While I took the week off to attend many of the events at Full Figured Fashion Week  I did it knowing that I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend the two major signature events, one being the All White Party. Needless to say it was a pleasant surprise and an honor to be given the chance to attend the cruise for the very first time. (Major thanks to Lisa of Mustang Sally Two!)  The “Curves At Sea All White Party” is well known for being the hottest ticket on the FFFWeek event schedule with people even flying in from other countries just to attend.  Brooke and I were so excited we arrived at the pier no less than a full hour before the suggested early arrival time. It worked out for the best though since it gave us time to do a mini shoot by the pier before boarding the ship.

The evening’s programming included two fashion shows, the first was of the upcoming casual/performance wear collection from Fruit of the Loom- Fit for Me and the second being the white party collection from Ashley Stewart. We were even treated to a sneak peak of the “Bae Walks – Big and Tall Male Fashion Show” by some of the male models that were in attendance. It was a very welcome addition to the festivities considering the fact that the plus size and body positive communities tend to focus primarily on women.

We also got to enjoy really good food and drinks as the yacht cruised around the island of Manhattan giving us great views of Battery City, Governor’s Island and of course the Statue of Liberty. My favorite part was just getting the chance to talk and hang out with fellow influncers some of which I am lucky to call friends as well as those I have admired online.

So I’ll be honest – white really isn’t my thing. The color (or in this case, lack of color really) is truly unforgiving and just gives me an additional layer of anxiety that I really don’t need in my life. The few times I do wear white all I can think about is making sure that I don’t get dirty, so as you can expect this party dress code did push me out of my comfort zone.

Given the unexpected but welcome invitation, I did worry for a second that I had nothing to wear, however, I was very fortunate to have a white dress in my closet that was appropriate for the occasion. This SWAK dress is one that I actually purchased for only $10 at the  first Big Fat Flea I attended back in 2014.  At the time I was volunteering for 4 Real Women International, Inc (4RWI) and in need of a white dress to wear for some of the more dressy organizational events. Funny enough I never ended up wearing this to any 4RWI events like I had originally intended, yet it turned out to be a good purchase nevertheless.

My one worry for my party outfit was footwear as I actually don’t own any white shoes so I opted for gold instead, with my trusty gold-tone flat sandals from Avenue. This turned out to be a good choice as it gave me a chance to be dressy and comfortable especially on a rocking boat. The lace gives this dress a very feminine vintage charm so the added gold accents really amps up the look to fit the party atmosphere. I completed the look with a thin gold belt and gold ear cuffs. One person I met that night called this overall look “angelic with a bit of edge” and I got to admit that I like that.

~Get the look~

Kara Lace Dress (1X)  | SWAK 
Teardrop ear cuffs | Forever 21 (similar here)
Gold Belt | Fashion to Figure (similar here and here)
Highland Metal Swirl Sandal |  Avenue (similar here)

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I really had a great time to the point that I’ve already begun shopping for my outfit for next year’s party. What are your feelings about the color white? Are you attending any white parties this summer?