derby days Archives - What Nicole Wore

One Stop Shop to Get Ready for Kentucky Derby Festival

April 4, 2018

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Kentucky Derby Festival Fashion Show as a guest of Macy’s. Macy’s is the official sponsor of the event and really shows off the fact that they’re Louisville’s one stop shop for getting Derby ready. Keep reading for more of the process of picking out this look with help from Macy’s, my thoughts on the fashion show, and how I’d style this dress for Derby Day.

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{This post is sponsored by Macy’s and may contain affiliate and/or referral links. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through a link in this post. Thank you for your support of What Nicole Wore.}

Louisville blogger, What Nicole Wore, shares all about your one stop shop for getting ready for Kentucky Derby and recaps the KDF Fashion Show sponsored by Macy's! // yellow fit and flare dress, kentucky derby outfit, kentucky derby fascinator, how to wear a fascinator, black and white derby hat, kendra scott necklace, urban decay backtalk palette on dark skin — featured | macy’s: embroidered fit and flare dress c/o + fascinators by julia bee: ivory and black fascinator c/o {under $75} + red dress boutique: black wedge sandals c/o {size down} + macy’s: white statement earrings c/o {similar} + kendra scott: elisa necklace + vera bradley: satchel c/o {similar}

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Blue Jumpsuit for Derby

April 24, 2017

Y’all no lies told in this space — I’m still recovering from this weekend! Luckily, I’ve had this Derby look sitting in my drafts for a few weeks now. While traditionally women wear dressed for Derby and Oaks, today I’m sharing the cutest printed blue jumpsuit.

Friday and Saturday, I volunteered at the Authors in the Bluegrass event in Lexington. Trashy romance novels are by far my biggest “guilty” pleasure, so getting to meet some of the authors I love to read and chat with many more was an awesome experience. Keep reading for more of my latest Derby look as well as a really cool view of an empty Commonwealth Stadium.

Blue Jumpsuit for Kentucky Derby — featured: impromptu boutique: stroll with me playsuit c/o {UNDER $75} + the hat girls: navy fascinator c/o + kelly & katie: coderno pumps {UNDER $40} + kendra scott: brook stud earrings in black druzy c/o {UNDER $75} + tarte cosmetics: 12 hour matte foundation + nars cosmetics: blush + anastasia beverly hills: brow powder duo + mac cosmetics: matte lipstick + opi polish: infinite shine nail polish c/o

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Derby Days: Shabby Apple Nutcracker Dress

May 6, 2016

Happy Friday and if you’re a Louisvillian/Kentuckian, Happy Oaks Day! I’ve had this dress for awhile now, but hadn’t had a chance to style it here for the blog, but it seemed like the perfect dress for Oaks.

Derby Days: Shabby Apple Nutcracker Dress — featured in this post: shabby apple: nutcracker dress c/o {on sale!} + amazon: cream fascinator {also seen here} + old navy: nude lace up flats {similar | also seen here} + groopdealz: white rose necklace {also seen here} + j. crew: pavé link bracelet {similar under $30 | also seen here} + sage k and co: spiked bracelet {also seen here} + versona: pink bracelet {old} + charming charlie: oversized cocktail ring {old, similar | also seen here} + colourpop: matte lipstick + nars: blush + tarte: blush

The first thing that pulled me towards this dress from Shabby Apple was the fun bow sleeves and bright color; as I’ve said before I’m not a huge pink person but am trying to get better this year about adding a wider variety of color to my closet. As much as I tease my mom about constantly wearing black, I have a big tendency to reach towards a navy or blue option when it’s available in anything.

I love how bold the color is here and wanted to really play it up by letting it be the main focus of this look. I decided to do so by pairing this up with neutral pieces like my nude lace up flats and a slightly blingy, but mostly gold arm party.

I love this simple cream fascinator; this one sits on a headband versus the clip in option and then has tulle and feathers. I don’t like to go too oversized with hats or fascinators and this one stays on the daintier side.

And since it’s Friday, here’s some Friday Favorites:

Erin gave me major skirt envy with this flowy, pleated pink number!
My bedroom is in major need of an overhaul and if I ever get around to it, I definitely want to make these DIY gold foil pillows!
Kelly’s super personal post on miscarriages and infertility is extremely well written and personable. While I’ve never dealt with either, I felt very choked up just reading her experience and knowing now that she’s super close to bringing a sweet babe into the world.
Lifeguard Press has Kate Spade 2017 agendas available for pre-order and I’m LOVING the Caning option and that they have spiral options too this year! I said that this was the year that I was going to use my planner all the way through, but I had a terrible accident where my Vitamin Water accidentally opened while in my Longchamp and soaked said agenda….
I loved the Kentucky Derby themed LIKEtoKNOW.it takeover that was hosted this week by Shelby and Beth!
These pom pom sandals have me feeling some type of way, but I might try my hand at a DIY.

