beach

Chico’s 35 Years Bold trip recap day one

 in Events / General Fashion  tagged beach / chicos / party attire / summer 2018 by

cheese and fruit platter chicos 35 years bold event chicos 35 years bold eventchicos 35 years bold event

Last week was so amazing! Chico’s sent eleven bloggers, minus Dawn from Fashion Should be Fun who was supposed to be number twelve but had to stay home due to her real job (those pesky jobs!), to Fort Myers, Florida for a fabulous bloggers event: Chico’s 35 Years Bold.

Chico’s was celebrating 35 years in business. In order to help celebrate, they flew us out to Florida so we could check out their beautiful, enviable headquarters, and visit the very first Chico’s store on Sanibel Island. I’ll fill you in on all the juicy details in my next post, today we are talking about the very first day of the trip!

what to wear to a formal beach partyhow to dress for a cocktail party on the beach

Wearing: medium silver hoops / lipstick / tropical print dress / blue nail polish / necklace c/o Chico’s (3 tier-wore third tier alone) / black handbag / black wedge espadrilles /

For my flight, I took a red eye in from San Francisco and landed in Fort Myers at 9:30am-ish. I got to the hotel around 10am and was stunned at the beauty! We stayed at the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina on Fort Myers Beach in Florida. It was so beautiful! Aside from the fabulous view of the beach, the resort itself was incredible. It’s on the beach, decorated with a fun, beachy vibe, and features a beautiful swimming pool and deck.

Chico’s set us up in our  own suites which featured bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and balconies. My room overlooked the beach and was up on the seventh floor. The view was insanely beautiful! We were all gifted a fabulous beach bag, beach towel, and beautiful sun hat with our Instagram handle embroidered on it by Chico’s. I couldn’t believe it!

After taking a million insta-stories to share with you on Instagram, I relaxed on the sofa and took a tiny nap to catch up on the sleep I lost from my flight. Then, it was time for our first event of the week; a beach cocktail reception. Love!

The cocktail reception was so much fun. I was able to meet the PR team from Chico’s, SOMA Intimates, and White House | Black Market in person. It was so nice to meet everyone in person who I had been emailing for months. Chico’s gave us a beautiful location complete with live music, an open bar, and a delicious cheese and fruit table. There were also yummy passed appetizers. So good!

I really enjoyed being able to talk about fashion, shopping, style, blogging, business, and more with both the PR teams, and other bloggers on the trip. It was also really nice to meet bloggers I had never met before! I already knew Alison from Wardrobe Oxygen. We met last year at the rewardStyle conference and became instant friends. She is so amazing! It was so much fun to see her in person again. I also enjoyed seeing Sheree from SheSheShow again in person. Last time we saw each other was at fashion week, a few years ago! My girl Jamie from More Than Turquoise was there. Last time I saw her was at NYFW in February, so it was fun seeing her again in person. I knew Barbi from Southern Blond Chic and Tonya from The Real Chic from Instagram, but had never met them in real life before. It was great to meet Instagram friends in person, they are so nice!

The new blogger friends I made on the trip included Tanya from Tanya Foster Blog, Romy from Romy Raves, Chic Over 50, Nikki from I Am Nikki Free, and Lisa from The Silver Stylist. They were all incredible, inspiring, bold women who work hard and produce amazing blogs. I am so grateful to Chico’s for putting us all together for this event so we could meet each other, and help Chico’s celebrate 35 Years Bold!

Shop my beach cocktail party outfit:

Stay tuned! Recap of my visit to headquarter’s, the very first Chico’s store, and a beautiful boat cruise, are coming up next on the blog. Also-there will be some sneak peeks at what Chicos’ is offering in the future!

Thank you so much for all your support!

XOXO

Cathy

Photo credits: Arista Collective /

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Summer totes 2018

 in Handbags  tagged beach / summer 2018 / totes by

summer 2018 totes beach bags

pictured from top left: straw beach tote / caramel gold studded tote / blue and pink tote bag / rose gold tote / soft red tote / structured navy tote bag /

Summer 2018 is fast approaching, so we all need a fabulous tote bag! There are so many amazing totes this summer season which not only function as both a work bag and beach bag, but also reflect the current trends in handbags.

For the summer 2018 season, the top trends in handbags include straw, white, and bright colors. Designers are showing a variety of silhouettes including butter soft leather and structured fabrications. If a traditional tote silhouette isn’t your thing, you can look for a large circle, hat box, or geometric shapes. Totes are getting fun for the summer season!

If you work in a conservative environment, and need to stick with a tote bag that is understated and classic, this trapezoid shaped tote can pass for conservative, yet still reflect your fashion-savvy taste without violating dress code. It’s strong construction can withstand a laptop and high heels stuffed inside. Love that! I’m debating which color to get! It’s so cool!

The straw handbag trend is huge right now. If you don’t want your everyday bag to be straw, but would still like to rock the trend, a straw tote might be your thing! It’s a fun bag for the beach, poolside, or anytime you are casual and feeling whimsical.

Would you like to be as fashion-forward as possible? Well then, a two-tone tote is a great option. Rose gold is another great way to be cutting edge this season. There are so many fun options! I found a few fashionable and fabulous totes around the web and assembled them into the shopping widget below, I hope you love them!

Shop summer 2018 totes:

Which tote style is your favorite for the summer season?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Summer 2018 handbag trends: Straw Bags

 in Handbags / Trends  tagged beach / summer 2018 / totes by

summer 2018 handbag trends straw bags

straw bags for summer from top left: watermelon bag / natural and blue straw circle bag / picnic basket bag / box pom pom bag / pink straw circle bag / pink and natural straw satchel / circle sun tote / blue and natural straw tote /

Summer 2018 handbag trends are starting to pour onto store shelves, and city streets. One of the biggest trends in handbags for the summer season happens to be straw bags. This classic beach-side bag started to gain popularity last year alongside the bamboo bag trend. While bamboo bags are still hotter than hot for summer 2018, straw bags are tied for first place.

Straw bags for summer 2018 are so much fun! Instead of a bunch of different natural colored bags, designers are giving us colors, kitschy shapes, and circles! So. Many. Circles! If you haven’t picked up a circle bag yet, this is a great way to get one! A straw circle bag is the ultimate straw bag shape for the summer season, followed by a small tote or satchel.

In addition to shapes, straw bags for summer 2018 are featuring pom poms, tassels, and tied on scarves; which you can style yourself with a favorite scarf from your drawer. You will also find fruit, flowers, stripes, and suns on straw bags this summer 2018 season.

The fun thing about this summer 2018 handbag trend, is that it can be worn both on the street, and the beach; and of course, the pool! Sand particles move in and out of the woven straw, so you won’t come home from the beach with a bag full of sand. They will also survive light rain, and splashes from the pool. Straw bags are quite handy in warm weather!

You can wear a straw bag for summer 2018 with almost any style of warm weather attire. They look fabulous with shorts and flip flops as well as brunch dresses, skirts, and the like. I love a bag that dresses up and down! Plus, they tend to be a lot less expensive then leather bags. Love that!

Shop straw circle bags for summer 2018:

Shop straw bags for summer 2018:

Which style of straw bag for summer 2018 do you like best?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy