The Rainbow Room

Who doesn’t love to get glammed up every now and again? I’ve learned the hard way that one should always have a cocktail dress or two in her arsenal, because you just never know.  Case in point.  I made dinner plans with some friends we haven’t seen in ages.  Sent my husband a calendar planner and he emailed me to say, we can’t meet them for dinner because we have a black tie that same night.  We do?!?! That same night?  That same night was only 7 days away.

Now, trust me, I’ve been in this situation more times than I’d like to recount.  Seven days in NYC to find a dress shouldn’t be hard right? Believe it or not, it’s virtually impossible.  When you need something, you rarely find it … I’ve learned it the hard way.  If I find a dress I like while shopping, I buy it.  Where am I going to wear it?  No idea, but I know the occasion will arise.  It’s sooo much better to shop in my closet then to be running the streets of New York looking for the perfect dress with the clock ticking.

This number is by one of my favorite designers – Cynthia Rowley.  I’ve been wearing her dresses since law school (yup, that long ago …).  I love them because they’re feminine, chic, simple and cut well for petite women.  If you find a designer that works for you, as I used to tell all of my styling clients, buy as much of their clothing as you can afford.  And yes, I had this little number in my closet.  Now the rub is I had no idea that I was going to a Great Gatsby themed black tie where women were encourage to channel their inner Daisy Buchannan’s and the gents their best impression of Jay Gatsby – yes, my husband conveniently forgot to mention that fact.  Literally, as I was walking out the door, opened the evite he’d just forwarded to me and learned this salient information.  Serendipitously, the dress was perfect.  I grabbed a headband and waltzed out the door into the night.

dress // shoes // bag // bangles // bracelet