Petite Fashion Challenge #14 – Holiday Emergency

This month’s Petite Fashion Challenge, hosted over at Couture Coco, is:

You have a pre-booked dinner date on the first day of your holiday. But the emergency is your luggage is delayed. So this month’s challenge is to style your travel outfit into a special evening look using whatever you carry in your purse and anything else immediately at hand (ie no running out to buy a new outfit!).

In college, I traveled to Ireland to visit a friend who was studying abroad, and after a disastrous number of flights and layovers that included one flight being canceled, begging to be placed on the next flight, missing a connecting flight due to the first canceled flight, and begging a second time to be placed on the next flight…my bags never even left my starting point at Los Angeles (surprise, surprise). For 3 days, I had no other clothes that the ones on my back, which made for very boring photos and a very grumpy Kelly.

I learned my lesson, and now almost always travel solely in carry-ons, but for the sake of this challenge, I’ll pretend all my clothes and shoes have been checked and delayed, leaving me forced to live out of my carry-on. My travel outfit:

I am not a glamorous traveler by any sense. My travel outfits are simple and comfy:

• Super stretchy and comfy jeans to keep my legs warm on the freezing plane.
• Comfy sweater that mixes and matches with whatever else I have in my (delayed) luggage.
• Blazer jacket, worn on plane for warmth and because it takes up too much room in my luggage.
• Flats for running through terminals when I’m inevitably running late for my plane.
• Warm scarf to double as blanket when the plane air conditioning blasts down on me mercilessly.
• No jewelry for ease of going through security screenings.
• Carry-on bag for magazines, snacks, and other necessities.

No matter what, there are a few things I always pack in my carry-on. This includes anything of value like jewelry, expensive handbags, and electronics (camera, etc.), and my basic toiletries and makeup. For this challenge, these are the items I’ve brought along:

And now, for my very plain dinner outfit:

• Since my heels are in my checked luggage, I’ll have to wear my flats, which I’m not happy about.
• To detract from my sad footwear, I added a bright statement necklace that I had packed in my carry-on, and ditched my scarf.
• Since rolled cuffs on jeans look casual, I un-rolled them and tucked the extra length underneath for a sleeker look.
• I rolled my blazer sleeves and added a few more pieces of jewelry to jazz things up.
• Thank goodness I packed my nice handbag!
• I added a darker lip color.

I would look pretty dressed down for a nice dinner, but I think I could pass as acceptable in this outfit. What do you think?

Be sure to check out the other participants, which you can find over at Couture Coco.

Travel Outfit – Theory blazer, size 00 :: Old Navy sweater, size xs :: 7 For All Mankind skinnies, size 23 (similar wash) :: Chan Luu scarf :: Coach flats, size 35

Dinner Outfit Additions – Chanel handbag :: Stella & Dot necklace (c/o) :: Stella & Dot bracelet (c/o) :: Vintage link bracelet :: Daisy Knights ring