What to wear to a semi-formal family diner? / Što nositi na donekle formalnu obiteljsku večeru?

Spring. Everywhere we look around there is something new to see. Life itself seems to be blossoming. I love Spring. It the season when we feel very much alive. I'm ready to forgive Spring for its downsides (such as viruses, allergies, tiredness and so on) because its  uppersides more than make up for it. After all, nobody is perfect. The imperfections are like waves. We might think they are there to give us problems, but it is all about how we sail them. If we sail the waves right, we'll get where we were heading much faster.

Proljeće. Gdje god pogledamo oko nas ima nešto novo za vidjeti. Čini se da i sam život cvijeta. Volim proljeće, to je vrijeme kada se osjećamo vrlo živima, stoga sam mu spremna oprostiti neke njegove nedostatke kao što su alergije, umor i ostalo. Na kraju krajeva, nitko nije savršen. Nesavršenosti su kao valovi. Možemo misliti da su tu da sam zadaju probleme, ali ako znamo na njima ploviti dospjeti ćemo ranije tamo gdje smo naumili. 

What to wear to a semi-formal family diner or celebration? Or in this case a First Communion party? What to wear for such an ocassion? This is my answer. Something classic and chic, an outfit that feels enough dressed up but it is still very  comfortable. You never know how long you are going to stay, so comfort is an element to be considered as well.  I don't know about you, but I like to put in a bit of effort when it comes to any special occasion. You don't have to put it a crazy amount of time into getting ready, but cleaning up a little shows your hosts that you respect them. Anyway, this is what I wore, one lovely sunny day in April. 

Što obući za donekle formalnu obiteljsku večeru ili slavlje? Ili kao u ovom slučaju slavlje Prve Pričesti? Kako se obući za takvu priliku? Ovo je moj odgovor. Nešto klasično i chic, odjevna kombinacija koja se čini dovoljno dotjeranom, a koja je ipak vrlo udobna. Nikada ne znate koliko ćete ostati, tako da je i udobnost faktor koji treba uzeti u obzir. Ne znam kakvo je vaše mišljenje, ali ja se volim malo potruditi kada je u pitanju neka posebna prilika. Ne mora to biti veliki trud, ali kada se sredite pokazujete poštovanje prema svojim domaćinima. Uglavnom, ovo je što sam nosila toga sunčanoga travanjskoga dana. 

They say you can't go wrong with a pencil skirt and  whoever 'they' may be,  they might be on to something.  A pencil skirt suits every body type. It makes every outfit more elegant. A pencil skirt is easy to dress up or down. Conclusion? A simple pencil skirt is a great addition to any closet. Since I ordered and got this skirt (as a part of a suit I had made for me) I've been wearing it very often. So, from my personal experience, it is  a great investment. Few things are as easy to style as a simple black pencil skirt. Do you like pencil skirts? If you do...Do you wear them often? Do you find them practical?  

Kažu da ne možete pogriješiti s suknjom olovka kroja i tko god 'oni' bili, mislim da su na tragu nečega. Suknja olovka kroja stoji svakoj građi i čini svaku odjevnu kombinaciju elegantnijom. Takvu suknju lako je prilagoditi ležernim i svečanim kombinacija. Otkada sam naručila i preuzela ovu suknju  (kao dio odijela koji sam dala na šivanje), jako često je nosim. Tako da iz moje perspektive to je jako dobra investicija. Nije puno stvari tako lako uskladiti kao crnu suknju olovka kroja. Nosite li vi suknje olovka kroja? Jesu li vam drage? Ako jesu...Nosite li ih često? Čine li vam se praktičnim?

Poem of the day

Cited from: 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44468/bright-star-would-i-were-stedfast-as-thou-art

“Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art” *

A Poem by John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—

         Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

         Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

         Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,

Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask

         Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—

No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,

         Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

         Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever—or else swoon to death.

 

How I wore it before? Sustainable fashion files

Post update (with the purpose of promoting sustainable fashion via shopping one's closet): 

In 2021, I showed you 45 ways to style this yellow plastic bag.  I have probably worn this bag more than 100 times. I still have it and I still wear it. 

In 2021, I showed you more than fifty ways to wear this pair of Mary Jane heels.  In that post, you can also see more ways to wear this silver blouse and this long cardi. 

You can also see how I styled this silver silk pussy bow blouse in this 2014 post with a green dress and in this 2015 post with jeans and a tartan coat.

Do you like wearing braids? Here are more links with posts featuring braids:

1) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2024/04/visit-stobrec-with-me-croatia-wiw-for.html

2) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2020/11/art-update-fashion-illustrations.html

3) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2020/12/hairstyle-inspired-by-croatian-folkore.html

4) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2018/03/wearing-floral-crown-but-being-aware-it.html

5) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2012/12/on-sunny-winter-daysuncanog-zimskog-dana.html

6) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2013/11/diy-butterfly-necklace-ogrlica-leptir.html

7) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2021/06/art-and-outfit-update-yellow-jumpsuit.html

8) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-to-choose-festive-outfit-more-tips.html

9) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2012/12/snowsnijegschneenevesneh.html

10) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-braid-your-hair-kako-uplesti.html

11) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2020/11/wiw-today-romanca-mostar.html

12) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2019/06/what-to-wear-to-summer-wedding-metallic.html

13) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2013/02/todays-outfit-post-heavy-is-head-that.html

14) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2024/05/visit-malta-with-ivana-hiking-tales.html

15) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2015/03/braids-outfit-post-pletenice-odjevna.html

16) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2024/06/how-to-style-vintage-pleated-dress-for.html

17) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2013/04/pletenice-frizura-postbraids-hair-style.html

18) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2018/01/outfit-of-day-sharing-my-hair-secrets.html

19) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2016/02/split-city-guide-church-of-saint.html

20) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2018/02/pink-and-red-worn-together-outfit.html

blouse/bluza: old/stara
skirt/suknja: sewn by measure/ šivana po mjeri
long cardi/ dug kardigan: no name
shoes/cipele: Peko

Do you want to see another post from this location? 

