Purple lace

Dress, sweater: second-hand

This is the outfit I wore to D's sister Sanne's 18th birthday party on Saturday two weeks ago. 

The dress was my aunt's, but she gave it to me as she had no use for it anymore. The dress is rather old, I think well over ten years, but it's very fashionable still/again. Purple lace in very feminine and flattering cut, what more could you wish for? 

I paired the dress with a very simple grey sweater to make my look a little less fancy. Dutch birthday parties don't usually require a strict dress code, and people tend to dress more casual chic anyways, which often gives me problems. Having grown up in Finland attending my family's, school's and friends' various parties I'm used to dressing up quite fancy (for parties that is) and I own a huge galore of different party dresses, but here in the Netherlands I hardly ever get to wear them. Even when Dutch girls wear dresses, they still go for a more casual look. I'm just not that casual a dresser when it comes to parties, so often I find myself a little overdressed. Luckily it has gotten easier over time, and nowadays I am more capable of planning outfits that aren't too over the top but still satisfy my need for a little glamour. Oh, and just to make it clear to everyone: I do not by any means imply that Dutch people can't dress up nicely so please don't take it the wrong way. Casual doesn't equal sloppy or dingy. 

It's a pity that it was already dark when D got the chance to take pictures, so I don't have any close-up pictures of the earrings I bought for the occasion. The silver chandelier earrings that I used to wear whenever I needed to add some glitz to my outfit, broke in Italy, so ever since I have been looking for a replacement. I'll try to get a better picture of my new statement earrings as soon as possible.

All in all I was quite happy with my outfit, except for one thing: I was freezing. The party was in a shed and while it was cozy and there were heaters, I was constantly shivering. But then again, I would've probably been freezing even if I had had a dozen layers on, it's just the way I am.

(what's with my affinity for staircases lately??)