Both Liza and I are attending the Nashville Ballet Ball this Saturday night at the oh-so-chic Hutton Hotel.  With our brows nicely shaped and contoured, we plan on having a big time.  It should be a magical night:  chairs Betsy Wills and Jennifer Puryear know how to throw a party.  The Hutton has the same feel of a hip SoHo boutique hotel.  And, who doesn’t love the ballet?

The location of the Ballet Ball on Saturday Mar 6, 2010: the gorgeous Hutton Hotel in Midtown Nashville

During one of our harried planning meetings, we jokingly said, “You know, one could attend the Ballet Ball on Saturday night, then go to the Oscar Night America at the Belcourt Theatre the next night, and wear the same dress.  If you are careful with your hair, you could conquer both events with one blow out and the same false eyelashes. Wouldn’t that be a great post– How to be cheap when you are in the midst of a $1,000+ weekend!”

You’d be amazed what ideas don’t make it on the blog.

We moved our discussion to WHY most women always wear a long dress to Nashville’s black tie events. Overwhelmingly, Nashville grabs for the long gown. But, when it comes to Black Tie, as opposed to White Tie (which requires long), we would like to see more lengths – long AND short.   But not as short as some of the 2010 Spring Styles.  My gosh, some of these dresses could have you flashing some serious parts down under with a simple sneeze.  And, as I ask for some more short dresses, both Liza and I will be in -  eh hem – long gowns.

So, on the lookout for both short and long, here are some of our favorite gowns that WE KNOW will be at the Ballet Ball….

Carol Peretz

Carol Peretz contacted StyleBlueprint to say she would love to have a home for her collection in Nashville.  She used to sell at Grace’s and many of her former Nashville clients are making their way to Memphis (at Kitty Kyle Kollection) and Atlanta to continue to buy her dresses. So, Nashville merchants, she has a built in clientele here!  Since she is a huge supporter of the ballet and even teaches ballet in her spare time, she graciously sent several dresses for me to wear to the Ball.  Fluidity and movement, biased cuts, unusual draping and hand sewn Swarovski crystals are signatures of her designs. For the ballerina that resides in all of us, what’s not to love about tulle and lace?  My only dilemma NOW is deciding which gown to wear to the Ballet Ball.  All of them fit like a glove and all are beautiful.  Let me know your thoughts in the comment section and your vote may be the deciding factor….!

Carol Peretz gown

Carol Peretz gown

Carol Peretz gown

Dez Zamek

Dez is one of Nashville’s  genuine treasures and somewhat undiscovered.  I am even reluctant to write about her, because there is no seamstress in Nashville with her flair, creativity and je ne sais quoi  (OK, I am completely biased).  Laura Cooper (my table host)  found a 1959 sketch of a Valentino dress that she loved, but she wanted a more updated and sleek look.  Together, she and Dez recreated the dress with modern flair for her to wear to the Ballet Ball.  I think you all of you will agree – it is absolutely lovely.  Dez is a master seamstress and can capture the essence of couture gowns by selecting the perfect fabric to enhance the design.  And, for those of you keeping score, this is short dress:-)  So, if you are going and contemplating short, you know this one will be there as well!

Designed by Dez and inspired by Valentino

The reliable black skirt

Liza is wearing one of her favorite black skirts with her newly purchased top – off the sale rack at Haven!  We talked at length about the value of a great black skirt.  Both of us own one which in a pinch we couldn’t live without.  Mine is a Tadashi, ever so fitted, and when paired with a good pair of Spanx, it rocks.

Blouse by J Crew, skirt by Tadashi, obi belt

Liza says: I bought this skirt when my oldest was 3 months old- so 11 years ago.  I weighed about 45 pounds MORE than I do now (I really thought that I would breast feed and every single Krystal double cheeseburger would magically fall off…..I was wrong.)  I bought this skirt by Laundry and it was TIGHT. But, I squeezed in.  Now, it’s my go-to “I need to look good but I really don’t have it in me to look around for anything new” fall back, savior, power horse of a piece.  And, with the help of a safety pin- it always fits.  I think a great black skirt is one of the wisest purchases you can make even if you hit just one Ball a year.  However, I do think this picture makes me look pregnant, so I’m reconsidering and I may wear the 3rd dress down by Carol Perez if it fits…..But I do love the fact that I bought this Alice+Olivia top at 75% off at Haven and I therefore I may wear it to dinner Friday at Cafe Nona and then to the Ballet Ball on Saturday!  Talk about flexibility!  But, honestly, do you think this makes me look B-I-G??? UPDATE: OK- I’M WEARING THE CAROL PERETZ 3rd dress down tomorrow night.  LOVE IT!  And yes, you all are right who have personally emailed. This outfit does not look good on me.  Being fair, it looks better in person, but when you have a Carol Peretz dress given to you to wear for the evening, you wear it!  And I LOVE it!

Liza threw this on for me. She loves having a long black full skirt as it creates the perfect black tie look with a variety of tops.

If you’re attending the Ballet Ball, the Oscar Party at the Belcourt or any of the numerous black tie events Nashville hosts (I believe we have 40% than any other city per capita!), we hope we have inspired you to step somewhat out of the box for this Spring’s black tie season.  Of course, we didn’t feature any prints, the colors are kinda dark, and most of the dresses are long.  Damn.  We tried.

