Tying everything together

I live in a tiny coastal town in the middle of nowhere, right at the beach. The fanciest clothes we wear around here are the occasional Bermuda shorts with some embroidery in it. Usually, it is just a bathing suit, thank you very much!

When I had my stepdaughter’s wedding to attend to in New Jersey, I immediately thought about getting a new dress, which would be a major deal. The shops in my town only sell beachwear; the closest city where I could buy something nice is a 1 hour drive plus 40 min airplane trip. Buying on-line? Not in Brazil! too complicated to return it if you don’t like it.

It was a morning wedding, informal affair. After dealing with the dress question for some time, I decided to shop at my closet. I found out I already had the perfect dress. Made in a textured silk, in a fuchsia tone it was simple, yet very elegant, AND it still fitted. So, I decided this would be it. I also had the shoes and the jewelry to go with it. The only thing missing was the purse.

That was when I decided to make a clutch to tie it all together. I make hand painted silk clutches for my etsy shop, so I knew what I wanted. I painted the silk using the same fuchsia as the dress as the background, with some caramel and soft pink accents.

I really liked the result, and you can judge it for yourself. Bottom line, I felt good about the way I was dressed, I spent very little, and I didn’t end up with a fancy, expensive dress that wouldn’t match any of my bathing suits!