4 Tips on how to dress for a special date night

You may remember that Ryan and I celebrated our anniversary a couple weeks ago. I had a hard time deciding what to wear, and tried on a lot of dresses before settling on this outfit.

The reason it took me a few tries is that I wanted something that would be romantic, a little sexy, comfortable, fun, and warm. With all those criteria to fill, I had to be extra picky about my ensemble.

I ended up being very pleased with the outfit I did decide on, and so did Ryan. In fact, he even requested a couple photos from that outfit post to store in his phone. Because I had success, I've compiled a few tips for you to consult the next time you're drawing a blank.

If you have an anniversary coming up or a special date night (perhaps Valentine's Day), I hope you'll find these tips helpful.

Wearing a piece of jewelry that he gave you will put you in a romantic mood. It'll also show him how much you appreciate his gestures of love.

Another way of putting this is, "Don't wear something he hates." In my case, Ryan loves it when I wear flats. I'm not any taller than him in heels, but I'm a lot shorter than him in flats, and he likes to get his arms around my short little body and feel the difference in our sizes.

It's not all about what he likes. A special date is also an opportunity to show your true self, the self he knows and loves. Therefor, you should never totally compromise your personal style or try to imitate anyone else's. I'm a dress, belt, tights, and cardigan girl. That's who I am at heart; so that's what I wore.

An anniversary is the perfect time to remind him that you can still be sexy after however many years. See if you can surprise him a little. See if you can make him want to keep his eyes on you all night.

[Thanks for showing your support by voting for me is Refinery29's Next Big Style Blogger contest! It means so much! XOXO]

Join me on: facebook // twitter // bloglovin // pinterest // instagram

The mysterious allure of work clothes

Ryan is particularly attracted to me when I come home from work in office-y clothes. While this could be chalked up to the fact that dress pants and pencil skirts show off my ass far better than the dirndl dresses and harem pants, I think there's something more to the inherent sexiness of workwear.

After all, I feel the same way when I see him in scrubs.

So, what is it that's so sexy about clothes that are designed to be anything but? I think it has something to do with the unfamiliarity and mystery of that person's work life.

Allow me to explain . . .

When you live with someone (in a tiny apartment no less), you become utterly familiar with each other, and things can become a bit routine. But part of the essence of sexiness is mystery, and unfamiliarity. The one thing we don't share, can't share, will never truly be a part of, is each other's work life and each other's work self.

We are someone different when we go to the office (hospital, school, *fill in your workplace here*): we dress differently, talk differently, and practice skills that people in our personal lives may know nothing about.

I'll never truly know the Ryan that Ryan is at work and he'll never truly know my work self. Therein lies the mystery and therein lies the sexy allure of office clothes.

If you're still not convinced, perhaps you will be by the following anecdote. Back when I worked at Best Buy, I once showed up at a coffee shop open mic after work in my Best Buy uniform, and a guy friend there said, "Wow, you look sexy in your work clothes."

Let me assure you that this assessment of the way I looked made absolutely no sense. Best Buy uniforms consist of khaki slacks and huge blue polo shirts that are unisex (i.e. don't fit women at all). The "short" sleeves fell baggily to my elbow. I would post a picture of me in it but there aren't any as I hid from cameras for the better part of that year so as not to document myself at my worst.

Objectively, there's nothing sexy about a Best Buy polo shirt and khaki pants. But, when this guy friend saw a glimpse of my mysterious work self he found it surprisingly attractive. And the same thing happens when Ryan sees me in a suit or I see him in scrubs. What a strange and interesting phenomenon.

Oh, the power of clothing.

Enter your email address:

Fictional Fashion Icon: Hannah/Belle from Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Hannah (alter ego: Belle), the main character of Secret Diary of a Call Girl (which is perhaps my favorite show), lives life according to her own rules and she dresses that way too. With a flair for color as well as structure, she isn't afraid to wear radical and risky outfits. She's the British version of Carrie Bradshaw (and she has more sex).

Hannah is always fashion forward, but when she goes out on a job as Belle she also has a kind of classic bombshell sensuality and sultry beauty.

I also love that she is never afraid to play dress up and has fun with costumes and wigs when the opportunity presents itself.

Enter your email address:

Spring trend: open-back sundresses (plus my latest DIY idea)

I love to show off my back. I like the curve of my shoulder blades and the mole on my right shoulder. Perhaps that's why I like open-back sundresses so much, or perhaps it's because I love the excuse (when the weather gets warm enough) to show a little skin in a way that's both flirty and innocent.

If you haven't nothing in the way of breasts to show off, an open back is a great option for looking sexy, but if you're a girl with an ample bosom (as I am) finding at open-back dress that can be worn with a bra can be a difficult task. One option is to wear a skirt over something in the way of an open-back leotard (I have a bunch of them for ballet), which is tight-fitting and has a built in shelf bra. But, if you really want a genuine open-back sundress, there are styles that give enough coverage to hide a bra.

I found that Urban Outfitters usually has an incredible selection of open-back sun dresses. Here are a slew of them that are available now. As you can see, some are more accommodating to bra wearers than others. (Click any of the photos for a link to its listing on urbanoutfitters.com.

* * *

Now, for my latest DIY idea. Last summer, I tried on this dress at--you guessed it--Urban Outfitters, but found that it didn't fit me in the most flattering way.

Still in love with the dress, and never to be outdone, I've been scheming to alter a thrift-store dress into something approximating it. First, I plan to take one of those calf-length cotton dresses from the 1990s that I always see at thrift stores and shortening it. I will choose one of the ones with a button-down bodice, but that doesn't button all the way to the hem. I will turn it around backward and cut the bodice of the dress from the skirt across the front of the dress (which is now the back of the dress), hem it and put in some elastic with the hem of the top of the skirt. Since the back of a neckline is usually higher than the front of one, I will probably need to open up the neckline a bit too at the back of the dress (which is now the front).

Here is roughly my plan. The front of the original dress is on the left and the back of the new dress is on the right.

I'll post pictures after the process! Perhaps I'll even get myself in gear enough to do a DIY video of it. Stay tuned!

Sexy side slits: sexy or skanky?

First things first: this is my 100th blog post. I started the blog in July and since then it's been visited by over a thousand people from all over the world (just this week, I've had visitors from Bahrain, Croatia, and Finland, among other countries). I have to say I've been amazed at the following I've gained so far and I want to thanks all of you for reading. I hope you will continue to read and comment with your thoughts and suggestions. Now, onto discussing this latest controversial trend.

Sexy side slits (alliteration much?) have been cropping up on the red carpet lately, and not to my delight. I'm all for thigh-high slits in skirt. I think it's super sexy. For example, Angelina Jolie looked incredible in this Versace number she wore last week at a Tourist premiere.

However, when a slit slides down a woman's entire side, including her hip (showing explicitly her missing undergarments), the whole effect is just a little to obvious for me. Rather than looking sexy and confident, the woman in question just looks like a porn star.

Exhibit A: Jessica Stroup

Exhibit B: Gwyneth Paltro

And Gwyneth of all people usually looks so elegant and classy. What on earth convinced her that that dress would be a good idea?

Compare if you will Gwyneth's dress and Angelina's. Both are a lovely winter white, both sport seasonally-appropriate long sleeves, both have a sexy slit, but only one looks elegant and classy.