Rent the Runway Style Awards

Last week I wrote about my experience renting dresses for a wedding from Rent the Runway. While on their Facebook page I saw that they have regular photo contests of their customers - so I thought, why not send in my pics. I had a great experience...I'll support the social media cause. I never thought in a million years I'd get chosen. So you might imagine Monday morning how surprised I was to receive an email that I was a finalist. I was down right shocked when I went to their FB page and found my other photo as their profile picture! Basically I'm famous. Okay, well not really. But for 5 minutes I kind of felt like it. And it was definitely the highlight of my week. I never win anything (I know, I haven't won yet, but being a featured fan felt like winning).

So now I'm begging asking for your help. I really want to win this little contest. It's the competitive former ski racer in me. I'm not sure I get anything more than another profile picture feature and mention on their blog. But I will sleep well at night knowing I beat the other four girls I'm up against. And I truly think that my dress choice is the cutest (Was that catty? Can you tell I'm in it to win it!) So if you have a minute to spare, click HERE, "like" Rent the Runway, and then "like" my photo. I will dedicate my big win to all the loyal C & C readers! 

Thread Social dress (Rent the Runway), Zara pumps, Donald Pliner clutch, Angela Caputi resin bracelets, custom monogram necklace

Rent the Runway

Last weekend I traveled west to Santa Barbara, CA for a wedding of one of my nearest and dearest from college. Uninspired by my closet, I decided I'd finally bite the bullet and try out Rent the Runway. We've written about it before, but in case you need a refresher, RTR was started by Harvard business school gals, Jenn and Jenny, after realizing that women everywhere want designer fashion at their fingertips for a fraction of the cost. Hello, no brainer!

Dresses range from $40 - $350. When you rent one, you get a second rental for $25 (select dresses, but I was very happy with my choices). What a deal! You can search by occasion, color, length, cost, body type, style, and neckline. Each dress includes reviews from women that have already rented the dress (including their height and body type), which are super helpful in deciding if it's a good fit for you and sizing. To make things easier, they send you the dress in two sizes--and if it doesn't fit on arrival and you don't wear either size, they don't charge you. 

Here are the dresses I wore to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. Overall I'd consider it a success. I'll definitely be heading back to Rent the Runway for future events. 

Halston Heritage Metallic Accordion Dress

Thread Social Poppy Sweetheart Dress

Off to the Races

The Kentucky Derby is one week from tomorrow, and while most people don't have the the chance to attend the Derby, there are countless Derby parties. My college friend EC is attending a Derby party in Virginia and suggested we do a Derby themed post.

C&C is always up for a good challenge...and dressing for the Derby is definitely a big one. Not only do women have to find the perfect dress, but also the perfect hat. I knew immediately where I would start with the inspiration for this post, with the hat.

My good friend AL introduced me to the incredible hat milliner House of MacGregor based in Dallas, TX. Her hats are incredible and have to be shared with the C&C readers.

For this post I decided to take Derby Hats from House of MacGregor and style them with a dress I would wear them with to the Derby! And, in case any of you are actually going to a Derby party, I've chosen the dresses from Rent The Runway, so you can still place your order for next weekend!

So, off to the Races!

The bow on this red hat is over the top fabulous. And the Kate Spade Tiebreaker dress is the perfect compliment.

With this fantastic hat, I would pair the Mabrey Maxi Dress by Shoshanna.

Long dresses are not necessarily the norm for the Derby, but I think this would be a wining combination. 

The Derby requires a certain "look" and Kate Spade dresses definitely fit the profile. This black and white hat with the Hole in One Dress is another simple, chic combination.

This final combination is a little less Derby"ish" as the dress has a bit more edge, but I think paired with this hat it would be perfectly appropriate.

I especially love the back of this Derek dress by Slate & Willow. 

What would be your Derby dress and hat pick?

Washington State Wedding Weekend

We're back! Thanks for your understanding while Regan was gallivanting around Europe and I was traveling and crazy with work. If you follow us on instagram you'll see that I'm off again on a business trip to Rome (I know, tough...but someone has to do it). If I get the chance to do something other than work, I'll definitely blog about it. In the meantime, here's a recap of a wedding we attended two weekends ago in Washington State at Alderbrook Resort. Get ready, this is an "On the Move" and "What I Wore" all in ONE! 

