9 Date Night / Special Occasion Outfits
I received an email the other day from a reader requesting how to use a capsule wardrobe to dress for a special occasion, like a date night. I thought this was a great idea and knew several of you would like a blog post on it too!
If you use a capsule wardrobe, you have many outfits on hand by having just a few clothes in your closet. You can go to your closet and pull out 2 or 3 items and you’ll have an outfit ready to go. But, what happens if you have a special occasion to dress for, like a date night, casual banquet meeting or other social gathering? You may not want to wear a tee, plain cami or cardigan…you want something with some pizazz to it! You have several choices of bottoms, like jeans, skirt or pants, but chances are you might not have a unique, dressy top to wear!
Whenever I have a social function to attend that I want to dress up a bit for, I reach for a bottom in my capsule wardrobe, add a feminine top I wear occasionally, dressy pumps or boots and accessories. Just by adding a frilly top to a pair of jeans, pencil skirt or pants, you can take an outfit up a notch and you’ll look great!
I’ve found 3 gorgeous tops that will go with nearly any bottom you may have in your closet. For these outfit ideas, I’m using 3 bottoms that are in the The French Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe: Winter 2018 Collection and The Essential Capsule Wardrobe: Winter 2018 Collection eBooks. Do you already use your own capsule wardrobe? If you are using one of my eBooks from the Capsule Wardrobe eBook Store, you already have 100 outfit possibilities in your closet! These eBooks are complete wardrobe plans that have all the clothes, shoes and accessories selected for a season, using mostly basics in your closet. They also include 100 outfit ideas ready for you, a travel packing guide using a few items from the capsule, and much more! Over 12,500 eBooks have been sold and many women are using these wardrobe plans everyday!
CLICK HERE to get your copy today!
Outfit Ideas 1 – 3
Outfit Details:
Outfit 1: gorgeous ruffle hem bell sleeve sweater / skinny jeans / leopard pumps / drop earrings / nude clutch
Outfit 2: gorgeous ruffle hem bell sleeve sweater / white jeans / over the knee boots / drop earrings / nude clutch
Outfit 3: gorgeous ruffle hem bell sleeve sweater / navy pencil skirt / navy ribbon lace pumps / drop earrings / nude clutch
These 3 outfit ideas incorporate this gorgeous ruffle hem bell sleeve sweater. The color is “pink dessert” and it looks like a rich mauve pink color. The ruffles around the waist and the bell sleeves give this sweater a feminine look. In the collage above, I used 3 bottoms from The Essential Capsule Wardrobe: Winter 2018 Collection to make 3 outfits: skinny jeans, white jeans and the navy pencil skirt. For the shoes, I found this gorgeous pair of leopard pumps, the perfect neutral color of over the knee boots and these beautiful navy ribbon lace pumps (which also come in 3 other colors). Everyone needs a nude dressy bag and this one is just the right size and features a gold chain strap. To finish the outfits, add this pair of rose quartz drop earrings.
Outfit Ideas 4 – 6
Outfit Details:
Outfit 4: off the shoulder sweater / skinny jeans / ankle boots / drop earrings / leopard clutch
Outfit 5: off the shoulder sweater / black pencil skirt / black lace pumps / drop earrings / leopard clutch
Outfit 6: off the shoulder sweater / black leggings / black over the knee boots / drop earrings / leopard clutch
This white off the shoulder sweater will keep you warm while you are looking feminine! The cable pattern adds texture to the sweater, while being slightly off the shoulders. In the collage above, I used 3 bottoms from The French Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe: Winter 2018 Collection to make 3 outfits: skinny jeans, black pencil skirt and black leggings. I found these chic stacked heel booties, these black lace pumps, and these black suede over the knee boots to wear with the outfits. These ivory mother of pearl earrings and foldover leopard clutch completes the looks.
Outfit Ideas 7 – 9
Outfit Details:
Outfit 7: pink velvet cami / leather jacket / skinny jeans / black over the knee boots / gold wrap necklace / black clutch
Outfit 8: pink velvet cami / leather jacket / black pencil skirt / velvet & glitter block heel pumps / gold wrap necklace / black clutch
Outfit 9: pink velvet cami / leather jacket / black jeans / suede booties / gold wrap necklace / black clutch
For outfits 7-9, I chose this pink crushed velvet cami. The velvet material of this cami gives these outfits a luxurious look. In the collage above, I used the black leather jacket and 3 bottoms from The French Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe: Winter 2018 Collection to make 3 outfits: skinny jeans, black pencil skirt and black jeans. The over the knee suede boots, these gorgeous velvet & glitter block heel pumps and black suede booties add a bit of trend these outfits. The gold wrap necklace and black clutch complete the looks.
You could also wear these outfits to any Christmas, New Years and other holiday parties! I hope you like these outfit ideas. Which one is your favorite?
Love this post – I’m so happy with my daily capsule wardrobe but really needed some help with “special” outfits. Buying the velvet cami now!
I love this! I purchased the pink ruffle sweater, white jeans, the nude clutch and tan booties. I also found some gorgeous red boots that will go great with the white jeans! Thank you for these great ideas for dressing up.
I am making up my first capsule wardrobe this week. My brain is so happy that we will not be standing in front of the closet with 2 minutes to find “something to wear”. My process so far has been to finally decide on the third or fourth outfit and then text a picture to my daughters or sisters and make sure that I can go out in public. Nine out of ten times they have to fix my choices.
I love these ideas for special occasions. The sweater is great – just enough pizzazz to make it special. The velvet cami is a stroke of genius. I agree with Julie – I am buying one now; however, I am going to buy teal because it brings out the color in my eyes. Thank you so much for helping me out in this journey.
My favorite outfit is the velvet cami, leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and black booties. I love the necklace too. Jewelry is another area that challenges me.
Thanks for the help,
Gina,
Sounds like you’re set for getting dressed for a special occasion by buying the velvet cami. I thought all the colors were beautiful, the teal one is a gorgeous jewel tone.
Lisa,
Glad you like the post!
Julie,
The velvet cami adds a bit of texture to an outfit. All the colors it comes in are gorgeous!
This was very helpful!! Exciting to see how to make several dressier outfits with the basics already on hand in the capsules. It seems that by only purchasing a dressier top and maybe a few key accessories, we can really step up our game and be ready for almost anything!! I like the idea of using jeans or pants in dressy outfits, since I am most comfortable in those, reserving skirts for only the most dressy events. Thanks for sharing these ideas with us!!
Love the velvet cami but it is VERY short 24 inches. I’m tall & would want it at least 28 inches. The first top would like great on a slender woman but not so much on someone with a tummy or butt. Like the sweater but then again it is for my slender sisters. How about some plus size options?
Patti,
You can use shopstyle.com to search for several velvet cami’s at many retailer sites. I use that site myself to search for items to include here on the blog.
Yes, I totally agree. When we use a capsule wardrobe, we usually don’t include dressier tops that can be worn on special occasions. But, by already having a pair of jeans, skirt or pants in your capsule wardrobe, you can use those without having to buy anymore clothes for your special occasion outfit.
Woulderful ! Will definitely be using these ideas! Would love to see a black tie blog one day. You are a clever lady Leanne!
Leanne
Thank you so so much for this post… AND listening to your customers:)