This is a problem that was brought up to me at a 3rd grade girls' softball game. One of the moms was saying how she was heading directly to a dinner from the game, and had a tough time coming up with what to wear for both sitting in a field AND dining at a nice restaurant immediately after. (Personally, I thought she did a fine job in picking her outfit.) If you are like me, you want to look cute for both occasions but also appropriately dressed.
If you have the right items in your closet, this shouldn't be too difficult. Here are a couple of key ingredients you should have to pull this off.
Ingredient number 1, a chair. Whatever you choose to wear, you shouldn't be dependent on a picnic table or bench. It might be wet, covered in pollen, and you should sit on something clean. Please invest $11.99 in one of these.
 |
Image from dickssporttinggoods.com.
|
Ingredient number 2, pants. I think it's important to have long pants on for this scenario, either jeans or trousers, if the weather permits. They will protect you from bugs and therefore you can avoid the 'eau de Off' smell later at dinner. Jeans are fine if appropriate at the restaurant. If you need to be dressier, I recommend looking into a darker-colored ponte knit pant. This type of pant will not wrinkle and is completely comfortable to hang around in. Either my $75 pair of Michael Kors pants will do, or these Tibi ones look great.
 |
Image from tibi.com.
|
I like the idea of the pants being a little cropped too and here's why - you shouldn't wear your 'dinner shoes' to the field. Stick on a pair of ballet flats, sneakers, or rain shoes if you need to for trekking across a field, and have your 'dinner shoes' in the car for after the game. A pant that is hemmed for heels is too tricky to wear for the game, so pass on those.
Ingredient number 3, layers. On top, you'll have to layer a bit, again depending on the weather. Start off with a top that doesn't wrinkle too much. Silk jersey is good for this, and a poly/cotton blend will be the most resistant to wrinkles. Something that you are excited to wear for dinner. Diane von Furstenberg makes great tops for dining out, and this would look great with cropped, black pants.
 |
Image from bloomingdales.com.
|
If it's cooler out, layer on a cute jacket or trench. Again, this jacket doesn't have to be for dinner; you can ditch it in the car (along with your 'game shoes') on the way to the restaurant. Jackets can range from cute 'activewear' jackets like this North Face one...
 |
Image from nordstrom.com.
|
...to a classic shortertrench, like this one from Comptoir des Cotonniers.
 |
Image from comptoirdescotonniers.com.
|
Ingredient number 4, the secret weapons in your car. In addition to your shoes and jacket that will need to be changed, these items should be in your car for the 'transformation' en route to dinner:
- Change of shoes.
- Change of outerwear to a blazer, if needed.
- Clutch - move essentials from purse to clutch.
- Change of jewelry - add necklace, stacked bracelets, and/or earrings.
- Perfume sample - a spritz will do wonders
- Lipstick or gloss, and any other makeup you'd want to apply to freshen up. I usually just powder my face to get rid of shine and reapply lip gloss.
And voila, you are ready to see and be seen. I put together another 'set' on Polyvore (yes, I'm addicted, can you tell?!) showing both 'at game' and 'at dinner' looks using the same base items. Hope it inspires, and please keep the questions coming. We love it. ~ JH
