What I wore at the 40 below ball

A ball means dressing up

My husband surprised me with an invitation to the 40 Below Ball. He was lucky to get some tickets last minute. Thus, I didn’t have time to browse the thriftstores or online for a gown. Well, there is always shopping the closet. Even though doing some insomniac online shopping for the perfect look is some pre-fun of the upcoming event.

This ball was organized by the Fairbanks Ballroom Dancing Club and had turned from a Black Tie dress code event to a Fairbanks Formal dress code. Thus, any of my date-night dance dresses would have met the dress code just fine.

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But I wanted to take this great opportunity of being able to dress up like Cinderella. To get an idea what I am talking about see the best gowns at the 40 below ball from a couple of years ago.

Trying on dresses

Ball attire is among those clothing items that have a long tenure in our closets. One wears them only now and then. While in our 20s and 30s this fact wasn’t a problem, when we had kept our weight constant, it would fit as great as the last time.

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However, in menopause, even keeping the same weight is no gurantee that a robe that was a perfect fit last year, still will be this year. Somehow the meat/fat justs shifts around and yep fails to resist gravity. 🙁 It turns south. One would need a lot of shapewear to turn it north – read up. While I love shapewear, it’s no great for dancing the night away. Thus, I tryed my old dresses on in the morning before the event to know which one fits best. Well, also to have time for an alteration if needed, i.e. when none of them was still looking great right away.

The dress that made the cut

What I wore over the formal dress

In Fairbanks, heating is very expensive because it’s so cold outside. Thus, rooms that are not used and garages often only get heated to 40F (5^oC) to save money and protect the environment. Therefore, I packed a cape to stay warm between dances, just in case the Gold Room is chilly.

Being sweaty after a night of dancing requires a warm coat. Of course, I first went to the restroom to towel myself dry. Freezing sweat is a recipe at least for a cold, but can even lead to hypothermia. Recall the car is damned cold standing outside at 10F (-12.3^oC).

For an Alaskan that’s considered warm in January. Thus, I wore my oyster color long leather coat with faux fur trim. You can see it hanging on the coat rack in the background in the photo below. If it had been colder like 0F (-18^oC) a faux fur coat would be a no-brainer. At 40 below, a thick downcoat. A shearling would spread hair all over your attire.

Further gorgeous robes of the team

What the other ladies wore

These were my favorite attires of the other ladies.

Fairbanks formal style

Here some more casual examples of typical Fairbanks Formal Style.

You can learn more about Fairbanks Formal dress code in the linked post.

Samples from the buffet

P.S. Like these evening outfits? Then why not pinning them to your Pinterest board?

Top of the World Style linkup

Glad to see you at the 191^th Top of the World Style linkup party. Welcome!

You clicked Ashley Cramp’s post the most,i.e. she became the Top of the World OOTD Readers’ Fav. Ashley Cramp is the blogger at Lazy Daisy Jones. What a timeless great winter beach outfit!

Anna’s look of her long sleeve plaid dress was my favorite. I just love plaid dresses! Make they even pink and I am on cloud nine! Anna is the blogger at Mutton Years and Style.

Laura Bambrick, the blogger at I Do DeClaire became the Top of the World Style Winner. She featured three different Valentine’s Day outfits with sequins.

Congrats Ladies! Grab your award buttons.

Link up your instagram or blog outfit posts by clicking the blue button below. Yes, I somehow managed to get back in the old system. I would highly appreciate your linking back to this post.

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Photos of me: G. Kramm

Diagrams: N. Mölders

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post.

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