Tomorrow is our National Day, May 17th. From the morning and into the afternoon I will be wearing my new bunad, shown in my previous post. But later in the day we are invited to an informal dinner party with some friends and family. Many people choose to change from bunad into something a little less formal - or more modern, if you like - in the evening on May 17th.

This is not a day for short hemlines or deep necklines, so a little modesty is in order. Many take inspiration from our national colors in their outfits, which are red, white and blue, but there is a line where this color combo crosses into a not so great look (a flag lookalike?). Of course, there are lots of people who wear anything but red, white and blue, too, but white, navy and red dresses are common.

This is my suggestion: A red fit-and-flare dress, navy blazer, metallic pumps, cream satchel. I'll be wearing a silver metal watch and blue/white enamel and silver earrings. It will be cool in the evening, so I'm wearing a navy trenchcoat as a topper.

My questions:
Should I wear the blazer belted or not?
Does the dress look fine without the blazer, too?
Does the outfit need something more to punch it up?

All suggestions and advice are highly appreciated. Thanks for looking!