I was surprised and excited when an email landed in my inbox asking me to take part in the TK Maxx Wedding Bloggers’ Challenge: to accessorise one dress to create a wedding guest outfit suitable for 5 different types of wedding.
I was surprised for two reasons: one, it amazed me that a big company even knew of my blog and wanted me to take part! And two, because I would never call myself fashionable! I’ve always been the type that if it looks nice on me and it suits the event I’m going to then I’ll wear it regardless of if it’s ‘fashionable’ or not.
I’m not the type that can only wear an outfit once and has a whole new wardrobe with each passing trend, I just can’t afford it!
So I was a little nervous about accepting the challenge as it is something I’ve never done before. But then I thought about the challenge and realised that most wedding guests wouldn’t be amazing fashionistas either. They’d be like me just wanting to wear something that looked nice and that when wearing it wouldnt feel out of place at the event they were invited to. And so I think (hope) that’s what I achieved. All of the looks I created I would wear and believe suit the event they were created for. Fashion is subjective though so I’m sure not everybody would want to wear these outfits. I just hope, either way, you enjoy looking at what I came up with!
Black tie
This was probably the hardest as, being a girl born and bred in Blackburn, I don’t get invited to many any Black Tie events! Also, as I’d decided on a grey theme for my city outfit, I knew I had to differentiate them somehow. And so it came down to adding the glitz and glamour that I believe you’d find at a black tie event!
- Dress: TK Maxx
- Fascinator: Net-A-Porter
- Necklace: An auction piece too expensive to mention, but I liked the sparkle!
- Earrings: New York Estate Jewelry
- Shoes: Office
- Bag: Debenhams
- Chiffon stole: Debenhams
Alternative
Perhaps I’m stereotyping, but say alternative to me and I instantly think of rock chick, and that generally leads me on to black. So that’s what I chose to go with here. The dress is rather pretty for the rock look but I think with some fun accessories and by echoing the coral in the so-cool shoes it becomes a pretty original, or alternative, look:
- Dress: TK Maxx
- Necklace: Topshop
- Jacket: TK Maxx
- Earrings: ASOS
- Shoes: Christian Louboutin
- Bangles: ASOS
- Bag: ASOS
Country
My first thought about the country look was ‘cowboy boots won’t go with that dress!’ as I had visions of full on farm affairs with muddy fields where boots or wellies would be needed. Then I realised that a country wedding could just as easily be a lovely garden party and so I went with a pretty, romantic, summery look:
- Dress: TK Maxx
- Headband: Topshop
- Parasol: ModCloth
- Bolero: Phase Eight
- Shoes: TK Maxx
- Bag: Debenhams
- Earrings: Dorothy Perkins
- Necklace: TK Maxx
City
I struggled with thinking of what colours would go with a white and coral polka-dot dress and so stuck to metallics and neutral colours: black, white and grey. To make this look differ from the Black Tie outfit I picked less glitz and went for pieces that were very contemporary with a statement piece of jewellery to add to the modern look:
- Dress: TK Maxx
- Hair accessory: Farfetch
- Necklace: Net-A-Porter
- Shoes: ASOS
- Bag: Warehouse
- Jacket: Warehouse
Beach
This is probably my favourite look as I’d love the chance to go to a beach wedding wearing a pretty dress and comfortable flats shoes! I thought the sandals were a necessity for the beach but have picked gold to keep them dressy enough for a wedding (rubber flip flops just wouldn’t have cut it!):
- Dress: TK Maxx
- Hat: ASOS
- Pashmina: Forzieri
- Necklace: TK Maxx
- Sandals: TK Maxx
- Earrings: Couture Candy
- Bag: Zappos Couture
There you have it! It wasn’t the easiest challenge as not only did I have to find items I thought went with the dress but I also wanted them on a white background to be able to arrange them how I did! It was fun though and something I may try again, just with dresses and themes I’ve picked myself to make it easier!
Thanks to TK Maxx for asking me to take part and, for those of you wanting to see what the other bloggers picked for their dresses, go check out the challenge on the TK Maxx Facebook page!
Debs
P.S. If the items are still available I’ve linked directly to them. If the link takes you to the store home page then that item has sold out or been discontinued.
Vendor Details:
TK Maxx website
TK Maxx Facebook page