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2014/10/all-about-diy-outfi-post-uradi-sam.html

Mostar is a beautiful city! It is filled with this kind of green oasis. Check out the link below to see my most recent post from Mostar:

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2026/04/thank-you-for-5-million-views.html

OLDER posts about Mostar  1. You can see Mostar from the bird perspective in my previous posts (here, here and here).

 2. One of my favourite streets in Mostar here and here. 

3. Musala bridge (also known under its old name Tito's bridge here and here)

 4. You can see photographs of Mostar's Catholic cathedral here.

5. You can see images of Mostar and its famous Nertva river here, here and here.

 6. You can see the surrounds of one of its most iconic catholic churches here.

7. You can see both photographs of old bridge and my drawing of it here.

 8. Another one of my favourites when it comes to streets here. 

9. You can see photographs of Croatian cultural centre/theater here , here , here , here and here.

 10. You can see photographs of the main city park here here, here, here and here.

 More posts about Mostar:

11. You can see images of Spanish square here, here , here , here and here. 12. You can see photographs of Custom's bridge here and here. 13. You can see photographs of the new bridge here and here. 14. A few photographs from old city centre (2018) here. 15. What to wear for sightseeing Mostar in summer here.

16. This post is focused on 7 outfits I wore but you can see many of Mostar's attractions there as well. I suppose the same can be said for most of my outfit posts. 17. Mostar as an Easter destination (2019) here.

18. Mostar dinning and cafe recommendations here. 19. Hiking options in Mostar here. 20. My drawing of Mostar old bridge here. 21. University campus in Mostar here. 22. How I have fallen in love with Mostar here.

Poet of the day:    John Keats

Cited from: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-keats

John Keats was born in London on 31 October 1795, the eldest of Thomas and Frances Jennings Keats’s four children. Although he died at the age of twenty-five, Keats had perhaps the most remarkable career of any English poet. He published only fifty-four poems, in three slim volumes and a few magazines. But over his short development he took on the challenges of a wide range of poetic forms from the sonnet, to the Spenserian romance, to the Miltonic epic, defining anew their possibilities with his own distinctive fusion of earnest energy, control of conflicting perspectives and forces, poetic self-consciousness, and, occasionally, dry ironic wit.

Although he is now seen as part of the British Romantic literary tradition, in his own lifetime Keats would not have been associated with other major Romantic poets, and he himself was often uneasy among them. Outside his friend Leigh Hunt's circle of liberal intellectuals, the generally conservative reviewers of the day attacked his work as mawkish and bad-mannered, as the work of an upstart “vulgar Cockney poetaster” (John Gibson Lockhart), and as consisting of “the most incongruous ideas in the most uncouth language” (John Wilson Croker). Although Keats had a liberal education in the boy’s academy at Enfield and trained at Guy’s Hospital to become a surgeon, he had no formal literary education. Yet Keats today is seen as one of the canniest readers, interpreters, questioners, of the “modern” poetic project-which he saw as beginning with William Wordsworth—to create poetry in a world devoid of mythic grandeur, poetry that sought its wonder in the desires and sufferings of the human heart. Beyond his precise sense of the difficulties presented him in his own literary-historical moment, he developed with unparalleled rapidity, in a relative handful of extraordinary poems, a rich, powerful, and exactly controlled poetic style that ranks Keats, with the William Shakespeare of the sonnets, as one of the greatest lyric poets in English.

.....

Keats brought out the warmest feelings in those who knew him, and that included people with a remarkable range of characters, beliefs, and tastes. One can say without sentimentality or exaggeration that no one who ever met Keats did not admire him, and none ever said a bad—or even unkind—word of him. His close friends, such as Brown, Clarke, and Severn, remained passionately devoted to his memory all their lives. “On his deathbed in great emotion at his cruel destiny he told me that his greatest pleasure had been the watching the growth of flowers,” Severn remembered, more than twenty years later. “There was a strong bias of the beautiful side of humanity in every thing he did.”

“I have lov’d the principle of beauty in all things, and if I had had time I would have made myself remembered,” Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne in February 1820, just after he became ill. In Keats’s work the struggle with aesthetic form becomes an image of a struggle for meaning against the limits of experience. His art’s very form seems to embody and interpret the conflicts of mortality and desire. The urgency of this poetry has always appeared greater to his readers for his intense love of beauty and his tragically short life. 

 

blouse/bluza: old/stara
skirt/suknja: sewn by measure/ šivana po mjeri
long cardi/ dug kardigan: old
shoes/cipele: Peko