Wear:

Reed Krakoff resort 2015 dress – as seen here on Fashion Wire Press (get the exact dress here; get the look for less here; get the look for much less here and here) | Aquazzura sandals (get the exact shoes here; get the look for less here; get the look for much less here) |Edie Parker bespoke clutch (ready-to-wear here) | Dior “Mise en Dior” earrings (get the double pearl look for much less here) | Paula Mendoza bracelet (get the exact bracelet here; get the look for much less here) | Alexis Bittar ring (on sale here!) | Deborah Lippmann nail polish (here) | Nars scarlet empress lipstick (here)

New feature: Shop the exact look, the look for less, + the look for much less here with these options: 

Where:

Luisa Via Roma’s 10th edition of Firenze4Ever in Florence, Italy.

The closing event (dinner + party) was held held at the former Manifattura Tabacchi. The only dress code guidance given for the Golden City themed event was “golden obsession”. The interpretation of that was left to each attendee!

Why:

I was so honored to be invited by to the special event by Luisa Via Roma CEO Andrea Panconesi, whom I met in Rome last fall. He is such an inspiring innovator in the fashion and technology space. I will share much more on the company and the event very soon. For now, I’ll focus on my look and why I chose it…

Let’s keep it real today, shall we? While I would love to tell you a fanciful and grandiose story of how I searched and searched until I found the perfect look, sometimes life happens. As excited as I was to be invited to Firenze for the Firenze4Ever event, my plans were up in the air until less than a week prior to the event. Work deadlines, schedule conflicts, and a lack of vacation time were undermining my strong desire to go.

Once I finally worked out all the logistics to make a quick trip across the Atlantic for the event, I was pressed for time to pull together an event appropriate look. Therefore, five very pragmatic considerations ruled my thought process.

1. I focused only on the dress. I knew I already owned some great golden accessories, so I focused on finding the dress. I wanted the dress to provide the “wow” factor.

2. The dress had to be gold. In my mind, that was a non-negotiable given the “golden obsession” theme.

3. The dress had to be available for purchase online in my size. I had no time to shop in person in stores, so online was the way to go. But this proved to be not as easy as one might imagine right now, considering all the post holiday sales happening online.

4. The dress had to be a style that wouldn’t require any precise tailoring. With no time left for tailoring prior to departure, I had to be able to wear it as is. That ruled out dresses with straps that need to be perfectly fitted or those requiring a precise hem and so on and so forth. The dress had to be easy to wear.

5. The dress had to fit easily into a carry-on bag. Even for international trips, I tend to travel lightly – especially for a brief trip like this. Plus, I couldn’t risk having the airline lose a checked bag containing the dress.

In the end, this embellished woven-cotton dress from Reed Krakoff fit the bill. Not only did it meet my five requirements, but it also turned out to be really fun party dress!

How might you interpret “golden obsession” for an Italian fashion event? Are you an over-packer or a light traveler? Thanks for reading and following along with my adventures!

 

Photos shot on location at the Four Seasons Firenze