Black & Gold Dress + High Waist Leggings (Stirrups)

When I was younger I HATED stirrup pants. That strap across the bottom of my heel was sooo ANNOYING! Add that to a list of other things I hated to wear like: itchy dresses, turtlenecks, skirts, puffy ring dresses etc. Thank God I got some "sense" and grew out of the stage of hating all things fashion. I was a late bloomer to the fashion party, but, I still made it - better late than never as they say! 

Fast forward 30 years and I just purchased my first pair of stirrups (high waist leggings) as an adult, at Target. I've had stirrups on my wishlist for a few months as the trend is back into rotation. So it was a pleasant surprise when I saw these stirrups at Target for only $15. I knew right away I had to have them. As I stood at the checkout line ready to purchase my new stirrups, I chuckled to myself a little bit, because I so dreaded these type of pants when I was little. What a difference a few decades make!

But let's get to why we're really here! As promised, this post is the second installment of our holiday series. For today's look I paired my high waisted stirrup leggings with my black and gold smock dress (both of which I snagged from Target...can, I just say, Target has been killing the game lately in the clothing department. If you haven't checked out their [new] clothing lines [A New Day for women, Good Fellow for men, and Cat & Jack for kids] in a while, do yourself a favor and do so. You will not be disappointed). This combination is a match made in heaven. It checks off a plethora of boxes I personally look for when trying to capture the holiday spirit: gold (check), sparkle (check), sleekness (check) and slayage (check)! 

With temperatures steady dropping here in Georgia I decided to pair my dress with the new stirrup leggings I purchased instead of wearing it on its own for fuller coverage. To give the dress some added structure, I added my skinny patent leather belt, to create the illusion of a snatched waistline (coming summer 2018). 

Ali's Fashion Sense Tip: For a simple outfit hack, ditch the pants and patent leather belt and add tights and over - the - knee boots (or a pair of cute ankle booties) and wallah, you have a whole a different silhouette plus an additional holiday - ready outfit in a jiffy! You don't always have to go out and purchase things to get a fresh, new holiday look. Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity and a few swaps and you'll look like "new money!"

*I'm cracking up in the picture below because, as my hubby/photographer was snapping my picture a guy rolled by with his family in his minivan and said " you go girl!" It caught me completely off guard, but truly provided genuine holiday cheer. *

BLACK SMOCK DRESS WITH GOLD FOIL// via Target (cute alternative here) - HIGH WAISTED (STIRRUP) LEGGINGS// via Target - PATENT LEATHER BELT// old (similar here) - BLOCK HEELS// via Target  - EARRINGS// via Target (similar here)

This ensemble gives me great holiday cheer, and is the perfect holiday dress + pants combo for you to rock this holiday season. It's not too flashy but it gets the job done and the point across... "we came to slay!" We are in the holiday spirit here at Ali's Fashion Sense, hopefully you are too (cue the Christmas music and warm up the hot cocoa)! Stay tuned for our next holiday party installment. 

Until next time, I'll ttyl luvs,
-Ali