What to Wear: BCBG Post Baby

I love all the details that came with Tina’s request:

Your blog is one of my favorites – I love that it inspires me to put more effort into my fashion choices (as a new mom I use that term loosely) without making me feel like a total schlub in the process. I am going to an evening wedding in two weeks – my first big outing post-baby.

I have a gorgeous dress (it’s a lot longer on me than the model) but I am at a loss for accessories – and I need the works – jewelry, shoes, bag, shawl/light coat. The difficulty for me lies in the color of the dress (navy) and my desire for something really fun and different (translation: baby weight camouflage).

I was thinking of going with gold, but I’m having a hard time finding metallics that are young, fresh and sexy – without wandering into hoochie territory or winding up excessively matchy-matchy (do I need a third color? Is gold just a bad idea??). It doesn’t help that I have very little time to shop and need to keep the final tab within reason, ideally $200 or less.

About me: I am 5″4′ with medium fair skin and almost black hair. Due to my need for a light cover-up of some kind I feel I must mention my current excess of cleavage, which limited my dress options considerably, and would likely do the same for any sort of structured item with a front closure.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for any and all guidance!

Whew! I feel stressed just reading that. Luckily, Tina’s already done the hard part. She found a gorgeous & flattering blue dress. Here’s one way to work it for the wedding:

Cropped Jackets – I posted two because I couldn’t decide which was better. I love the open front and bold pattern of the top option from Forever 21, but it might be a little much for Tina. The more basic white option is from Wet-Seal. The real lesson here is that Tina should take the dress with her to one fabulously inexpensive shop and try on the pairings in person.
Clutch – Vintage silver bag from Etsy for $14. I love the simple silver/navy combo for the evening.
Shoes – Silver sandals from Kenneth Cole with a foot-friendly heel and a wallet friendly $70 price tag.
Bracelet – A basic sterling silver bangle.
Earrings – There’s already a lot going on with this outfit. Keep it balanced with simple faux diamond studs.

Have fun at the wedding, Tina!