a rare fashion post

This Tuesday morning, extremely early (we're talking 3:45 am), I'm leaving on a work trip to Las Vegas. We're staying until Sunday even though the convention is over on Friday because Saturday happens to be Emily's birthday, and my boss decided to have a birthday blow-out for her there.

The hardest part has been planning Vegas-appropriate outfits. During the day I'll be in a pencil skirt, heels, and a white button up embroidered with my company logo, but we'll be out on the town at least three nights. We may or may not be entertaining clients, and I'll be with coworkers, so I need to look nice, but it's Vegas, so I need to be sexy. Just not too sexy.

Tuesday and Wednesday night, and possibly Thursday, will be pretty laid back since we'll be working the next days. I suppose those nights I'll leave on my pencil skirts or dress pants and just pair a cute little sweater or something with it. Friday and Saturday though... that's tough. I'm not a "dress-up" kind of person. I have my work clothes-- blouses and cardigans and skirts and pants-- and I have my hang-out clothes-- sweaters and t-shirts and jeans. I don't club, we don't "party," and I rarely have special events to go to. So I've been shopping a lot lately to try to put together some appropriate outfits. It's harder than it sounds.

For Thursday I've got a grey draped tank, sort of a cowl-neck, that has a black crochet racerback. I'll pair it with either my black pencil skirt or just nice trousers. I'll probably wear a black thin-strap tank under it so I don't have to mess with a strapless bra. I hate strapless bras. Plus the cowl is kind of low in the front-- definitely no bending over in it without an undershirt.

imagine the shirt above is gray and not red, with either the skirt or pants

I think Friday night I'll wear this little skirt I picked up, a gray tweed, short at mid-thigh, gathered with a black waistband. I'll tuck in either a red tank or a black tank and wear either a sequin scarf or a gray scarf with it, and my black pointy-toed heels.

looking at it here, I think I like the black top better, but that's two nights of black and gray...

Saturday night is more dressy, of course, since it will be Emily's birthday. I have two options, once dressy and nice, the other cocktail and sexier. The first option is a short blue dress, round neck, short sleeves, blue band at the waist, knit with an exposed chrome zipper up the back. I've got gray suede round-toed wedges that have a platinum buckle over the toe, and a silver locket necklace.

imagine this dress with the same blue at the waistband and a deeper neck

The second is a gray-green very deep-v neck cocktail dress, shiny satin, puffy skirt. I've got silver heels with that one and big platinum hoop earrings.

wore this dress to a ball this Spring, taking the same earrings, with shoes similar to below:

I'll probably know by Thursday or Friday what our plans are for Saturday, so if I end up in the cocktail dress Saturday, I'll wear the blue dress Friday, and push Friday's outfit to Thursday.

Whew, this has been confusing. It's hard enough for me to plan one outfit, much less a whole weeks' worth, pack it all up, and make sure I don't forget a key piece like shoes or jewelry. I just hope my boss thinks it's all appropriate. He's a bit of a fashionista, he and his partner, and they don't mince words when they don't like something. Emily still talks about the time that my boss told her she looked like a grandma in her Ralph Lauren cardigan. I tried though!