Putting a formal outfit together for less than $100

I own lots and lots of cocktail dresses. Most of them are kind of boring: just plain little black dresses that don't really come to life until you put them on and add some accessories and spindly heels. However, my closet is desperately lacking floor-length gowns, especially of the formal kind.












This has never really been a problem until now. On Friday, I am attending a big banquet at the City Hall of Stockholm (Golden Hall pictured above)... and needless to say, the dress code is formal. Ouch!

I wasn't entirely happy about that... there are so many other lovely clothes that I'd rather spend my money on than a full-length formal dress. Also, I'm assuming it needs to be on the conservative side, as this is not exactly a film festival or fashion event (where I would have felt so much more comfortable)! So what to do? I headed uptown with high hopes to check out Michael's, A Second Chance, La Boutique and the other designer consignment stores - but found nothing! Don't people sell their formal wear on consignment anymore? Or aren't there any formal events going on during the recession, meaning no gowns are being bought in the first place?

Whatever it is, I could not care less. I went back downtown and got myself some cheap vintage and street vendor jewelry to go with it. Below is the outfit I put together... and it cost me no more than $77! Let's just hope it's formal enough - I am actually not sure about that, but who's going to notice after a few glasses of champagne? Cheers!

• Olive chiffon vintage dress, Ralph Lauren (Tokyo Joe, $52)
• Gold feather dangle earrings (Union Square street vendor, $10)
• Peacock hairpiece (Union Square street vendor, $15)
• Gold bangles (my closet)
  
• Powder pink sandals with chain detail, Manolo Blahnik (my closet -- pardon my bad pedi)
• Dark aqua furry purse with brooch and chain detail (my closet, gift from designer)