Dance the Night Away

A few weeks ago we had my sorority's semi formal. It depends on where you go, but for my chapter girls normally wear short, fancy dresses. That really can be up to your interpretation. It can be a cute $20 dress you found from Forever21 or a couple hundred dollar dress from Nordstroms (my little wore her Jimmy Choo's that night if that tells you anything...). Either way girls love dressing up.

Since I ended up going with my ex-boyfriend I decided to buy a dress instead of borrowing one from one of my sisters closet. You've always got to look your best whenever you see an ex right? ;) So I decided to go out and search for something to wear.

My first stop was Francesca's. This is always where I go to first because of two reasons. One, I used to work there and the staff still knows me and my style and can pick out things that I would like without having to sift through all of the racks. Secondly, the shopping center where the store is located has a bunch of other boutiques in it that sell the exact same items. I'm not kidding. I remember one time I was on shift and we had this dress for sale that a customer came in and said she saw at another boutique in the center for double the price. So it is safe to say that Francesca's is one of the more wallet-friendly boutiques in the area.

I walked through the door and my old boss was working that day. I explained to her the event I was looking to find a dress for and she picked this number:

To say I instantly fell in love would be an understatement. It was just the right amount of sexy. It was a body-con dress, but it had a sheer overlay that hid the tight bottom of the dress. The overlay also had a slit that went all the way up to the waist of the dress to show the tight dress underneath. It also accentuated my favorite part of my body - my shoulders and arms. I was sold!

You can find the Benevento Maxi Dress at Francesca's for only $39.99

I decided to pair the dress with these heels. I got these for Christmas two years ago, my mom thought I was crazy to ask for them and that I would never wear them. I won't deny that they do not leave my closet that often, but they are beautiful and they do see daylight from time to time. For example, this night! It was the perfect pump. I love the thick heel because it makes the shoe easier to walk in and I always love to add something that 'pops' to my outfit. Since the dress was simple black and red, I figured I could spice it up with the heel.

  

The only place I found these Sarina Pumps from Steve Madden was on this site called Rakuten. The only size they have available is a 7. However, they appear from time to time on eBay; so if you are really in love, like I was, I would be patient and keep looking.

This picture is before the night when I got home and decided to try on the entire outfit together. You can't really tell from any of these pictures, but I decided to get some black teardrop earrings from Francesca's. I contemplated doing a necklace but decided I wanted to keep my neck clear and just accent the outfit with statement earrings.

I ended up strutting up and down the hall of my house showing everyone who was there exactly what I was going to be wearing that night. The overwhelming amount of approving declarations I received assured me that I had picked the right dress.

Here is my little and I at the venue!

And here we have my friends and I at the house before we left for the venue!

I ended up having a great night and got so many compliments on my dress! It really was worth going out and buying a new dress just for this occasion. And the great thing about this dress is that since it is State colors, I can wear it to just about anything formal I have to go to for my school.

So tell me, what is your perfect outfit for a 'night to remember'?

Until next time,

Casey Rose

Sisterly Love

Sister (noun): A girl or woman who shares a common ancestry, allegiance, character, or purpose with another or others, specifically

You can never underestimate the power of a sister. They are someone who will always be there for you. When you need to laugh, cry, or just someone to talk to - they're always there for you.

I have made some incredible friends this past year since joining Pi Phi and I can proudly call these women my sisters. While in the traditional sense we may not be blood related but we share a common allegiance, character, purpose, and believe it or not ancestry. Now ancestry may not be your common mom or dad but we do have founders and these founders have since caused this ripple affect in allowing me to call all of these women around the world sisters.

I never realized where I would find them either. My grandma is my sister. One that I will always cherish forever. I learned soon after my initiation that my aunt is a Pi Phi. It really is funny how many people I learn are Pi Phi's.

It was funny because we were in Panera Bread the other day discussing recruitment and this women comes up to our table and asks if we were Pi Phis (she must have seen the sticker on my laptop). Well she immediately reaches for my hand to give me a handshake, I was later embarrassed to find out she was giving me the secret handshake and I didn't even realize it...either way it was so cool to run into someone out and about who shared a similar past as me.

We may not be blood related but the knowledge that only us as sisters possess is incredible. It's amazing how much we share, our common interests, beliefs, it's hard to find that any place else.

Even though I did not grow up with any blood sisters, I am lucky because I get to call thousands of women across the world my sisters and I wouldn't have it any other way. So thank you Pi Phi, for filling my life with beautiful, successful women whom I look up to on a daily basis. I couldn't have asked for a better ancestry.

Until next time,

Casey Rose