Escape Plan

The last couple weeks were snow, my sister-in-law escaping Carnival and binge watching House of Cards in my basement, and MORE snow. Somewhere in that we did a few of daytime bar crawls, a couple of which ended with Stevie Nicks kimono purchases (plural) and one with a buzzed office supplies spree at Staples. I'd say the last couple weeks were a success.

Now I'm on the hustle to style chikungunya- repellant outfits as well as travel day uniforms for me and the gremlins. Above is what I plan to wear for travel day. Scarf and jacket are easily removed for tropical arrival. The crop top base layer keeps me in tact during the frequent acts of bending over and retrieving a runaway gremlin in the airport. Suede booties are easily slipped on and off for TSA checks and a little noise to your walk adds authority (boom)! A couple of years ago, I was unsure how long the Isabel Marant Dicker Boots thing was going to last, so I got a pair of Steve Madden western booties at DSW just to try out the fad. Apparently it isn't going anywhere and neither are my $35 "Leprechaun Boots" as my husband refers to them. I still seriously contemplate investing in the Dicker Boots, but ended up with the Rag & Bone Classic Newbury as a style compromise. But for this trip, I feel like lighter colored suede versus black leather is a better cold to tropical style transition. 

Jacket: My old from J. Crew but similar here | Pants: Uniqlo Drape Bottoms | Scarf: My old Love Quotes but similar here | Striped tank: My own but similar here and here | Crop tank: Nordstrom BP. Crop Tank | Watch: Michael Kors Runway Watch | Bag: Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM Damier Ebene | Booties: My old Steve MaddenPembrook booties but similar here , here and here

Fashion Challenges of Chikungunya

The tickets are purchased for St. Martin so I have 4 weeks of intense logistical planning and crisis management ahead of me. In addition to moving a family of 4 to an island for 2 weeks (boo freakin' hoo #firstworldproblems), I have to edit the gremlins' summer wardrobe and assess where they are lacking.  My daughter grows like a bonsai tree so I anticipate only replacing worn items, but my son has put on some lbs since last summer and I expect he'll need all new pieces. All of that is for another post.

So now it's time to go into overdrive on planning my outfits. We have a major constraint to take into account. There is an outbreak of chikungunya which is some wack mosquito borne virus and I do not have time for that shit. The latest CDC warning advises that in addition to standard use of insect repellant, long sleeves and pants should be worn. Dark colors attract mosquitoes and black and white stripes are apparently their version of a bullseye, so unfortunately the above outfit has to be reworked for island use. I'm considering repurposing it for the flight but with Vans slip on sneakers.

Top: Zara Striped Crop T-Shirt | Pants: Uniqlo Flower Drape Bottoms

Disco Pants

As you all know I was a pair of shady boots to official DC Fashion Week events, but I've been swarming the unsanctioned events including gorilla fashion shows, bars adjacent to said fashion shows and house parties. The week basically turned into a hall pass from home with an excuse to layer on my entire closet. 

Blazer: Bop Basics Fiance Blazer | Vest: Old from J. Crew but similar here | Shirt: Old James Perse V-Neck Tee but similar here and here | Pants: Old Sequin pants from Go Jane but similar here | Sneakers: Adidas Samba Classics