Bad brunch attire

Don’t let anyone fool you not everyone is always on point when it comes to style and their fashion choices. Occasionally even the best dressed can end up on the Worst Dressed list. That’s how I felt after seeing pictures of myself after attending the first brunch at Cherry at the W Hotel a couple of weeks ago. Yes that’s right. I wore bad brunch attire. And by bad I don’t mean good, I mean bad!

About the Bottomless Brunch

Cherry is the new restaurant located in the recently remodeled W Hotel. When the hotel remodeled earlier this year, they opened up the restaurant to create a communal dining area with an open-grill kitchen. Seizing on the Washington’s love of brunch and Sunday Funday, Cherry is now open for an all-you-can-eat brunch with bottomless mimosas. And it was there was I was caught in my bad brunch attire.

The first thing you notice when you enter the dining room, on the left is an extensive charcuterie selection and bagel and lox bar along with a nice choice of breads. If you look to the right, as if to tease you to save room, is the sumptuous dessert bar. Once inside there’s a selection of the restaurant’s brunch specialties including some of the best brisket I’ve had in town. During this brunch, the wait staff passed pizza from Corner Office, the hotel’s bar which focuses on wood-fire pizzas and craft beer.

To satisfy DC’s boozy brunch affections, there is a bottomless mimosa option. For an additional $25, guests can choose from mimosas and bellinis. Guests are given the champagne and are directed to an array of juices and fruits on a nearby well-appointed shelf. Here they create their own perfect cocktail. (Towards the end of brunch, my friends and I opted not to create our own drinks but simply drank the champagne instead.)

The brunch was good albeit a bit pricey for a typical bottomless brunch. However it is in a swanky hotel in a prime location of town. The pizza was a winner and hopefully it will be a permanent addition for a brunch selections. What would be nice to see are some brunch staples like an omelet or waffle station to make a good brunch great.

The brunch is held every Sunday from 11am to 3pm, costs $40 and comes with one cocktail. There is an additional $25 for bottomless mimosas and bellinis.

What not to wear

I was opting for something a bit stylish for this inaugural brunch. Knowing my male friends were not wearing a suit to brunch, I opted not for a tailored look. I chose a plaid blazer over a short-sleeved turtleneck perfect for the change in season. Drawstring slouchy pants with summer espadrilles completed the look. In theory, this should have been a sporty look however the combination was a bit too much.

While the jacket and turtleneck worked well together, adding these particular pants with shoes was a clear mismatch. My bottom half was bit too casual for the top half of the look. Dress shorts or khakis would have been a better choice. Similarly white kicks would have been a perfect compliment to complete the look. Sometimes it’s just as important to show style mishaps as much as is those amazing hits. And as proof bad brunch attire can happen to even the best of us,

My jacket, turtleneck and pants were all by Zara. The unstructured jacket was nice and I’ll get some more use out of it. And the turtleneck was the real winner of this look. You’ll be seeing a lot more it come fall.

I’m a fan of Zara because you can pick up some great deals at fantastic prices. As I mentioned this turtleneck was a winner. I also have a leather jacket that I’ve had for years that was a steal at under $100. But sometimes the quality can be a bit lacking. The pocket of these pants developed a hole as soon as I put my hands in my pockets. Even more disheartening was after receiving the photos of the look, I noticed the crotch had also ripped. Caveat Emptor!

Even with a fashion misstep, sometimes you just have to own it and live with it. I still had fun even though. I can be hard on myself. But what did you think of this look? Please comment below. Until next time, “You too can be a fool for fashion!”