The Grad Dress: A New Beginning

Holly Phan Photography

These past two months have been an absolute whirlwind of excitement, sadness, happiness, goodbyes, and hellos. I haven't been able to really catch my breath until recently. And now everything is starting to sink in. So here's a post solely dedicated to what this Grad Dress means to me; A New Beginning.

I recently graduated from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington this past June. As I thought about graduation, I naturally thought of what my the grad dress was going to be. I knew I needed a grad dress that would encompass everything I was feeling about graduation. I needed a grad dress that would be bold. I needed a grad dress that would help me walk away confidently from college to a new career. A grad dress that was classic and represented the fresh optimism I was ready to take to the "real world". A bright, bold, orange grad dress -this is what I needed.

I usually stay away from the color orange. My Seattle roots always influence me towards neutrals or more earthy tones. But college graduation is a celebration of the past four years of hard work, stress, and accomplishments. Graduation is about transition; of closing the chapter of familiarity and routine and opening a new chapter of adventure. By deciding to leave Seattle and move to Southern California to start my career with PepsiCo, I knew I needed a symbol (a grad dress) to represent the biggest leap of faith I've ever taken. So I chose the color orange to be bright, brave, and bold for the next chapter of my life. 

So here's to the Grad Dress to remind me that the blessing to every ending is a new beginning. I can't wait to share the next chapter of fashion and style with you on my new adventure!

I hope you enjoyed the post!

Outfit Details:
Calvin Klein Orange Dress - Nordstrom Rack
Heels - MeeToo
Statement Necklace - Forever 21

Love,
Emma