My PGA 2009 Wardrobe

As alluded to on Twitter and in a previous blog, next week I will attend the PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine in Chaska. I golf a little bit (BF bought me my own clubs for my birthday!), but I have never been to a golf tournament. I bought tickets almost a year ago to give to BF as an anniversary present because I know how much he adores golf (another testament to my superior girlfriend abilities), and now I’m very excited to go! Only one small problem: Attire. I asked BF what he thought I should wear, to which he replied, “I don’t know, whatever you wear to go golfing.” Helpful.

While I do golf, some, I haven’t quite reached the level where I will spend money on golf shirts or shorts. Normally, when I go golfing, I wear some version of a t-shirt and khaki pants (or even… gasp… jeans), which is definitely not something I want to be wearing when I take my picture with Tiger Woods (Oh yes, that is my mission).

So this week I have been on the hunt for the perfect golf outfits. I needed to find something cute for Monday- the first practice round- where picture-taking and autograph-getting is allowed, and then something sophisticated and classy for Sunday- the final day of the Championship round- where no pictures or autographs, or even CELL PHONES, are ok. Sunday is also a good day to look pristine, as out of the two days BF and I are going it is the one that we are most likely to run into people we know, such as co-workers, bosses, business associates, or networking contacts.

I thought, two days, not so bad. I’ve shopped for full weeks of events before with no problem. Little did I know, “Golf” has a very particular look, with added restrictions of no heels (not only will they stick in the grass, they also make it hard to chase Tiger down the 15th fairway waving a camera, he, he), no flip-flops (My feetsies need some support for the long walks), layers necessary for this most unusual Minnesota summer, and lightweight/portable (once again, a hefty handbag won’t help me get my hands on Mr. Woods). After two days of scouring, buying, returning, and speeding down Highway 100 to get the last one of the perfect cross-body bag, I’m exhausted. May I now present, my wardrobe for the 2009 PGA Championship.

Monday:

I picked up this beauty of a dress at Banana Republic. I decided in order to only have to buy one set of accessories; my color theme for the week would be navy. This fit the bill to a T. Lightweight, with the ability to keep me warm while still letting air flow, and most importantly, totally chic and classic. Tiger Woods will be asking ME to take a picture with him.


Sunday:

This was the real trick. How do you look sophisticated while maintaining a summery, flowy, classy look that will let you move? How do you look sophisticated without wearing heels?!

I was lucky to run across this picture of a style idol of mine, Olivia Palermo, for inspiration. Here she is shooting for The City:


I immediately adored the Topshop cardigan, and then decided I might as well re-create the whole look. I already have the Ray-Ban sunnies (a classic I would have worn anyway), but it was up to me to find the shirt, necktie, and shorts. Luckily, Topshop still had the cardigan in my size.

While in Banana, I took a look at some of their white dress t-shirts. They had a few promising options, but all of the women’s shirts were so heavily pleated around the chest and waist that I couldn’t achieve the flowy look Olivia’s blouse has. The whole time I was in the dressing room I was wishing they could just make women’s shirts like men’s, with no pleating or fittings. Then I had an epiphany: Banana Republic sells men’s shirts too! I headed over to the men’s side, and found the perfect white dress tee. Sure the salespeople gave me some weird looks, but it was worth it.

The navy shorts were the hardest to find. No one seemed to have any, until finally, on a whim, I headed into Old Navy- a store I haven’t shopped at in 10 years. Good thing too, these are perfect:

A quick search on Etsy discovered the perfect navy necktie, made by NadineNewYork:
Accessories:

As I said before, I wanted to wear the same shoes/purse both days. I also wanted to create an interesting twist on each outfit, so I decided on red accessories! A pop or two of red is so on trend right now. Here is what I came up with:

I knew this cross-body bag from Dooney was perfect the moment I saw it. Big enough to carry a camera, cell phone, and other essentials for Monday, but not so big I will look like an idiot carrying a huge tote with nothing in it Sunday. Also, cross-body means I don’t have to “carry” it all day.
Loafers by Franco Sarto. On sale. Keep my feet from getting dirty. Have an arch for some support. Perfect.


What does everyone think? Is anyone else going to the tournament? If so, what are you wearing? And if you are, maybe you will spot me! (Hopefully in the clubhouse sitting next to Tiger ☺ )

Birthday Weekend Re-Cap

This weekend, specifially May 15, was my birthday! And don't even think about asking how old I am.

I always enjoy when my special day can fall on a weekend. While I always have a "birthday weekend" for celebrating, it makes it much more fun when part of that weekend is your actual birthday.

Friday night my family took me out for dinner, followed immediately by a long night out with BF and friends drinking and dancing. Drinks were paid for (not by me, of course), shots were taken, and hilarity insued for most of the evening until BF and I collapsed into our favorite cabbie's car and I proceded to tell him my drunken life story on the $10 ride home.

Saturday normally would have been a day to recover, but because it was my birthday weekend I instead spent the day with my parents and BF trying out my birthday present: golf clubs. Nine holes proved that new clubs don't make you Tiger Woods, but they do help a little. Even still, by the 7th green I was feeling lack of sleep, and after quadruple-bogieing the ninth, BF and I headed home and crashed. Note to self: If you want to go out two nights in a row, don't go golfing in between.

Today is going to be the relaxing day I missed yesterday. Plans are watching TV and movies and vegging out on greazy foods. Maybe when the BF gets back from golfing (his goal is 30 rounds this summer) I will drag myself to Art-A-Whirl which unfortunately had to take a backseat to the festivities.

Birthdays are my favorite parts of the year. I feel like birthday excitement fits on sort of a bell-curve. As a child, you are excited about your birthday, but because the attention is on you the majority of the year, birthday's are just the day you get to eat cake. However, as I get older and realize the world is less and less about me (tragic, really), birthdays are the day that I finally get the attention and recognition I crave. I know someday I will dread the passing of one more year, but for now, I'm enjoying the high.