Have you guessed by now that I chose to wear the dress that I already owned?

I loved the Betsy Johnson dress, but when it came down to it, I already had a great dress at home.  It’s a Jessica McClintock dress (but looks so much like Betsy Johnson); I had only worn it once to my brother-in-law’s wedding and I got tons of compliments.

The dress has spaghetti straps and a satin sash and that was lovely for a wedding, but I wanted to funk it up a bit for the Buckhead crowd; add a little WOW to the satin pantsuits and sequin tunics that were sure to be there.  I tucked the straps in to make the dress strapless and swapped the satin sash for a wide belt.  Big hoop crystal earrings, silver bangles and a leather studded arm wrap gave the look a rocker edge.  The satin shoes were pretty, but the platform high heel made them funki and hot.  And the whole look was set off by a hot pink clutch purse.  BAM!

It was a group effort and I would like to thank:

• Luxetips who helped me shop for shoes by text message and MMS all day.
• My loctician April who hooked up my hair.
• The Nordstrom employee who sold me the Boutique 9 shoes (after patiently bringing out several pairs and giving her opinion on each one).  She also helped me purchase the Hobo purse and bracelets.
• The Mitzi and Romano employee who helped me pick out the perfect earrings.
• My cousin who taught me how to apply evening eye make-up by text messages and MMS from Philly.
• My Girly who read the text messages to me as I applied the make-up and gave her opinion on everything.

I don’t know when I will ever look like this again, but I have the photos to prove that it’s possible!

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Thanks to an all day shopping excursion and virtual help from my friend, I had the shoes and accessories to match my dress.  On the day of the event I got my hair and nails done, but now I needed help with applying evening eye make-up.   On a daily basis, my make-up routine is pretty simple and even though I have eyeshadow, I never use it.   My cousin is a master make-up artist and I knew that she could help me.  There was one problem: she lives in Philly.

Once again text messages and MMS saved the day.

At this point she called me to say that the make-up was perfect and that I did a good job.   I was astonished that I made my eyes look like this!  I was so proud of myself.   What do you think?

Now I was ready to put on the dress.

Read my next blog post to see the final results!

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

I had to make a decision about the dress and I needed fancy shoes as well, so I went to the mall.  This was not a leisurely shopping trip; this was serious.  I wore comfortable shoes and had snacks in my purse.  My husband was available to pick the kids up from school, so I was free to shop until the mall closed and I was ready to do just that.

As time wore on, I was getting confused by all the choices and needed a second opinion.  Naturally I called on my friend Luxetips, who loves to shop.  The fact that she was across town didn’t even matter.

Through text messages and MMS she helped me pick out these shoes:

Boutique 9, Gia2

Good thing she also turned me on to Foot Petals or I wouldn’t have been able to walk in those 5 inch heels.

But what about the dress?  Read my next blog post to find out how my Fancy Dressing progresses.

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Recently my son went to his first “big dance” in high school.  It would be called a prom at other schools, but since his school eschews anything elitist and exclusive they don’t call it a prom.  (Never mind that it’s a private school, so that makes it elitist and exclusive right there, but I like that they try to pretend.)

The prom-like dance is open to all high school students, not just upper-classmen, and students attend in big groups, rather than in pairs.   There is no dress code, so students could come dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, but most do try to look nicer than normal.  Of course the girls dress up, and the freshman girls were no different; after all, this was their first “big dance.”

I have a boy.  At most I was concerned about his shoes and thankfully he was too; he found a pair of dressy gym shoes at Nordstrom to go with his black jeans and tuxedo jacket.   Most of the boys wore sports jackets, ties and dress pants.  They looked nice.  Nicer than I had ever seen them look.

But the girls looked fabulous.  They had spent all day together doing their hair and make-up and getting dressed.  Girls who normally wear soccer shorts, flip-flops and ponytails to school had on pretty dresses, high heels and curls in their hair.   As we gathered the kids for photos, I was pleasantly amazed at the transformation.

I looked closer at one of the girls; she looked familiar.  To be exact, her dress looked familiar.  That’s because that very same day I had tried on that very same dress at the Betsy Johnson store.   I had a cocktail party to attend the next week at the Arthur Blank Family Foundation.

(photo from Betsyjohnson.com)

She looked adorable in the dress.  And so did I, when I tried it on.   Well, not adorable–I’m past adorable–but I looked damn good.  The only reason that I didn’t purchase it that day is because I was deciding between that dress and a dress that I already owned, but had only worn once.

How could this be–that a 15 year old girl and I would wear the same dress?   I KNOW that I’m not too old to wear Betsy Johnson!  Betsy Johnson herself is over 65 years old and wears her own clothes!

I turned to the mothers of the girls and asked, “What does this mean?”

“It means,” they said, “that if you had a daughter this age instead of a son, she would be borrowing your clothes now.”

Yes; I could see that.  Already my 8 year old daughter holds up a shirt or belt or pair of shoes and says, “Save this for me Mommy, so that I can wear it when I get big enough.”  She is already plotting the stealing sharing of my wardrobe.

It made sense, but still I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I bought that dress then I would be wearing a “prom dress.”  But I loved the dress.  Did I mention that I looked good in it?  And it was on sale?

I obsessed for a few days: the prom dress or my dress?  I showed photos and asked everyone’s opinion.   Then I went back to the Betsy Johnson store one more time for my final decision….

*What to know what dress I chose?  Be sure to read my next blog post about my shopping trip.

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

*I don’t get paid for my opinions in any way; this is just me sharing stuff that I like and I think you will too.

Maybe it’s because the more I exercise, the more I want to show my legs.  Or because I like being taller than my son, who is officially now taller than me.  Or I refuse to get older and wear “sensible shoes”.

Whatever the reason, I have now taken to wearing high heels.  Like 5 inch heels.  From 5’4″ to 5’9″ is not quite an Amazon Woman, but I’m claiming it.  Here’s a couple of pairs that I bought recently:

Nine West ‘Tadie’ exclusively sold at Nordstrom

Sam Edelman ‘Kasi’

I feel big and powerful and lady warrior-like in my high heels.  But that would last for only 10 minutes if I didn’t have these:

My friend Luxetips, who favors high heels herself, turned me on to Foot Petals and I tell you, it’s the ONLY way that I am able to wear high heels confidently and comfortably.   Coming from a woman whose previous favorite shoes were Converse and Havaiana flip-flops, this is saying a lot!  Recently I wore a brand new pair of high heels–with Foot Petals Tip Toes–to my husband’s birthday party and I didn’t sit down for 4 hours.  I danced and mingled and, Hallelujah, I could still walk the next day!

From the Foot Petals website about Tip Toes:

Stop feet from sliding forward!
Stop ugly overhang & toe scrunch!

Step in style with these flower-shaped ball-of-foot cushions and go from working all day to dancing the night away! Virtually invisible in all of your shoes, Tip Toes help prevent calluses from forming, protect bones and tissue, and cushion the sensitive ball-of-foot area. Try them with your hosiery to stop runs and prevent slipping and sliding.

Besides Tip Toes, they have many different kinds of cushions for your shoe-wearing woes.  I buy them from my local Atlanta shoe boutique, Sole, or from my favorite department store, Nordstrom.  I bought some for every pair of high heels that I own.  If they don’t sell Foot Petals near you, you can always buy them on the Foot Petals website.

Foot Petals are an Amazon Woman’s best friend.  That, and a pair of flip-flops stashed in her purse.

© 2010 – 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.