How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway

And they’re off! Today marks the start of this year’s Kentucky Derby style series; you can follow along on Instagram by following the #WNWdoesDerby hashtag and see past Derby looks here. Getting ready for and attending the biggest event at Churchill Downs can really add up so I wanted to start this year’s series by showing how to affordably dress for KY Derby. As an added bonus there’s a HUGE $400 giveaway to Target starting today, be sure to read to the end to enter!

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Featured | How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway:

How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway | Can I Repeat?

When my parents first moved to Louisville, I remember something very distinctive about the house hunting process. Despite the size of the closet or what neighborhood it was in, every master closet had TONS of hatboxes. Eventually my mom broke down and asked our realtor what was up with all the hatboxes and she explained that they were for Derby hats and fascinators. {In our defense, we were from out of state.}

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For people that attend Oaks and Derby every year, picking the right fascinator and hat is a big deal. You want something that is beautiful and will match your outfit perfectly. I’m here to provide a hot take: it’s okay to wear the same headpiece to more than one Derby day. There are definitely some beautiful and unique pieces that can make this tricky {looking at you, Thurby fascinator!}, but if you end up opting for a hat or fascinator with one to two colors, it’s doable.

How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway | The Dress

This dress, y’all! I work with SheIn pretty regularly and this may be one of my favorite pieces I’ve gotten from them. Red typically isn’t a color that I pick out for myself, but I went to a red dress gala this past weekend so I picked out a bunch of red dresses hoping that one would be “the one.” {Backup plan was to wear black with red accessories.} This burgundy dress definitely was a touch out of my comfort zone with both the color and the deeper neckline, but I still ended up going for it and received SO many compliments. This dress really is perfect for a fancy date night, black tie wedding, and of course for Kentucky Derby and doesn’t break the bank at under $50.

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How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway | The Fascinator

I knew I wanted to shoot this dress for Derby and instead of tracking down a fascinator with this shade of red/burgundy, I pulled out this blush fascinator that Queen SugarBee sent me last year. Personally, I love the combination of burgundy and blush and knew that this look would be SO different than how I styled the fascinator last year. I pulled out my blush block heels to make the coral fascinator really ensure that the accent color looked intentional.

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How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway | The $400 Target Giveaway

In honor of affordable fashion, this week I’ve teamed up with some fellow style bloggers to bring you a $400 Target gift card giveaway. Use the widget below to enter!

Money Can Buy Lipstick | Rosé & Chambray | Pish to Posh | Blondes & Bagels
A Good Hue | Britt + Whit | Chelsey Rae | What Nicole Wore
Bold & Bliss | byKatiness | Basking in Burgundy | To Thine Own Style Be True
Stefana Silber | Bubbly Moments | Style Elixir

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway is open internationally. The winner will be announced (on the widget only) up to 2 weeks after the giveaway has ended. It can take time to select, verify, and get in contact with the winner, so please do not privately message any of the hosts. If you have any questions about the giveaway process, feel free to e-mail moneycanbuylipstick@gmail.com.

How to Affordably Dress for KY Derby + Target Giveaway | Accessories and Makeup

When I wore this dress for the gala I went with black heels, but I did wear these burgundy statement earrings. Lisi Lerch has so many fun statement earring designs and I love that they offer each style in such a wide range of colors. I went simple and pulled out my favorite everyday necklace, but you could easily rock this necklace with pearls to tie in the classic vibe or a choker to add to the modern vibe that the asymmetric sleeves give. Finally, I pulled out my tried, true, and trusty leopard clutch. The calf-hair look is so chic and this clutch has two interior pockets that make it easy to tuck away your ID, cards, cash, and other race day necessities.

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This weekend called for new makeup; I broke out the limited edition Backtalk palette from Urban Decay and I’m pretty impressed. The tones in this palette are straight up beautiful and worked so well on my deep tan skintone. Looking forward to dipping into and experimenting with this palette a little more.