bold. It needs to be enough to hold its on in a sea of bright pink/red, but also simple enough that it doesn’t compete with the bell sleeves. I always take my dress to the accessories department and shoe department to find perfect matches before I make my purchases. That’s why I was able to select a handbag and necklace that complement each other and the dress so well.

I’ve provided shopping links to some other necklaces that I think would work well with a solid color bell sleeve dress as well.

By the way, my beautiful Aunt Ida wore this same dress in navy (which I can’t find anywhere on line!) to my Uncle Gus’s memorial service. She looked just as lovely that day as she did when she married her precious husband 40-something years earlier. This dress turned out to be the perfect one for that special occasion, too.

Today I’m linking up with Jo-Lynne Shane and all the fabulous style bloggers at her Friday Fashion Link-Up. Be sure to check it out! Have a blessed and beautiful day.

Blessed for My Day

At my Uncle Gus’s memorial service it was often repeated that he was such a good conversationalist. Truly, he could talk to anyone…and did. As we looked around the crowded sanctuary, my daughter and I teased that some of the people there may have just been people he struck up conversations with in Lowe’s. But I’ve learned that what we really mean when we say someone is a good conversationalist is that they are good at asking questions and listening. That was my uncle’s forte. As I read the Bible I see that Jesus also modeled good conversation – asking penetrating questions and listening patiently to the answers. I’m trying to learn this skill, too. Not because I want to excel at conversation, but because I want to be like Jesus…and my Uncle Gus…and really care about people. 

 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ~ Matthew 20:32