Thursday, July 29, 2010

Visiting the Parents

Draft:


Composition 1:
purple dress (Rumors)
beige tank top (Old Navy)
green ruffled t-strap wedges (Steve Madden)
Divot (Ossa cat - courtesy of boyfriend's mother)

Composition 2:
black tank top (NY&Company)
purple skirt (H&M)
sunglasses (Liz Claiborne)
flip flops (Rainbow)

Usage:
So sorry for my absence on the blog.  Due to unforseen circumstances, I was without a decent internet connection for the past five days.  My boyfriend and I are on what I've been calling Great Family Tour 2010.  We just left his parents' house and are currently in my hometown.

I wore this purple dress out to dinner with boyfriend's mom and stepdad.  I love the criss-cross on the front of the dress.  I usually wear it with a beige or black tank top underneath, but I would like to try it with a more colorful tank top too.  Since I just got the green ruffle wedges, I decided to throw those on too.  My boyfriend said that I looked like the Joker because of the color combination, but I like it.

Normally I would be a little hesitant to wear a dress this short out to dinner with my boyfriend's parents.  The first time I met them I wore a pretty simple, conservative outfit: a short-sleeved white ruffled button down, dark wash jeans, and black boots.  Last time we visited, I wore this dress out to dinner with them.  Now that I've known them for a little longer, I feel a little more comfortable wearing different styles with them.

I wore the second outfit on a wine tasting excursion with my boyfriend's dad and stepmom.  I'd say this outfit is more what I would typically wear around a boyfriend's parents.  Cute, comfortable, and slightly more conservative.

As for accessories, I wore one of my new signature items - a garnet ring I received as a birthday present abroad.  I love the different, modern design.  I also wanted to show off the octopus necklace my boyfriend gave me.  OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, a gift from Liz, served as a great neutral polish for a parent visit.

I've found that in dressing in situations like this one - dressing for a significant other's parents - I don't really change my style much.  I don't tend to dress flashy; I don't really accessorize a lot; I don't wear skimpy clothes.  Maybe I'll tone down the heels, but normally not much changes.

P.S. My boyfriend outted the blog to his mom and stepdad, so A and G, if you're reading - we had a wonderful time, and I hope you liked my outfit!

Prompts:
  • How do you dress for visits with your significant other's family?
  • Do you change your style much in situtations where you want to make a good impression?

3 comments:

Scholar Style Guide said...

Katie, you look great in this bright purple hue! And YDKJ looks as good on you as I knew it would. : )

My husband's family tends to dress very casually for family get togethers, so for a few years I felt like I was always overdressed. Now I think they just expect it from me, so they probably don't even notice.

For the second outfit, I'd like to see how it might look if you tucked the shirt in to the skirt instead of wearing it out. You don't really wear many high waisted skirts, but I think it would be a great way to show off your curves!

-Liz

Academic Writer (a.k.a. A-Dubs) said...

Now seems as good a time as any to switch your look with the fam. Because what if you kept wearing the more conservative ensembles for, like, 5 more years, then hit them with the gorgeous purple mini-dress? They'd think you were having some sort of episode ;)

As an aside: I went a little too conservative when I met my partner's parents for the first time. Then the sister showed up dressed to kill (she is seriously a bombshell), and I looked like a full-on granny.

Anonymous said...

Love your dress!