A Spring Fling with Formal Wear

After attending a couple weddings over the past year, my secret love for formal dressing has been able to express itself. I’ve always loved gowns and feminine, romantic dresses - they’re probably the only thing I miss from high school (so many formal dances!). But…for the past 10 years or so, I’ve lead a very casual life. Most of my friends are men so dressing up is never expected, and I’m always romping through dusty, dark fabric warehouses, or hunched over a new sewing pattern. Ah, what a life! I love it but, as it turns out, this particular life of fashion is ironically not a conducive setting for girly gown-wearing.

Recently though, I’ve considered dressing up anyway…

Why not, right?

Okay, so I don’t have girls weekend brunches to dress up for - or fancy parties and events sprinkled throughout each season to necessitate a special formalwear collection. We spend our weekends trying new restaurants ‘Bourdain’ style, strolling through museums and finding new dog parks. But that’s ok! Because lately I’ve been realizing, the great part about living in L.A. is, you can dress up to do anything here.

And if you’re particularly conscious like I’ve always been about social dress codes (can’t stand being the one over or under dressed? It’s personally hellish) - well not to worry - L.A. doesn’t really have them. Perhaps due to all the celebrities? They tend to aggressively wear whatever they want (even if there are rules), to hell with the standards! I mean, that could be a possible reason for the signature funny sunny city style here that other states tend to laugh about.

L.A. people wear whatever they want and I love the freedom that type of culture gives.

So this Spring and Summer, I’m thinking differently about my formal wear and the few dressy pieces I have folded in airtight storage bags. Why have beautiful items you’re only going to wear once or twice a year? For all the moments that passed, that I felt weren’t ‘nice’ enough, I’m wondering if keeping them stored away was worth it. And also, was it giving less importance to those other parts of my life? It’s the same reasoning of taking out your fancy ‘untouchable’ things we’ve learned to keep hidden for only those most formal, perfect moments. Take them out now. Enjoy them now.

I’m sharing a styled down look with this beautiful and versatile swishy crepe dress from Reformation, one of the few large retailers I feel comfortable shopping. While I wouldn’t say they’re sustainable (no large retailer is, regardless of industry standards) Reformation is committed to keeping most manufacturing very local to their base in L.A., keeping clear lines of communication and supervision over their international manufacturing partners, and they prioritize deadstock, recycled and vintage fabrics for their apparel. They’re currently Climate Neutral and plan to be Climate Positive by 2025. Well ok!

Paired with my Editor Coat in natural linen, and suede sandals, I went without all the jewelry that I’d typically wear with this dress, and I celebrated a non-formal moment with my husband, in the middle of the day. While this dress isn’t the formal-est of gowns, it’s still a big jump for me, and I loved how my maxi coat worked so simply with floral crepe. New styles from my own closet always feel like new clothes themselves. I’m excited to see what else I can style into a comfortable formal downplay.