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Valentine's Day may be a manufactured holiday, but it’s no fun to be alone as evening rolls around. At one time or another, every girl as been there — feeling down-in-the dumps and unattractive, wanting to hide and spend the night with the couch and some chick flicks.
Don’t let that be an option. While this might not be the year that you get to be the girl spending the evening smooching with a significant other over champagne and roses, this red-letter evening is not meant to be spent alone. Valentine’s Day is also an opportunity to embrace being single — and to have a fun night out with friends.
The trick is to find a way to feel good about going out. A major step toward that objective is finding the right wardrobe for your event of choice.
“A lot of fashion is just how you carry yourself,” said Seattle-based stylist Tiffany Wendel, who specializes in helping women in Seattle, New York and Los Angeles find their personalities through fashion. “And if you’re wearing the outfit with confidence, then you can get away with anything no matter what you’re doing.”
A pair of leather pants and a heel and a pretty silk blouse is so great. ... Especially at a bar, it’s a great way to add a bit of edge and add a little bit of sex appeal.
- Tiffany Wendel, Seattle-based stylist
Cineplex Style
An uber-casual night at the multiplex offers a chance to look comfortably chic in everyday favorites while digging into that popcorn and soda. After all, this is an event that’s going to require a lot of sitting, so you don’t want something that’s going to bunch up or feel too tight and restricting.
Chicago-based stylist Jennifer Burton says skinny jeans and ballet flats will almost always work in these situations. She also suggests using the opportunity to play around with a new hairstyle -- perhaps one that features braids.
“Like, if you’re doing a fishtail braid or doing half your hair braided," she said. "I think that’s really feminine and looks really nice. And it’s pretty easy to do.”
Wendel suggests wearing something you can cuddle up in, like a “boyfriend-style sweater.”
She adds that movies aren’t necessarily the best place to draw attention to yourself with loud, flashy outfits, so let accessories do the work and bring in pops of color with a colorful scarf or purse. Burton agrees, and she suggests bringing in the holiday’s trademark reds and pinks and going with “a red blouse and some nude (colored) pants.”
Dazzle Them at Dinner
A dinner out with the ladies is the best comfort food imaginable -- holiday or no holiday.
For a long evening of laughter and girl talk -- and perhaps a bottle of wine or two -- Wendel suggests pieces like your favorite pair of jeans matched with a cute blouse, a blazer, and either "a great flat or a mid-heel” such as a wedge. Accessorize the look with a stack of shiny, colorful bracelets.
Feeling body conscious? Embrace the layered look on top, Burton advises, and pair it with flat, over-the-knee boots and skinny jeans.
“A tunic-style top is great with a long cardigan,” she said. “For women who might not have a perfect figure, it elongates the body. A long cardigan especially will draw the eye downward the length of the form. If layers are done correctly, it can really add interest and make it seem like the outfit is taken up to the next level.”
Raising the Fashion Bar
Let the lovers have their fancy, overpriced prix fixe menus: Sometimes it’s best to have a night on the town. But whether your destination is a dive with a jukebox or something a little more sophisticated, there are some tricks to looking sassy yet classy when you’re hitting the bar scene on Valentine’s Day.
“A pair of leather pants and a heel and a pretty silk blouse is so great,” Wendel said. “You just feel so confident the minute you put them on. They can be worn during the day; they can be worn out at night. But especially at a bar, it’s a great way to add a bit of edge and add a little bit of sex appeal.”
She suggests feminine touches like a tunic or a flowy blouse to meld the worlds of hard and soft features.
“Always think of having tension in the outfit,” she said. “So if the pant is really sexy, balance that outfit with a shirt that is a little bit maybe drapey or voluminous and not quite so baring, so you have a bit more coverage. Then you wear really high heels.”