One of my best friends got married at this amazing little gem of a spot on the Hood Canal about two hours from Seattle. Despite the rainy weekend (with about 15 minutes of combined sun), we had a wonderful time celebrating the bride and groom and catching up with my best girls and their spouses. 

Dr. B and I got a little r & r at the spa with massages, which was so nice. And I must say, the oatmeal at the hotel's restaurant is not to be missed. I got a fresh berry compote with mine and Dr. B had the brown sugar and maple creme fraiche. One of my favorite parts about the weekend was the "reverse wedding" schedule. The actual ceremony and reception were on Friday night and Saturday was left for brunch, a boat ride, and a BBQ. 

You know I love a good Rent the Runway opportunity, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to get the Gables Dress by Opening Ceremony I'd had on my "Hearts" list for a while. Paired with my turquoise tassel earrings I was going to bring some sunshine to the rainy day one way or another. I forgot to get a full outfit picture until the very end of the night in the poor light of our hotel room. Overall impression of the dress - it was good, but not amazing - even though I got plenty of compliments. You have to be tall to wear this dress. There is SO much fabric. I'm not petite, so it worked for me (I wore the size small, which tells you something). The fabric also picked up the outline of my bra (as you can see), which I didn't love. This would be a great maternity dress (although I'm not pregnant). 

We bundled up in wedding weekend attire for night two. Just as planned, I wore the Ann Taylor Loft maxi I bought on super sale earlier this summer and since it was a wedding, I broke out the Lauren Hope bling. 

Time with girl friends is just good for the soul. Nothing beats 17 years of friendship with these lovely ladies. Congrats B & M! We love you! 

Reader Request- A Maid of Honor Dress

This week's "Reader Request" is from C&C follower Lydia, who is a total fashionista in her own right. This gal has style, so when she wrote requesting the help of C&C with a Maid of Honor dress, I knew this would be a big challenge, with some serious pressure to deliver. 

First, let's talk the details of the wedding. It's at an uber cool venue in New Orleans and the bride has asked Lydia to be her only attendant. Knowing her BFF well, and that she has such great taste, the bride gave no restrictions on the dress. Talk about confidence!

Let's start with this AMAZING dress. Ironically, I found this dress and sent it to Lydia, only to find out it was already a front runner. Her only reservation is the length, as she isn't quite as leggy as this model (as if any of us are)! Good news, it also comes in petite. It will be hard to find something to top this (at least "on paper"), but I am going to try.

Anthropologie Rubied Dusk Dress $298

I was purusing Shopbop and came across this stunning Zimmermann dress. If she wants a solid dress in a more muted shade, this would be perfect!

Zimmermann Draped Dress $310

In that same color "family" is this ASOS dress. It's a stretch poly blend, which isn't the most fabulous of fabrics and could look really cheap in person, but the draping is a definite statement! 

It also comes in the blue/black combo. 

ASOS Origami Bonded Mini Dress $101.85

While we are talking solids, I LOVE this open back peplum dress. It's "ceremony" in the front and "reception" in the back! The "pink grapefruit" would be a lovely pop of color!

AQ AQ Open Back Structured Peplum Dress $277.79

This Coast Eva Halter Dress from ASOS is stunning. I LOVE the color, the draping and the beaded neckline. I want this dress!

Coast Eva Halter Dress $138.89

And, as always, there is Rent the Runway. There are so many fabulous frocks to choose from, so I decided to stick to prints. Lydia is no wall flower. This girl can pull off just about anything. She would look incredible in all of these dresses.

And if they don't make the cut for the wedding, they would also be great for a rehearsal dinner! The prices are right too...all but the Milly dress rent for $30-$50 (it's $75).

Shoshanna Barbara Dress 

Milly Hologram Dress 

Slate and Willow Derek Dress 

Tibi Reality Versus Dream Dress 

Tibi Rocco Mini Shift Dress

Truth be told, I have a wedding coming up in May, and all of these dresses are on my short list! 

