My Big Fat Indian Wedding...Bradshaw Style

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had the fortune of attending an Indian wedding, held at the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. For those of you non-Chicagoans, the venue was a very large room at the end of a pretty touristy pier. The entire event was beautiful and vibrant, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. One thing that really stood out to me during the wedding was the colour scheme. Perhaps I haven't been to enough Indian weddings (which is entirely likely, as this was my second), but the fact that the wedding centered on three colours which seem like they would clash entirely really astounded me. The three colours were a bright fuschia pink, bright yellow, and red. Though the wedding was mainly the pink and yellow shades, it managed to not be tacky and instead look very cheery and playful, like a true celebration. Everything, down to the rose petals sprinkled onto the tables for people to stand around by and sip cocktails, was in these three colours.

So, while I was shopping around the Saks dress section ("Dresses" is always my first click whenever I'm shopping anywhere, even if I know I really should be getting more practical things) I came upon this beauty, by Laundry by Design for $133.90.


Ordinarily, I would have completely bypassed this frock, deeming it "too loud" and "totally unwearable." But after having been a guest at the wedding held the previous Saturday, this dress seems like total genius to me. On the one hand, the bright colours ensure that you won't look like anyone else around you, and on the other hand, everything still manages to coordinate. This, to me, is an example of how fashion isn't just ditzy girls staring at magazines of beautiful people in beautiful clothes. Me considering this dress is me taking experiences from my life and injecting them into my own personal expression through clothes. Take that, fashion cynics!

After looking at this lovely dress, I was given a sudden burst of bright and colourful energy. I say "sudden" because now that I'm typing up the description for this outfit, it has sunk into my head that I would never wear such a thing, but this blog isn't just for wearability...it's also for having fun. I decided to build an outfit based on this dress, inspired by the colour scheme of that wedding. I haven't overstepped my boundaries though, and I chose not to include the red shade in this outfit because I really don't like the idea of a pink dress and red shoes. Anyway, here's the finished product:


All items are available at Nordstrom: dress - $189.90, shoes - $169.90, coat - $75.90. I'm still unhappy with the shoes, but I wasn't able to find anything better. This outfit was partially inspired by Carrie Bradshaw, just because she's a figure who would have the attitude to pull this sort of thing off. What I tried to do with this outfit was to let the colours speak, rather than anything details or texture-wise. The dress on its own is like a fresh and modern Audrey Hepburn, and the coat is a great, classic way to add some punch to your wardrobe. The coat was actually a pretty good find; it's a Michael Kors trench, which should last you a while, and it's only $75.90.

I warned you guys about the Nordstrom-themed posts for a while...