Totally cheesy?

So, let me just put it out there that I think holiday attire is totally cheesy. The "theme" sweaters at Christmas and Halloween should be reserved for those under 10 only. But, with Valentine's Day coming up I can't help but wonder what crosses over into cheesetastic territory.

Joe and I have plans for dinner on Saturday. We're going to a nice restaurant up in New Smyrna Beach. He is going to dress up a little, which for him means nice jeans and a button down shirt. I told him I was thinking of wearing nice jeans and a cute shirt too but he said he'd prefer if I wore a dress. I love dresses so I'm fine with that. But, I was browsing my closet trying to figure out which dress I should wear when I began to have a little internal struggle. When does dressing for Valentine's Day cross the line from "festive" to "cheesy"?

Obviously I wouldn't wear anything with hearts on it. And the combo of red and white is definitely out. But, what about a red dress? Does that just scream "theme dressing"? I'm sure there will be about a quatrillion women out on V-Day with red dresses on but that doesn't make it ok. And I definitely don't want to blend in with all the other ladies in red. Red and black might be ok but I'm still not really feeling it. I think my main concern is just red in general. I love the color red but on V-Day it just seems like I'd be trying too hard.

I also have a pink dress that I was thinking about. Its the dress that I wore to the Sex And The City movie and its kind of, uhm, saucy. Maybe not saucy but definitely loud. It is a "notice me" dress for sure. Which, I guess isn't a terrible thing but may, again, come off as me trying too hard. And even though it isn't red, its hot pink which, really, is just a shade away.

This brings me to black. I know all the magazines say that a little black dress is your best friend but I think they can also be boring. Well, maybe just the black dresses that I own. Its possible that I can jazz one of them up with some shoes and a cute clutch. Maybe I could pair a black dress with my hot pink shoes. Just a little hot pink could be ok.

Or, I could just go completely off theme and wear a printed dress or, like, a blue dress or something. I have the dress that I wore to Meg's wedding that I really like. It is navy and has purple and yellow and hot pink in it. See picture at 7:00 (down and to the left). Bonus, it is really comfortable too. I have a couple other dresses that I could wear too but I'm afraid they are too work-ish for a dinner date.

So, what are your plans for Valentine's Day and what will YOU be wearing?