What to Wear

A friend contacted me earlier this week with a fashion conundrum. She is going to her high school reunion and is wondering what to wear. She has multiple events, but as far as I'm concerned, the official reunion party is the most important. She is helping to plan the event and, of course, wants to look extra fabulous. My go-to is always Rent The Runway.

Here are some dresses that I think would be perfect for the trendy, but somewhat casual restaurant where the event is being held. In my opinion, over dressed is better than under dressed in these situations.

My friend has beautiful dark hair, so this green Issa Royal Wrap dress would be perfect for her, a la Kate Middleton. 

 This Missoni Triangle dress is a bit business in the front...

And party in the back! Maybe not the best since she has a baby under the age of one, but again the color would be fabulous on her.

I think this BCBG is my favorite for her. The colors would be fantastic with her complexion, and this dress looks easy and comfortable.  And, it's called the "Class President" dress. Could that be any more fitting? (the rental is only $60)

You can never go wrong with Milly. This Sail Away dress would be very figure flattering and she could wear a normal bra (always a plus). I would pair it with gold shoes.

This Milly Flutter Away dress would also be fantastic: perfect color and shape!

Just like SJP

I'm a Sex and the City loyalist. I can still sit down and watch any of the episodes, no matter how many times I've seen them. I LOVED the first movie (shocking to make a TV show into a movie well), but the second left a lot to be desired. The best part about it was the fashion.

Remember these two Halston Heritage dresses that SJP wore? I loved them then and three years later they're still pretty amazing.

So, when I saw this knife-pleat maxi dress from Victoria's Secret...my mind went immediately back to the beaches of Morocco and the ever-stylish Carrie Bradshaw. If she can wear a pleated maxi, so can we, right? 

But wait, there's more. It's currently on sale for $98 and comes in six colors! And, fear not petite friends, two lengths! I'm torn between these two.

For the shorter version, while you can't buy it, you can rent a black version from Rent the Runway for $50, which I did for a friend's rehearsal dinner two years ago. 

Should I order the maxi? Any color favorites? 

What I Wore

About a month ago I posted a number of gold dresses that I was considering for an upcoming gala (post here). Well, the event was this past weekend, and now you get to see which dress I chose. 

Drum roll please....

I ended up using a coupon someone gave me to rent this Nha Khanh dress, and I loved it. Here are a few shots from the night. 

The shameless bathroom selfie....It was the only way I could get a good picture of the dress, which I paired with my gold Ferragamo sandals.  

My +1 reluctantly took some pictures, but he cut off my feet in all of them. #fail

The party we attended was the Winter Gold Gala for an incredible organization called Marathon Scholars that works to remove the obstacles that exist for low-income students striving to achieve their education dreams by pairing "scholars"with mentors beginning in the fourth grade.

They raised a lot of money, and we had a lot of fun! Who doesn't love hamming it up in a photo booth?

 I even got my +1 to have a little fun!

This was only my second rental from Rent the Runway (first one here), and I would definitely consider it a great success. 

Wedding Update: Rehearsal Dinner Dress

With the wedding less than two months away, I'm working on nailing down all the details. Of course I'm focusing on the most important things...like what I'm going to wear for each and every event. The rehearsal dinner is a picnic outside on the river - think Martha Stewart meets a "River Runs Through It." Originally I thought I wanted to wear white, but that all changed when I was browsing the Tibi site and came across this pink and orange silk long dress.

At the time they had it in my size, but I needed a few days to let the price settle in. Little did I know that Blair from Atlantic Pacific would wear the dress within those few days, causing, of course, a international craze for all things pink and orange color-blocked and anything that is or closely resembles this dress. Tibi assures me they are cutting more (I'm on a wait list), but thankfully I've got Rent The Runway as a backup. I went ahead and bought these Schutz Devon sandals from Gilt Groupe to wear with it, since we'll be on the grass all night.

I'm still not 100% that this is the dress, so I'm open to suggestions if you've got them!