The Little Black Jumpsuit

Jumpsuit: Asos // Obi Belt: Anthropologie // Shoes: Sole Society (Sold Out, Similar) // Clutch: American Apparel // Sunglasses: Quay // Necklace : J Crew (Sold Out, love this one!) // Bracelets: J Crew (Sold Out, Similar) // Earrings: Asos (Old, Similar)

If you don't have a little black jumper somewhere in your closet then YOU NEED TO GET ONE. My LBDs are fantastic but these days I find a jumper to be so much more versatile and easy to wear. I wore this number over Labor Day weekend on the third day of my tenure as judge for the Miss Illinois USA pageant. I needed a couple of 'special occasion' outfits for the events and although I did squeeze into my tightest (vintage!) LBD on day one, I knew I'd be exhausted by the final show and want something more forgiving and comfortable. It turned out this onesie with a leather obi belt was just what the doctor ordered. I felt really chic and really relaxed: the best possible combination, no?

But more than I want to talk about what I wore, I want to talk about the eighty young women I was tasked with 'judging'. My hat's off to all of you for getting yourself (and your neighbor) through an especially rigorous contest. I was very honored to be in the role and I look on each of you with deep RESPECT.

Many people think pageants are for prisses and princesses but I found that to be absolutely untrue. I'd never seen so many self-driven and accomplished (not to mention beautiful) young women in my entire life. So complex was this group! Every woman I interviewed had something memorable and important to say. Every face had the gorgeous combination of youth and confidence. Every body was strong and sexy. They all had so much courage to put their strengths and weaknesses out there to be 'judged' by a random person like me. Something in each of them made me laugh and cry and it brought me back in touch with all those scary and exhilirating feelings I had in my twenties. Who am I? Where am I going? How will I get there? This group had some pretty good answers to those questions. 

So anyway, little black jumpers rule. And so do the girls of the 2015 Miss Illiois USA pageant. THANK YOU!