Here’s my hat! I had to get crafty today. I’d ordered a visor that was supposed to be in Tuesday, but it didn’t get here until 4:30 pm today (we leave tomorrow). The visor did not fit/work AT ALL. I had this hat, but the black ribbon wasn’t working. So, at 5:00 pm today I ran to Hobby Lobby and bought a small glue gun and pink ribbon. I’m wondering if dark green might have been better…oh, well.
I had to have something - it’s going to be 87°!
Yes.
I’m flying in to surprise a dear friend at her 60th birthday party next weekend and am having a terrible time trying to find a long sleeve dressy top to go with either black or navy pants. Everything is either too ruffle-y, the sleeves are insanely billowy, the print is too busy or the shoulders are puffy. I feel most comfortable in a classic look and am having a hard time with what I am seeing. I’ve landed on a dressy black silky camisole with a bit of a lace detail and a very lightweight, slightly cropped cashmere cardigan in a light beige color that I will leave partially open to feature the lace detail on the cami (my black pants are high rise, so the cropped look works) and black heels. Very boring but I will be comfortable in it. I also have a vintage Coach bag that I’ll pair with it.
I have a wedding this weekend (dress code is “Sunday Best”) and I am wearing a very dark navy silk midi skirt and a lightweight short-sleeve cashmere top in a beige color, Matching navy sandals and bag. Two more weddings this spring & summer (cocktail and black tie optional) and I am struggling to find stuff I like that doesn’t cost an arm & a leg. Hopefully this will be it for the wedding invites until my youngest gets married!
It seems like every time I need a purpose driven outfit I can’t find anything, but when I am casually browsing, I see tons of options 
So much fun! They allow NO phones at Augusta National, but they take photos of you and then give you a card with a QR code to retrieve it later. No cost. Photo is a little overexposed (my dh’s shorts are khaki), but, hey - I’ll take it!
We stood in line for photos for about 30 minutes. Which was fun because we chatted with the couple in front of us. Since, you know, we weren’t all looking at our phones.
It was around 87°-88° with no wind and no clouds. I was glad to have the hat!
I’m so glad you posted - I was wondering how it went!
My son told me about the no phones rule. 88 sounds HOT to be on a golf course!
But just as importantly, did you have the pimento cheese sandwich or any of the other uncharacteristically inexpensive food?
My family was playing “you’ve got $10 to spend at The Master’s to eat - what are you buying”? We all decided a Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich cookie was a must!
This was my favorite! I had it for breakfast - alongside my breakfast sandwich 
. My friend said the ice cream sandwiches sell out later, and I didn’t want to miss it! So, I had those, and a pimiento cheese sandwich. Dh had the breakfast sandwich, an egg salad sandwich, and one Crow’s Nest beer. Only available there. We wanted to try the tomato pie, but they were not at every concession stand. They had a candy bar that was new this year, but I feared a melty mess. The concessions are a well-oiled machine. Actually the whole operation is.
Back on the topic of fashion, it was a great spot to spy lots of cute looks! Most women are either sporty/golfy (but upscale) or in some type of girlie dress. TONS of green and white. All but three women I saw had on tennis shoes.
And, the shopping is insane. They have created quite the scarcity model. Masters merch can only be purchased during that week and only at Augusta National. My dh bought his hat when he went in 2010. Of course, there is more than apparel for sale (gnomes, anyone?), but that’s a lot of it. You can search on Insta with, “Masters haul,” and see what I mean. I read they sell approximately $70 million in Masters merch over the week.
We were not really interested in merch. I bought socks for our ds. I would have bought one of the women’s straw hats, but those sold out.
The gnome thing is insane.
Wondering if I can ask the experts here - would a June wedding that is ‘black tie optional’ in Dallas be generally long dresses for the ladies? It’s evidently at a pretty ritzy place.
I’ve recently been to another wedding (less ritzy; in midwest) and there was one couple in tux for him and long dress for her. Everyone else just wore cocktail attire (or even more casual).
So not sure if geography is a factor (and maybe if it’s a fancy/luxe venue)? Thanks for any thoughts!
The Masters merch “hauls” on Insta and TikTok are insane. I watched a few since my H was there and asked if there was anything I wanted. He came home with a few fun shirts and hats for us and for Christmas gifts for the serious golfers in the family.
To me, “optional” signals that both cocktail attire (suits/cocktail dresses) and black tie (tuxes/long dresses) are ok. I’d personally wear a sparkly midi dress! Not a fan of formal gowns and hate how my knees look in cocktail dresses lol.
Thank you Bunsen! I’d like to do a mid-length dress (fancy-ish) since there’d be a better chance of reusing and don’t want to feel overdressed. Just kinda want to blend in elegantly lol.
Too hard to dance in a long gown!
Long gowns are also trip hazards—for wearer & those nearby.
I posted here about something similar (garden party cocktail, but inspiration page showed all pastel long dresses).
After MUCH looking for a dress, I decided on a below the knee dress that shows up under “cocktail dress” if you search Bloomies or Nordstrom, and has flowers. I picked that dress, even though I suspect many will be in long dresses, because I actually like it and think I will wear it again.
So, I’d get something “close enough” that you like/think you’ll wear again.
The only dress in my closet I’m not sure whether I will wear again is a beaded//sequined dress I wore to S’s wedding. I don’t care and MAY have future use for it (but rarely attend formal events).
Of course there’s also my wedding gown—no idea what we will ever do with that. It would never fit D—we are many sizes & inches & pounds apart. Maybe if she ever gets married I could make a ring bearer pillow with it. (S had NO wedding attendants.)
Just got the invite for our July wedding in Carmel, CA. The themes are: Rehearsal Dinner- Vineyard Chic, Welcome Party - Colorful Cocktail, Wedding - Black Tie Optional.
They also recommend bringing a coat for the evening wedding reception, which will be outside, because I guess it gets chilly there when the sun goes down, even in summer. We are scratching our heads over the “Vineyard Chic” (DH and I aren’t invited to the rehearsal dinner but D & SIL are). I’m not typically a colorful person so I will struggle with the welcome party theme. I will likely settle on as “neutral” of a color that I can 
I imagine at a “Vineyard Chic” (and other of that sort of nontraditional dress code) almost anything goes if tasteful. If actually in the vineyard, sensible shoes would be needed.
I interpreted this as what you’d wear to a fancy wine tasting. No tie for guys, just slacks and shirts (sportcoat can come in handy when the air gets chilly), nice dresses for gals (no sequins or anything too formal).
Paging @conmama our fashion expert! 
I agree with @BunsenBurner on the Vineyard Chic. Something you would wear to a nice wine tasting. In this case I would wear a cute sundress or jumpsuit and H would wear nice pants, a linen shirt and sport jacket without a tie.
The welcome party we’re invited to says “resort chic” - sounds similar. I am not sure my planned dress is “chic,” but it is what I’d typically wear to dinner when we go to Hawaii or the Caribbean, so I’m deeming it “good enough.” I actually appreciate that people give a clue as to what they’re thinking people should wear, but especially us “old people” will not be judged if we show up with something not quite “on theme.”
It’s so confusing with these different dress codes. I think as long as folks dress in clothes they’d b happy to be seen in at a nice restaurant (maybe avoiding black or white or too dressy or too casual), all should be fine.
Mainly don’t look like you just went to gym or beach or similar and not going to a prom.
