Thursday, January 5, 2012

Petite Fashion Challenge 12

It's that time of month again - by which I mean, it's time for Petite Fashion Challenge #12! I was actually very excited about this one, which is being hosted by the lovely Khatu:
From Night to Day: Restyle a glamorous look that you would typically wear for a night-out-on-the-town into daytime casual wear. Easy right? Bonus points if you can restyle it for work! 
This one really "hit home" for me in a lot of ways, because when I first moved home after graduation, I was commuting to work in the city from Long Island. This meant, of course, that if I intended to go out at night, I had to really plan ahead - I couldn't pop back to my apartment to quickly change into something more appropriate for a bar/club/general night out on the town! 

This dress is one I've blogged about before, but you'll likely see many a time again. I'm just in love! Turtlenecks have been big this season which is great - it's one of those rare times that a fashion trend is actually practical, too. Since yesterday was oh so cold (hey, winter, where'd you come from?) I decided to make this low-cut jersey dress more work-appropriate by pairing it with a similarly-colored turtleneck. I didn't want to be bogged down in black, so I also warmed it up  (literally and figuratively)  with some greyish-brown tights.

When I was commuting, I learned to bring a few key pieces with me that could be used to transition an outfit from workwear to night-wear without weighing down my bag insanely. Jewelry, lightweight tops, and maybe a pair of heels! For this PFC, I had barely any time to take photos - but yesterday seemed like the perfect time to snap a few, since I actually needed to wear an outfit that went from "day to night" since I had an event to dash out to right after work. So, I planned ahead and tossed a few items in my bag...

Gold chain, Grandmother's; Statement necklace, Charlotte Russe (similar here);
Belt, H&M (similar here); Bangles, from India (similar here)

By nixing the turtleneck and thin gold chain in favor of a bold arm party and an even bolder statement necklace, the look isn't nearly as prim and proper. The low neckline of the dress is far more appropriate for a night out, whether to dinner with friends or the bar, and the thin jersey turtleneck fits easily into my bag! I ordinarily would have tossed the tights too, but it was freezing and after our almost LA-winter thus far, I just haven't adjusted to this cold yet! 

Dress, H&M Sz XS (similar here); Shoes, Nine West Rocha Sz 5; Tights, HUE;
Watch, MK Mini-Runway in Gold; Bag, MK, old; 
But maybe I'd be able to shed the tights after donning a liquid layer, haha! But until then, I'll be bundling up and covering up both my day and night outfits in this warm coat, which I just recently got back from the tailors after having had slimmed. What do you think? Am I ready for the cold winter ahead?

26 comments:

  1. When I saw those pictures, I was wondering how you change a turtle neck dress to V neck. Then I understood it after I read your words. The turtle neck really blend in with your dress. Love your style.

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  2. Your turtle neck dress is really unique!  I love the ruche detailing on it :)

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  3. Loving all the accessorizing. That coat looks fabulous on you!

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  4. Whoa! I thought that was a turtle-neck dress & was really confused at where the neckline went in the nighttime look! Now I get it...lol.

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  5. Beautiful dress AND coat. I love the colors and the accessories are so pretty. You are gorgeous my dear!

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  6. love the turtleneck-look! Reminds me that I need one!  And your coat is lovely it fits nicely! They did a great job with alterations!

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  7. great look. Love the scarf.

    love looking at all the creative things people come up with for this challenge.

    myminibag.blogspot.com

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  8. For a second I thought you were going to style a turtle-neck dress. silly me. The turtle-neck blend very well with the dress.

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  9. Pretty color on that statement necklace. Good tips on how to transition when you don't have time to go home and change after work!

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  10. The key to having it blend so well was making sure they were the same material...although wouldn't it be great to have an a dress that ACTUALLY could be changed from a turtleneck to a v-neck? Haha, that would make day-to-night transitioning so much easier.

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  11. Thanks! The ruche details keep it from being too boring, so I'm a fan as well!

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  12. Thanks, Jessy! I never believed that wool peacoats could actually keep you warm (they're just so thin!) but this one is cozier than any Northface that I've ever owned. Totally a peacoat convert now.

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  13. Haha, trying to make a turtleneck work for nighttime would be such an ambitious goal. I feel like you have to be a statuesque Giselle/Heidi type to ever make that work.

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  14. I'm *loving* the turtleneck trend - I used to hate them when I was younger, and I have no idea why. They're so chic, and even more importantly, they're so warm!

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  15. This challenge was so great - people had such different ideas, and I'm loving looking at what everyone did, too!

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  16. Haha, styling a turtleneck dress for the evening would be very hard - I'll leave it to the fashion pros! ;)

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  17. Thanks, Karen! It's definitely something I had to a lot before I moved to the city, haha.

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  18. I love that statement necklace- the color is amazing. Great job on this challenge :)

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  19. Thanks, Annie! I'm obsessed with this necklace - it only cost $12, but I feel like it looks a lot more quality than it actually is. Such a bargain!

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  20. Love the red coat. Where is it from?

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  21. Oh wow I didn't even realize you had a turtleneck layered under in the first pic, amazing job! And that necklace is BEAUTIFUL!

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  22. Rites of Beauty BloggerJanuary 9, 2012 at 12:27 AM

    Thanks for your comments on my PFC outfit.

    I really like your idea of layering the dress on top of a sweater. Looks great! And that necklace is really lovely. :)

    E
    http://ritesofbeauty.blogspot.com

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  23. Thank you! The necklace was such a bargain piece, I couldn't resist buying it.

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  24. I can't believe I forgot to add that in, will do so now. It's actually from Macy's Petites section, by Style&co.

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  25. I was so excited when I discovered how well the dress/turtleneck matched! Thank you!

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