All dressed up…

I’ve been busy this week shopping for cute new outfits for all the upcoming spring weddings I plan to attend. What I need to wear varies with the type of wedding and time of day, so I’ll be needing several new dresses.

For example, business attire is OK for an informal daytime wedding, but an informal wedding in the evening calls for a cocktail dress. Semi-formal usually means a short dress in the daytime and a cocktail dress in the evening.

For those formal weddings, a short dress with a hat and gloves is fine if it’s during the day, but if it’s in the evening, a long dress or extremely dressy cocktail dress is all that will make the grade. Not too many people have white tie, or ultra-formal weddings anymore. Those usually call for a long gown with lots of glitz, including diamonds and furs!

While your dress can be almost any color other than white, it’s a great idea to pick a bright, fun color for spring. If you aren’t sure what colors are flattering to you, any shade of blue or pink is usually a good choice. While pastels are great for daytime weddings, you may want to look for bold colors like red or gold when choosing attire for an evening event.

And, of course, glam heeled shoes or sandals and a cute handbag are always a must for a spring wedding. I like a little sparkle in my handbags, especially for weddings. That’s why I’ve designed several Star 50 handbags with glitter and glam!

If you are lucky like me and get to dress your date, a dark suit and a conservative tie will work for almost any occasion. While you don’t want to get to cutesy with the suit, it’s always a nice touch to have your man’s tie blend with your dress.

Of course, if the invite states white tie or black tie, your date will need to wear a tuxedo with the corresponding tie color!

Have fun and I can’t wait to hear what you’re wearing this spring!

Wedding bells and Springtime tales

As the frost finally fades from my yard and my mind, I start to think of the pastel colors, romance and flowers that are common to all those spring weddings I’ll be attending over the next few months.

Whether you’re the bride, the bridesmaid or just an honored guest, you have to be prepared for torrential downpours or blazing sun when getting ready for a spring wedding. Time to get a coordinating umbrella to tuck inside your favorite handbag so you don’t have to run and hide at the first sprinkle of spring.

Yet, most spring weddings see plenty of sun, making them just as much fun for the guests as for the bride and wedding party. With the weather finally warm enough for outdoor ceremonies and receptions, guests can bask in the sun or look up at the stars and find their own bit of romance right in the middle of the ceremony or on a quick private stroll outside the wedding or reception hall.

After a winter of jackets and layers, we can finally shed those coats and show off the vibrant florals that spring inspired. What better excuse to buy a new dress or handbag than going to a spring wedding. And what better place to wear last year’s classic dress?

Spring also affords some glorious options and fun for the bride and groom. I always love to see what flowery color combinations brides will choose for spring weddings. Pink, tangerine, lilac, lime and yellow are all popular colors for spring weddings this year. I’ve always loved these pastels in the spring, but I’ve also seen some lovely weddings themed on hot pink or fuchsia.

One good thing about a spring wedding is that so many types of flowers are in season. A bride can choose just one or many combined into a colorful nosegay. Roses, tulips, hyacinth, lilies and Gerber daisies and multi-colored calla lilies are all in season now and add to the fanciful romance of a spring wedding.

I’d love to hear about your spring wedding or the ones you plan to attend. Post a comment to tell me all about it!

 

Green is in the Air

St. Patrick’s Day may be over, but it seems like everyone around me is still going green – environmentally green, that is.

I’ve always been concerned with historical preservation, an interest I carry over to many of my handbags. So, it seems natural for me to find ways to preserve the environment as well. With Spring Break and summer travel on the horizon, I’ve been looking for ways to make my trips a bit greener.

Planet Green has some excellent ideas for making Spring Break and summer travel green and easy. With a little bit of planning, you can reduce the environmental impact of your vacation by packing less, using green products, renting a greener hybrid car and eating locally grown foods.

If you are planning a fairly traditional spring break or summer vacation, you can do your part and buy green sunscreen, green clothing, green tents and even organic cocktails. If you are traveling, try choosing a green city such as New York or San Francisco that offers environmentally friendly entertainment.

A trip to San Francisco can include using public transportation, eating organic and vegan foods and visiting state and national parks.

Like San Francisco, New York offers public transportation and green restaurants. It also has several certified environmentally hotels, including the Benjamin that was renovated and Ecotel certified in 1999.

Many other U.S. cities, including Denver, Dallas, Fort Meyers, Detroit and Philadelphia have environmentally sound offerings for residents and tourists who want to have some fun while staying green.

If you want to take it a step farther – or greener, as the case may be – you could join a growing group of people who are planning alternative Spring Breaks and summer vacations during which they volunteer either at home or abroad rather than consuming and polluting.

Depending on your time and your pocketbook, a green vacation could be volunteering at your local food bank, building homes for Habitat for Humanity, painting houses on a Navajo reservation or planting trees in Mexico.

I’m still in the planning and dreaming stages, but wherever I go on my next vacation I want it to be green.

Parading that Irish spirit

I don’t know about you, but I’m really hoping I have the “luck of the Irish” on St. Patrick’s Day this year. So I‘m planning ahead for a memorable holiday. Every St. Patty‘s Day I dress all in green, right down to my handbag. And whether it‘s the luck of the Irish or just good planning, I’ve designed several handbags that are available in green, giving me many choices about what purse to carry!

I’ve also been checking out St. Patrick’s Day events across the nation so I‘ll have somewhere to wear all that green. Every pub in the world, of course, will be celebrating with Irish music, dancing and beer and most large cities are having parades.

Here in Denver, Colorado, we’ll kick off the holiday the Saturday before with the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade west of the Mississippi with more than 200 floats and 10,000 marchers. The parade features floats, marchers, step-dancers, bands and bagpipes.

Wonder which U.S. city has the largest parade in the nation? It’s New York City, where the city’s Irish population shows it’s pride by marching up 5^th Street clan by clan. Every year the archbishop of New York reviews the all-marcher parade from the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade has been around since Irishmen living in New York organized it in 1762 – fourteen years before the Declaration of Independence was signed! Of course, with New York City’s huge Irish population, one parade just isn’t enough – more than 15 boroughs, including Queens and Brooklyn, host their own parades.

If St. Patty‘s Day ever catches me in the deep south I‘ll head to New Orleans, Louisiana – the city that has a parade for everything. The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Committee expects this year‘s St. Patrick‘s Day Parade to be the largest it’s ever had. In New Orleans, parade participants start with a special Mass, then march up Magazine street dressed in formal attire. What could be better than well-dressed Irishmen for a St. Patty’s Day bash?

Though the parades are the public display of Irish spirit in the U.S., the parades are just the beginning. It all ends in a pub full of Irishmen and lovers of all things Irish wearing and honoring Ireland’s patron saint with drink and song.