Part of the fun of enjoying a meal is dressing for it. The right outfit sets the mood. I think the food just tastes better when I’m dressed appropriately for the occation. My ensemble for a night out with the girls is very different from the one I would wear to a Sunday boozy brunch. Here, I’ll show you how I style myself for all sorts of different meals.

I want to start by apologizing for the quality of these pics.  I was not intending to do a post about this outfit and, therefore, didn’t plan any photos.  But the more I thought about it, the more I liked that I created two very different outfits that I wore to two very different meals – all with the same dress.

This Trina Turk dress (old, originally $318 found on super duper sale for about $60) is surprisingly versatile.  Paired with the proper accessories, I was able to wear it to wedding and then later to synagogue/break the fast on Yom Kippur.

The first look was for a September vineyard wedding:

Why do I look like a giant?!

I wore the dress with a gold belt (old, Francesca’s, ~$15), long delicate gold necklace (old, Loft, ~$20), blingy Lia Sophia crysal earrings (gift, similar here), and some fabulous hot pink, gold, and black heeled sandals (Chinese Laundry, super sale $49).  I typically don’t choose a shift dress for wedding attire because it feels a bit too buttoned up for a party, but the belt and shoes work to make the dress a bit more form fitting and fun.  Honestly, these heels make a big difference.

Sorry there’s no full body shot, but at least this one gives you a view of the shoes

The second look was what I wore to synagogue for Yom Kippur services and then to a family break the fast.  It’s also an outfit I now wear to work.

This time, I switched out the gold belt for a black leather one that had come on a cheap H&M dress.  I wore out the dress long ago (it was never that special), but kept the belt to re-purpose on numerous outfits.  I accessorized with pearl drop earrings (Stella & Dot, gift) and a pair of brooches (Bauble Bar, $15, similar here).  For shoes I wore Burberry pump loafers (I had major troubles finding a similar style, but these also have a round toe and would look good).  I put a white button down under the dress and it totally transformed the outfit.  This look was definitely more schoolmarm chic.

In both cases, I created the outfit by mixing lots of random stuff I already had in my closet.  The looks are so different, but I loved them both.  If you’re gonna get a standard piece like this dress, make it work for ya!