The LBD with the X-Z

Tonight, I took my friend Molly out for her birthday -- the perfect excuse to wear my favorite Little Black Dress. Now, everyone knows you should have an LBD in your closet at all times, but what some people fail to mention is just how many you should have. I say three: one for formal occassions, say a wedding, one for summer fun, and one that can be worn for dinners, dates, and other events where you want to look fun, put together, and fashionable, but not over-dressed.
This form-fitting dress reminds me of one of my favorite style icons -- Joan Holloway. From the front, the dress seems pretty plain, but the back is where most of the interest lies: a deep V and an exposed zipper! Although exposed zippers are quite on trend for the moment, I think the cut and style of this dress is classic and plain enough that even when the trend dies down, this exposed zipper will be the perfect piece of interest for the dress. I plan on keeping this one in my closet for a while.

The simplicity of the dress allowed me to play up the accessories, which obviously included some blingy jewlery. This necklace, a new staple to my wardrobe, worked well with the dress's high, broad necklace. The headband, one of my more low-key ones, is a great way to add interest to a very plain, very straight hair style. I love how thin the actual band is; it makes it seem like the stones have been placed onto my hair in a complicated fashion. The allusion of effort is almost always better than effort itself.

The jewelry also went well with the shoes. I thought a plain dress was a perfect occassion to wear my sassy leopard print flats. The boldness of the shoe also worked well with the bold back of the dress. Contrasting this are the delicate polka dots on my tights. I love these tights, but they're so sheer they never seem to last longer than a few wears. I am not kind to sheer black pantyhose, even when they feature an adorable detail like these do.

Dress: BB Dakota, Courtney, Kerrisdale, Vancouver

Shoes: Gifted, Mom and Dad, Zappos, FS NY

Headband: Gifted, Elana

Necklace: Gifted, Erin

Tights: George, Walmart

And the perfect accessory for a night out? The birthday girl (and photographer!), of course. xoxo Anna Rae