Category: holiday

Categories
holiday what i wore

What I Wore: Black Velvet Little Black Dress

When you work on your feet all day, dressing for comfort is paramount. Since my shoe choices are largely influenced by avoiding to have a podiatrist on speed dial, I really enjoy occasions to dress up and dust off the high heels, not to mention the cocktail dresses. I’ve owned this velvet little black dress for four years now and for some reason never I got around to wearing it until two weekends at my company holiday party. Silly because it fits like a glove and hits at the perfect spot right above the knee.

Necklace, Nelson + Little
Dress and rhinestone belt, J. Crew via Buffalo Exchange
Platform heels, Tory Burch via Buffalo Exchange
New bangs! c/o Paris Parker blogger party

My secret santa gave me a pair of handmade earrings from her aunt’s Lafayette based store, Bayou Bohemian. I love these black leather and driftwood earrings, they look substantial but are incredibly lightweight. 

The party was held at The American Sector and of course the food was incredible, but then again I’ve never been disappointed by any John Besh restaurant.. I had the shrimp in a cup, the mahi mahi entree, and for dessert we each had a peppermint patty. Last year we went to Domenica for the company party, not a bad habit at all. Did you have a holiday party this year? How was it?

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
charity holiday shopping

Holiday Shopping and Dress For Success

What’s better than shopping local while buying holiday presents? Buying gifts that give back to the community. Several New Orleans businesses are selling gifts that benefit the local Dress For Success, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged women by providing them with work appropriate clothing and career development assistance.


 Angelique,  The Blues Jean Bar, Imelda’s, Mimi’s,  Weinstein’s, and Life Yoga and Boutique are selling perfectly preppy silk scarves, designed by Tommy Hilfiger for only $35 in which 100% of the proceeds will go to the organization.  In addition to the scarf sales Adler’s Jewelry is donating 10% of the retail price of their popular white pearls in 50″ or 100″ strands. 

Image courtesy of life yoga



The Dress for Success  boutique is located at 4304 Magazine Street. To learn more about this program To contact the New Orleans chapter at 504.891.4337 or visit them online at twww.dressforsuccess.org/neworleans.
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
giveaway holiday

Giveaway: Holiday worthy dress with Shabby Apple

It’s always exciting picking out dresses for special occasions, and the holiday season is certainly a time when there are plenty of reasons to wear a special frock. Finding multiple outfits for a plethora of end of the year celebrations can be a daunting task, so Shabby Apple is helping to keep you in the holiday spirit by giving away the Moon River dress to one lucky reader.

 Inspired by the Jazz Age, this stretch sateen dress is party ready, with a nostalgic flair and feminine touches such as a ruffled waist and a wide boat neck. Demure enough for Christmas Eve with the grandparents yet chic enough for a New Year’s Eve fete the Moon River dress is the perfect vintage inspired holiday dress. In order to win simply leave a comment here stating where you’d wear this dress, and your name and e-mail address. Comments without an e-mail address will not be eligible for the contest.

As an added bonus from now until January 16th enjoy 10% off your purchase with the code “slowsouthernstyle10off” and be sure to check out Shabby Apple’s Facebook page for even more discounts and deals.
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
events freret street holiday

Fun at Freret Market

If you are a long time reader of Slow Southern Style then it’s probably no surprise that I’m not a frequent big box store shopper. I think I go to Target maybe six times a year max and I haven’t shopped at a Wal-Mart in about eight years. I prefer to shop close to home thanks to equal parts sheer laziness and wanting to give my money to small businesses.

One fun way to shop for unique gifts and make a day of it is attending any of the numerous markets in town. I’ve written about Freret Market several times in the past but I feel like every year it keeps getting better and better. With two markets in December, one on the 3rd and the 10th it’s a great excuse to go have fun on a Saturday and stock up on handmade, one of a kind holiday gifts. That certainly beats circling the mall parking lot waiting for a spot to open up right?

grilled cheese sandwich from Big Cheesy NOLA
hands down my favorite soap from Bayou Soap Company. The bars last forever!
look it’s Slow Southern Style sponsor Shultzilla!
Miss Malaprop’s fun and funky offerings
the parking lot gets transformed once a month
first Saturdays, noon to five

Freret Market is held from noon-5pm on the corner of Freret and Napoleon. No cash? No worries, there is a system that allows you to purchase vendor tokens with your debit or credit card. With plenty of live music, food, and vendors you are guaranteed to have a good time!

