The Filoli Estate-an early 20th century Georgian style country house and gardens, about a 30 minute drive south of San Francisco-is a historical gem in the Bay Area.

The stately country house once served as the location for Hollywood's Dynasty. The downstairs is open for public viewing and is so grand it's like I could see the all tea parties, balls, and hours of gossip while polishing the silver that happened inside those walls. It sits in the middle of sixteen acres of formal gardens made up of sculptural hedges, rows of flowers, pools, ponds, and some of the most lovely landscaping possible. Beyond that the estate is made up of an overwhelming 650+ acres of land covered with orchards, fields, and wild Northern California countryside.

I'd definitely recommend taking a day to visit if you enjoy historical houses and grand gardens.

Have you ever been to the Filoli Estate and/or gardens? What did you think?
If you haven't been, would this be something you'd look forward to? 
Would you rather go when they have an event or on an off day where there are less people and it's in its natural state? 
Have you ever been to a historical estate, such as the Biltmore Estate? What did you think? Do these pictures remind you of your historical estate visit somewhere? How does it compare? 
Do you ever daydream of living in a "Downtown Abbey" style world? Do you think you'd be part of the "upstairs people" or "downstairs people"? 
Do you ever get inspiration from older houses or gardens for your own home? 

So there are more than a few trend trains that I haven't been jumping aboard this year (some being sleepwear as daywear inspired fashion, David Bowie boots, Gucci's furry mules, non/ironic logo t-shirts, or the lace up everything trend...). One I wasn't immediately in love with was the slip trend. That is, until now.


Originally the slip dress trend reminded me of my earlier attempts at fashion in 90s (those pictures didn't survive the move shockingly. Aww, darn!). A little too "lingerie inspired" from my memory. Trends can be hard enough to pull off sometimes. Trying to pull off a daytime look that is already inspired by lingerie is just down right difficult if not impossible. Rather than pursue #TBT with the overly sexual slip dress trend of the 90's I decided to go with a modern cut silk dress. This already gives it several degrees of separation from the bedroom.

If I were to wear this look for evening I would dress it up with nude heels, choker, and clutch bag (very a la Kardashian). The modern daywear slip dress is meant to be fun and casual. Pair yours with sneakers or mules to keep it grounded as an "on the go" look. To even further the comfort layer yours with t-shirts or over skinny jeans or leggings. I was using this outfit to transition from day to night so I wore it with casual wedged mules and minimal jewelry to marry the two elements of slinky and casual.

You'll be seeing me try several looks with this dress over the next few months as I transition it from summer to fall. For now though, you can consider me jumping on the caboose of the slip dress train at the very least.

Get the Look: 

Dress: Lou & Grey Luster Wrap Dress $89.50 (RIGHT now it's on sale for $54.99 plus an additional 40% off!)
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction White Edge Fun Leather Wedge Mule (Sold Out; See Similar Here)
Rings: Madewell mon petit pavé ring $15 and mon petit curved pavé ring $15 (on sale right now for $10.50)
Purse: Bay Area flea market find (Similar $25 Target Blush Crossbody Bag Here) 

Would you wear a slip dress? What fashion trends you are loving right now? Are there any you are either completely over or were never into in the first place? Any trend forecasting??? Please share! I'd love to hear. 

Filoli Gardens had long been on my Bay Area Bucket List when I heard of their "Step Back in Time" 1920's garden party. As the name suggests, guests are encouraged to travel back in time to enjoy Filoli as it once was at its grandest. To celebrate the roaring twenties there is live jazz, dancing, food and drinks, and a period style party-all with a very Downton Abby flair.

We dressed up for the occasion: my boyfriend wore garden party attire and my friend and I transformed into a flappers. The majority of guests were also dressed in period clothing-from suspenders, headpieces, gloves, and umbrellas. If that wasn't spectacle enough the house and stunning grounds were open for us to explore at our leisure, along with a courtyard collection of ~1920's cars. The staff were very knowledgeable about the history of the estate and did a very convincing job of pretending to be Filoli's 1920's household staff.

The whole experience reminded me of Governors Island's Jazz Age Lawn Party-one of my favorite annual events when I lived in NYC. Overall it was a very fun Friday night. However, I think 5-8pm is not enough time to be able to enjoy all that was offered. I hope in the future they move it to a Saturday so they can open the estate earlier (leaving your guests wanting for more is a good problem though!).







Advanced Purchase Required:  
Member's Ticket: $40
Non-Member's Ticket: $45
Free Parking
Phone: (650) 364-8300

Get the Look:
Headpiece: Anthropologie floral dress sash (I had a jeweled headpiece but it just didn't look quite right, so I got creative with what I had already)  (See similar) 
Jacket: Vintage (My great-grandmother's from the 20's) (See similar) 
Dress: H&M (bought it years ago for the Jazz Age Lawn Party when I lived in NYC and just keep wearing it over and over again for every flapper party/event). (See similar) 
Shoes: Anthropolgie's Pasquale Trotta Suede Party Heels (See similar:Black/Pink/Nude)
Necklace: Vintage (See similar) 
Nails: Butter London "Deepest Red" (See similar) 


Have you ever been to a historical party (such as the Governors Island's Jazz Age Lawn Party) or historical estate (such as the Biltmore Estate)? What did you think? Do these pictures remind you of your experiences there? How does it compare? 
Do you ever daydream of living in a "Downtown Abbey" style world? Do you think you'd be part of the "upstairs people" or "downstairs people"? 
Do you wish you had more opportunities to dress up today like they used to for dinner or parties? Or just to play dress up in flapper clothing? 
Have you ever been to the Filoli Estate and/or gardens? What did you think? 
Would you rather go when they have an event or on an off day where there are less people and it's in its natural state?