White dress, hold the stockings and the shoes.

I had the privilege of attending a very prestigious Historically Black college for women. I loved attending a my alma mater and I believe that it definitely helped mold me into the woman I am today. One of the biggest characteristics of women's colleges is the sense of tradition. We did a lot of things because they were traditional; because that's the way the founders did it. Yes, we all know a good bit about Sophia and Harriet.

One of the more interesting traditions involves the required dress code for important events, like graduation. All of us wore the same thing under our cap and gowns: White dresses, flesh toned stockings, and closed toe black shoes. When I share this aspect of our tradition with others, most people can dig the dress and the hose, but they are thrown off by the shoes. Remember what I said earlier about our reverence for tradition? Well, for the founders and the first students, their nicest shoes (think: church shoes) were black. So it made sense that those were the shoes they wore with their finest for school events. And we do it today because its tradition.

What does all of this have to do with wedding planning? Well, I feel like a bride should have a cute white dress to wear to wedding events. Especially since my gown is ivory, I wanted a white dress to wear to our rehearsal and maybe my shower. Something that speaks to the bridal tradition* without the mounds of fabric and the train. That, and I haven't owned a white dress since I graduated from college and considering my background, I should have one in my arsenal. Thankfully spring fashion has finally sprung, so you're starting to see white dresses in light breathable fabrics (a necessity for SoFla) in the stores and online.

I ended up ordering this dress from Old Navy.com:


I love that the dress is white and cotton and can easily be dressed up with some cute flats or wedges and big chunky jewelry, or dressed down with flip flops and a jean jacket. I think it will suit my current white dress needs quite nicely.

I'll pass on the stockings and the shoes this go round. However, when I need to step foot on campus for an official event, I'll make sure to complete the look in the way tradition mandates.

♥

*you like how I worked that in dontcha :)