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
events holiday sales

Black Friday is not a holiday

Surprise y’all, I’m off on another adventure of the outdoorsy kind. So it goes without saying that I won’t be in queue waiting for the Black Friday sales– sheer shopping pandemonium has never been my thing. In fact I’m probably walking barefoot through a creek right now, eating string cheese and talking to my dog.  If you’re out buying Xmas presents I highly encourage you to shop local, and it doesn’t get more local than art markets. So mark your calendars for a more relaxed, and dare I say fun shopping excursion this holiday season. Handmade objects are much personal than a mass produced scarf you got on sale anyway.




10th Annual King Pin Art Bizarre – Holiday Art Market 
Saturday, November 26, 2011 
12:00pm – 6:00pm 
Kingpin Bar 
1307 Lyons St. 

More information can be found on the Holiday Art Market Facebook page. 

THE 6TH ANNUAL LAST STOP SHOP AT THE BIG TOP!
HOLIDAY MARKET & PARTY
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
6pm-10pm
Big Top Art Gallery – 1638 Clio St
Many more details forthcoming at: http://www.neworleanscraftmafia.com.
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
holiday outdoors vacation

My new Thanksgiving tradition- The Great Outdoors

When I lived in Arizona my husband and I grew accustomed to taking adventurous trips to explore our Southwest surroundings. Since we didn’t have very many friends and family out west we took advantage of our time off of work around the holidays to  travel and the tradition has stuck with us even though we’ve been back in New Orleans for three years. While most people will be with their friends and families tomorrow we will enjoying a cabin in the woods with nothing but the stars, a good book, and our retired racing greyhound to keep us entertained. Even if you aren’t the outdoorsy type and consider a scraped up knee an injury versus a badge of honor for a good rock climbing session I think it is important to get outside. Just spend time in your local park and indulge in some greenery at the very least. It’s good for the soul.

I consider this my spiritual home- Grand Canyon, Arizona

Off trail hiking is always an adventure

Feeding the goats at Splendor Farms in Bush, LA
Strolling along a creek in Mississippi at my favorite hidden spot
The original words with friends

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
holiday mannequin mondays new orleans

Mannequin Monday- How New Orleans does St. Patrick’s Day

Even if you aren’t Irish, or just have a great uncle three times removed that did a semester abroad in Ireland back in the 70’s doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate St. Patty’s Day in New Orleans.  Not only are there big parades that roll throughout the city the weekend before but the parties on the actual day is as big a deal as the patron saint himself.


In order to help spur the festivities many New Orleans retail stores deck out their mannequins in green getups to lure in customers looking for a little luck o’ the Irish. My personal favorite this week is Style Lab For Men on Magazine Street. Sporting a good haul of beads, this guy really represents the typical parade goer. 





And what did the crowd look like this year? Check it out for yourself. Somewhere in the middle of those telephone poles lies Magazine Street, I swear.



Traditionally the St. Patty’s float riders throw cabbage and other food items. What did you catch this year? And more importantly when are you coming over to cook for me?







Style Lab For Men


3326 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA 
(504) 304-5072


Mon – Fri: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm


If you have some great displays you want to share send them to nolagurl@gmail.com

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
holiday southern fashion bloggers

LBD styled by the Southern Fashion Bloggers

A few months ago I decided to start a little group for other ladies who happen to write about fashion and reside in the South. I was really struggling to connect with other like minded individuals so I figured I’d start my own meeting ground. While I haven’t done a whole lot with it yet the Southern Fashion Bloggers have grown from zero to nearly 70 in just a few short months.

One of our first activities is playing host to a blog event centered around a holiday favorite, the little black dress. Myself and three other New Orleans ladies are cross posting our blogs today to show you how we style ’em here in southern Louisiana. And if you are missing Mannequin Monday  no worries, it will be back to your regularly scheduled programming next week.

