On Wednesday night, I attended the annual NUIG Commerce Ball. It’s an extremely popular & sell-out Ball in the university I go to & this year it was bigger & better than ever. It was a busy few days leading up to the event as I was on the committee which organised the whole thing, but it was pretty clear that all the hard work paid off as it was an amazing amazing success. So here are a few pictures from the night…
Dress from Mon Amie |
DIY studded cape |
My dress is from a favourite shop of mine… Mon Amie. If you read my blog regularly, you definitely have seen me mention this store before..you may have seen my post about the embellished collar I bought there not so long ago. Both owners are beyond lovely & I honestly don’t know what us girls in Kerry would do without this fabulous shop. A few months back, one of the owners, Josie, sent me a message saying she had just sourced the most amazing metallic gold vintage dress & that she’d send me a picture as she knew straight away that I’d love it…..& of course, she was right ! I absolutely adored it !! At the time, I knew that the Commerce Ball would be coming up in January, so at least that gave me an excuse (as if I needed one) to buy it.
The leather cape is actually a DIY item -Josie cut and shaped the leather & then I studded it the night before the ball. I was over the moon at how the whole thing turned out & I can’t wait to get another chance to wear it. If you guys have any balls coming up, be sure to get in contact with the girls at Mon Amie & they might just be able to source your perfect dress :)
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The BizSoc committee with the Rizzle Kicks |
Jordan from the Rizzle Kicks |
I think I briefly mentioned too that the Rizzle Kicks were performing on the night…so frikin cool ! It was one of their birthdays so all the committee members got to go to their room before their performance & present Jordan with a specially designed birthday cake. They are actually such down-to-earth guys and it was beyond cool meeting them :)

As well as all that, I also had the task of judging, “Best Dressed” on the night. In regards to choosing the best dressed girl, I was on the lookout for someone who had factored elegance & simplicity into their outfit choice, someone who had not gone to major expense & someone who had steered clear form the typical, “debs style”, dress. The winner, Alison Mc Phail, who is shown in the picture above, caught my eye at the very start of the night & I knew after speaking with her that I had made the right decision. I was shocked to hear that she had got her fitted, cream, floor-length dress on sale in Warehouse ! I loved it. She accessorized with an on-trend snakeskin clutch & the whole oufit looked beautiful.

I also had to choose the best dressed guy on the night (extremely tough job, I know !) & it proved to be a very interesting task, indeed. Of course, every guy was wearing the usual suit, shirt, tie, etc. so at the beginning of the night I figured I had my work cut out for me. But then along came, Mark Monahan, with his top hat & cane & it was pretty clear from the get-go that effort had been made & it was about to be rewarded. When I asked about his impressive style on the night he told me that most of what he was wearing was either borrowed or vintage ! The thing about fashion, I think, is that sometimes you really do have to think outside the box to get noticed & Mark, without a doubt, proved that this is oh so true.
I love the fact that both winners I chose were wearing either sale, vintage or borrowed items. It shows that while people have become quite savvy with their money, it has in no way compromised true style. It really was such an amazing night & I’m honestly already looking forward to next year !
So I hope you like this little post & that you all have had a lovely weekend. I was off styling a photo shoot all day yesterday (pics up soon) so as a result due to preparation & everything for that I didn’t get around to doing that much blogging at all last week…but expect to see a lot more in the coming week :) I have some very exciting news too, so stay tuned !
Stylishly yours,
Erika x
Pink Hibiscus
29 January
That dress is amazing! I hadn’t even heard of that shop, I can’t wait til my trip through Killarney on Tuesday, I’ll definitely be stopping off to take a look around!
xo
Erika Fox
30 January
You’re going to love it :)
Thanks for your comment !
Erika xx
Flora
29 January
Love the collar, really stunning!
Erika Fox
30 January
Thanks Flora hun x
Pip
29 January
You looked absolutely amazing! That collar cape is perfect with the dress! xx
Pip
http://chicstayathome.blogspot.com
http://lucianobybethaddis.blogspot.com
Erika Fox
30 January
Awh thanks so much Pip xx
Dee
29 January
That is an AMAZING dress, so original. You looked fab! X
Erika Fox
30 January
Thanks Dee x
Sanne.
29 January
Wow! :) That cape is amazing!
thx for your sweet comment btw! Love your blog! xx
Erika Fox
30 January
Awh no problem, love your blog too :)
Erika x
Cathy
29 January
Wow, what an amazing metallic dress!
onceuponasprinkle.blogspot.com
Erika Fox
30 January
Thanks Cathy xx
Lydia
30 January
you look gorgeous! amazing dress/cape. x
Erika Fox
30 January
Thanks a million Lydia x
Aoife
30 January
Slick as!
Erika Fox
30 January
Awh thanks Aoife x
jimmi lou
30 January
Gorgeous dress, love the cape. Sounds like a great night! I miss College Balls!
Erika Fox
30 January
It was a fab night…wish I could do it all over again !
Thanks hun x
Soph
31 January
Your dress is stunning! I love the cape xo
FancyMuffin
4 February
Your outfit was beyond beautiful.
I love RIZZLE KICKS!!
koko mo
23 February
your dress. oh my gosh its incredible. great pictures!