Planning for a Weekend Trip/Conference

This weekend is the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution State Conference in Raleigh.   There will be an evening dinner and reception Friday, meetings Saturday and a big formal banquet Saturday.    We'll come home Sunday.    I wasn't able to attend last year's but I'm looking forward to it this year.


So what to wear.    I'm feeling and thinking spring but it's going to be overcast with rain off and on and I sure don't want to be cold.   So I got out a few things to try on and evaluate.    As I always do,  I shopped my closet and tried on some things.


Since Saturday will be around 70 degrees I've decided to wear this long coral 4-ply shirt dress for the Friday night events.   The fabric says dressy but I also plan on accessorizing it with a belt and jewelry that say "evening" instead of this daytime styling.   Since I'm still not walking in heels, how about these pretty embroidered suede flats I found at a Laura Ashley outlet store over 20 years ago for $9.  At that price I bought two pair since I figured the suede was going to be hard to keep clean.   I've managed to keep the suede clean by being careful and using a non-toxic, made in the USA product called Quick N Brite to clean any dirt that a suede brush didn't remove and also clean the embroidery.   A solution of that stuff will safely clean most anything.   It removed raspberry stains from tan cotton pants I wore to pick raspberries after wearing them for 6 hours past getting many stains.   I  soaked them overnight - stains were gone.  Don't use it on silk however since it's a protein eater - great on spider poop that they leave all over the outside of your windowsills though.  On suede I use a damp washcloth to gently clean the dirty places and then go over the place with one wetted with plain water to wipe any residue away.

Photo taken March 2010

Next what to wear for the Saturday meetings?   I  don't want to dress too casual or summery for the first weekend in March.   I wear a jacket inside hotels because they are always cold, so how about this great black and white stretch cotton sateen jacket?  Don't you love the hot pink lining!   I like it with this Gunex stretch cotton skirt and a simple black top in stretch silk crepe, but that's too cool and summery looking for this time of year.  So instead,  I'm pairing it with this Shamask bias 4-ply silk dress with cap sleeves that is both comfortable and elegant looking with or without a jacket.    Next what to wear for the formal banquet on Saturday night.   Like Scarlett, I'm going to worry about that tomorrow.