party attire

Chico’s 35 Years Bold trip recap day one

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

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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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Black lace holiday party dress

 in General Fashion  tagged charity / dresses / fundraising / holiday fashion / holidays 2015 / jlsj / outfits / party attire by

black lace dress holiday party dress little black holiday party dress

Pictured: Earrings: Swarovski (also online here and here) / Lipstick: Tom Ford / Dress: ASOS / Ring: Vardy’s Jeweler’s (also love this one, and this one) / Handbag: Chanel (pre-loved style here) / Nail Polish: Nars: Hard to Get / Shoes: Valentino (non-patent here, lower heel here)

I love this black lace holiday party dress which I wore earlier this week to the Junior League of San Jose sustainer holiday party. The high neck, and long sleeves, were perfect for keeping me warm. The lace sleeves, and cut-outs, kept the dress festive; so it didn’t look like I was bundled up from the cold!

When I dressed for the party, the sun had already gone down, which is why we tried to take these pictures in the dark. We tried using the lighting on the house, combined with the camera flash, to get photos, but they are not the quality I prefer from natural light. I hope you don’t mind, and can still get a feel for what a black lace holiday party dress looks like this season!

The JLSJ sustainer holiday party is an annual affair which brings together all of the sustainers for a festive night. It is great to celebrate all of the volunteer work, and fundraising, we have done together this year, and in years past. Many of the ladies present at the event are truly inspirational. It can be quite humbling to be in the presence of power philanthropists who give so much of their time for the good of the community.

This time of year, so many of us are focused on decorating the house for the holiday we celebrate, purchasing presents, buying an abundance of food and sweets, and thinking about ourselves rather than the community as a whole. During the cold winter months, this is when the community needs our help the most. Many people are fighting the elements, and looking for shelter. Many people are out of work and struggling to survive. It is at this time that we must stop and look around; it isn’t about buying presents, cakes, and decorations; the holiday season is about giving back to others.

Now is the time to find at least one day this season to volunteer in the community, and give back to the society which has blessed you with so much good fortune. If you are able, please consider donating to your favorite charity, or a local charity which serves the community.

A few of my favorite charities to give to this time of year:

Heritage Home (helps homeless and abandoned pregnant women see their pregnancy through, get a job, and find a place to live)

Kids in the Kitchen (focused on children’s health and wellness)

Sunday Friends (helping families break the cycle of poverty)

Family Giving Tree (volunteer opps!)

Valley Medical Center Foundation

Junior League of San Jose (volunteer opps if you join!!)

Where do you like to volunteer this time of year? Do you have any favorite charities to donate to? Please share in the comment section below!

Black lace holiday party dress and outfit details: