"Do you feel sexy wearing modest clothes?", someone asked me over an online interview, not too long ago. The truth is, if anyone had asked me the same question fifteen years ago, I would have said "NO!". I grew up in a tropical country where showing a lot of skin was pretty normal. In fact, not showing skin was considered rare, at least back in the day. Getting attention for my physical virtues was a way to feel sexy and confident. I can't blame myself for this because I was product of my own environment, culture and of course, weather. This mentality started changing little-by-little after I relocated here in North Carolina. I moved to a very conservative state and town where back in those days (24 years ago to be exact), wearing Daisy Duke shorts or low cut cleavage were seen as a disgrace. Seriously, I had a rough one trying to merge into a such of laid-back town. Thank goodness things around here have changed now... and so did I.
Nowadays, the town has morphed to be more open-minded about new cultures and their customs (thanks to the internet) and I've changed to be more confident about my look without advertising all my virtues at once. Like they say, with age comes wisdom, which includes fashion. Now, I feel equally confident with a loose and long garment as I feel when I wear a mini-skirt. I love the fact that trying to blend into a conservative society has taught me to become more creative about my style.
Now, let's be real, no one wants to be or feel invisible and in my younger years, showing skin was a way to be visible. I still want to be visible! ...but now I put an effort (because I'm not effortlessly stylish) in creating fun and self-satisfying looks that make me feel my best and again, without showing it all at once. Please don't get me wrong, I still sport mini-skirts or short dresses, but I make sure everything else around them is selected by a modest eye. In other words, I've learned to show skin strategically.
Now let's talk about today's fun look. This outfit was styled around my floral slip dress. When I saw this dress on the website, I saw all kind of possibilities with it, but wearing it without a top or without a layer wasn't one of them. First of all, I don't like (and I never had) to show my bra straps wearing dresses like this. I only wear dresses with skinny straps by themselves, if I'm able to wear a strapless or regular bra, but without showing it. Sometimes even no bra is ok, but when the dress has an extra layer or ruffle at the top that helps to camouflage the front droopage. 😂 The only way to enjoy this particular dress is by wearing something under or over it. A very modest way to think, right? ...but I love it, because this is how creativity comes to play. I found the perfect color t-shirt that complemented the flowers on the dress and the strong contrast made the cute back of the dress more obvious. I also decided to compliment the other flowers of the dress with a fabulous pair of white gladiator sandals and a blue French-worker jacket that I wore later in the evening. A large basket bag with floral embroidered was like icing on the cake and the hat, of course, is the traditional topper for looks like this styled for visiting local vineyards and wineries.
And talking about wine country, I must inform you that these photos were taken at a vineyard and winery named Jones Von Drehle. We had a great time (as usual in wine country, NC) tasting their delicious wines, however, I was floored by amazing taste of their 2012 Merlot Reserve. It's definitely one the best merlot wines I've ever had, and believe me, I've had a lot. After wine tasting, we decided to go for a small walk around their vineyards and that was when we got to meet one of the owners (Chuck Jones) which gave us a good piece of history about their beginnings with the wine business. I love hearing wine country stories and I can make my own sometimes, too. 😆
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this Wine Country Style post. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram if you haven't do so for more fashion and life style posts.
WHAT I WORE:
Dress: Madewell/T-shirt: Everlane/Sandals: K. Jacques/Bag: Vintage/Jacket: Vetra/Bracelet: Handmade in Guatemala/Sunglasses: YSL/Hat: Vintage/Earrings: Michael Kors.
THANKS FOR VISITING! 🍷
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