belted stripes for an evening with CARE

As much as I complain about spring’s fickle temps, I actually kind of like that it requires creative layering. I bought this dress during warmer months last year and honestly looked forward to when it was cool enough to layer it with a blazer. The belt is a find from a vintage shop in New Orleans ages ago (and it reminds me that it’s been too long since we’ve been back). But let’s talk about this bag for a minute. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love Danse Lente’s designs. Every bag has a beautiful shape, color combination, hardware, or all of the above. I felt a little boring getting this bag in black because it looks so good in brown and white, but I was in sore need of a small black bag. Perhaps I’ll have to snap up this one in white for the summer!

I wore this for CARE’s “From the Arctic to Africa: Her Harvest, Our Future” – a special evening hosted by Chef Spike Mendelsohn, the Honorable Ray Mabus, and Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi of Finland highlighting the connection between food, national security, and a clean environment. I was invited to this event by Rachel Mlinarchik, their Senior Director of Development and another one of the lovely people I’ve met thanks to the blogging community. Established in 1945 when 22 American organizations came together to rush lifesaving CARE packages (yup, that’s where the term came from) to World War II refugees, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. In the age of GoFundMe and overnight social media campaigns for the cause du jour, though oftentimes well-meaning, it’s more important than ever to support established organizations with proven track records to ensure the majority of your donation actually goes to supporting the intended cause instead of unnecessary overhead. I often use Charity Navigator to research organizations before I donate, and over 90% of Care’s expenses are spent on the programs and services it delivers with only $0.04 per $1 being spent to raise charitable donations – a very impressive track record. CARE’s current efforts focus on fighting poverty through the empowerment of women and girls across 94 countries and global action for climate change – two causes close to my heart.

Genuine People dress (similar)
Zara blazer
vintage belt (close match)
Jean Michel Cazabat pumps (old, close match)
Danse Lente bag