what I wore to a 3 day convention

It can be hard to figure out what to wear to a convention. See what I wore– the perfect balance of nice and comfy!

Dear girls,

I went to a homeschool convention recently. With 5,000 attendees. In the middle of downtown. In a desert’s July.

AND a bunch of friends and I were exhibitors in the Young Entrepreneurs section of the convention hall. (follow this link to see us author ppl’s cool website of books)

For three. days. straight.

L-R: Tanner, Malachi, Paul, Kate, Julia, Maggie, Me

I am kinda particular about clothes. Comfy, not-sweaty, and practical always come first above cute or dressy! But I obviously couldn’t wear pjs to this thing… so I had to think a little harder beforehand.

mocha fraps, not lattes 😛 nice and cold!!

 

Day 1: I chose clothes I didn’t have to think about and could do crazy stunts in.

Because we were exhibitors there was a lot of loading and unloading in the hot weather, jumping in and out of truck beds, and diving under tables for things during setup.

Tip– do your hair in a style that will stay out of the way and still look cute.

If you are road tripping to a convention or just getting into a hotel the night before, your first outfit probably needs to meet the same criteria as mine.

jeans// hand-me-downs from friend

white tunic// a few $ from thrift store

red tennies// $3 from Walmart

 

photo credit to Tanner

The first day of the convention is really relaxed, but since we were exhibitors we wanted to make sure we made good first impressions as put-together professionals. Since we had a nerdy writer/book booth I was freer to wear a fun (but still nice) outfit.

Day 2: I chose clothes for a quirky and relaxed first impression.

(Oh, and POCKETS!)

You’ll most likely be sitting through a lot of sessions so you want to wear something long enough that you don’t have to fidget all the time. Think about what facet of your personality you want people to see you as and dress that way! But yo, go with something you know is tried and true and YOU.

Tip– convention centers can tend to overdo on the AC so bring a jacket or sweatshirt.

denim skirt// $5 from thrift store

writer t-shirt// anonymous gift from friends

sweater// stolen from sister’s get-rid-of pile 😀

 

Day 3: I chose clothes that were more dressed up but still said ME.

Saturday is a bit more of a professional day for the exhibitors so we tried to dress up a little. I got home the night before completely wiped out and without a thought for what I would put on the next morning.

Tip– try taking a “capsule wardrobe” approach with your outfits by packing one bottom and just pairing it with different tops, shoes, and hairstyles.

Lucky you, you don’t really need to think about dressing up, so just go with something casual and comfy enough to explore the exhibit hall in.

brown dress// a few $ from thrift store

 

A Cautionary Word on Shoe-wear

The year before I made the mistake of thinking “this day I’ll wear my cute brown flip-flops because they go better with my outfit”. Ha HA! Bad move! I ended up going barefoot the whole rest of the weekend my feet were so sore and tired!

Tip– wear your most comfortable shoes the whole time.

This year, convention time arrived with me not having any good shoes so I went ahead and splurged on cute AND comfy shoes. My bro and I swung by Walmart, and I scored these adorable red tennies for $3!!! I wore them all the days. 😛

 

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope my tips and pictures give you some inspiration for next time you go to a convention!

Tell me, what is your go-to outfit for long events?

 

 

 

 

 

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