Of tea and hors d'oeuvres

During the days of Marie Antoinette, tea parties were always social gatherings where the prettiest of society dress up in their most gorgeous gowns for an afternoon of caffeine and sweets.

The ball gowns have disappeared and tea is no longer trendy, but it doesn't mean we can't relive the feeling.
So in line with S' tea party theme, we dressed in our most ladylike attires :)

Ninin's take


I had absolutely no idea how to interpret the "ladylike" theme-- err, well, that's not completely true, I had outfits in mind but all of my ideas necessitated buying new items, which, at this time is not an option. I'm broke from Christmas shopping so I had to make do with whatever was available in my closet which is where the challenge begins!

My only saving grace was this billowy beige chiffon skirt I got last year. It was, in my point of view, the most ladylike thing I have in my closet. I have a weird way of interpreting things and maybe, it's not really as "ladylike" as I perceive it to be. Still, I ended up taking that as inspiration and working from there. So the challenge begins!

The evolution of an outfit

Take 1: pair it with a plain top. Hmm...nah, still not ladylike.
Take 2: add a black cardigan. Nyikes, feels a bit serious.
Take 3: Top it with a flowy crocheted top. That'll do it!

And so I ended up with this:

So, does it pass the "ladylike" test? haha

Black spag strap - Candy
Black long cardigan - Cinderella
Cream flowy crocheted cardigan - Kultura
Beige knotted chiffon skirt - Soiree
Salmon caged boots - Parisian

Sophia's take


I was the one who specified the 'ladylike dress code' just because I felt that it was appropriate for tea. At first I wanted to wear something casual, after all it's just afternoon tea. But then I also wanted to wear something elegant because traditionally, only ladies of society enjoyed afternoon tea. So the only logical clothing option for me was to wear lace. We've seen lace clothes in various international designers' collections for the past seasons. This is probably because lace connotes elegance, innocence, bliss and a certain delicate femininity. In fact it's so delicate that one must be very careful not to overdo it or else risk showing too much skin and look unbecoming.

I've had that top hidden in my closet for months now. I don't like the neckline of the lace top but I made do with it by wearing a statement necklace.

The pop of blue gives the outfit more life, don't you think? If given the chance to redo the outfit however, I won't use the belt that comes with the skirt, I 'd opt for a darker colored one.

Lace top: Topshop
Spandex Camisole (worn underneath the lace top):Maidenform
Skirt: Pill
Nude Heels: Steve Madden

Allow us to add one of our friend's dresses here (just because we think it's so adorable!)

Don't you just love the texture of it? So unique!