Women’s Fashion: How to Look Good (and still eat dessert, too)

In honor of my sister’s high school graduation (congrats, sis!), I was lucky enough to venture home to celebrate her accomplishments. While my sister will misguidedly venture to East Lansing next year and enter Michigan State University, I still found myself extremely proud in a way that only a big sister can be! In my family, any big achievement means a meal out. After the ceremony, we had a delicious celebratory post-graduation meal at Mangiamo’s, an Italian restaurant in Grand Rapids.

For the event, I needed apparel that could look out together in the inevitable countless group photos, so I chose to wear a Splendid zebra print zip dress purchased at Bivouac. The dress, a comfortable shift design, not only let me look cute but also extremely comfortable while eating more than my fair share of carbohydrates. Double duty that still looks good? Smart decision, me.

Anyways, on to the good stuff: my meal was absolutely delicious. Being the stereotypical “poor college student,” I know how to capitalize on any opportunity for free food. In my typical fashion, I went ahead and ordered the most dramatic item on the menu: spaghetti with a “baseball” meatball. Mangiamo’s wasn’t messing around – it was massive. In the words of my 15-year-old cousin, I could have hit the meatball “out of Fenway Park.”

Large? Yes. Absolutely divine? Yes! But of course, no meal is truly complete without dessert. Italian restaurants are well known for their selection of gelato and it has always been a personal favorite of mine as well. Although I had completely outdid myself with the pasta celebration, I ordered coffee and a bowl of vanilla bean gelato as a finishing touch to my stellar meal.

I learned two valuable lessons from this meal:

One, always order the most elaborate meal possible when you’re not paying for it. Mangiamo’s makes for a spectacular daydream when I find myself stranded in student housing with only a pack of string cheese and a slice of pizza to my name.

Two, there is really no better clothing choice for a large meal than a breezy dress. Traditional Italian is big, starchy, and delicious, so anything else means no room for seconds. But a light, airy dress with a cute summer print? It’s perfetto.

-Carly N., Women’s Fashion

Passion for fashion? Read about Carly’s romper obsession, then check out more stylish content on the Bivouac Blog