An LBD is like a blank canvas just waiting for you to put the finishing touches on it. I found this one a few years ago via a secondhand store. This strapless J. Crew dress satisfies all of my requirements for classic cocktail attire. It’s a simple silhouette in black velvet with a black grosgrain ribbon just under the bust line. What really won me over is that it is petite sizing which means I just zipped it up and that was it. No hemming, no fussing, just a perfect, reliable wardrobe staple.
I like to be fashionably honest, meaning if I don’t actually wear it then I don’t post it. That said I had every intention of getting dressed up and going to a nice craft cocktail bar in my neighborhood this past Saturday night. Instead I stayed at home and watched the original Black Christmas and threw on the dress Sunday night just for pictures. How’s that for a rousing weekend?
So let’s pretend I did wear it out and had a great time. One of my obsessions is collecting reptile paraphernalia and this includes jewelry. This rhinestone studded snake bracelet is just enough sparkle without being ostentatious. 
I also fake wore it with another trusty favorite, my Cole Haan black patent leather heels. 
Well hopefully the other ladies had a more adventurous weekend than I did. Check out their blogs and feel free to comment on each one!
Dorothy- http://nolamorechains.blogspot.com
Mallory for Trashy Diva- http://trashydivaclothing.wordpress.com/
Karlee- http://southernbellesandbeignets.com
p.s. Due to everyone’s different schedules not everyone may post at the same exact time. Just check back later in the day if you don’t see an LBD post yet.
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
hammond holiday what i wore

Festive Frock

The best part of the holiday season and having a significant other is getting invited to multiple events. Parties equal party dresses and I love getting gussied up for a night out! Last week we went to his company holiday party and this week was mine. This year I selected Domenica, a great Italian restaurant in the historic Roosevelt Hotel here in New Orleans. I had eaten at Domenica three times before so this was a great excuse to go back.

Making reservations for 13 employees and their guests can seem like a daunting task so I was really only focusing on great eats without blowing the budget. I completely forgot that the Roosevelt decks the halls and the beautiful decorations were the icing on the cake. Or should I say the star on top of the tree?
I had purchased my dress from Shop Imagine in Hammond, LA over the summer and I’ve been dying to wear it ever since. I knew right off the bat that it would be perfect for the holidays and was worth holding onto for so long.
My husband isn’t shy when it comes to clothes and he went out and bought a shirt the day of to coordinate with my dress. How cute was that? I’m pretty lucky to have snagged such a stylish man.

Of course no festive frock is complete without a little lagniappe. The last time I went to Fairy, a sweet little boutique across from Whole Foods, I spied this little gold rabbit skeleton necklace. I knew I had to have it but forgot to make the purchase. Owner Elizabeth Laird was kind enough to set one aside for me when her next shipment came in* so I snatched it up when she told me it was in again!

Isn’t the detail on this incredible? It is handmade by a San Francisco artist, whose name escapes me at the moment.
I was unsure about wearing these sparkly gold tights with the dress. After all the last time I wore them was on Mardi Gras Day. They turned out to be a hit and coordinated nicely with the gold zipper detailing on the dresses neckline. Since the tights and dress had so much going on I decided to go simple with these black patent leather Cole Haan heels. 

Oh yea, you wanna know what we ate? Domenica is a John Besh restaurant that is run by executive chef Alon Shaya. Everything was excellent but the mushroom soup pictured above was a real stand out, as well as the panna cotta dessert with salted caramel and pears featured below. We reserved the private dining room, perfect for a group of 26 or smaller.

So do you have any holiday parties that you are looking forward to? 
* Fairy was kind enough to give me a discount on the necklace for featuring her shop here and elsewhere. Thanks for the generous offer Elizabeth!
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
Categories
events holiday

Slow Southern News

Langford Market will be having a Holiday Style 101 today, December 9th from 7:00-8:00pm. Cocktails and treats will be served and a fun night of friends and fashion is promised as well as a special discount to be announced at the party.

Rubenstein’s and Scene Magazine are hosting happy hour in The Davenport Lounge at the Ritz Carlton from 5:30-8:30pm. Kenny Rubenstein  and Kevin Barraco will be mixing and pouring complimentary Davenport-inis with entertainment from none other than Jeremy Davenport himself.


Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style