I have just come back from my 4-day conference trip. Overall, it went pretty well, both in terms of conference itself and in terms of dressing.
I wore three different dress outfits (on days 1,3 and 4) and one pant & blazer outfit on day 2, mainly because my feet really hurt and I needed to wear flat loafers which do not look good with dressy dresses. Unfortunately, I did not get to wear my pretty gala dress because the schedule was too hectic to go back to the hotel and change. It wasn't too big of a deal though, because 25% of the women at most actually changed for the gala. In general, majority of the women wore sheath dresses with (non-matching) jackets when presenting, and some wore pants, so I fit perfectly in. It was also obvious that only the vendors wore full suits and they were very recognizable, so my mentor's advice not to wear a suit was spot on.
My outfits were the following:
Day 1: Black sheath dress by Black Halo, floral Ted Baker cardigan, black wedges ( same outfit was worn earlier in the week for super important work meeting)
Day 2: Houndstooth BR cropped pants, black AT tux jacket, blush silk blouse ( no finds), blush loafers, matching houndstooth neckerchief
Day 3: Grey J Crew sheath dress, black AT jacket, black wedges, pearl necklace
Day 4: Black flare WHBM dress, cropped pale blush Express jacket (different color from Finds), black wedges, floral TB neckerchief
All the days I carried my BR bone satchel and blush/black scarf, mainly to drape over my legs when sitting
Travel outfit: Dark AG Jodi jeans, Ted Baker floral tee, blush loafers, big blush scarf, black jacket one way and the blush jacket the other way (with black trench over when it rained)
Casual dinner outfit: Dark AG jeans, burgundy could shoulder AT blouse, blush loafers, blush scarf.
Some issues and going forward to-dos:
1. I love the Black Halo dress, it is a perfect work-to-cocktails dress. The only issue is that the front slit opens a lot when sitting down, so I need a scarf or something in my lap to cover up when sitting
2. The new grey J Crew cotton sheath dress was the only disappointment: it both stretches and wrinkles a lot throughout the day - it grew over a size and looked sloppy. Will start a separate thread this week to figure out what do with it.
3. My trusty black SM wedges performed beautifully but are starting to show signs of wear ( I have had them for quite a few years). I need to look for a pair of dressy black work pumps with low-to-mid block heel
4. I need a structured black leather work tote ASAP: good quality, large enough to fit my laptop, polished, and it must close on the top
5. It looks that my "power" work capsule needs to include both dresses and trousers+blazer outfits, the relative ratio of which will depend on exact occasion, both both are necessary.
6. In the near future, I need the following for my power capsule: a couple of sleeved professional sleeved dresses, a high quality cropped jacket to wear with dresses and a couple of nicer professional pants (Theory, Vince etc.). I am covered with sleeveless dresses, nice blazers that go with pants and all sorts of blouses and tops.