This is the very last Derby Days post {ahhhh!}; hope you have a great weekend, whether it be spent in the infield sipping on Mint Juleps or at home watching the races!

Thank you to Shabby Apple for partnering with me on this post! All opinions are my own.

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Celebrating May Flowers with the Kentucky Derby Shep Shirt

May 4, 2016

Welcome to the How I Style It blog hop; each month I join up with four other bloggers to show how we each created a look based upon one theme. Last month was April Showers so fittingly, this month we’re celebrating May Flowers!

Derby Days: Kentucky Derby Shep Shirt — featured in this post: vineyard vines: run for the roses shep shirt c/o {also seen here} + dressbarn: blue skinny jeans {also seen here} + hunter boots: original tall rain boot {also seen here} + lucie’s locket: pearl ring c/o {similar | also seen here} + michael kors: watch {similar | also seen here} + five below: purple mirrored aviators {similar} + old navy: mini saddle bag {old, similar | also seen here} + vineyard vines: kentucky derby croakies c/o + vineyard vines: kentucky derby coozie c/o + nars: blush

Be sure to check out all of these sweet ladies and give them a follow!

Derby week is here! It’s been gross and rainy so far this week, but I’m crossing my fingers for nice weather on Oaks and Derby days. While the two biggest days of the season are still to come, Louisville’s been pretty busy with hosting Thunder, the Derby Marathon and all the other annual events that are apart of the Kentucky Derby Festival.

Today, I’m sharing a much more casual Derby outfit that’s perfect for roaming Waterfront or heading to Chow Wagon!

Each year, Vineyard Vines creates a number of items for Kentucky Derby and they always perfectly encompass the spirit of Derby: bold, colorful and fun. This Shep Shirt has been perfect for the late April, early May season; I never know what the weather will be like so the fact that it’s lightweight and easy to layer over a basic tee or button down is the best.

I love the rose print that they chose for several of this year’s items, including my Shep Shirt, sunglass strap and {not pictured here} coozie, and it felt like it would be perfect for the May Flowers theme of today’s blog hop!

With all of the rain we’ve had lately, my Hunter boots have been getting quite the workout. These are still my favorite for keeping my feet completely dry during the gross, muddy weather that comes with spring.

PS. Have you checked out Shopbop’s Surprise Sale yet? Here are my favorites:

Huge thank you to Vineyard Vines for partnering with me on this post; working with brands to create fresh, colorful content is the best! All opinions expressed are my own.

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Derby Days: Blush Bow Dress

April 28, 2016

Y’all what a week! It’s been super crazy and Friday seemed to kind of sneak up on me, which is always nice. I’m headed to Atlanta this weekend to visit my aunt and cousin {and to see Beyoncé, no big deal.} Kind of bummed to miss some NBA playoff action, but with my Clippers going into their annual playoff self-combustion mode, I’m not too worried about missing anything of value.

Everybody in Louisville seems to be getting excited for the Kentucky Derby and with the race being just 8 days away {say what?!} it seemed like a great time to show off this blush bow dress that’s perfect for race day plus all the spring and summer soirees you have coming up.

What Nicole Wore: Blush Bow Dress — featured in this post: shein: blush bow dress c/o + rebecca minkoff: love crossbody {in blush | also seen here} + forever 21: fringe wedge {also seen here} + amazon fashion: gray fascinator {under $5} + gray statement necklace + colourpop: matte red lipstick {under $11} + nars: blush {my fave} + urban decay: eyeshadows

Let me start by talking about this fascinator situation; when I started dreaming up this Derby Days series, I knew that I wanted to write about budget friendly looks for the most part and so I ended up ordering about six different fascinators from Amazon. I’ve been so blown away by the quality and would highly recommend them — there are options in every different color and you still have the option to add onto your fascinator if you decide to customize your outfit. This one took a little bit longer to ship, but they do have plenty of options that are Prime eligible which rocks.

I loved this dress on the site and the fit is perfect {I went with a small based off the measurements online}; while the material is thicker than a t shirt dress, I still found that my legs showed through a bit too much as it is unlined, but was fine once I put on my mini slip. I did also sew the back of the bow to the dress. The longer portion of the bow flapped around and was only attached at the center, but after a few stitches on each side everything stayed in place. It’s not a secret that I love fit and flare, I’ve always found them to be flattering on my body. I also love that this dress has half length sleeves, at this point in the year I never know if I’m going to be hot or cold so having an in between is good.

I decided to go with neutral accessories to play up with pretty blush hue and subtly girly details of my dress. My Love Crossbody has been my go to handbag lately; it’s just the right size for my wallet, keys and a few other items {lotion, gum, lipstick}. The color and gold hardware were big factors in me buying the bag.

Thank you to SheIn for sponsoring this post; working with brands allows me to continue to create fresh, new content for What Nicole Wore. All opinions expressed are solely mine.

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