Nellcote and Chicago Blogger Network 2013 Oscar Party: An Excuse to Wear a Ballgown
27 Feb
When I originally received the invitation to the Chicago Blogger Network 2013 Oscar Party at Chicago restaurant Nellcote I turned it down. I haven’t seen any of the movies and, in all honest, am not really a movie buff. Still, the ladies at CBN assured me it was just an excuse to get dressed up and take advantage of some fun cocktails at an open bar. I wasn’t swayed. And then I realized that Ashley, Sierra, Molly, Cait, and Erin were going. While I’d met some of these ladies, others I only followed on Twitter. An excuse to chat them up in person? Okay.
But what to wear? I originally thought about dyeing my wedding gown.
But then I started thinking I could wear it as-is and went on a hunt for other winter white red carpet styles.
But it turns out my wedding dress has a slight stain down the front and I didn’t have the time to work on getting it out. Sure, I have other cocktail dresses but I wanted to wear a floor length gown! I mean, how many times in your adult life do you get to do that??
So, off I went on the hunt after work on Friday. I went to Nordstrom Rack first but they didn’t have anything I liked in my price range. So, on a whim, I went across the street to Burlington and found a beautiful one-strap blue dress with an amazing sequin and mesh back for $50!
I think the other Erin took these photos!
(Unfortunately I did not bug the professional photographer nearly enough and this is the only photo they posted of me.)
We were handed personalized champagne bottles with toppers that doubled as champagne flutes and then it was time to mingle!
The party ended with everyone receiving a goody bag full of items from the awesome sponsors.
I’m so happy that I decided to attend this party and I am looking forward to doing even more events with the Chicago Blogger Network! It was wonderful to meet so many bloggers face-to-face and enjoy a first-class party. Plus, an excuse to wear a ballgown? I’ve decided I’m never passing that up again.
See all the professional photos here.
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What a great dress- you look fabulous! And it’s at a great price too, wow! Sounds like a fun time! I agree that we need more occasions to wear ballgown (and bridesmaid) dresses!
I donated all of my bridesmaids dresses or I would have worn one of those! But I agree, more fancy occasions please!
I love the dress you ended up with! Especially the back detail. And now you have a ballgown, should you ever need it
And I’m glad I’m not the only one considering dying my wedding dress. Because really, when will I ever wear it again? I’ve been toying with having mine shortened and dyeing it black, but I’m not quite ready to actually go through with it.
What is your wedding dress made out of? The problem is that mine is partly acetate and from the research I’ve done that fabric is nearly impossible to dye.
Mine’s dupioni silk. My tailor thought it would take the dye pretty well, but also gave me some scraps left from my alterations to test it out on.
Oh, yeah, silk would probably take dye better than my crazy man-made material dress!
Gorgeous dress! Looks like a fun party and a great excuse to get fancy!
I was hoping you’d dye your wedding dress though. I’m even more intrigued now that you mentioned it has a stain because I got sweet and sour sauce on my dress at my wedding but I really want to dye my dress. I haven’t gotten it cleaned yet but I used a Tide pen and the color from the stain is gone but I worry that if I dye it the stain wouldn’t dye the same as the rest of the dress. What are your thoughts on this?
From the research I did after I looked at the material label on my dress, acetate is really difficult to dye so I’m not sure I could do it myself. I did get my dress drycleaned but they did a crappy job and didn’t really even work at getting the stain out. I got it out better using soap and water! It’s still there, though, just lighter.
SO FUN! You look FAB!
Thanks!
Great dress find, you look gorgeous!
Thank you! Who knew Burlington would have such a great dress selection?
Ahhh what a beautiful dress! I’m a firm believer that any and all excuses to get wildly dressed up should be taken. I had a couple events in college where I *could* have gotten away wearing a shorter dress, but why on earth would I do that when I had the option of wearing a full length gown? After high school prom the chances to wear those kinds of dresses are so rare…gotta go for it when you can!
Totally! And when they do exist you usually have to pay major bucks to go to them (fundraiser, etc) so to only have to pay $50 for the dress and have the event be free?? Definitely taking advantage of that!
That dress is AMAZING on you! And if you don’t want to keep it long, it would look fantastic cut short too, I think.
Sounds like it was a fun event. I thought about going, but with everything going on lately, I need as much time to myself as possible :/
Oooh, a knee length version of this dress would be nice! But I think I kind of like the idea of having one long dress in my closet…
We missed you but I totally understand why you passed on the invite!
Hi low would look good too, haha… not to fuel the fire. I also like having a full length dress. Doesn’t get much wear nowadays, but it seems like it’s always a good thing to have just in case.
Such a fun night! I’m so glad you decided to not to pass it up the invite.
Me too
Whoa, your wedding dress is really gorgeous! (I think you’re pretty awesome to be brave enough to think about dying it!) This blue dress you found is stunning though, you just glow in this dress! I think your hair looks gorgeous pulled off to the side like that, it’s a effortless, movie star look.
The party sounds like a TON of fun, it seems like Chicago has a pretty good blogger network and hey, any event you get to wear a really fancy dress to is always fun.
Thank you! I wish I had more reasons to wear my wedding dress, too.
I honestly don’t know how to do my own hair so I was really surprised that it came out so nicely.
How fun!!! Yay! I am so happy you went. And had a fun excuse to wear a balou still lgown! Do you still think you might try dying your gown?
From the research I did my wedding dress isn’t made out of particularly dye-able material. I may see if I can find a professional who is willing to risk it. Although, I don’t know where I’d wear it, either!
Great dress. Love the color!
Thanks! This isn’t a color I normally gravitate towards so thankfully I had some friends give me advice via text while I was in the dressing room
Love this recap! You actually got pictures of yourself… I’d like photographer credit please! It was so fun to meet you and to chit chat all night.
Hahaha, I think I downed too many drinks too quickly! I honestly couldn’t recall who took which photos!
Loved meeting you, too!
Absolutely LOVE the detailing on the back of that dress!
Laura
Fun, isn’t it? I just wish the professional photographer had gotten a shot of it!
I LOVE the back of that dress! How gorgeous! And I don’t blame you for taking advantage of an opportunity to get so dolled up – those chances can be few and far between so I say take them and run.
The Blue Hour
It was the back of the dress that sold me on it. So unique!