The Nashville Ballet Ball

The Hutton Hotel

Saturday, March 6^th

Oscar Night America at the Belcourt

The Belcourt Theater- $200

Sunday, March 7^th

Argonauta Design

It seems like lately everyone is talking about Spring Break. We are ready!  We are really ready to get out of the tundra and into the sun.  For those of you planning trips to Washington, Chicago or New York – it’s time to rethink. Southwest has some incredible deals right now – all heading South.  The thought of skiing down a snow laden slope makes me quiver.  All I want is a temperature over 35 degrees.
With Spring break on the brain, you can get a cheap, quick fix on warm weather by driving over to Target. (Yes, I’m that desperate.)  Target has all their bathing suits, cover ups and summer sandals out for you to peruse.  It’s a free quick trip to the memories of warmth!   The idea of trying on a bathing suit right now makes me cringe, but gazing at them while pondering soft gentle breezes, makes me smile.

Another thing that makes me smile right now (well, always) is jewelry – jewelry you can wear with shorts, t-shirts, light cotton shifts….

So when my cousin Sandi introduced me to Kim Catalano, a jeweler from Maine who makes “fishy” designs, it seemed like an appropriate post since Spring Break is only 17 days away and counting.  Sandi was wearing one of her bracelets on our recent family reunion. I was drawn to the cute fish in silver and beautiful beads. I am quite sure I have not seen anything quite like her jewelry before, and certainly not at such amazing prices.  One question I asked Kim is how can she make such gorgeous jewelry so inexpensively (most of her pieces are all handmade and under $100)

Her reply says so much about herself and her business philosophy.  “I know I could charge more, but I want to see my jewelry worn.  I started this 8 years ago and bought a shop, then I bought a larger shop.  I guess something must be working.”

Java Fish Bracelets @$44

StyleBlueprint readers: meet Kim Catalano of Argonauta Designs.

Kim, a jeweler with a knack for fish

Her jewelry making began 10 years ago as way to supplement her income as a commercial fisherwoman in Cape Cod.  She loved her life of jigging for cod and reeling for blue fin tuna – despite the fact the working days were a long 10-12 hours.  The beauty of seeing a dolphin and whale race beside the boat was inspiring, but unfortunately, she saw the results of over-fishing as the fish began to disappear.  Trying to make a difference, she joined in to educate and raise awareness of the  detriments of dragging the waters for fish.  Then she started making jewelry and selling it at home parties. With a captive audience, she could tell people what was going on in our deep blues seas.   Her fish jewelry is so popular now that she no longer is a commercial fisherwoman.  Her message is still clear:  if we want to continue to enjoy the wonder of the sea, we must sustain the population of fish and replenish them.

Triple strand dyed mother of pearl with onyx necklace @ $74

I hope you love her jewelry as much as I do.  Spring break is right around the corner.

I love gray. For all of you all that reach for black time and time again, gray is simply a softer version of black.  Add a few drops of white and there you go: gray. This Spring, be prepared to see gray in ways not typical of the sunny Spring seasons of the past.  This is great news for me, the queen of neutrals.  If you have trouble wearing pink, like I sometimes do, try this favorite look: white jeans, gray top, flesh colored shoes, pink bag…  Try it.  What’s that?  You don’t think gray and beige can be worn together?  Au contraire mon frere,  Check this out:

From Ann Taylor

If you a fan of gray, and I am the president of that fan club, this may be the season to open up your wallet.  Here are some of my favorite grays of today:

j Crew

Velvet top in gray at Emmaline, in Franklin

At Habit, this Rebecca Taylor dress is made to flatter many bodies. $275

Ella Moss gray top also at Emmaline. We had a field day at this fabulous shop in Franklin, across the street from SOL.

Chanel debuted this gray polish, Particuliere, for the Spring 2010 runway. All the models wore it and now I must have it too! Photo from Imaxtree.com

Chanel's 3 new colors for Spring (the gray one mentioned before, on the left, looks a little taupe-y here!) So, the outfit color combo I was just talking about at the beginning of this post? Yep, here it is again: gray, pink, beige. I know, it's so nice when Chanel listens to me;-)

Wear a gray top or dress with any of these nail colors and add the following shoes:

I mentioned flesh colored shoes and I don’t know how to be more flesh colored than to embrace the clear trend:

Clear sandals, Stuart Weitzman, $158

Blinda Slouchy, $250, Tory Burch.

If you can wear a 4 inch+ heel, and you have a wad of cash to blow, well, may I suggest this pair from Prada?:

Prada, $795. I love these. I would be almost 6'4" tall in these. Who cares. They are awesome.

Pedro Garcia, on sale at Jildor Shoes (website), $220

At just $98, these shoes from Banana Republic will fill many holes in a shoe closet and will be welcome in Nashville weather from late February through November.

These are bound to be as comfortable as they are cute! $80 and made by comfort brand Clarks.

And now, the pink purse.  Here are some good ones.  Hope you enjoy your new outfit and have a great weekend!

Botkier Venice Lambskin Shoulder Bag. $450, Neiman Marcus

I took this picture at the TJ MAXX in Bellevue. This bag is $129.99 and by a brand I have never heard of:Roberta Gandolfi

$450 Tory Burch

Boden, $178