Black Lace Dress

I wanted this black lace dress badly.  There were hardly any and the few that ebay had were size small.  When I saw this one in my size, I grabbed it.  The price is a little more that what I normally spent on a dress, but it's BLACK... it's LACE... it's BCBG!  

This is really really bad camera quality, but I promise to re-do this photo when I get my camera back.  I was attending the Jacksonville, Florida Chambers of Commerce 2014 Celebration so I decided to wear my new black BCBG lace dress.  I knew that many of the other ethnicity will be wearing their traditional clothes, but it was still work related so I wanted to play it safe.  The only "Hmong-inspired" piece I added was the Hmong padau belt.  This belt usually have coins attached to it with beads, but I bought this specifically to wear to wear with American clothes so I did not bother to attach the silver coins.  The shoes are my trusty red BORN mary janes.  Yes, I live in BORN shoes.  No sense in killing my feet just to look good.  I topped it off with my new favorite "formal leather jacket."  It's made by Tahari.  I have been wanting a black Tahari leather jacket for a long time.  This one is perfect.  It is in the shape of a blazer and and fits perfectly everywhere. 

My JC Penny Pearl black lace dress.  It is quite short, so I added a Bebe Satin moto trench to balance it out.  finished with nude Guess heels.

Yellow Lace Dress

I can't believe that I have not thought of this combination before.  I have a camouflage long trench jacket like this and a yellow lace dress.  I have been racking my brain on  how to wear jacket.  And I have worn this dress with an olive leather jacket before, with a black button down shirt.  Looks beautiful, but this is so much more casual and summer friendly.

This is my yellow BCBG lace dress.  On me, it hits just an inch above the knees so it is the perfect length for work.  And perfect length for a Hmong wife.  Although I am sure that some thinks that a dress at the knees is too short for a woman over 40.  

Navy Blue Lace/ Eyelet Dress

Blue on blue can be quite beautiful.  I haven't though of pairing these two together but I will now.

White Lace Dress

There are my two base white lace dress.  And then I have a few other white eyelet dresses that would work too.

I  have worn this one several times already.  The lace is extremely soft so I can usually just tuck in the bell sleeve at the wrist.

This is the second one.  It's basically the same dress with different sleeve and neckline.  

The BCBG one-sleeve white lace dress from above.  I paired it with my Hmong Chinese jacket.  NineWest nude and black pump.  Various long pendant cross necklaces.

Back view of the Hmong Chinese jacket.

Close up of the jacket.

This is how I have worn mine in the past.

I have worn mine like this, but with a Hmong padau belt.

I have a brown denim jacket and several brown leather jacket so it should be fairly easy to recreate this look.

I love the casualness of an anorak jacket with a soft lace dress.  This is an awesome combination and something that I can easily recreate.  I have several anorak this color and two that are black... the most beautiful one is the kelly green jacket.

I have a a beautiful cream color leather jacket by Catherine Mandarino that would perfect for creating this outfit.  However, I don't have a pair of grey books.  

I could wear one of my white dress with the Tahari Dove gre jacket.  I has the same shape and feel.

                                   

Beige Lace Dress - with Robin's Egg Blue Jacket (Denim and Leather)

These are some great ideas for my two beige lace dresses.

This dress isn't lace, but it has the same silhouette as my two beige lace dresses.  The color combination is outstanding.  I have two denim jackets this color and two leather jackets this color.  I also have a suit jacket that is this color too, so I can't wait to put this outfit together. 

The Denim Jacket - Perfect for Transforming You Fancy Dresses

I have a lot of fancy dresses, some formal, very few casual, and a lot of semi-formal.  I like the cut, fit, and material of higher end brands, so that means that the dresses can be pricey.

1.  Denim Jacket with Lace Dresses

This one is a moto style denim jacket, which makes it ALL that more attractive to me.  I love the toughness of a moto jacket with the soft feminine feel of lace dresses.

Crispy white lace dress with blue denim and flat sandals.  Well put together but does not look like you are trying too hard.  

I don't like the shape combination, but I have a beige lace dress so I am going to keep this here for inspiration.  The loose fitting of the dress with the over-sized denim jacket makes her look fat and dowdy.  Either one can be loose fitting, but not both.  

Although this dress is extremely feminine - lace AND flora AND pink - the denim jacket, button down shirt, and stern looking shoes all provide an anti-dote to the ultra sugary sweetness of the dress.  I love it!  This gives me ideas on how to wear my lace dresses to work.  

This is a skirt, but you can achieve the same look by layer a think t-shirt over a lace dress and then adding a denim jacket.

This look is making my head buzz.  I have several white lace dresses, so I can't wait to try this for a causal Friday work outfit.  To achieve the same look, you can tie the button down shirt at the bottom and tuck the ends inside - creating the "tucked in" look.  For me, whether I am wearing a sheath dress of a skirt, I prefer my button-downs to hand loose.  It helps to hide lumps and bumps.  

This outfit is with a denim shirt, so we can wear it like this or you can just use a denim jacket.

Another one with a denim shirt, left unbuttoned.

The Denim Jacket - Perfect for Summertime Fun

A beautifully tailored and fitted denim jacket is probably one of the most versatile jacket in a woman's closet.  Best of all, it is very breathable so it makes a good summer cover-up.  I have one in almost every color of the rainbow because they are perfect for giving more life to a fancy dress.

Here, I am wearing it with a semi-formal BCBG purple chiffon dress.  The red version of this dress was worn by Jennifer Love-Hewitt on her TV show, The Client List.

Here is a close up look of the jacket.

BCBG dresses aren't cheap, so I like to get as much mileage out of my dresses as I possibly can.  Here is another look with a Japanese Kimono.

Here is the model wearing the dress.  I love the color and the drape.  As you can see, this is actually a semi-formal dress.  

Here is Jennifer Love Hewitt in the red version of this dress.  So very very very sexy!  I am really tempted to get it too, but I have a lot of red dresses already.  I love how this dress moves when she walk.  I feel in love with the dress when I saw the preview for that particular episode.  So hot!!!

Some of my favorite ways of wearing denim jackets:

1)  With Maxi Skirts

2)  With Maxi Dress

3)  With pencil skirt.  Depending on how you wear it, it could work for a Casual Friday outfit.

4) Denim Jacket with Sheath Dress