I have had the pleasure of attending a few media events at Disney World and while it is fun, make no mistake, there is also work involved.   The days are long and the schedule is jam-packed.  During a media day at Disney I could be in front of a photographer, interviewing or meeting Disney executives, lunching in a nice restaurant and riding a roller coaster.  And don’t forget about the Florida heat!

All of these factors make dressing for a Disney media trip very tricky.  Although Disney World is a casual place, I am not there as a tourist, and therefore I don’t think it is appropriate to dress like one.   I need to dress appropriate, funki (cause that’s me) but also comfortable and cool.  And of course I must look cute!  There are cameras everywhere and I never know whose blog, newspaper article or newsreel on which I may appear.

My last trip was a little more relaxed because families were invited as well, but this presented the challenge of dressing for both media events and family fun in the same day.  Here are the looks that I put together:

Day 1: I had a media event in the morning with several Disney employees about the Main Street Electrical Parade.   This dress worked well for the occassion: it was breezy and cool, short enough to be fashionable, but not too short to be inappropriate and easy to dress up with accessories.  For the media event I swapped the fabric belt for a wide black belt.  While my sandals are flat and perfect for walking, they are a bit dressy and elevate the dress.  The green color adds some funkiness (gotta put the funk in there somehow!).   My tote bag is big enough to hold my wallet, lipgloss, sunglasses and necessary media equipment–iPhone, Flip cam, camera, notepad, agenda–as well as a pair of play shoes.  I could have even put my iPad in there if needed.

Dress: from Dakota J’s, an Atlanta boutique

Shoes: Seychelles, from Sole, an Atlanta boutique shoe store

Belt: from Sage, an Atlanta boutique

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs, from Nordstrom

After I met up with my family and the sun became to much to handle, I pulled my hair back, exchanged the wide belt for the fabric belt and switched the Seychelles sandals for my purple Keens sandals (ok, not the most fashionable shoes, but my feet needed a break; I think a pair of Fit Flops would have worked well too).  Never underestimate a great pair of sunglasses to hide your tired eyes!

Sunglasses: Juicy Couture

For our evening dinner event I transformed back into Funkidiva Media Girl: wide belt, Seychelles sandals and loose hair.

Day 2: My family joined me for a media screening of Toy Story 3.  Although I didn’t have to dress nicely, it was still a media event and somebody is always filming or photographing.  After the movie we were scheduled to spend the day as a family in Hollywood Studios, so I dressed for fun, but still a few notches above my normal Disney World garb.  I wore shorts (but not too short), a cute top and another pair of funki flat sandals.  Again, once my feet grew tired and my face sweaty, I swapped the cute sandals for Keens and pulled my hair back.   In the evening, right before the media dinner,  I let my hair down and put on the cute sandals.  Here I am about to ride Toy Story Mania.  I am working; I swear!

Shorts: Lucky Brand

Shirt: Anthropologie

Shoes: Seychelles, from Sole, an Atlanta boutique shoe store

Day 3: I was working early in the morning and then flying back home.  This was the big media event for Summer Nightastic; television and radio stations would be present.   Since I would be interviewing several people and representing Funkidivagirl.com, I wanted to look nice, but casual.  Here I am after the interviews and on my to the airport.  I wore the purple Seychelles sandals while working, but in this photo I have on my Swarovski crystal Havaianas flip flops; my feet were done!

Dress: Lucky Brand

Bag: Oilily

On the next trip I have to pick up a few things at TrenD, a stylish boutique in Downtown Disney, because it’s always appropriate to wear Mickey at Disney World.  With a pair of white jeans and strappy sandals, a crystal-studded blinging Mickey tee would look fresh and funki and just right–for work or play.

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

Related posts:

1. I’m Going To Disney World! (Yes, AGAIN)
2. I’m Going To Disney World!
3. Disney World Gets Their Glow On With Summer Nightastic
4. Fancy Dresser (part 1): The Dress Dilemma
5. Fashion Find: My New Dress