It’s time once again for the annual Bubbles and Bluegrass event, a killer party thrown by
Give Back Alexandria to benefit their two nonprofit partners – this year, the lucky groups are
ALIVE! and
Higher Achievement. The party is being held for the first time at
Carlyle House and is featuring the musical genius of
Over Under Down Yonder performing for their third straight year so you KNOW they must be good!
But now let’s get to the nitty gritty. What to wear to a party that encourages “black tie and blue jeans or anything in between?” How are we to decipher that? Lucky for you, you’ve got me to translate and I’ve been to this party every year since its inception so I know what I’m talking about.
Ladies- Feel like breaking out those cowboy boots? Do it! They’ll be comfy on the lawn of Carlyle and they fit perfectly with the bluegrass theme. No boots? No worries. Just consider a shoe that won’t have you aerating the grass all night. As for the bubbles part of the theme, its champagne that’s being alluded to so keep that in mind. Do you drink bubbly in your sweatpants? I think not. Keep it festive and fabulous but, most of all, original. Summer cocktail dresses, jeans and sequins, maxi skirts and fringe jackets… you get the point. Top it all off with your cutest cowboy hat- or not. That’s the “anything in between” part.
Gentlemen- If you don’t make an effort for this event, you WILL be sorry. The ladies never disappoint and, last year, the men stepped it up, too. Go for the tried-but-true jeans on the bottom, tux on the top or go bold with a denim-on-denim and bolo tie ensemble. It’s your time to shine, cowboys, so do it brightly. As for all you prepsters (and Alexandria is full of them!), what to do? Never fear. Hike up your khakis, change out those brightly striped socks for some with
horses, and toss on your official Wyatt Earp cowboy hat. Prepster perfection and original, too!
Looking forward to seeing ya’ll there. Oh and one more thing. Don’t forget your checkbooks. This is for charity, after all!
Sometimes, just when I think a favorite designer has tapped out on inspiration, they pull something new out of their hat that gets me totally re-obsessed. Alexis Bittar, long a favorite of mine and who I have several pieces by, was starting to look a bit obvious to me with regard to his lucite pieces. But then I came across this- The O'Keefe Antique Silver Skull Bracelet. Inspired (of course) by Georgia O'Keefe and her love of New Mexico, Bittar came up with this color and pattern infused lucite bangle that is tough(think horned skull) and yet feminine (think crystal details). Did I mention that there are also some rockin' O'Keefe lucite hoop earrings sans the skull that I covet? BUT, using my new and improved shopping filter, I declined. C'est la vie... I've got the bangle and I'm wearing it constantly!
